“Who is this ragamuffin?”
“This man is the British sergeant the privateers captured, your excellency,” a smooth-faced aide-de-camp replied. “You expressed a desire to interrogate him.”
“So I did.” La Touché approached MacKim. “Does he speak any French?”
“I do not know, your excellency,” the aide-de-camp said. “I rather doubt it. The rank and file are largely uneducated.”
La Touché glanced at MacKim. “Ask him if he speaks French.”
The aide-de-camp took a deep breath before very slowly asking. “Can you speak French, sergeant?”
“I can,” MacKim said.
La Touché gave a little nod.
“If you are a British soldier, why are you wearing green and not scarlet?”
“I serve with Kennedy’s Rangers,” MacKim explained. “The Rangers always wear green rather than scarlet.”
La Touché seemed interested.
