Free The Worldly Widow by Elizabeth Thornton Page B

Seymour. "I ' m on very good terms with a few of ' em. Well, I think you all know the gentlemen we were with that night—Hildesheim and Lenk. Dashed good fellows, officers and gentlemen, even if they are Prussians. Put ' em in a couple of redcoats and one might easily take ' em for our own chaps. "
    "Could there be a higher encomium? " murmured Dalmar ironically. Seymour sliced him a glance, but the Earl ' s innocent expression robbed his remark of any real offense. "Go on, old chap, " encouraged Dalmar. "You were saying? How the fight got started, or something to that effect? "
    "What? Oh yes. Well, the Prussians weren ' t looking for trouble on this occasion. As I said, we were enjoying a dashed good dinner when the place was invaded by those offensive half-pay officers. One insult led to another. A scuffle got started and spilled into the gardens. The rest you know. "
    Major Bodley took up where his friend had left off. "Thank God our chaps were on duty that night, or there ' s no telling how ugly things might have become. "
    "How was it brought under control? " asked Dalmar of Captain Mercer.
    "Lord Hay himself arrived with reinforcements. It was touch and go there for a minute or two, I can tell you. By this time, you see, word of the fight had spread outside the walls of the Palais Royal, and men of all description were pouring in to aid their comrades. There were more than a hundred Prussians, and a whole troop of gendarmes had arrived. I shall never forget that last confrontation in the gardens—the French ranged on one side and the Prussians on the other, and each side on the point of charging. Lord Hay lost no time in placing our chaps, with muskets at the ready, between them and said that he would give the order to fire upon the first who moved. "
    "And no one moved, I take it? "
    "Well, of course they didn ' t. These chaps may not have a very high opinion of our swordplay, but Waterloo has taught them to respect our infantry. They melted away like summer snow on the mountain. "
    All heads turned as the door opened to admit a fresh-faced, elderly gentleman of rather stout proportions. The occupants of the room recognized him as James Somerset, one of the ambassador ' s senior attaches.
    "Please be seated, " he said, one comprehensive glance taking in the five, who had risen at his entrance. He took his place behind the massive leather-topped desk and began to rifle through some papers. "Sir Charles sends his regrets. He ' s been detained at the Tuileries with our delegation. " Addressing no one in particular, he went on, patently ruffled. "The Duke also is with His Majesty and at some pains to convince Marshal Blucher that there is more to this unfortunate affair at the Palais Royal than the exchange of a few insults between hotheaded officers of rival factions. I ' m sorry to say that Marshal Blucher cannot be persuaded to temper the conduct of the troops under his command. "
    A considering silence ensued, each gentleman privately reflecting on the vindictive reprisals the Prussians had exacted against the French in retaliation for Napoleon ' s victory at Jenna and the subsequent savage subjugation of Berlin nine years before. Unlike the British army of occupation, Prussian troops were billeted in private homes, and the unfortunate inhabitants were obliged to provide for not only their unwelcome guests, but also their horses. But this was not the worst offense by any means. Scarcely a day went by but formal complaints were lodged with Wellington of some atrocity or other openly perpetrated against the defenseless populace by the dregs of the Prussian army. As every man in the room knew, the situation was highly volatile.
    "The sins of the victors are now visited upon them by the former vanquished, " murmured someone, framing exactly the thought which held each man silent.
    Mr. Somerset laced his plump fingers together and placed his joined hands on the flat of the desk. Finally he said, "Forgive me for burdening