Once he had gone General Harris’s shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath before he spoke to Arthur. ‘It is a shame to have to address him in such a fashion. Baird’s a fine soldier, and the men look up to him like a father. But in a sensitive situation he has all the social skills of a fighting dog. Worse still, he makes no attempt to hide his dislike of India and every native that lives here. If he was placed in charge of the Nizam’s army I fear we would be at war with the Nizam before the first day’s march was out.’ Harris leaned forward and looked closely at Arthur. ‘You, on the other hand, have precisely the qualities needed for the job: patience, diligence and integrity. I’ve been a soldier long enough to know that you are rather more than a cut above most officers, Colonel Wellesley. That this is so evident to others may well be more of a curse than a boon to you. I am well aware that many officers in this army are inclined to believe the worst of you, simply because you are Mornington’s brother and a better man than the rest of them. Another general might have used that as an excuse to hold you back.’ Harris’s smile returned. ‘But I am not another general. I’m a general with a war to fight and win, and everything is subordinate to the bloody defeat and destruction of my enemy, no matter whose feelings I have to hurt.’

Arthur grinned. ‘Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.’

‘You had better not,’ Harris said seriously.‘This is your chance to do great things,Wellesley.You richly deserve it. But if you fail, there will never again be an opportunity like this.You will ruin yourself utterly, and in doing so you will fail your brother, and fatally damage his chances for greatness along with yours.’

‘Why, sir? Any mistakes I make are surely my own.’

‘No,’ Harris said sadly.‘That is not how it works. By taking this command you lay yourself open to charges of nepotism. If you succeed, men will only think that if you could have done it, then so could any man. If you fail, then men will say you were unfit for the task, and that your brother put family above country, and for that there is no forgiveness or pity.’

Arthur pondered this for a while, and then he nodded. ‘I understand. And I accept the position willingly.’

‘You accept?’ Harris looked bemused.‘There is no question of your accepting the position. It is an order.’

Arthur laughed. ‘Yes, sir.’

Chapter 47

Chapter 47