There was an anxious murmur from behind Arthur and he glanced round and saw that the Duke of Angoulême’s party were stirring uneasily, forgetting the discomfort caused by standing in the cold and damp. The Duke laughed lightly as he spoke softly to Arthur. ‘Nothing to worry about. They’re firing blank rounds. I thought it would be entertaining to give our guests some idea what it might be like to be on the receiving end of a volley.’

‘Really?’ Arthur replied flatly. ‘I can assure you that there is a world of difference between mere smoke and noise, and the actuality.’

The Duke shrugged, and fixed his attention on the line of soldiers as they aimed their muskets across the parade ground towards the reviewing platform. The colonel barked an order and an instant later fire and smoke burst out, obscuring the line of soldiers, an instant before the deafening crash echoed off the walls of the palace. Arthur sensed rather than heard the faint whip through the air, almost lost in the din of the volley. A sharp crack came from behind and he turned quickly. Two panes of glass in the windows of the palace had shattered, just above the heads of the audience, and in line with Arthur and the Duke. Some of the guests turned to look and gasped in alarm, instinctively edging towards the steps at either side of the platform. Others gazed up, aghast, and then turned anxiously back towards the soldiers. The colonel was continuing to give orders, oblivious of those on the platform, and the bodyguards shouldered their muskets and began to march away, through an arch, as they returned to barracks.

Arthur turned back to the Duke of Angoulême who stood rigidly, hands clenched into fists at his sides. ‘Treason,’ he muttered.‘Treason. I’ll have the culprits found and shot with their own weapons.’

His jaw was trembling as he finished speaking, whether from fear or rage Arthur could not tell. Arthur shook his head. ‘I don’t think there’s much hope of finding the men responsible. Even if anyone knew which men took the shots, the chances are that they will close ranks and keep their mouths shut.’

‘Then they’re all in on it,’ the Duke continued. ‘Traitors all. I’ll flog the truth out of them.’

‘You do that, and they will turn on you,’ Arthur warned him. ‘By all means find the culprits, but do it quietly, and do it later. For now you must act as if nothing had happened.’ He indicated the guests. ‘Or you will alarm them.’

‘Yes. Yes, of course.’ The Duke nodded as he fought to steady his nerves. He cleared his throat and forced a smile as he waved towards the doors leading into the palace. ‘My friends, now that the review is complete, refreshments await within!’