Fortune's Bride Read Free Page A

Austria, Prussia, and Russia
to beat us,” Robert protested.
    “No, of course not. I’m sure Bonaparte intended to be
emperor of all Europe from the beginning, but he wanted to put us down first.
Since he couldn’t do it, part of every victory has been to pick up another
weapon to use against us. Every treaty he’s made includes stoppage of trade
with Britain because he hopes to ruin us so completely that we can’t fight him
or encourage others to fight him.”
    “That’s true,” Sabrina put in. “There were a number of
reasons why Tsar Alexander went to war, but one of them was the subsidy that
Pitt offered to pay, a quarter of a million pounds for every hundred thousand
men.”
    Perce nodded agreement and continued, “Another part of
Boney’s plan was to grab a ready-built navy. He didn’t dare demand too much
from Russia or Austria, and Prussia doesn’t have a navy worth the name. But he
insists that the small countries that can’t resist give up their navies to the
French. If he had succeeded in grabbing the Danish and Portuguese fleets as
well as the Dutch and Spanish, he would have had about two ships to every one
of ours. I know our men and officers are better, but at two to one, he might
have managed so great concentration of vessels as to pull off an invasion.”
    “We would have beaten him,” Robert said.
    “Yes.” Perce closed his eyes for a moment, and when he
opened them his face was bleak. “We would have beaten him because the farmers
would have fought in the fields with pitchforks and the cobblers in the streets
with hammers, but what it would have cost in lives…”
    They were all silent for a moment, and Sabrina shuddered,
remembering Perce’s physical condition after the battle of Eylau. “That’s what
must be happening in Spain now,” she whispered.
    “Yes,” Robert said briskly, “and if the Spanish are that
determined, surely they’ll cooperate right down the line, especially once Sir
Arthur shows them he can beat the French.”
    “I wish it were that simple.” Perce sighed.
    Robert looked a bit rebellious, but he said nothing.
    “The trouble is,” Sabrina said, “that the Spanish probably
don’t realize what they’re up against. They’ve never fought the French.
Remember that Boney didn’t conquer Spain. He took it by a trick. And it’s
useless to say that the Spanish should understand that if Boney beat Austria
and Russia—” She stopped abruptly as the door opened and a footman stepped in.
    Sabrina began to order drinks and then realized it was past
noon. She asked Robert if he was free and he assured her he had no duties until
that evening when he was due to appear at a dinner-dance with Sir Arthur. One
of the attractions of serving General Wellesley was that he was a most social
person and expected the young officers of his “family” to attend functions with
him and make themselves agreeable. It had been said, perhaps only half in jest,
that the general chose his staff for their ability and indefatigability on the
dance floor.
    However, when this unkind remark came to the general’s
ears—for the truth was that Sir Arthur’s staff was mostly forced upon him by
“recommendations” he could not reject as Robert originally had been—he uttered
his typical, loud whooping “haw, haw” laugh and said it was an excellent
notion. He pointed out, smiling, that grace in dancing indicated good timing,
coordination, and balance, which were also the marks of a fine horseman.
Ability to deal with ladies showed courage and high spirit, and any man who had
the strength to stand up to a full night’s cavorting on the dance floor would
certainly be strong enough for army service.
    Robert’s face had lighted as he mentioned the engagement. He
loved to dance and enjoyed social functions as much as Sir Arthur, particularly
when he attended as a member of the general’s staff. Such attendance could
arouse no speculations in any young lady or her matchmaking mama. When