Marion looked toward the gate and shook his head slightly.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this, no,” he said, as though to himself, and went off, the young lieutenant falling into step behind him.
Roger hesitated for a split second, then followed, stretching his legs to catch up.
“I’m no good with a rifle,” he said. “But if you can give me a sword, I’ll go with you.” Marion cast him the briefest of glances, nodded, and made a small gesture to the lieutenant.
“Bon,” he said. “Come on, then.”
91
Besieged
BRIANNA WAS CUTTING UP a bit of fried chicken in the kitchen for Mandy when she heard a tapping at the window. She looked up in surprise to see Lord John outside, in uniform. He grimaced and nodded, indicating that he would like to come in out of the rain.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked, opening the door into the back garden. She’d had tea with him twice since their arrival, but hadn’t expected an informal visit.
“I wanted to see you for a moment,” he replied, stepping in and taking the towel she offered him, “but I can’t spare the time for civilities with Mr. or Mrs. Brumby. Thank you, my dear.” He took off his hat, wiped his face, and brushed at the shoulders of his blue cloak, then handed back the towel.
“I came to tell you that the siege will shortly be at an end,” he said carefully, glancing at Jem, Mandy, and Mrs. Upton, the cook.
“Really? That’s—” she stopped abruptly, seeing his face. “What … makes you think so?” she asked carefully, and he gave her a brief smile.
“The Americans have begun to move their guns,” he said.
“Oh, have they? Time enough!” Mrs. Upton said, eyes on the eggs she was whisking. “The master said as he thought the Frenchies and their ships would be off soon, they not wanting to be blown to bits by hurricanes.”
“Hurricanes?” said Jem, perking up. “Do they have hurricanes here?”
“Indeed we do, Master Jem,” Mrs. Upton said, nodding portentously at the rain-spattered window. “See that rain? You can tell how hard the wind’s blowing—see the drops run slant-wise down the glass? This time of year the wind comes up—and sometimes it doesn’t go back down. For days.”
“I know you haven’t much time,” Bree said, eyeing John, “but come along to my studio, will you? I’d like your opinion on something.”
“It would be my pleasure. Bonsoir, monsieur, mademoiselle.” He nodded to Jemmy, then solemnly picked up Mandy’s chubby hand—fork, chicken, and all—bowed over it, and planted a discreet kiss upon it that made her shriek and giggle.
“Mrs. Upton is correct, to a point,” he said to Bree, once they were safely down the hall. “D’Estaing does not want to lose half his fleet to a hurricane. But neither does he want to sail away without trying to get what he came for.”
“Meaning …？”
“Meaning that the Americans are indeed moving their smaller guns—but not back onto the ships. A large number of troops appear to be moving to the south of the town, circling round through the marshes, which is not something I personally would do, but styles of command vary.”
She’d clenched her hands without noticing; now she noticed and unclenched them with a small effort.
“You mean they’re going to try to—to take the city? Now?”
“They’ll certainly try,” he assured her. “I don’t think they’ll manage it, but they have quite a few more men than we do, which no doubt gives them a sense of optimism. Just in case—” He pushed back his cloak in order to reach into the haversack he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out a small bundle of cloth, folded into a packet and tied with string.
“It’s an American flag,” he said, handing it to her. “Hal took it off a prisoner. If—and I do mean ‘in the extremely unlikely event’—the Americans do get in, hang this out a window, or tack it to the front door.”
Roger. She swallowed. He’d been going to visit an elderly, retired Presbyterian minister who lived in the tiny settlement of Bryan Neck. With luck, he was nowhere near Savannah at the moment. But he had mentioned maybe going to see Francis Marion on Jamie’s behalf, if the Swamp Fox should be in the American camp … but … it wasn’t supposed to be now. … Her heart was beginning to thump erratically, and she put a hand on her chest to still it.