‘Did you hear what I asked, old boy?’
‘Sorry, Peter, miles away.’
‘I was asking if you are up for anything else we might need, Cal? Naturally, we all hope it does not come to war, but we must prepare and that might mean the odd little commission for a man of your talents.’
Over luncheon, asked the same thing, Jardine thought he might have refused. But out here, and with the thoughts he had just had, that had changed. What he could achieve on his own had to be limited, but from now on he must see himself as a cog in a larger wheel; in short, in a phrase so overworked in the Great War, he had to do his bit.
‘As soon as I have settled on somewhere to rent, Peter, I’ll send you my phone number.’
About the Author
JACK LUDLOW is the pen-name of writer David Donachie, who was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has always had an abiding interest in history: the Roman Republic, Medieval warfare as well as the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which he has drawn on for the many historical adventure novels he has set in these periods. David lives in Deal with his partner, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.
By Jack Ludlow
THE ROADS TO WAR SERIES
The Burning Sky
A Broken Land
A Bitter Field
THE REPUBLIC SERIES
The Pillars of Rome
The Sword of Revenge
The Gods of War
THE CONQUEST SERIES
Mercenaries
Warriors
Conquest
Written as David Donachie
THE JOHN PEARCE SERIES
By the Mast Divided
A Shot Rolling Ship
An Awkward Commission
The Admirals’ Game
An Ill Wind
Blown Off Course
Enemies at Every Turn
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
13 Charlotte Mews
London W1T 4EJ
www.allisonandbusby.com
Hardback published Great Britain in 2011.
Paperback edition published in 2011.
This ebook edition first published in 2011.
Copyright © 2011 by DAVID DONACHIE
(writing as JACK LUDLOW)
Map of Ethiopia Copyright © by David Donachie
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–4071–0