5 A Very Murdering Battle (29 page)

Was it conceivable that Amalia might actually reject his proposal?

Ever since the first rumours of a battle filtered through to Amsterdam, Amalia spent most of the daylight hours standing in the front window in the hope that Daniel would eventually arrive to quell her fears. As she stood there that morning, she looked anxiously up and down the street but there was no sign of him. Instead of seeing someone coming to the house, however, she spotted someone leaving. Nicholaes Geel had left the workshop for the last time and walked to the front of the building so that he could take a valedictory look at it. When he caught sight of Amalia, he backed away with a look of profound apology on his face. Amalia was surprised. It was still early. Geel had not long arrived for work. Why was he leaving so suddenly and what was the cause of his embarrassment? When Beatrix came into the room, Amalia put the first question to her.

‘Nick doesn’t work here anymore,’ said Beatrix, bluntly.

Amalia was taken aback. ‘Has Father dismissed him?’

‘No, he went of his own accord.’

‘For what possible reason?’

‘I think that he felt that he couldn’t stay here, Miss Amalia. He’s been acting strangely for well over a week now. In the past, he always liked to stop and talk but he turned away whenever I met him.’

‘That doesn’t sound like Nick Geel.’

‘He seemed to be on edge.’

‘Does he have another position to go to?’ asked Amalia.

‘Not as a weaver,’ said Beatrix. ‘He’s going to enlist in the army.’

Amalia was astonished. The idea that Geel would give up a well-paid job in order to put himself in jeopardy in the Dutch army was incomprehensible. What had possessed him to take such precipitate action? Why had he felt unable to stay? She watched him disappear down the street with a sadness laced with relief, upset to lose him yet bolstered by the thought that a problem had just walked out of her life. Almost immediately, Amalia saw something that wiped away all memory of Geel. She blinked to make sure that it was not a mirage. Bolt upright in the saddle, Daniel was riding up the street towards the house in his uniform. It was a miracle. He was alive and well, after all. Her involuntary cry of joy was matched by Beatrix’s uninhibited yell of delight.

The two of them rushed to open the front door but Daniel only saw Amalia. When he dismounted, Beatrix stepped forward to take charge of the horse, allowing him to move forward and hug Amalia.

‘I thought you were dead,’ she gasped, pulling back to appraise him.

He grinned. ‘That’s one theory I can easily disprove.’

‘I had the most awful nightmare about you.’

‘Put it out of your mind.’

She peered at him. ‘You look tired, Daniel.’

‘I’ve ridden a very long way,’ he said, glancing over his shoulder at the busy street. ‘Is there somewhere a little more private than your threshold?’

‘Of course – follow me.’

‘That’s exactly why I came.’

Closing the door behind him, he went into the parlour after her and removed his hat, glad that his scalp wound had now healed and grateful that Amalia had not seen him when his head was swathed in a bloodstained bandage. She was excited, nervous and full of questions about the terrible battle that everyone was talking about. Amalia was also more beautiful than he’d remembered. Her cheeks were glowing, her eyes were dancing and her hair was burnished by the light flooding through the window. Daniel had rehearsed his proposal a hundred times and resolved to wait patiently until the right moment arose for him to make it. Seeing her before him at last, however, and sharing her exhilaration, he instantly abandoned his plan, sweeping her into his arms and holding her in a passionate embrace.

‘I love you, Amalia,’ he said. ‘Will you marry me?’

‘Oh, Daniel!’ she exclaimed.

‘Well – what’s your answer?’

‘My answer is yes – yes,
please
.’

He pulled her close and they kissed away the long, fraught absence apart. No more words were necessary. The bond was sealed. Out of the horrors of war, they had plucked true happiness.

In the wake of the battle, the siege of Mons continued and the town was eventually forced to surrender on 20
^th
October 1709.

T
HE
C
APTAIN
R
AWSON SERIES

Soldier of Fortune

Drums of War

Fire and Sword

Under Siege

A Very Murdering Battle

T
HE
H
OME
F
RONT
D
ETECTIVE SERIES

A Bespoke Murder

T
HE
R
AILWAY
D
ETECTIVE SERIES

The Railway Detective

The Excursion Train

The Railway Viaduct

The Iron Horse

Murder on the Brighton Express

The Silver Locomotive Mystery

Railway to the Grave

Blood on the Line

The Railway Detective Omnibus:

The Railway Detective, The Excursion Train, The Railway Viaduct

T
HE
R
ESTORATION SERIES

The King’s Evil

The Amorous Nightingale

The Repentant Rake

The Frost Fair

The Parliament House

The Painted Lady

T
HE
B
RACEWELL
M
YSTERIES

The Queen’s Head

The Merry Devils

The Trip to Jerusalem