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telephone call with the King.’
    Harker whistled. Wheeler must think the situation was pretty terrible if she was going to trouble the King with it. Not that Harker expected he could do anything about it. According to all sources, the royal family was being entertained by the King of California, and were likely to stay there until the fighting was over.
    Privately, Harker wondered why the King wasn’t soliciting any military aid from the Californians, but whenever he’d voiced this thought out loud he’d been told it was due to ‘politics’, from which he deduced that the Americans, like everyone else, were scared of the French.
    ‘Well, if I get anything, I’ll let you know,’ he said, and Saskia nodded. But just as he turned away, she said, ‘Will, there’s something else.’
    He sighed, and turned back. It must be serious if she was calling him Will. ‘What? France sending warships? America kicking the King out? Wheeler resigning?’
    ‘No. Nothing that terrible.’ She said it carefully, as if it was only slightly less terrible than all those things, perhaps if they all happened together.
    ‘What, then? ’Cos I’ve got to tell you, Sask, I’m having a pretty shitty day and it’s not even nine a.m. yet.’
    ‘I saw Sholt outside. He’s back.’
    Harker went still.
    ‘And unless a bird did something on his shoulder, he’s wearing an extra pip.’
    Harker closed his eyes. Sholt’s pinched, sly face came into his memory.
    ‘And,’ Saskia began, then stopped, clearly uncomfortable. Harker opened his eyes.
    She was wincing.
    ‘What?’ he said heavily.
    ‘I spoke to Lieutenant-Colonel Green. Sholt’s been transferred to the 75th. It’s already gone ahead, Wheeler approved it.’
    Cold hate and revulsion churned in Harker’s gut. ‘Wheeler? What the hell was she thinking?’
    ‘I don’t know, Will.’ She looked genuinely upset. ‘I’ll try and get him shunted back out again–’
    ‘Preferably into the river,’ Harker said viciously.
    ‘–but I don’t know if I’ll have any luck.’
    ‘And this time, I ain’t diving in to the rescue. Sask, what the hell ? It’s your damn regiment!’
    More to the point, it was his damn regiment.
    ‘Yes, I know,’ she said. ‘She went over my head, she can do that, she’s the General. And I’ll do what I can, but I’ve got more important things to worry about than checking every single officer coming in when I’m losing dozens every day. ’
    ‘I know,’ Harker said through gritted teeth, ‘but this is Sholt we’re talking about. You put him in my company, you can have my resignation tomorrow.’ The horrifying thought occurred to him that she just might. ‘ Sask ,’ he said. ‘Do not put him in my company.’
    ‘I won’t,’ she assured him. ‘He hasn’t been assigned to a company yet, that’s what he’s here for. But you do need a captain.’
    ‘Promote Charlie.’
    Saskia sighed heavily. ‘I can’t just–’
    ‘She’s up for it anyway. Been doing Smith’s job for ages.’
    ‘Don’t tell me what to do,’ Saskia said, steel in her eyes.
    ‘Do something , Sask,’ he said, and he didn’t care that by now the whole mess was listening to him fight with his CO. ‘Because I swear, if that man comes near me or any of my men, I’ll bloody kill him.’
    Saskia raised her hands. ‘Calm down, Harker. I’ll do what I can. Go and see this Carpenter woman, will you, and stop thinking about Sholt.’
    She left, and Harker glared at the rest of the mess, daring any of them to make a comment.
    Every single officer looked away. Harker looked up at the clock and watched the minute hand thud into place. Nine o’clock, and his day had already gone to hell.

Chapter Four
    Also unhappy with the way the world was turning, Eve woke up to find herself still in the sickly yellow hospital ward, her ankle throbbing and her stomach growling. A nurse wearing a starched hat and an apron with a red cross on it appeared with a lap tray bearing a