The Duke's Alliance: A Soldier's Bride(5)

He smiled and she left him to his wine. It was good, a local brew but perfectly acceptable. The establishment was heaving with military personnel. The officers had eaten in a different room for which he was grateful. Beth was a lovely young lady and he had not wished to spend his time fending off unwanted advances from the gentleman concerned.

When he had heard from Horse Guards that Aubrey's twin, Perry, had failed to return after a mission behind enemy lines he had decided he would go and look for him himself. He had more resources and time than the army were prepared to spend on one missing intelligence officer.

The French were slowly being driven back towards their own country by the brilliance of Wellington. He could not imagine his younger brother was dead – he was certain he would somehow know if this was the case. Aubrey didn't even know Perry was missing as he was, as far as he knew, somewhere on the other side of the globe in the family yacht on an extended wedding trip.

Beau was well prepared for this venture. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that he had had to bring his funds in gold and silver coin. Naturally, this had been spread amongst the saddle bags of himself, Jenkins and Smith. Hopefully, if they were attacked at least one of them would be able to hang onto their share of the money.

He also had his pistols and the necessary paraphernalia to shoot them. Jenkins and Smith had been riflemen and they carried these weapons attached to their saddles. All three of them also had a stiletto secreted in their boot. If it came to a fight with the French army they would be vastly outnumbered and no doubt shot as spies. However, he thought they could hold their own against any riff-raff or deserter that they came across.

He spoke excellent French and passable Spanish so he hoped he would make himself understood to any partisans he might meet in his search. He was pinning his hopes on the fact that Perry was with the partisans somewhere in the mountains and had not been able to rejoin his regiment for some reason.

He had three months at the most to find his brother before the winter set in and he was determined to do so or die in the attempt. His first task was to deliver Beth to her future husband but after that he would be free to start his investigation.

*

Weeks passed and Perry had still not regained his sight. Unfortunately, neither had he any notion as to who he was. The only thing he remembered was that his given name was Perry but apart from that he could remember nothing about his past, his family, or why he was in Spain in the first place.

His hearing had sharpened as had his sense of smell but that was no compensation for not being able to see. 'God dammit to hell!' For the third time that day he sprawled on his face after walking into something he hadn't anticipated being there.

'There's no need to swear, Perry, that is getting you nowhere.' Sofia didn't attempt to help him up as she knew that would enrage him further. She was no more than an arm's length from him. Her scent was unmistakable – something floral heavily overlaid with saddle and horse.

He surged to his feet and reached out before she could react. His hands caught hold of her shoulders and he pulled her close. 'I'm a useless lump of a thing, it would have been better if I'd perished along with my horse.'

'You are hurting me, Perry, please let me go.'

Instantly he released her. 'I apologise, sweetheart, but I notice you didn't disagree with my assessment of the situation. I'm a liability and an expensive one at that. I can do nothing to help the village and yet they still have to feed and clothe me.'

'Is that what's upsetting you? You had sufficient gold in your saddle bag to pay for your lodgings for a decade. The fact that you handed it over to Pablo without being asked endeared you to everyone. Because of your generosity we shall all benefit this winter.'

She took his hand and led him like a child to the paddock in which the horses and donkeys were kept during the warmer months. There was a large barn to stable them during the freezing, snow-filled winter months. Only the wealthiest owned a horse – the rest made do with a donkey for transport.

'We shall ride, that is one thing you can do as well as anyone here.'

'I find it deucedly strange that I can converse in Spanish as well as English and can ride a horse when I don't know anything else.'

'It's in God's hands, there's nothing you or I can do about it. I think it's still possible you could recover your memory. Once you do so then we will be able to send word to your family who must be desperately wondering what has happened to you. You might not be able to see, but there will be a place somewhere you can live happily.'

Perry could even tack up his horse without assistance, and he trusted the Spanish animal not to take him anywhere he didn't want to be. Marron, Spanish for brown, greeted him with a wicker. This gelding was his, it had been agreed by the village elders that some of the money he had given them had purchased it.

As long as he had Sofia riding with him he was confident he'd come to no harm. She would call out when they were approaching an obstacle or about to trot or canter and this was enough for him to remain safe in the saddle.

The only time he was truly happy was when he was away from the village, away from what he thought were pitying faces, with the girl he had come to love beside him. This love was doomed to failure as he could never ask her to be his wife. Even if he knew his true identity he could not burden her with a husband who was blind and had to be taken about the place like a child in leading strings.