‘No. I will not pay for what I was promised by my ally. If General Cuesta would have the British as his allies then he is obliged to live up to the obligations of an ally.’ Arthur gestured to the sweep of the Tagus valley as he continued. ‘This is rich farmland. For the last few days we have marched through fields of crops, and orchards filled with fruit. There is more than enough to feed my army here.’

Cuesta chewed slowly on his fresh mouthful of meat and then made his reply.

‘His excellency says that if that is the case, why did your men not help themselves to supplies as they passed through?’

‘Because we are not the French,’Arthur replied as evenly as he could. ‘If I permitted my men to forage freely across your lands it would very soon place a terrible strain on the alliance between our two nations.’

O’Donoju listened to his master’s reply and turned to Arthur. ‘His excellency says that if you will not take the trouble to feed yourselves then he does not see why he should do it for you.’

‘I will not have my army be seen as some horde of looters. It would be better if General Cuesta demanded that the local landowners hand over what I require. At least that would have the virtue of not turning the local people against us.’

‘Sir,’ O’Donoju gestured to the officers around the table. ‘Most of these men are local landowners, or at least they are related to them. They would not countenance offending against their family’s interests.’

Arthur felt his temper rising dangerously and closed his eyes for a moment to force himself to remain calm. He spoke in a low, hard tone when he continued. ‘Tell him that I am astonished that men could act so selfishly when their nation is threatened by tyranny. Is there no sense of honour amongst the nobles of Spain?’

O’Donoju was about to translate when Arthur took his arm. ‘No. Don’t bother. It would serve no purpose to impugn the integrity of the general and his staff. I just need to know what is the latest news of Marshal Victor.’

‘Victor is not thirty miles from here,’ O’Donoju replied. ‘A short distance to the east of the town of Talavera. He has taken up a defensive position behind one of the tributaries of the Tagus.’

Arthur felt his heart quicken. ‘Two days’ march. Has he been reinforced yet?’

‘No. The garrison of Madrid is still in the capital, or was when we last heard.’

‘Then Victor has some twenty thousand men in the field. I have almost the same. What is your present strength?’

‘Twenty-eight thousand infantry, and six thousand cavalry.’