By the time the five men had climbed to the top of the signal tower of St Angelo, the streets of Birgu were filled with people running for the walls of the town and any natural vantage point to see the approach of the Turkish fleet for themselves. Thomas was the first to reach the platform and saw one of the younger knights in the company of an elderly-looking soldier staring intently towards the eastern horizon. A faint dawn haze still lingered out to sea, concealing the separation of sea from sky.
‘Do you see them?’ asked Thomas.
The two men looked round and then stood to attention as they spied the Grand Master and the other senior officers emerging from the staircase behind Thomas, breathing hard.
‘No, sir,’ the knight replied.
‘Then where did the signal fire come from? Which direction?’
‘Further up the coast, to the north.’
Thomas raised his hands to shield his eyes against the glare of the low sun and tried to pick out anything in the haze, but as yet there was nothing, just the dull gleam of a gentle swell and the specks of gulls swirling above the surface as they fed on a shoal of fish. La Valette and the others joined him along the waist-high wall and stared into the distance. In the background the same pattern of signal guns rumbled as the warning spread along the coast and inland. Besides the occasional sound of cannon, a hush had descended on the island. The usual hubbub rising from the narrow streets and the faint sound of picks had died away and there was a stillness as the men of the Order and the islanders waited for the first sight of the enemy. It felt to Thomas as if the world around him was holding its breath, waiting for the sign that would forever change the lives of those caught in the thrall of that moment.
Sir Oliver hissed, ‘If some fool has raised a false alarm I’ll have him flogged.
‘There!’ The old soldier thrust his arm out and pointed to the north-east. At once the other men’s heads turned to stare in the direction indicated, trying to pierce the haze for a sign of the enemy ships.
‘Where?’ La Valette growled. ‘I see nothing.’
‘I see it now,’ said Thomas. ‘There, just beyond the end of Gallows Point. A sail.’
Stokely muttered, ‘Just as long as it isn’t a single ship, or even a flotilla of corsairs setting out on a raid.’
‘We’ll know soon enough,’ Romegas said, then looked towards the old soldier with an openly impressed look. ‘Your eyes are keen. Especially for one of your age. What is your name?’
‘Balbi, sir.’ The man bowed his head. ‘Francisco Balbi.’
‘Italian, eh?’ Romegas sized him up. ‘One of the mercenaries recruited by the colonel then?’
Mas glanced over at Balbi. ‘Yes, you were the one claiming to be a poet as well as a soldier of fortune.’
‘That’s right, sir.’
‘A poet?’ Romegas chuckled. ‘Well then, Balbi, I’ll wager you’ll find enough material for an epic in the days to come. Make us all famous, eh?’
‘Enough!’ the Grand Master snapped. ‘I can’t see any damned ships. Where are they?’
Thomas was surprised by the anxious tone in La Valette’s voice and deliberately responded as calmly as he could. He raised his hand and pointed directly towards the single vessel that was visible. ‘There, sir. . And there. . Oh. .’
As if a fine silk veil had been stealthily drawn aside, the first sail was suddenly joined by others, one by one, until scores of them appeared on either side, spreading out along the edge of the fading haze.
‘Good Lord,’ Sir Oliver muttered.
The others kept their silence, as did the knights, soldiers and civilians pressed together along the walls of St Angelo and every vantage point of Birgu. Across the harbour Thomas could see the heads and shoulders of men lining the walls of the fort. Several had climbed up on the parapet for a better view.
It was La Valette who broke the spell on the tower. He lowered the hand that had been shielding his eyes and turned abruptly towards his advisers. ‘There’s no question of it. That’s the invasion fleet. It’s too big for anything else. We must not tarry. The first enemy troops could be ashore well before nightfall. Every civilian has to be safely behind walls before then. Sir Oliver, you will take charge of that with respect to Birgu and Senglea.’ He turned to Romegas. ‘You will ride to Mdina and inform Mesquita of the situation and ensure he clears the centre of the island. Colonel Mas, take a party of horsemen and see to it that as many of the wells are spoiled as possible. And fire any farms or buildings you encounter, anything that can provide shelter to the enemy. Be back here by nightfall.’
‘What of the estates?’ asked Sir Oliver. ‘Surely you can’t mean to destroy them as well?’
‘The estates particularly. Would you want to return to your home after it had been despoiled by some Turkish officer and his companions?’ La Valette did not wait for a reply and turned to Thomas. ‘You will take a boat across to St Elmo and ensure that the garrison is ready to fight. Also, there are bound to be many islanders who make straight for the fort. I gave orders for all to make for Mdina, Senglea and Birgu, but some will panic and make for the closest shelter. There’s no space for them at St Elmo and they will need to be ferried across the harbour before the Turks make that impossible. See to it.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Thomas nodded.
La Valette took a last look at the horizon, squinting as he struggled to make out the vast force bearing down on the coast. Hundreds of vessels were now visible: galleys, galleons and many smaller cargo vessels, a clear sign of the Sultan’s determination to take the island and obliterate the Order of St John that had plagued the Islamic world for the past three centuries. The Grand Master took a deep breath.
‘You have your instructions, gentlemen. May God have mercy on us all. Now go.’
The garrison of the fort were still standing watching the approaching fleet when Thomas and Richard entered St Elmo. The small courtyard was piled with baskets of apples and oranges, sacks of flour, roundles of cheese and kegs of gunpowder just arrived from the powder mills on Senglea. Thomas’s brow furrowed as he beheld the disorganised scene and he stopped a small party of Spanish troops crossing the courtyard to get a better view of the enemy from the keep.
‘You there! Why are all these supplies still left out? Get them into the storerooms at once! Where is your commander?’
One of the sergeants who was with the party pointed towards the keep. ‘Up there, sir. I saw Don Miguel on the tower.’
‘Right.’ Thomas gestured towards the kegs of gunpowder. ‘Start with that before some panicky fool sets the lot off.’
Thomas left the sergeant to bark out his orders and strode across the courtyard to the entrance of the keep. There was a large hall beyond the door where several long tables were still littered with the meals abandoned when the signal guns had sounded across the island. A serving boy was busy filling his pockets with bread rolls and looked up guiltily as the knight and his squire entered.
‘Where are the stairs to the top of the tower?’ Thomas demanded. The boy looked at him fearfully and shook his head. Richard spoke quickly in the local tongue and the boy turned to point to a doorway to one side of the hall. They hurried past him, through the arch, and found a short passage ending where the stairs climbed up in a series of flights. At the top, fully a hundred men were crowded along the parapet, gazing out to sea. Some wore the red surcoats with the white cross of the knights of the Order. There was no time to single out the commander and Thomas cupped a hand to his mouth and bellowed, ‘Don Juan de La Cerda! Don Juan!’
Faces swivelled round towards the shout, some with startled expressions. A knight stepped back from the parapet and approached Thomas.
‘I am Don Juan de La Cerda.’
He was one of the older knights, thin and gaunt with a fringe of grey-streaked hair around a bald crown. He frowned as he looked Thomas over. ‘Who are you? I’ve not seen your face before.’
‘Sir Thomas Barrett.’
The knight’s eyes widened as he recognised the name. ‘The English knight.’
‘One of them.’
‘The one who has been much on everyone’s lips since he arrived.’ Thomas ignored the comment. ‘I am here on the authority of the Grand Master to take charge and ensure that the fort is ready for action.’
There was a brief look of surprise before La Cerda responded with a haughty air. ‘My garrison is ready. We don’t need you.’
‘Ready?’ Thomas shook his head. ‘The courtyard is in chaos, and soon a small horde of terrified locals are going to come pouring through your gate seeking shelter — while you and your men sit here and take in the scenery.’ He spoke loudly so that all might hear his words and the scorn in his tone. ‘Ready? If this is what you consider ready then the battle is already as good as lost. The Grand Master needs you and your men brought to order at once, Don Juan. I want half your men clearing the courtyard. Everything must be placed in the storerooms before the Turks land. The other half of the garrison is to form into parties and leave the fort and gather in every civilian between here and the approaches to Mdina. If they are too old, or infirm, then your men will carry them. They are to bring back any useful tools and portable stocks of food that they find. Anything else is to be destroyed. Leave nothing that will be of use to the Turks. Understood?’
La Cerda hesitated. ‘By what authority do you give such orders?’
‘I told you. The Grand Master sent me.’
‘You say.’
‘There is no time to lose.’ Thomas stepped closer to the knight. ‘If you waste another moment then I assure you that the Grand Master will strip you of command of this fort and find you a post worthy of your indolence. I suggest you obey my orders without further delay. I will not warn you again.’
Don Juan stared back briefly and then his gaze wavered. Abruptly he turned round and shouted the necessary orders. The sergeants drove the men down the staircases at each end of the platform, leaving a handful on watch duty and the two knights and squire.
‘You had no right to speak to me in such a manner in front of my men,’ La Cerda hissed furiously.
‘And you have no right to be in command of your men if you can’t do what is required of you. Now, while the orders are carried out I want you to accompany me while I inspect the fort. Provide my squire with paper and a pen to take notes. Richard?’
‘Sir?’
‘You will record my findings and recommendations for each post in the fort.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Then show us to your quarters, Don Juan. As soon as my squire has his materials we can begin.’
The last shred of La Cerda’s defiance melted away and he nodded and turned to lead them down the nearest staircase. Thomas strode after him, too angry to feel much satisfaction at having faced the other man down. Before they reached the head of the stairs, he paused to take one last look at the Turkish fleet. The sun had risen high enough to bathe the island in its warm rays and out to sea the last of the haze had disappeared to reveal the full scale of the invasion force. It seemed as if the entire horizon was covered with the sails and hulls of vessels, now little more than five miles from the coast, arragned in a giant crescent across the surface of the sea. Thomas’s lips lifted in a brief smile at the appropriateness of the enemy’s formation, and then he hurried down the stairs.
For the rest of the day the garrison laboured to clear the courtyard. La Cerda followed meekly as Thomas toured the fort and dictated notes about the number of men allocated to each position, the siting of the fort’s cannon and the ground covered by each weapon’s firing arc. He questioned La Cerda on where the ammunition would be stored and what arrangements had been made for its replenishment once the siege began. He also demanded to know the arrangements for the treatment of the wounded and their evacuation to Birgu if communication with the other side of the harbour could be kept open.
At noon the first of the civilians began to enter the fort and Thomas and Richard stood above the gate and watched as an extended stream of humanity anxiously hurried along the dusty track that ran along the peninsula, just below the crest of the ridge of Sciberras. In the distance thin trails of smoke billowed into the air above glittering flames as buildings and stocks of food were fired by the parties sent out from the fort.
The people were ushered into the courtyard, their expressions anxious. Some of the children were crying as they clung to their parents. They had been raised on stories of the terrifying raids that the corsairs had made on the island and how families had been captured and sold as slaves, tom from each other’s arms forever. Only those too young to understand the danger wore smiles and laughed cheerfully at the exciting break from the usual routines of daily life. Older members of the family were helped by their kinfolk while some were bodily carried. A few brought livestock with them: a handful of goats, mules and large cane cages with chickens inside. The smaller animals were permitted to enter the fort, but Thomas knew that there would be no space within for the larger beasts, and in any case the garrison could not afford to feed them. They were taken from their owners at the gate and led round the corner of the fort and killed. Many animals were hurriedly butchered and chunks of meat tossed into barrels of brine ready to be added to the garrison’s stores. But the carcasses of the dogs and mules were thrown into the sea.
Early in the afternoon Thomas’s attention was drawn to a small party approaching along the track on foot. Their clothes were of good quality and he realised that this must be the household of one of the island’s estates. The party was led by a stout figure carrying a staff. Behind him came a handful of women in headscarves, led by a tall figure in a green cloak.
Richard chuckled. ‘There’s nothing like fleeing from an enemy to erode the most obvious distinctions between the common people and their betters.’
‘Oh, they’ll do well enough for themselves, you can be sure,’ Thomas responded.
Both men continued to watch for a moment, and Thomas found his gaze drawn to the tallest of the women who carried herself with Ml air of authority, slightly apart from the rest. As they came within a hundred paces of the gate he felt some memory stir deep within his mind. The detail eluded him for a moment, and he was aware of a vague, unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He strained his eyes but the distance was too great. Yet there was a growing sense of recognition and he felt a cold shiver ripple down his spine, even as his pulse quickened. His fingers clutched the edge of the parapet tightly and he craned his neck forward, staring.
Beside him Richard turned to him with a puzzled look. ‘What is it, Sir Thomas?’
Thomas opened his mouth to reply but his jaw just hung slackly. Then the woman raised her face, framed by dark, unadorned tresses of hair, to look over the fort as she approached, and Thomas shuddered in a turmoil of denial and hope.
‘It’s her. . Sweet Jesus, it’s her. . Maria.’