Webbe waved his hand dismissively. ‘A childish indulgence. Nothing more than that.’

‘Really? And what about the rapid growth of his army? The encroachment on our border? His hatred of England is implacable. He will not rest until we are driven out of the subcontinent. He hates us just as his father did before him, and just as his sons will do when they inherit the kingdom.’ Arthur paused a moment, before moderating his tone. ‘Mr Webbe, please, listen to me. England is the only chance India has to become something better than it is. For hundreds of years its people have been ground down by one wave of warlords after another. Any opportunity that these people have had to develop their lands against a background of peace and order has been stolen from them by warlords and brigands. It’s time that their situation changed. If England can exert its influence over the entire expanse of India, then in the long term its people, and the East India Company, can only profit from the results. Men like Tipoo stand in our way, and in the way of his own people. The Governor General does not want this war. I swear it, on my honour. He would far rather achieve his ambitions by peaceful means.’

‘Then why prepare so ardently for war?’

‘Because the Tipoo is firmly resolved to fight us.’ Arthur suppressed the anger that was welling up inside him and took a deep breath before he resumed. ‘I imagine you’ve placed a wager at some point in your life, Mr Webbe.’

‘Yes. What of it?’

‘Then hear me out. Tipoo may or may not intend to declare war on us, agreed? If we prepare for war and it turns out that he has no desire to attack us, then what has it cost us? Money.That’s what. A lot of money, I grant you, but nothing the Company won’t recover from future profits. But if it is Tipoo’s intention to attack us, and we are not ready to face him, because we have not made the necessary preparations, however costly, then we lose everything. Not just the chests of gold and silver in the vaults beneath Fort St George, but also the priceless reputation England currently enjoys amongst the natives. Not to mention tens of thousands of lives - yours and mine amongst them. Now then, on that basis, what would a reasonable gambling man decide to do?’

‘All very neatly argued, Wellesley, but what of the third possibility? That he might have no intention of attacking us, and that we might therefore save ourselves a considerable sum of money by not preparing for an attack that won’t happen.’

‘It’s possible,’ Arthur admitted. ‘But what are the odds of that? Would you bet your life on such odds?’

Webbe turned his head and stared out of the window for a while. Below the building stretched the warehouses of the East India Company and the bungalows of its managers and their families, basking peacefully in the sunshine of a clear sky. He turned back to Arthur with a resigned expression. ‘Very well, Colonel. I’ll do what I can to help you.’

With the Military Board behind him Arthur was able to put together the siege train, and by the end of the year the heavy artillery was sent forward to Vellore with twelve hundred rounds for each gun. As Arthur carried out the assembling of the train he soon discovered that his fellow staff officers were men of high calibre. Barry Close proved to be a mine of useful information about the terrain the guns would have to be moved over, while Henry Ashton deployed great charm and tact when dealing with civilian officials and senior officers in order to obtain what he and the other staff officers needed. If Ashton had a fault, it was his tendency to treat subordinates with studied indifference.

‘Look here, Arthur,’ he fumed one day as they sat in their office. He was brandishing a letter. ‘Here I am trying to prepare the army for war and two witless officers in the 12th are stirring up trouble to waste my time.’

‘What’s the matter?’ Arthur asked patiently, looking up from the requisition form he was completing.

‘One of my lieutenants is registering an official complaint against Major Allen, my quartermaster, for billing him for equipment he has not received. Apparently it’s caused quite a lot of fuss at Arnee and now the bloody major has asked me to intervene. Christ, as if I hadn’t got enough to deal with.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Do?’ Ashton snorted. ‘Nothing. I will tell Allen to leave me alone and sort it out himself, or if he can’t, to find someone more competent to do the job for him.’

Arthur lowered his pen and stared at Ashton. ‘Good God, you can’t say that to him. Certainly not in those terms.’

‘Why not? It’s true. He should not be bothering me with such trivialities.’ Ashton plucked out a fresh sheet of paper and began to compose his response. Arthur watched him for a moment, then shook his head and turned his attention back to the requisition form.

A few weeks later, at the end of November, Ashton was ordered to leave Madras to take up temporary command of the army forming up around Arnee. As he said his farewells to the staff at Fort St George Arthur regarded him with a touch of envy. Ashton would have the chance to take command of an army while Arthur remained behind in Madras dealing with paperwork.

Some days later Arthur was preparing to go to bed when a corporal arrived at his house. The man carried an urgent summons to the office of Lord Clive.

Arthur lowered the hurriedly written note from General Harris and turned to the messenger. ‘Do you know what’s happened?’

‘No, sir. I was just told to deliver the message.’The man’s chest was still heaving after his run from the fort. ‘But the Governor, General Harris and Mr Webbe were all there.’

‘Right!’ Arthur dismissed the corporal and dressed quicky, and made for the fort as fast as he could run. It was infuriating that the messenger had not been able to provide more details, and Arthur wondered what could be important enough for Lord Clive to summon his senior officials at this time of night. With a chill of anxiety in his gut, Arthur wondered if Tipoo had decided to declare war on Madras. If that was it, then the situation was indeed perilous.The army was not yet ready to fight Tipoo’s host. As he ran, Arthur’s mind was haunted by the spectre of such an attack and its dreadful consequences.

There were lights burning in the offices of the Governor and when Arthur entered the building and raced up the stairs he saw a number of officers and civil officials talking in agitated tones in the corridor outside Lord Clive’s room. The door was open so Arthur strode straight in. Lord Clive was seated behind his desk. General Harris stood at his side and both looked up as Arthur entered, drew himself up in front of the desk and saluted.

‘You sent for me, sir.’

‘Yes.’ Clive replied, then nodded to Harris. ‘Tell him.’

General Harris cleared his throat. ‘You’re to ride forward to Arnee tonight and assume command of the forces there. Your orders are being prepared by my secretary. I want you to leave the moment they’re ready. You can send instructions for the rest of your kit to be sent on once you reach the army.’

‘Excuse me, sir. I don’t understand. What about Colonel Ashton? He’s—’

‘Ashton’s been shot. More than likely he’s already dead.’

Chapter 38

‘Dead?’

‘Or as good as,’ General Harris continued. ‘The fool got himself into a duel over some business with his quartermaster. He was shot through the side.’

‘Is there any hope that he might live, sir?’

General Harris indicated the dispatch on the desk in front of Lord Clive.‘From what he says, it doesn’t seem likely. So you’re to take his place. Given our current relations with Tipoo we cannot afford to leave our troops on the frontier without a commander.’

‘What are my orders when I reach Arnee, sir?’

‘If Ashton is alive, send word of his condition. In any case, you will take charge of the equipping, training and disposition of our troops in the area. If Tipoo attacks you will hold him back for as long as possible and then conduct a fighting withdrawal to Madras. As for Ashton’s shooting, I want the culprit confined to quarters and you’re to see if we have enough evidence to warrant a court martial. I will not have any more duelling amongst the officers in my command. A man’s honour is one thing, but if upholding it compromises his obligations to his country, then his honour must go and hang. Make sure they all understand that, Wellesley. There’s to be no more of it!’