asks, clearly shocked.
âA necessary subterfuge,â the duke says, âand one that I trust you will all treat with the greatest confidence.â
âWillem, do you honestly expect us to believe that the saur at your village was larger than the ones we encountered at Waterloo?â Frazer asks.
âMuch larger, I think,â Willem says. âAlthough I did not see those at Waterloo.â
âPiffle,â Congreve says, and laughs. âWhat he saw grows larger in his mindâs eye than ever it was in reality.â
âThe beast was tall enough to take a man from our watchtower in the church steeple while standing at its base,â Willem says.
âThe churches must be small in Gaillemarde,â Congreve scoffs, but as Willem looks at the faces that surround him, he sees only horror.
âYet you killed this giant?â Frazer asks.
âWith help from a friend,â Willem says.
âUsing no more than mesmerization and a bolt from a crossbow,â Frost says. âHad Willemâs village been armed with Sir Congreveâs rockets I fear Willem would not be sharing luncheon with us today.â
âWe must find some answer to Napoléonâs great beasts, and soon,â the duke says. âBefore the tyrant finds a way to outwit the Channel Fleet.â
âWhat about the Ottomans?â Wood asks. âCan we rely on them to join a new coalition against the French?â
All eyes turn to the earl.
âWe cannot expect any help from that quarter,â the earl says.
âWhat was the response from Sultan Mahmud?â Frazer asks.
âThe Ottoman Empire will not be joining any coalition,â the earl says. âThe sultan does not want to antagonize Napoléon.â
âHe joined us and the Prussians in the Second Coalition, why not this one?â Wood asks.
âHe does not want to fight on the losing side,â Frazer says. âHe dreams that having conquered Europe, Napoléon will leave the Near East alone.â
âHe should learn from history,â the duke says. âThe Mongol hordes once controlled Europe from west to east. I am sure Napoléon has even higher ambitions.â
âI also suspect that Mahmud conducts his own expeditions to the Amerigo Islands,â the earl says. âIn search of his own dinosaurs.â
âThat will do him no good,â Frost says. âHe does not know how to train or control the saurs.â
âNor how to fight them,â Frazer says. âWhich we do, thanks to Willem.â
âIndeed,â the duke says with a warm smile at the young man. âThank you for your efforts to date, Willem.â
âIt has been my pleasure to serve,â Willem says formally. âIâ¦â He falters, unsure how to continue.
âSpeak your mind,â the duke says. âI presume you are about to remind me of my side of the bargain.â
âThat was my intention, Your Grace,â Willem says uncomfortably.
âYou are eager to rescue your mother and a young woman, whom the French have imprisoned at an abbey in the Sonian Forest near your village. Our agreement was two hundred light cavalry, if I remember correctly,â the duke says.
Willem thinks the duke remembers perfectly well, but says only, âYes, Your Grace.â
âA well-conceived plan,â the duke says. âSuch a force would be very mobile. How long do you think it would take you to reach the abbey after you make landfall?â
âA matter of hours, your grace,â Willem says. âCertainly before any sizable force could be mobilized against us.â
âAnd if they unleash their dinosaurs?â Wood asks.
âIt is a good question,â the duke says. âHorses are no use against battlesaurs. We saw this at Waterloo. No matter how well trained, they will throw their riders and flee in terror.â
âNapoléonâs dinosaurs have already joined units
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