“A pretty girl,” Winter managed to get out. “Men are always a bit more gullible when there’s a pretty girl involved.”

“Oh.” Anne-Marie went quiet for a moment, cheeks slightly flushed.

“If you don’t think you can do it, we’ll think of something else,” Winter said, forcing herself to ignore the fact that she had no idea what “something else” would be. “But it has to be tonight.”

“Of course, sir. I’d be glad to.” Anne-Marie smiled brightly. “I was just trying to think of where I’d left my dresses.”

It turned out that Anne-Marie’s trunks, containing everything she’d brought with her when she ran away from home, had been thrown on the regimental wagon train by the quartermasters, which meant they’d arrived along with the rest of the baggage. It took Winter, Abby, and a whole squad of rankers nearly an hour to locate them, until finally they found the battered, expensive-looking luggage under some empty ammunition cases.

“I don’t know why I thought I’d need any of this,” Anne-Marie said, opening the case right on the back of the wagon and sorting through a mess of frilly, lacy things. “I just tossed in whatever I could lay my hands on.”

She selected a green velvet dress of a conservative cut, and jammed the rest carelessly back in the case. Winter watched in bemused surprise as Anne-Marie wadded up the flimsy garment, took it to the nearest wagon rut, and dunked it liberally in mud. She held the filth-encrusted thing up and inspected it with a critical eye.

“Let me get it on,” she said, “and I’ll see what I can do with a pair of scissors and a few good tugs.”

While she worked, Winter had a hurried conference with Fitz. A half dozen regiments were ready to execute their part in the charade, which would consist of unscheduled “exercises” lasting all night. They’d march, up and down, tramping and shouting and generally making a racket the defenders would have to be deaf to miss. With judicious use of a few empty carts and caissons thrown in, it would sound very much like the arrival of considerable reinforcements.

“Your job is going to be to stall de Ferre if he starts asking questions. You can give him the runaround, take him from one camp to the next, and—”

“Colonel Ihernglass,” Fitz said, smiling, “I mean no offense, but I’ve been handling inconvenient superiors for quite some time. I know what I’m doing.”

Winter nodded. “Right. Well. Good luck.”