“I wasn’t here more than five minutes before Pearson called me in. He’s not a man who believes in prevarication. And he’s no diplomat! The Canadians have taken to calling him ‘Tartar’ Pearson behind his back. Well deserved, too – I can vouch for that!

“Anyway, he decided there was no time to lose. I was sent across the river on the back end of a raiding party.”

“So what went wrong?”

“We wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sheer bad luck, simple as that; not helped by the fact there were more of them than there were of us. I was supposed to slip through the lines while the raid was taking place, but I never made it. My guide was killed and I was taken prisoner – the mackerel caught in a net full of haddock, you might say.

“So much for Pearson’s plan. He’ll be fuming, I expect. Probably just as well I’m here rather than there.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Y’know, back in London, when I said that I hoped we’d meet again, this wasn’t at all what I had in mind. But, by God, I’m glad to see you!”

“Likewise, Major,” Hawkwood said.

Lawrence’s brow creased. “That reminds me – wasn’t there a lady? Rather exotic, too, as I recall. Whatever became of her? Did you and she …?”

“She died,” Hawkwood said.

“Oh, my dear fellow, I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be,” Hawkwood said. “She was a murderous bitch.”

Lawrence’s eyebrows took off again.

“She was a French spy. Killed at least two people and came close to assassinating the Prince Regent. She got what she deserved. Justice was dispensed.”

Lawrence stared at him. After a pause, he enquired cautiously, “Er … by your hand?”

“And a bullet from a Baker rifle, yes.”

“My God,” Lawrence said again, though his voice was muted this time. He took a sip from his mug, grimaced at the taste and laid it down on the table in front of him. Then he reached into his pocket and took out a watch. “Remember this?”

It was the watch that had brought the two of them together. A pickpocket had lifted it from Lawrence’s sash while the major was watching a bare-knuckle bout. Hawkwood, who’d been involved with a criminal case nearby, had witnessed the theft, retrieved the timepiece and returned it to its grateful owner. There was an inscription on the back of the casing:

Lieutenant D.C. Lawrence, 40th Regiment.

A gallant officer.

With grateful thanks, Auchmuty.

February 1807

The watch had been given to Lawrence by his commanding officer, as a mark of respect and in honour of his lieutenant’s bravery during the attack on Montevideo. As a result of which Lawrence had received his captaincy.