The Duke rode after her and only came to her side when she had wiped away her tears.
“It was just here,” he said quietly, “where we are now standing, that in the afternoon Wellington turned to one of his aides-de-camp and asked the time.
‘Twenty minutes past four, sir,’
‘The battle is mine,’ Wellington said, ‘and if the Prussians arrive soon there will be an end to the war’.”
The Duke paused.
“As he spoke, we heard the first Prussian guns.”
“And that was the end?”
“Not for some hours yet. In fact not until eight o’clock and by then our Army was down to some 35,000 men. The French were shaken, but not yet routed.”
“Were you worried?” Anthea asked.
“Things had gone wrong. The Prussians had still not been able to break through and yet I think that everyone was supremely confident tha
