The Princes Alliance (The Empire's Corps Book 21) by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-17T23:48:40+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Kingston, New Doncaster

“Why are we even here?” Sandra sounded tired and grumpy, somewhat to Rachel’s annoyance. “What is there here?”

Rachel glanced at her, then tapped her lips as the evening slowly turned into night. The question wouldn’t have been a bad one, if Sandra hadn’t had plenty of time to ask before the small band started the march. Rachel wasn’t sure if she’d made the right choice, bringing Sandra along, although the younger girl clearly knew how to shoot. She’d gone hunting on her family’s island, she’d claimed, and knew how to drop a buck at long range ... maybe not as long as a military sniper, but long enough to be effective. Besides, it kept Sandra where Rachel could see her. She didn’t like the idea of leaving the younger girl alone. She might do something stupid.

“There’s an estate,” she said, curtly. The Hammersmith Family were close allies of Hamish Ludlow, according to Lord Oakley, although they didn’t seem to receive much in exchange for their devotion. The coup plotters probably made a point of keeping their backers balanced between the hope getting what they wanted and the moment when they realised they were being cheated. Or something. It didn’t strike her as a very healthy relationship. “And it will make a suitable target.”

She peered through the forest toward the mansion, brightly lit even though there was a war on. Lord Hammersmith’s estate was a soft target. There were few guards - the family was too poor to raise a private militia – and nothing in the way of fixed defences. The family retainers working in the fields had no interest in dying for their patrons and might even make a break for it, if they thought they could get away. Rachel’s lips curved into a cold smile as her eyes swept through the gathering darkness, picking out the line of approach. The target was of little tactical value – blowing up the entire estate would no more hurt Hamish Ludlow than plucking out a single one of his hairs – but it would anger his supporters. They’d all demand military protection yesterday or else.

He may tell them to go to hell, Rachel reflected. There were too many possible targets scattered across Kingston and too few soldiers to guard them, unless he spread his men so far apart they’d be wiped out one by one. And they won’t take that very kindly, will they?

She glanced at Sandra. “Stay here,” she hissed. “If you see any guards, once the attack is underway, shoot them down without hesitation.”

Sandra nodded, her face pale in the darkness. Rachel understood. Shooting a buck or doe in the woods was one thing, shooting a human was quite another. She’d heard rumours of aristocrats hunting the most dangerous game – their fellow humans – but she was fairly sure they were just black propaganda. Probably. She’d seen enough people who perverted their power, who raped and molested children before murdering them to hide their crimes, to feel there were no true limits.

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