Of Bondlings and Blesh Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Shortly after emerging from the forest into an area of pasture, filled with bright sunshine, I slipped the cloak from my shoulders. The taste of the beef and ale still lingered in my mouth – growing less pleasant the longer it persisted. Sheep bells mingled with the double note of a curlew – sounding almost as though it were saying all right, all right. Dashing Daniel, at the head of the column, reined in his horse by a cottage where a middle aged woman was donkey stoning the front step.

“We’re poor folk,” she said, looking up, “there’s nothink for you, ’ere. Honest there ain’t!”

“We’re not robbers, madam, if that’s what you think,” Daniel replied. “Don’t worry.”

“What then? Constables? We ain’t done nothink. Honest we ain’t!”

“Does Jim Harrison live here, madam?”

“What if he does? He ain’t done nothink, neither.”

“I’d like to speak to him, if I may.”

“Jim!” she called. “There’s a gennelman ’ere as want t’ talk with yer.”

“Don’t y’ know I’m busy?” came an irritated male voice from within the cottage. “Tell ’im t’ come back, if it’s important.”

“There’s ten of ’em – all armed, an’ they’ve got Jane Armstrong, too.”

There was an inarticulate cry – a female voice, perhaps in her twenties – then a mutter of conversation in which I could identify no words. A minute or two later a middle aged man emerged from the darkness within the cottage, fastening his breeches as he came. But for the younger woman’s voice, I would have supposed that he’d been on the privy. As it was, my gaze took in his bulging crotch – something from which I would normally have averted my eyes.

“Jim Harrison?” Daniel asked.

“What if I am? I ain’t done nothing.”

“George Armstrong gave me this list of names and addresses,” Daniel said, proffering the sheet of paper.

“Wha’ for did he do that?” Jim Harrison asked taking the list, and peering at it.

“He wanted us to make sure that you and the others met a nasty fate.”

“An’ you want me to pay you more than he’s offering? I ain’t got much.”

“No – I just wanted to warn you. Maybe you and the others on the list should mount a nasty surprise for George Armstrong before he finds someone willing to do his dirty work.”

“You ain’t going to do nothing?”

“Not I. Not any of us. As far as we’re concerned, giving you the list is the end of the matter.”

“Well – thank you, mister. It ain’t often as someone does right for no pay. I see you’ve got ’is daughter.”

“Let’s say we’ve rescued her. A good day to you.”

“Oh – before we go,” said Lisa-Louise, “do you know Juliet Cooper?”

“Yes, I know ’er. What of it?”

“George Armstrong wanted an especially nasty end for both you and her.”

“She’s a medicine woman,” Jim replied with a chuckle. “When George asked ’er for something for ’is piles, she gave ’im extra ’ot rheumatism cream.”

Laughing, Daniel urged his horse into motion, and the rest of us followed. Looking back, I saw the middle aged man and woman, joined by a half-dressed younger female, conversing at the cottage door and giving us occasional puzzled glances. A few minutes later, a bend in the road hid the building and its occupants from our view. We were moving at no great speed so that Jane, on foot, would have no trouble in keeping up with us.

“A good job, well done,” said Dashing Daniel. “I think we’ve now finished with George Armstrong.”

“You’ve got my dad into plenty of trouble, there, Captain,” Jane said. “Serves the old bugger right, though, after all he’s done to me.”

“I doubt if it’s the worst of his trouble, Jane. And that’s because I’m not a captain.”

“What are you then? And what is the worst of my dad’s trouble?”

“My name is Dashing Daniel, formerly a pollygogger and now – as you might say – a gentleman of the road. And the worst of his trouble will probably come when he tries to present the receipt I signed for him. It’s unlikely that the tax gathers will accept my signature. More likely, he’ll be facing tax evasion charges.”

“What then, Mister Daniel?”

“I believe that enslavement is the usual penalty.”

She laughed loudly, before saying: “I hope they whip him good – better stripes than he ever gave me. It’d be lovely to see the branding – and chopping off his willie.”

“You don’t seem to like your father very much, Jane. Not that he struck me as a likable man, but sometimes family connections…”

“I’m not sure there is a family connection, Mister Daniel. Me mum’s gone, and I reckon she’s the only one who knows who me dad is. Might even be Jim Harrison. He’s old, but he’s a randy bugger.”

“Your mother’s gone? Dead?”

“Nah! She run away from him. Took me with her, but he managed to grab me back. Have you really rescued me?”

“Yes, Jane,” said Lisa-Louise, “we’ve rescued you. We couldn’t bear to leave you with him. I think you might be useful, too.”

“Ah – now you’re talking, lady. Useful? How come useful?”

“Half a dozen of us are going into Surrey, it’s likely to be dangerous – and a girl with your spirit would make a handy addition to our party. But maybe we shouldn’t be leading you into danger. If I was a good person, my first thought would have been reuniting you with your mother.”

“That would be easier said than done – I don’t know where she went. She’ll not be easy to track, neither. If George Armstrong found her, she’d like as not be dead… When you say danger, do you mean there’ll be fighting?”

“Yes – fighting, killing. Not really your business. We shouldn’t involve you.”

“Whatever. I’m with you, now, anyways. And I’d certainly be glad to get some of my own back on the world. Count me in.”

On a sudden thought, I took the breeches from my saddle pack and handed them to Jane saying: “Here, put these on.”

“What for, misses?”

“Because I thought you might like to ride for a bit. Easier to ride in breeches.”

“Are you sure misses?”

“Call me Tuerqui, Jane. And, yes, I’m sure. I’ll walk for a bit.”

“You can have my pony in a while,” said Lisa-Louise. “We should take turns. Maybe, when the opportunity arises, Captain Grace could commandeer an extra horse.”

“Why not? I’ll see what I can do,” said Daniel.

For two or three hours, we took it in turns to walk – mostly through farmland, the green wheat that gave Cornsprout its name, interspersed with occasional woods. In my estimation, there was a poor chance of commandeering an extra horse – the last such beasts we’d seen, other than our own, had been in the morning, ridden by the Barking Volunteers. Then, unexpectedly, we encountered man heading in the opposite direction who was leading three sturdy horses. As he approached closer, I saw that he was wounded, bandages oozing blood, and each horse had a body slung across the saddle.

“Ho there!” Daniel called, brandishing the warrant yet again. “What’s this?”

“If it pleases you, Captain, officers killed in the battle at the Green Ford[1] – on their way back to Lundin.”

“Green Ford?”

“Yes, haven’t you heard? Since yesterday, we’ve been trying to hold Surrey warrior girls back at the Green Ford. I think they’re trying to re-take Teddy’s Town from the north.”

“We’re in need of an extra horse, trooper. Two of the bodies will have to be lashed to one horse.”

“Is that an order, Captain?”

“Of course it’s a fucking order.” Then, to Carp Eye: “Sergeant Smith – you and a girl shift one of the bodies. Get on with it man! And keep the officer’s weapons, equipment and blankets attached to the saddle – we’ll need them.”

“Yes, sir,” Carp Eye responded without enthusiasm.

Daniel added, presumably as an afterthought: “We can’t expect the wounded soldier to do the work, can we, sergeant?”

Heather, who was dismounted at this point, helped her lover shift an officer’s corpse from the smallest of the horses to the largest. The beast given the double burden bucked in protest, but smart work with ropes soon had the extra body secure. While they worked, Daniel took the wounded soldier to one side and elicited details of the battle at Green Ford. Carp Eye took advantage of the injured man’s distraction, I noticed, to transfer anything that looked useful to the animal he was taking.

Evidently having learnt as much as he thought necessary, the supposed Captain Grace scrawled something illegible on a scrap of paper, which the veteran of the battle seemed to accept as an adequate receipt. The soldier saluted smartly, wincing as the action brought fresh blood to his bandages, then led the two remaining horses down the road on which we had come. Jane dismounted from Heather’s horse and clambered into the saddle of the newly acquired beast. A few minutes later we were on our way once more, descending into a wooded valley.

“Well, I hope that Captain Grace isn’t planning to order Sergeant Smith around very often,” said Carp Eye. “I suppose you did it so we could nick anything worth having.”

“There was that – but I needed to talk to the injured soldier, too. We’re planning to head west, Carp Eye – you me and the two girls – and it looks as though a line of attack crosses our path. We need to figure where we can get through.”

“And where can we get through?”

“If the army at Green Ford can hold the Surrey girls off until mid morning tomorrow, we can follow this road to Win’s Oar, Maiden’s Head, and beyond. If not, we’ll have to make a diversion. I say that we camp tonight near the crossroads where this highway to the west meets the road from Green Ford to Teddy’s Town. Then, in the morning, we’ll see.”

“So the soldier didn’t have any useful information?”

“No, not really.”

“Couldn’t we stay at an inn?” asked Alicia. “There seem to be enough of them on this road.”

“And get our throats cut while we sleep – by the likes of George Armstrong?” Daniel replied.

“My dad never murdered a bigger group than three or four travellers,” Jane said, perhaps in her father’s defence.

“Yeah, well,” Daniel said, “maybe other innkeepers are more enterprising.”

We made camp at least an hour before sunset, on a wooded hilltop overlooking a crossroads. The ways to the east, along which we had come, and to the west were quiet. By contrast, there was a lot of north-south traffic which, after a period of uncertainty, I recognised as members of my father’s guard and some of their allies. The progress of the troops showed no great hurry and I concluded that neither the Green Ford nor Teddy’s Town had fallen.

“They’re obviously not Surrey troops,” said Lisa-Louise.

“Yes,” I replied, “I recognise the uniforms.”

“That’s not what I meant. Surrey troops would have secured this wood – it’s good cover and commands the crossroads. A company of archers, positioned here, would control all four routes. It’s things like that decide battles – and that’s a reason your father’s guards are going to lose, Tuerqui.”

Our situation was clearly more perilous than it had been the previous night – mid way, as we were, between two active battlefields. In the circumstances, we decided to have four watches each comprising three of us, with Lisa-Louise volunteering herself for both the first and final sentry duty. As before, I was placed second – this time keeping guard with Modesty, acting as commander, as well as Alicia. By the time we relieved Lisa-Louise, Heather and Jane, it had become downright cold – all the more so as no fire had been lit, lest we betray our presence by its light or smoke.

Somewhat encumbered by the blanket over my shoulders, I was patrolling the perimeter, crossbow at the ready. Suddenly a hand was clamped roughly over my mouth, as a strong arm seized me from behind. My attempts to struggle proved useless as I felt my arms tugged behind my back and a cord knotted about my wrists. Something large and round was thrust between my jaws as the hand relaxed just long enough to permit this, then a strip of coarse fabric was tied tightly to seal my lips.

“Last sentry secured,” a young woman’s voice whispered.

“Good,” replied a slightly older woman, “now we take out the sleepers.”

“Should be a piece of piss,” a third female voice said. “There are only eight of them.”

“Don’t get too cocky – that’s when things start to go wrong,” it was the second, slightly older, voice again.

With my hands tied behind my back, there was no way for me to use a weapon, but my feet had not been secured, and I thought that it might be possible to arouse the sleepers. Attempting to break into a trot, I fell – with my arms wrenched backwards – at only my second pace. Groping at the space behind me, I realised that a loop of rope ran from the cord about my wrists and circled a tree. Forming another idea for raising the alarm, I drummed my boots on the ground, but the sound so produced was unimpressive.

Unless either Modesty or Alicia could devise a better plan than me, we were all – I realised – at the mercy of unknown female assailants. The fact of their being women meant that they were almost certainly Surrey troops. Perhaps, were our gags to be removed, we could convince them that we were their compatriots – although the inclusion of Daniel and Carp Eye in our party would make this less convincing. There was also, I suddenly recalled, Captain Grace’s warrant – and, just as that thought occurred to me, the soldiers must have discovered the document.

“Hey, what’s this?” a woman’s voice called.

Straining my eyes in the direction of the speaker, I saw a faint glimmer of light, probably a dark lantern. About the lamp, two or three shadows jostled in the darkness. My main concern, at that point, was trying to glimpse their uniforms, if any. If I could identify them as either Berenice’s girls or Nadine’s, that would be helpful if and when my gag was removed.

“It’s a warrant,” another voice replied. “Palace Victoria stuff. What do we do with prisoners of war, Captain? Leave them tied up here for enslavement when time permits – or just have done with it and slit their throats?[2]”

“Let me see,” said the slightly older voice. “Captain Grace! I know that name.”

“Someone we need to question, Captain?”

“No – the name of a dead man. Our agents are using it as a cover.”

“So these are our spies, Captain?”

“Maybe. It’s just like the secret service to keep us in the dark. If it wasn’t for Lizzie – my ex – taking the role of one of Captain Grace’s deputies, I might have given the order to kill this lot.”

“Is one of these Lizzie?”

“Doesn’t look like it, but I dare say the late Captain Grace has a lot of deputies. Still, they’ve had a lucky break. Maybe one of them has a guardian goddess. Best ungag him as had the warrant in his pouch.”

There was more activity in the dim light of the lantern – presumably the removal of Dashing Daniel’s gag. After the conversation between the officer and one of her soldiers, I was less concerned to glimpse their uniforms. Having liaised, on Lord Higate’s behalf, with women posing as Captain Grace’s deputies, I felt pretty sure that they were Berenice’s women. My chief fear, now, was that the former pollygogger would declare himself to be in the pay of Nadine Next.

“What do you think you’re doing?” came Daniel’s voice, doing a fairly good outraged Captain Grace. “Do you know who I am? Untie me at once, madam!”

“Just a question or two, first. Is this warrant yours?”

“Of course it is!”

“And you business with it?”

“The business of Surrey. You could rip my tongue out and I wouldn’t say more. It’s secret.”

“Just one thing more. Are you for Berenice or Nadine?”

“Berenice!”

There was a dreadful pause, which must have been much shorter than it seemed, before the captain said: “Untie them! Untie them all!”

Busy fingers loosened my gag and removed the hard object from my mouth – I never discovered what it was – before freeing my wrists. Later, I was to wonder at my mouth being freed first, perhaps the soldier was concerned that my breathing might be obstructed. At the time, I was too relieved and delighted to think about it. Captain Grace’s warrant had just afforded us its last, and most vital, service.

“Sorry about this,” my liberator said. “It’s not often I tie up a girl and she doesn’t like it. We weren’t to know you were on our side.”

“Don’t worry,” I replied, “you only did what you had to do. And I was a crap sentry, wasn’t I?

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, girl. You’d have been plenty good enough for the infantry. It takes a better than a good sentry to deal with a cast unit[3]… Why are you wearing that mask?”

“Let’s just say that I’d rather not be recognised. More important – Berenice would rather I wasn’t.”

“That’s a pity. I’d hate to offend Berenice, but I like the look of your lips, and would appreciate seeing all of you. Perhaps it’s for the best. Duty calls – no time even for a quick snog.”

“No there isn’t,” said another voice, close behind. “Forward observation duty, Commando Jones.”

“Yes, serge. At once serge… But it is a pity.”

The moon had now risen, and was casting a little light through breaks in the foliage. Counting figures moving through the faint illumination, and subtracting our party, my conclusion was that the force to have surprised us was about twelve or sixteen strong[4]. My role as sentry now redundant, and with no one settling for sleep, I wondered what I should be doing. Modesty approached me – as well as I could tell in the near darkness, she was smiling rather sheepishly.

“A fine guard commander I made,” she said.

“One of them told me they’re a cast unit. Surrey’s finest. Come that, the finest troops anywhere. We didn’t stand a chance, Modesty.”

“Thanks, Tuerqui. All the same…”

“Enough said, let’s just go and join the others, Modesty. And if anyone wants to complain, you’ll have my support.”

“Mine, too,” said Alicia, stepping from deep shadow. “I think we did all right. These girls are better than good.”

Casting about around my feet, I located my crossbow and blanket. Checking, I discovered that my sword and dagger were still in their sheaths. All items present, we stepped through the trees to where the sleepers had lain. One of the Surrey commandos stepped with us, a woman in her late twenties or early thirties – the captain, I realised before she spoke.

“Which one of you women is in charge?” the captain asked.

“I am,” said Lisa-Louise, without hesitation.

“I know that you won’t have got much sleep, but you really should be moving on in the next hour or so. Now that this wood is secured, there’ll be a company of archers coming up here. Before dawn the road below us is going to be a dangerous place to be. At least, I assume you’re planning to be on the road tomorrow.”

“Yes, without revealing any secrets, a few of us should be heading west, while of the rest go south – to Teddy’s Town, in the first instance.”

“You know that Teddy’s Town is still held by the enemy?”

“Thanks for the warning, but we can pass ourselves off as irregular troops.”

“Yeah, we were warned about Lundin’s girl irregulars. That’s what we took you for – until we found Captain Grace’s warrant.”

“I expect our having a couple of men with us confirmed the idea that we weren’t from Surrey.”

“Exactly – no boys in our army – and rightly so, of course… The secret service is a law unto itself… Anyway, you should be moving on very soon. Round about dawn, it’ll be raining arrows in Teddy’s Town.”

“Thanks for that. If the army and the secret service spoke to each other, we might’ve known already. As it is…”

“Yeah, as it is… Thank the goddess, our enemies are even worse when it comes to talking to one another. You’d better hope that them at Teddy’s Town know about the irregular girls.”

Before this conversation had reached its end, our party were saddling horses, stowing blankets and other equipment. It was clear that we had only a brief window of opportunity before our way would be blocked by crossbow fire. Mounting, we were soon on the rough track that led down to the road. The bright moonlight showed, advancing from the west, what must be the company of archers who were to occupy the hilltop.

“Well,” said Lisa-Louise to Dashing Daniel, “I’m afraid we must part at the crossroads.”

“Yeah, that’s for certain. If me and Carp-Eye were to stay with you, I’m sure that Tuerqui’s mistress would give us a real warm welcome.”

“I’m not sure of the penalty for pollygoggery[5], but I don’t think you could expect much mercy.”

“That goes whoever wins the war – neither Nadine nor Berenice has a reputation for softness.”

“Yeah, that reminds me – I’ve been wondering. When the captain asked which side we were on, how come you answered Berenice with so little hesitation? Did you recognise her uniform or something?”

“No – it was the way she phrased the question. Berenice or Nadine? Surrey folk put the important person’s name first[6]. Perhaps a guttersnipe might not do that, but an army captain always would.”

“That was a piece of good thinking, Daniel. You’ve got brains.”

“Well, it’s been good riding with you and your girls, Lisa-Louise. Pity we couldn’t have stayed together for a bit longer. I’ll miss you all.”

“Good riding with you, too, Daniel – and Carp Eye, Alicia and Heather. You’re a good bunch. I really hope you find your home in the west.”

“And I hope you can save Tuerqui’s daughter and, well, everything you want to do. It was fun, though, yesterday – playing at being Captain Grace… Do you want the warrant back?”

“No – you keep it. I don’t think that any of us could pass for Captain Grace, anyway. Well – I did pass for him once, but it was winter and I was bundled up. Had scarves over my face, and everything.”

“That sounds like it was fun, too. But not many things could beat yesterday – seeing that bugger, George Armstrong, gets a bit of what he deserves.” Daniel chuckled at the recollection.

“Talking of the Armstrong family – Jane needs to decide who she’s joining – and fast... Jane!”

“Yes,” said Jane, urging her horse into a trot to catch up with the head of our column.

“Jane –” said Lisa-Louise, “we’re about to split up. Daniel, Carp Eye, Alicia and Heather and heading west – looking for a home. The rest of us are going into Surrey. You have to choose which is for you – and choose in the next few minutes.”

“Surrey,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. “I had a home, and I didn’t much like it. It seems good to go where the girls on the hilltop came from, in any case. Ain’t no man going to knock them about.”

“That’s for sure,” I agreed, rubbing my wrists where they had been bound.

At the foot of the hill, we met the company of Surrey archers. Only the officer rode – the others marched with crossbows slung over their shoulders. Strapped to each soldier was an impressive array of weapons and other equipment – large backpacks, sheathed blades, quivers full of quarrels. As we approached, the commander drew her sword – the moonlight sufficient to show it to be sister to the one scabbarded at my hip.

“Stand easy,” she challenged. “Who goes there?”

“Agents of Her Majesty, Berenice Blackheart, on secret and urgent business” Lisa-Louise replied. “Which unit are you – you and your girls?”

“The Seventeenth Dorking and District Company[7]… Why’s one of your girls masked?”

“Secret business,” I said, “best not even to think about it. You’re from Dorking – I know the town, and I know Madame Scurf, who keeps a brothel there. There’s a carter just a little way up the road from the town. He’s called Sam, his wife is Sarah and…”

“That’s enough identification,” said the captain of archers. “You’re from Surrey right enough. Be on your way quickly, before we start raining death upon the road.”

The archers of the Seventeenth Dorking and District Company shifted from the middle of the road to allow us to pass on the left. At the crossroads, only a couple of minutes later, we made hurried farewells. Daniel, Carp Eye, Alicia and Heather took the road directly before of us, we turned left on to the road for Teddy’s Town. Glancing backwards, the moonlight allowed us to see our erstwhile companions for perhaps another quarter of an hour before they were swallowed by the darkness.

When we reached Teddy’s Town, after a couple of hours’ ride, the approach of dawn was beginning to lighten the sky. From the cover of a tree trunk stockade, jittery guards levelled their bows in our direction. We reined our horses to a halt, following Lisa-Louise’s lead when she raised her hands in an unwarlike gesture. It proved sufficient to prevent the unloosing of arrows.

“Who goes there?” a gruff voice called. “Identify yourselves.”

“Lundin irregular troops,” said Lisa-Louise. “If any of you know the Palace Victoria, shine a light in our direction. I’m spymaster Addal’s niece.”

“That she is,” a man said, as a mirror reflected light into our faces. “And another of them’s Mrs Clay as used to take charge of the Palace Victoria stitch slaves. Why’s one of you wearing a mask?”

“A sabre across the face,” said Lisa-Louise. “She’s not as pretty as she used to be.”

“Bad business, that. Waste of totty. Girls shouldn’t go to war.”

“What’s your business?” another man challenged.

“We’ve been harassing Surrey troops to the west,” Lisa-Louise lied. “Now we need to cross the river to create a diversion for Sir Garrafad.”

“Pass, then. You’d better hurry about it. I doubt that we can hold Teddy’s Town for longer than a few more hours[8].”

“Things going badly, then?”

“Things’ve gone badly from the start. When we first attacked, there were whole batteries of murder machines[9] to greet us. It was like someone had told them we were coming. Anyway – get along, now, girls – no time to chat.”

A few minutes later we were at the lock, although at first I didn’t recognise it as such. Where the water should have been, was the shadow of a raised step – then the road continued across the line of the river. All about were defensive positions formed of tree trunks – it looked as though a sizable tract of forest had been felled. By the road, a hut leaned against one of the wooden walls – at its door a couple of sentries, puffing on pipes, leaned on their halberds.

“Who goes there?” one of them challenged, failing to sound as though he much cared.

“Irregulars – on our way to help Sir Garrafad,” Lisa-Louise replied.

“Isn’t one of you wearing a mask?”

“Sabre cut,” I said. “You wouldn’t want to kiss me now.”

“Nasty!”

“Pass, irregulars,” said his companion, in a more official tone.

“Have you infilled the lock?” Modesty asked.

“Nah – it’s just a bridge of tree trunks and mud. You’d best ’urry. Won’t be long, now, afore this day’s shootin’ starts.”

The structure, constructed just as the sentry had said, wobbled alarmingly under our horse’s hooves. The animals neighed in protest, obviously distrusting the surface, and required some encouragement before they would cross. It wasn’t hard to see the beasts’ point of view, I half expected the tree trunks to roll apart, dropping us into the water. Reaching the Surrey bank without mishap came as a considerable relief.

“Tuerqui,” said Modesty, “I’m not impressed by the engineering skills of your father’s army.”

“Don’t blame me. It’s Bob Bosset’s fault – he should have trained them better.”

“Don’t blame Bob,” Tipsi said, “it’s the fault of your penny-pinching dad.”

“You know, Tuerqui,” said Diqui, “I’m beginning to think that mask of yours is more trouble than it’s worth. I make it four times we’ve been asked about it tonight.”

“Maybe you’d rather explain my RBS mark,” I replied.

“Stop picking on Tuerqui,” said Jane. “We’re all tired, but we’ve got to stick together.”

“That’s true,” said Lisa-Louise. “Sorry, Tuerqui.”

“I’m sorry too,” said Tipsi.

“And me,” Diqui said. “Sorry, girl.”

“Me, too,” added Modesty. “I only really meant it for a joke. Though it really was a crap bridge.”

“Thank you for your support, Jane,” I said. “And thanks to every one of you. Thank you all for coming with me. Now that it’s becoming real, I’m sorry to bring you into this business – I owe each of you more than I could ever repay.”

“I think I speak for us all, Tuerqui,” said Lisa-Louise, “when I say that it’s a privilege to ride with you – even into this stink.”

As we advanced, the smell grew worse – compounded, I thought, of blood, shit, piss and rotting flesh. The dimly-seen ruined walls of what had once been houses lined the road on either hand, as though we rode through a mouthful of broken teeth. A discordant mass of competing songbirds heralded the morning, about to dawn. My jaws stretched in a yawn, the weariness of an all but sleepless night descending upon me.

[1] The Battle of the Green Ford. On Cornsprout 4th, Lundin troops attempting to secure the northern approach to Teddy’s Town were engaged at the Green Ford by troops loyal to Berenice Blackheart. Fighting continued through the 5th, until a Surrey victory was secured shortly after dawn on the 6th.

[2] Wherever practical, it was the usual policy of all armies at this time to enslave prisoners of war. However, commando units often found that they had neither the time nor resources to do this – and frequently killed their prisoners instead.

[3] Cast unit – commando and special troops unit. These were elite forces, and certainly the best soldiers of any nation at this time.

[4] A cast unit was usually 16 strong – 2 sections of 6 commandos (making 12 in all), each commanded by a corporal (bringing the number up to 14), plus a sergeant and a captain.

[5] The penalty of pollygoggery was, of course, enslavement. Lisa-Louise must have known this, but probably meant that she didn’t know how unpleasant the authorities would make the enslavement.

[6] The truth of this is demonstrated throughout Surrey literature of this period. There was a regular practice, whenever persons and/or slaves were listed, of arranging the names in order of importance starting with the most important. Although Tuerqui’s memoirs were written in Surrey, her origins were in Essex and Lundin – and it is not clear whether she tried to follow this rule. If she did so, the order in which names are listed is sometimes interesting.

[7] The Dorking area supported Berenice Blackheart consistently through these troubled times. The Seventeenth Dorking and District Company established a proud record not only in the civil war period, but during Berenice’s subsequent wars of conquest, and later under Berenice II and her successors.

[8] Teddy’s Town fell before noon that day, cutting off Sir Garrafad’s retreat. Essentially, although Sir Garrafad’s army continued operations in Surrey, it was now surrounded, would receive no reinforcements, and communications between the army and Lundin were increasingly difficult.

[9] Murder machines – large multiple crossbows, generally mounted on wheeled carriages. Usually, they discharged either 100 or 144 quarrels. The front was a square plank structure with arrow holes evenly spaced. The largest examples of this period had 20 x 20 arrow holes and fired 400 quarrels. Usually, each murder machine was operated by six soldiers commanded by a bombardier. A battery comprised, more often than not, six machines commanded by a captain and two sergeants. They were most useful in the first hour of battle and any that survived at Teddy’s Town would have been withdrawn long before this. It is not known how many were deployed in this battle, but the phrase whole batteries suggests at least twelve.

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