David Gemmell – Rigante 4 – Stormrider

‘It was worth it, Gaise Macon.’

‘You must go now.’

‘I’ll not leave Shelding without you.’

He drew her into a swift embrace, then kissed her brow. ‘Go,’ he said. ‘Wherever you are I will find you.’ Opening the door, he called out to a young soldier to accompany Cordelia to her home, and watched her walk away. She looked back, and waved. Gaise responded, then moved back inside the house.

The situation was grave. Macy, with two thousand men, cavalry and infantry, would be at the outskirts of Shelding within the hour. Gaise scanned the scouting reports received over the last two days. With the news of Winterbourne’s treachery the reports now made complete sense. Two columns of artillery had been reported moving north of Shelding. One had veered to the west. The other remained beyond the northern woods. This meant that should any of the Eldacre men break clear of Macy’s surprise attack from south and east they would run directly into cannon fire and be ripped to pieces.

Mulgrave arrived and Gaise swiftly explained about the coming attack.

‘Why would Winterbourne sacrifice six hundred loyal men merely to kill you, sir? What sane man would do such a thing?’

‘His sanity does not concern me now,’ said Gaise. ‘The question is: how do we survive this night? Macy will send his musketeers in from the east. He knows the men are billeted throughout the town and will expect no organized resistance.’ Gaise opened a rough-drawn map of the area, spreading it out on his desk. ‘The cavalry will likely come in from the south, over the bridge, seeking to find me here. They will leave two routes of apparent escape open, north and west. Both these areas will have musketeers in hiding, and cannon loaded with grapeshot.’

‘A neat trap, sir.’

‘Aye. Neat is the word. Macy has three hundred musketeers, fifteen hundred cavalry and two hundred heavy infantry, mostly pikemen, though some also have pistol and sword.’

‘What do you plan, sir?’

‘I plan to see how swiftly Macy can think and re-organize his neat attack. I want you to take the riflemen and musketeers to the eastern edge of Shelding. As the enemy approaches hit them with volley fire. Since this will be unexpected it is likely they will fall back towards the woods to regroup. Then they will charge. Hit them again. If they keep coming fall back to the old depot buildings.’

‘Where will you be?’

‘South. I’ll find Macy and his cavalry. Scatter them. Then I’ll charge the musketeers confronting you.’

Mulgrave smiled grimly. ‘If the cavalry is to the south you will be outnumbered three to one, and the King’s Second Lancers are veterans.’

‘I know. If Macy is skilled we may not get out of this alive.’

‘He is not as skilled as you, my lord.’

‘We will see.’ Gaise moved towards the door. ‘I’ll either see you at the eastern end of town, or in the Void.’

‘The eastern end of town would get my vote,’ said Mulgrave. ‘Take care, sir.’

‘Care? Oh no. This is a time for recklessness.’

‘For the Stormrider,’ said Mulgrave.

This time Gaise did smile. Then he left the cottage. Mulgrave heard him call out orders to Lanfer Gosten.

Jakon Gallowglass crouched behind a low, dry stone wall, two muskets close by, and a smell reminiscent of old pea soup radiating from the armpits of the borrowed Eldacre tunic he now wore. He was not a happy man. Beside him Taybard Jaekel was priming a musket, which he then leaned against the wall beside his Emburley rifle.

‘I thought maybe we’d be leaving this place,’ muttered Gallowglass.

‘Don’t look like it,’ observed Taybard, his eyes scanning the tree line some three hundred paces away. This section of wall was no more than forty feet long, bordering the garden of the mayor’s house. Fifty of the Eldacre musketeers were hidden here. Across the roadway were three houses. There was little cover there and Mulgrave had ordered carts and wagons to be drawn up. Beyond these was a long ditch, originally built to prevent cattle from wandering through the vegetable gardens behind the three houses. More musketeers were hunkered down in the ditch, under the command of Lanfer Gosten. All the Eldacre men had been ordered to stay low.

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