'It's scant reward for what you learnt in Paris.'

'Will I have time for any leisure, Your Grace?'

'Yes, Daniel. We'll sail from Harwich at the end of next week. That will give you almost eleven days.' His smile was warm. 'Do you think you could find a way to amuse yourself in London for that length of time?'

Daniel chuckled. 'I'm certain that I can.'

'Then enjoy yourself while you can because there'll be little opportunity for dalliance once the army is on the march once more.'

'I know.'

'When hostilities do resume,' warned Marlborough, 'you'll have to take great care not to meet General Salignac on the battlefield.'

'Why is that, Your Grace?' 'Put yourself in his place, man. He'll be eager to wreak a terrible revenge on the person who seduced his wife.'

'I have no worries at all on that score.'

'Really?'

'No,' said Daniel. 'The general has absolutely no idea who I am.'

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

Using their forged passports, the two men boarded the ship at Calais.

'We'll never find him,' moaned Seurel. 'It's a waste of time.'

'We must find him,' said Catto, speaking in faultless French. 'We've tracked him this far and we'll pick up his trail in England. The general will not condone failure, Frederic. If we go back empty-handed, we'll pay dearly.'

'How do we know that he crossed the Channel?'

'I've described him to three different port officials and they remembered him clearly. Daniel Rawson may not have used his real name but he definitely sailed from Calais.'

'How could you describe him when you've never even seen him?'

'The general's wife has seen him,' said Catto with a snigger, 'and she was in a position to note the most private details about the man. We not only know exactly what he looks like, we have his name and his occupation.'

'Didn't Madame Salignac say he was a merchant?'