It’s a two-day ride from Turin to the fortress of Casale in the neighboring duchy of Monferrato. Nominally neutral in the conflict between Savoy, Genoa, and Milan, the duchy sits at the junction of all three states, and soldiers from each criss-crossed the duchy in recent months with only token resistance from the duke, Ferdinando Gonzaga. The raid on the Lisowczycy encampment in which Riordan O’Neill seized the Poles’ banner was actually in Monferrato, Razmann, the German colonel, notes, as the duelists ride toward Casale.

The invitation from the graf von Hentzau specified five duelists, and the comte de Challons asked Riordan, Razmann, Captain Vaile, and the baron de Saint-Jurs to stand with him. Surgeon Guillaume Sébastien is invited by the count as well, of course, and the party is accompanied by a handful of servants, including Riordan’s lackey, Jean-Luc.

Challons places Vaile, the chevau-légers fencing master, in charge of arranging the specifics of the duel for the French soldiers.

Challons’ plan

The attack by Challons’ battalion on the Imperial cavalry encampment is a success. In addition to Riordan capturing the Lisowcycy banner, Lieutenant Vaile takes an Austrian cavalry officer prisoner, a son of the graf von Felseck. Pierre Gaignaire, the young Genevan law student, also captures an officer, an Albanian lieutenant, suffering a serious sabre wound in the process. Sergeant Valdimontone leads the squad that captures the enemy pickets and seizes the bridge leading into the Monferrini village, enabling the French to attack with surprise.

Unfortunately Sergeant Courtivron‘s ill-luck follows him into battle once more – seriously wounded by an arquebus ball in the leg in the first engagement against the Albanians months earlier, and still not fully recovered, he takes an arrow in the neck from one of the Polish troopers. He is one of many so injured – for Guillaume, it’s a clinical lesson in the treatment of arrow wounds, as well as the more expected sabre slashes and pistol balls.

The battalion falls back to a Piedmontese étape to rest and refit amid the warmth of Saint Martin’s summer as October turns to November.

It is the end of June as the Chevau-légers de Challons begin the march over the Col de Montgenèvre for the Val di Susa, escorting a mule train of powder. Cornet Riordan O’Neill, recovered from the most recent attempt on his life and resplendent in a scarlet uniform coat, bears the personal standard of the comte de Challons, a bend argent on a field sable , near the head of the column; the company’s barber-surgeon, Guillaume Sébastien rides toward the rear of the column, near the creaking fourgon – ambulance wagon – carrying his supplies and instruments.

Challons relays hard news as the company departs – the duc de Lesdiguières, constable of France and commander of the Army of Genoa, is returning to Dauphiné, suffering from camp fever. The French soldiers in Piedmont are now under the command of his deputy, the marquis de Créqui. Privately Challons confides in his officers that Carlo Emanuele and the Savoyards blame Lesdiguières for the failure of the expedition against Genoa; the count explains that the veteran warrior advanced cautiously, seeing plainly the trap into which the Savoyard and French armies were marching.

Arriving in Grenoble to discover that the lieutenant of the Chevau-légers de Challons is missing, the adventurers – Riordan O’Neill, sergeant of King’s Musketeers; Doctor Guillaume Sébastien, surgeon and Renaissance man; and Bruno Faucon, fencing instructor and man of mystery; along with Riodan’s lackey, Jean-Luc, and another Musketeer, Barthélemy de Courtivron – must regroup. The solicitous innkeeper, Monsieur Charnière, of the Auberge des Dauphins, arranges a private room for the weary, bedraggled travellers, giving them a chance to collect their thoughts while performing ablutions and exchanging soiled clothing for clean; he also provides them with bread and wine.

Guillaume and Riordan inquire about Gourjon, the missing officer. The innkeeper reiterates what the provost-martial, Mageron, told Riordan and Courtivron earlier: Gourjon disappeared two weeks earlier, and no trace of him has yet been found.