Anne Stevens

Henry, King of England, is intent on war with France. To this end he is gathering a huge army which he hopes to get across the Channel without notice. Twenty thousand foot soldiers, six thousand horse, and fifty cannon, with all their gunners and ammunition, must simply appear around Calais one day, ready for war.That the king is looking for a last great battle is obvious to all, but few realise that his grandiloquent celebration of English military might is based entirely on an easy victory over a dysfunctional Scottish army, and liberal helpings of Miriam Draper's powerful poppy distillation. Henry has the divine right to win, for is he not God's anointed? With every noble in England clamouring for war, in the hope of grabbing off some morsel of French land, there is no avoiding a conflict... but must it be a bloody one?Will Draper is incensed when the Duke of Norfolk, almost seventy years old, is put in charge of the army, and even more angered when the duke expresses his intention of overwhelming the French cannon by weight of numbers. He calculates that he will lose no more than ten thousand men in a frontal charge, and that the survivors will gain him his victory. It is pointless trying to appeal to Norfolk's humanity, for he has laid it aside some time ago, and thinks of his soldiers as nothing more than the sweepings of the gutter, there to do as they are commanded. So, Will must come up with a plan.Henry finds himself constantly frustrated, as he turns up late for every battle, and wonders at his bad luck, whilst his courtiers contrive to keep him out of harms way. Will decides that the only way to keep Henry from making any more serious blunders is to pin him down in one place, so contrives for the town of Boulogne to be invested by English troops. With the king settled down for a long siege, what could go awry?Henry is overjoyed. He can strut around the siege works, give fatuous military advice to a captive audience, and keep out of range of the french archers and gunners. Boulogne will surrender, after a few months, without any need for bloodshed, Will Draper foresees, but he does not reckon on Gallic humour. The townsfolk offer a grand insult to the English king, and he flies into a rage. Boulogne will be stormed, and sacked, he insists, to remove the blemish on his honour, and Will must act fast to save the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent people, and the ruin of a town that his wife does good business with.Henry is dressed in his best suit of armour, sword in hand, and ready for one last battle. It is up to Will, Mush, Tom Wyatt, and the irascible Alonso Gomez, to save the day.Around this action, the usual flow of life still goes on. Miriam does not want a war that threatens her husband and brother's life, yet vies to make it a profitable adventure for the Draper Company, as she contracts out her fleet of cogs, and sailing ships, to transport troops, horses, and supplies for Henry. A reluctant Ibrahim (once Prince of Kush) must try to escape his fate, and avoid being sent on a fruitless voyage to the New Found Land, where he must discover an easy way to the far Cathay shores. It is a nonsense, of course, because he knows that the earth is flat, and he has no wish to sail off the edge of it.King François locks himself away in Paris, and fumes at Henry's daring bid for his throne. Then he comes up with an idea. He will send the English upstart a present... but no ordinary gift. It will be a gift to cause insult and horror in the English court, and one that will send Will Draper, Mush, Tom Wyatt, and Jeremiah Cord , off into their most dangerous adventure yet. Little do they realise that disaster is but a breath of wind away.And what of Tom Cromwell? He plots away in Antwerp, whilst Richard takes to his bed again, and waits for death.'Breathless action, clever historical story telling, and broad humour.... Anne Stevens at her very best!'....... BEL AMI (Review).

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