“We’re crossing the river,” her husband said quietly, ‘and you must go back to Assaye.”
Simone knew she must say something loving to him, for was that not expected of a wife at a moment such as this?
“I shall pray for you,” she said shyly.
“Go back to Assaye,” her husband said again, noting that she had not given him any love, ‘and stay there till it is all over.”
It would not take long. The guns needed to be attached to their limbers, but the infantry were ready to march and the cavalry were eager to begin their pursuit. The existence of the British cavalry screen suggested that Wellesley must be withdrawing, so all Pohlmann needed to do was cross the river and then crush the enemy. Dodd drew his elephant-hilted sword, felt its newly honed edge and waited for the orders to begin the slaughter.
The Mahratta cavalry pursued Wellesley’s party the moment they saw that the General was retreating from his observation post above the river.
“We must look to ourselves, gentlemen!” Wellesley had called and driven back his heels so that Diomed had sprung ahead. The other horsemen matched his pace, but Sharpe, on his small captured Mahratta horse, could not keep up. He had mounted in a hurry, and in his haste he could not fit his right boot into the stirrup and the horse’s jolting motion made it all the more difficult, but he dared not curb the beast for he could hear the enemy’s shouts and the beat of their hooves not far behind. For a few moments he was in a panic. The thud of the pursuing hooves grew louder, he could see his companions drawing ever farther ahead of him and his horse was blowing hard and trying to resist the frantic kicks he gave, and each kick threatened to unseat him so that he clung to the saddle’s pommel and still his right boot would not find the stirrup. Sevajee, racing free on the right flank, saw his predicament and curved back towards him.
“You’re not a horseman, Sergeant.”
“Never bloody was, sir. Hate the bloody things.”
“A warrior and his horse, Sergeant, are like a man and a woman,” Sevajee said, leaning over and pushing the stirrup iron onto Sharpe’s boot. He did it without once checking his own horse’s furious pace, then he slapped Sharpe’s small mare on the rump and she took off like one of the enemy’s rockets, almost tipping Sharpe backwards.
Sharpe clung on to the pommel, while his musket, which was hanging by its sling from his left elbow, banged and thumped his thigh. His shako blew off and he had no time to rescue it, but then a trumpet sounded off to his right and he saw a stream of British cavalrymen riding to head off the pursuit. Still more cavalrymen were spurring north from Naulniah and Wellesley, as he passed them, urged them on towards the Kaitna.
“Thank you, sir,” Sharpe said to Sevajee.
“You should learn horsemanship.”
“I’ll stay a foot soldier, sir. Safer. Don’t like sitting on things with hooves and teeth.”
Sevajee laughed. Wellesley had slowed now and was patting the neck of his horse, but the brief pursuit had only increased his high spirits. He turned Diomed to watch the Mahratta cavalry spur away.
“A good omen!” he said happily.
‘For what, sir?” Sevajee asked.
Wellesley heard the Indian’s sceptical tone.
“You don’t think we should give battle?”
Sevajee shrugged, seeking some tactful way of expressing his disagreement with Wellesley’s decision.
“The battle isn’t always to the largest army, sir.”
“Always, no,” Wellesley said, ‘but usually, yes? You think I am being impetuous?” Sevajee refused to be drawn and simply shrugged again in answer.
“We shall see, we shall see,” the General said.
“Their army looks fine, I grant you, but once we break the regular compoos, the others will run.”
“I do hope so, sir.”
“Depend on it,” Wellesley said, then spurred on.
Sharpe looked at Sevajee.
“Are we mad to fight, sir?”
“Quite mad,” Sevajee said, ‘completely mad. But maybe there’s no choice.”
“No choice?”
“We blundered, Sergeant. We marched too far and came too close to the enemy, so either we attack him or run away from him, and either way we have to fight. By attacking him we just make the fight shorter.” He twisted in the saddle and pointed towards the now hidden Kaitna.