Dearly Beloved by Putney Mary Jo

Author:Putney, Mary Jo [Putney, Mary Jo]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780451401854
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Published: 1990-03-15T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

In the spring of 1808 the first faint cracks in Napoleon's empire appeared on the Iberian Peninsula. The emperor forced the popular Spanish king, Ferdinand VII, to abdicate and placed his own brother Joseph on the throne. Infuriated, Spain burst into flames of insurrection. Gervase, in his small office in Whitehall, gathered and evaluated information and rejoiced.

In April, Sir Arthur Wellesley had been promoted to lieutenant-general and assigned troops to aid a Venezuelan revolutionary. But then Spain and Portugal sent delegations to Britain asking for aid against Napoleon, and Wellesley's destination was changed to the Peninsula. Gervase had used what influence he had on his former commander's behalf, and had no doubt that the general would justify the faith of his supporters.

Wellesley was in London now, and tonight he had requested a private meeting to discuss a matter that concerned them both. For privacy's sake, the general came to St. Aubyn House. Gervase received his visitor in the library and poured them glasses of port. After a nominal sip, Wellesley went straight to the point of his visit. "You know about the Marquess de la Romana?"

Gervase nodded. "One of Spain's most respected generals. He's in Denmark now, doing garrison duty for Napoleon."

Leaning forward for emphasis, Wellesley said, "Romana is a Spanish patriot. If he knew the situation in Spain, he would no longer serve the emperor, nor would most of his men." The general was by nature reserved, but his light blue eyes sparkled at the prospect of military action, and he looked years younger than he had in Dublin. "If someone can reach Romana and tell him Napoleon has removed the King of Spain, the Royal Navy will carry the marquess and his army home to fight the French."

Gervase made a frustrated gesture. "I know. We've been doing our damnedest to get a message through to Romana."

"Should have guessed you were already involved." Wellesley gave a short bark of laughter. "And the results?"

"Four good men have died trying," Gervase's voice was clipped. He'd known all of the agents, and their deaths weighed on him, even though they had known the risks and gone willingly.

"I'm sorry." Wellesley paused a moment, his expression grave. "But we must try again. The force I'm commanding isn't large enough to defeat the French troops on the Peninsula without help. Romana has nine thousand trained soldiers. If they return home, together we might break the French army in Spain. And after that..."

The sentence did not need completing. If the French were pushed out of the Peninsula, the long stalemate would be over. The war could be carried into France, to Napoleon himself. There would be peace in Europe only when the emperor was defeated.

"I know what's at stake," Gervase said shortly. He settled back in his chair, sipping his port while his thoughts went around in a familiar circle. In the last weeks, he had thought of only two things: of the situation in Europe and what Britain could do to exploit it, and of Diana.

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