He ate well. Though he would not have called them friends, he had an easy manner with the staff of the mess. His silver was no good to them.

Squinting against the setting sun, Alexsander saw Drekenford seep into view at the far end of a huge, forested valley. Black and lifeless it looked to him. Had he not been surrounded he might have turned Tabitha around.

He followed the dragoons, and left our arrival to me.

At Fort Seeben I was granted a final audience with the colonel. The fort was barely worthy of its own title, being a single wooden structure surrounded by walls. It sat, squat and ugly, in a cleared patch of forest atop one side of the valley. To say it looked down on the town would be too grandiose, would convey a sense of successful purpose. The troopers’ barracks huddled against the inside of the fort’s walls as if bracing against a constant storm. I was keen to be away.

I was surprised to find the main building had two storeys – it did not look tall enough. Cornet Pitzmun joined me at the entrance. As she shook my hand it appeared nothing could dampen the young woman’s enthusiasm. We climbed the narrow stairs to a room that was arranged exactly like the colonel’s tent. And again I had to wait as the colonel finished reading.

‘Inspector. I trust you had a comfortable journey?’ the colonel said.

‘Compared to my day-brother, I would say so. But what of the pox, Colonel?’

‘Damnedest thing, that,’ he said. ‘Lost ten good troopers. Could be more.’

‘I wish I could have been more help,’ I said.

‘Are you a doctor as well as an inspector, hmm?’

I judged this to be one of the colonel’s rhetorical questions.

‘Well, I don’t doubt your business down in the village will keep you busy enough,’ he said.

‘I believe it will,’ I said.

‘You’d do well not to forget that we are here, this garrison, this King’s fort.’

‘Yes, Colonel.’

‘This is not a stable region, Inspector. There are forces at work here that go well beyond you or I. Some of those forces you may think you have some understanding of, some experience in handling. I can tell you now,’ the colonel said, meeting my eye, ‘you do not.’

‘I’m not sure I follow your meaning,’ I said, quite truthfully.

‘We all serve at the King’s discretion. We will be watching.’ Despite the colonel’s even tone there was obvious threat in what he said. The air in the room grew close and I became more aware of the Cornet beside me, armed as she was.

I nodded. The scant camaraderie Alexsander and I had established with the King’s Dragoon Guards was obliterated in that quiet room, under the steady gaze of their wigged officer.

He appeared satisfied, and his taking up his book was a welcome dismissal.

*

I led Tabitha away from the fort and down a winding track towards Drekenford. I didn’t doubt her, but the moon was new in the clear sky and I carried a lamp to light our way. The air was heavy with pine; I tasted it on my breath, felt it on my skin, and could think of little else. Thick shadows moved like molasses between their great trunks as we passed and I had to school myself against looking too closely. I knew how easy it was to conjure my own demons out of the darkness. Instead, I focused on taking one step after the other, on navigating the uneven, rock-strewn track, and on the simple regular sounds of Tabitha beside me.