Waterloo by Andrew Swanston

Author:Andrew Swanston [Andrew Swanston]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780749019556
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2015-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

Saltoun was waiting in the empty farmhouse, which had been stripped of its doors and furniture. There was neither table nor chair, nor even an upturned crate, but except where rain dripped through the hole made in the roof, at least it was dry. Laid out on a blanket on the floor were two bottles of claret, a loaf of bread and a small cut of beef. ‘I thought we would eat while we talk, James,’ said Saltoun. ‘I daresay you are hungry.’

‘Ravenous. As are my men. Fortunately, Wyndham acquired a little food from a trader and we found a pig in the cowshed.’

Saltoun cut a slice of beef with his bayonet and passed it to Macdonell. ‘Try that, James. No glasses, I fear. We’ll have to drink from the bottle.’

The beef was good and the wine better. ‘Excellent, Alexander,’ he said, raising his bottle in salute, ‘but I must be about my business very soon.’

‘Of course. And tomorrow will either of us be alive to finish our meal, I wonder? I am not entirely sure whether Wellington really thinks we can hold out or whether we are merely a diversion intended to lure troops away from the French centre. Either way, even with the Hanoverians and Nassauers we are no more than eight hundred or so.’

‘We are outnumbered everywhere, Alexander. The Duke will send reinforcements if he can spare them. He expects Blücher’s Prussians to arrive sometime tomorrow. Our task is to hold Hougoumont until they do.’

Saltoun tipped wine into his mouth. ‘To do that, some of us must stay alive. That is what will be difficult. The orchard is our weakest spot. I will hold it only as long as we are not in danger of being wiped out. There is no point in sacrificing men unnecessarily for the sake of it. We will withdraw when we have to.’

‘I agree. As long as we hold the garden and the house and farm, the frogs will not be able to attack the Duke’s right flank. That is his main concern.’

For a while they were silent, each alone with his own thoughts. Suddenly, Saltoun jumped up. ‘Frogs, always the frogs. Ever since the Normans arrived, it’s been the frogs. Now and again we fight the Spanish or the Dutch, even the American rebels or ourselves, but it doesn’t last long. We always go back to the frogs, damn them. Why?’

‘I am but a humble soldier, Alexander,’ replied James with a smile. ‘Such questions are for politicians. Now, if you would excuse me, I must be gone. We will be using the large barn for the wounded. There is dry straw in there. I am hoping for a surgeon and an assistant or two. Send your wounded there.’

‘Thank you, James. Until tomorrow.’

Despite the rain a fire had been lit in the yard over which the pig was being cooked on a makeshift spit. While Sergeant Dawson kept a line of hungry soldiers at bay, the Grahams were hacking chunks off the beast.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.