1632 Snippets

Council Of Fire - Snippet 26 "I don't take your meaning." Wolfe explained, in the simplest terms he could manage, what they had seen and heard since the crossing of the Atlantic several weeks earlier, including their experience aboard Neptune and the accounts given by the men of Magnanime. It was given in a tone that stopped just short of insolence; but Amherst listened intently. Wolfe was headstrong, impetuous and dismissive of those with whom he had disputes, but he was also intelligent, brave and had no reason whatsoever to dissemble....

1636 The Flight Of The Nightingale - Snippet 02 Sabatini turned back to the table and blew out the candle, then moved to the window. He pushed open the shutters, thankful that they had thought to apply some olive oil to the shutter hinges the same day they had oiled the kitchen door. They opened silently because of that. He reached down and picked up the wineskin and hefted it through the window, setting it on top of the rosebush that sat just to the left of the window opening. Then he sat down on the window ledge, swung his legs up and...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 25 Part III: Concentration May, 1759 It is not so easy for a bellicose nation to turn its back upon war. --Sir Charles Saunders, Memoirs, 1778 Chapter 18 Every place will have its haunted past New York George Baker wanted to pace. It was his quarterdeck, damn it, and it was one of the few places aboard Magnanime that he actually could walk any distance without exchanging salutes, ducking his head or running into something: rank had its privileges. But it would not do to turn his back on a Prince of the Blood, even if...

1636 The Flight Of The Nightingale - Snippet 01 The Flight Of The Nightingale By David Carrico Chapter 1 Firenze September 1636 Francesca stuffed the last folder of paper into her bag and forced it closed, fastening the closure and making sure the hasp stayed put. The last thing she wanted or needed right now was that bag flopping open and all the pages inside spilling out. She looped the strap over her left shoulder, and tucked the bag under her left armpit. She looked around the room. So many memories here, good and bad. So many things that...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 24 Still, it was hard to keep a calm face as his bateau came close to the dock where three ghostly figures stood, awaiting the boat's arrival. The figures were substantial, but not completely opaque: the town's buildings could be seen behind and through them. All wore the distinctive Highland dress, and each bore the evidence of having sustained terrible wounds. One had a face with a gaping hole--probably a musket-ball discharged at close range; the other had a horrible chest wound, visible through his tunic; and the...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 23 Chapter 17 This is all the world there is now New France "I would prefer to wait until the marquis returns from upriver, Governor," Lévis had said; but Vaudreuil had not seemed interested in that line of argument. Indeed, the chevalier was reasonably certain that the governor of New France was giving him the order precisely because Montcalm was not in Québec to countermand it. Instead, Vaudreuil had insisted: "There is no time for delay, Chevalier. You and a company of soldiers--of your choice" he said, as if he...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 22 Chapter 16 Maneto likes the rain New France Soleil cast off from Trois-Rivières in pouring rain. It would have been prudent to wait a day or two for the weather to clear; but Red Vest made it clear to Montcalm that he did not believe that the weather was mere circumstance. "Maneto likes the rain," Red Vest said, standing under the overhang aft of the pilothouse. "I like the rain as well," Montcalm told him. "It is a gift from God." As with so many other things, the native's response to the comment was to spit on...

Council Of Fire - Snippet 21 Chapter 15 People become frightened, Monsieur New France A twelve-gun sloop was hardly a man-o'-war, but it was significantly more impressive than a bateau. Loaded with two dozen soldiers and a few Indian guides, Soleil looked solid and safe. Montcalm expressed his confidence that he was equipped for a Maneto--or anything else that might come his way. In his private thoughts, with the shore slipping away and Québec's promontory shrinking in the distance, he was far less assured. Above Québec, the Saint-Laurent...