“Grandpapa thought it disgraceful too!” Verena agreed, “because he says it was really Colonel Wellesley who won the battle while General Harris received the credit and a hundred and fifty thousand pounds.”
“Prize money is always controversial,” the Duke said, “but continue with your story.”
“About a month ago the village boys started to talk about strange men being seen near The Priory. I thought that they were poachers or perhaps some travellers who had sought shelter there. And then a week ago Billy told me that he and another boy had seen four men going into The Priory carrying boxes or barrels. “When I heard about it, I rode over to The Priory on Assaye. There was no sign of anything unusual except that there were footmarks in the dust on the cellar steps and in the cellar.”
Verena
