The old soldier
was only the more provoked on finding that, freely as L'Isle had
spoken, he could hardly charge him with insubordination, or twist his
hot arguments into a personal insult. Soothing and chafing him by
turns, Bradshawe did not permit the subject to drop until they were
interrupted by a courier with despatches.
"What is all this! Post upon post! There must be some thing in the
wind!" said my lord, as he broke the seal, which was Sir Rowland
Hill's.
"Our pleasant winter here is over," said Bradshawe, with a sigh. "We
will be moving shortly, and then hot marches and cold meals, sour wine
and bad quarters, or no quarters at all, will be the order of the
day. I trust we shall move through a more plentiful country than we
did last year."
"It has not quite come to that yet," said Lord Strathern. "Here is an
order for me to meet Sir Rowland at Alcantara, at ten, the day after
to-morrow. I am to take you and Conway with me, for he has special
instructions for you both. And here is an order for that modest fellow
L'Isle to attend and report the state of the Andalusian reserve. I
expect Conway to dinner. You had better stay and meet him.
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