Got my first review on the last chapter so thank you to that person!

CHAPTER SIX

Sharpe's group had followed the tracks of the French horsemen and their captives. In the end, it hadn't exactly been hard. They didn't even seem to have attempted to hide their route, as if it hadn't occurred to them that someone might follow. They believed their control of Spain to be that complete.

Sharpe looked over the other horsemen. Somehow he'd ended up in a command of an ensign, a sergeant and three hussars. He wondered if he should mention that to Dunnett. Of course, it would help if he actually achieved something with them. And whether he would or not remained to be seen.

He motioned quiet as they approached the second village. Some instinct told him that the French would gather in the centre, as they had at the previous village. With a series of gestures and brief instructions, he directed his five-strong command to circle round the village and enter it at various points. With luck, they would be able to trap the enemy.

Sharpe knew he had chosen right when he heard the screams. He spurred his horse on, hoping that the French would be too distracted to hear his approach. When he reached the centre, he came across an orgy of cruelty. The women were being beaten and raped, the French far too engrossed in their fun to notice his approach. He picked out Delfina, pinned down by a French soldier. Forcing himself to remain quiet, he levelled his rifle and pulled the trigger. The Frenchman jerked once, then he was still.

Pandemonium erupted. The Frenchmen looked round at the sound of the retort and ran for their muskets but the shot had brought the rest of the British horsemen into play. Carbines were clinically lowered and fired and another group of Frenchmen dropped to the floor. Then sabres were drawn. The British were armed and mounted on horseback. The Frenchmen, taken by surprise and still half-naked in some cases, stood no chance. Attempts to surrender were ignored. All of them were cut down. Some actually managed to reach swords and put up a fight but were soon beaten down by the fury of the horsemen.

Sharpe spotted a captain's uniform among the enemy. He charged and swiped and Daborde was dead.

In the end, the violence came to a natural conclusion. There was no-one left to kill. Sharpe slid off his horse. "Ensign Miller!"

The ensign had taken a sword in the shoulder and looked as white as a sheet but managed to stagger over at Sharpe's call. "Sir?"

"We're taking these women back to the city. Find horses for them."

"Yes, sir." Miller hesitated. "Where from, sir?"

Sharpe glanced at the bodies around them. "From them." He looked around at his small command. "Anyone hurt on our side?"

"Just scratches, sir,"Lockhart answered.

"Good. Miller, we might need you as a translator. Make sure the ladies are all right." Unable to think of any more orders to give, Sharpe instead crouched by Delfina. "Lass?"

Delfina hadn't moved since the Frenchman had been shot off her. "Richard?"she asked, as if unsure whether to believe it.

Sharpe nodded. "It's me, lass. Can you stand?"

Delfina let him help her to her feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's okay,"he assured her. "Did we get all of them?"

It seemed to take Delfina a moment to understand the question. Eventually, she looked round, as though checking. "Laurent,"she remembered. "Their leader, he called himself Colonel Laurent. He left beforehand."

"What did he look like?"

"He had dark hair but it was starting to go grey. He had a fancy moustache."

Sharpe suddenly remembered the chasseur colonel he had seen. He looked over the French dead. The same uniforms. Suddenly, he was certain that they were the same men. His mind was full of what ifs. If he'd shot that French colonel then…He dismissed the idea. That wasn't the way he worked. "We're going home,"he told her. He helped her up onto his borrowed horse, then clambered up onto one of the French horses that Miller had found and led the group back to Salamanca.

It was two hours later that another group of horsemen arrived in the village. Laurent had half a dozen chasseurs with him. He had wanted to travel alone but General Dabelle had insisted he take an escort to retrieve his men. As it turned out, he didn't need them. But then, he also had no men to retrieve.

Laurent looked as shocked as anyone had seen him as he walked through the pile of corpses. There were many Spanish dead, the victims of his own assault, but his attention was solely on his men, lying as they had fallen, half-dressed in many cases. Sword thrusts and wounds from musketballs made it clear that they had been attacked by a military force, not by simple peasants.

"Hoofmarks,"one of the men reported. "Coming here and then heading south."

"British,"Laurent snarled. "Barbarians. Animals. Sub-human. They do not even bury those they slaughter. Get shovels."

It took the soldiers a moment to realise the last had been an order. "Sir?"

"We will give these brave French soldiers the burial they deserve. Then we will return to our army. And we will make the British pay."

Sharpe arrived back at Salamanca to find both Spence and Dunnett waiting for him. Spence was quick to congratulate Sharpe on getting everyone there safely. From Dunnett, there was no congratulation. The Spanish women that Sharpe had rescued were soon taken in by the inhabitants of the city. Miller, Lockhart and the others returned to the hussars…and Sharpe and Delfina were suddenly back in the unforgiving eyes of the 95th. Dunnett looked at Sharpe with disdain. "I trust that the new lieutenant has all the supplies he needs."

Sharpe met his gaze. "I've got enough." He had had enough before he even went out, and Dunnett knew it, but neither of them wanted to say that.

"Good,"Dunnett replied simply. "Then get everything ready for when we move out."

The declaration took Sharpe by surprise. "We're going to advance?"

"We are heading for the coast,"Dunnett replied. "Don't worry, Sharpe. We'll show you the way." He stalked off, smirking at the parting shot.

"The coast?"Delfina repeated, looking to Sharpe for answers.

Sharpe looked to Murray for the same. "Why are we going to the coast?"

"We've got reinforcements arriving,"Murray explained. "They're sending Sir David Baird with more troops."

Sharpe nodded. This sounded good. He knew Baird, he'd done work for him in India and at Copenhagen. "And then we'll advance?"

Murray sounded less than optimistic. "Maybe."

"But why wouldn't we?"

"General Castaños and his army have been crushed at Tudele. They're scattered, joining up with city garrisons. And Napoleon's forced his way through the Somosierra Pass. He's days away from Madrid and they're not expected to hold out. The word is that Spain may be lost."

Sharpe looked out towards enemy lines and wondered if he'd actually achieved anything. Colonel Laurent would soon be free to go wherever he liked in Spain and do whatever he liked. It was over.