Half an hour after leaving the duke, Desmond was in the saddle, and, followed by the four soldiers, rode for Vendome’s camp.  According to instructions he halted for the night at Arras, and reached Lille at ten the next morning.  He at once presented himself to the marshal, and handed to him the letter from Berwick, of which he was the bearer.

The duke glanced through it.

“I have been expecting you, Lieutenant Kennedy, and have arranged that you shall mess and ride with the junior officers of my staff.  I will order a tent to be erected for you, at once.  Should any portion of my force move without me, I have arranged that you shall accompany it.  You will find many of your compatriots in camp, for we have five battalions of the Irish Brigade with us, among them that of O’Brien, to which the Duke of Berwick informed me you belonged before you were appointed to his staff, having distinguished yourself markedly on several occasions.”

The marechal-de-camp coming in, Vendome placed Desmond in his charge, requesting him to introduce him to the various officers of his staff, with whom he would have to mess, and to see that he was well cared for.  He was well received by the young French officers, all of whom, with scarce an exception, belonged to good families, and Desmond was not long in discovering that they regarded their occupation rather as a pleasant and exciting diversion, than as a matter of duty, and that the greater portion of their time was devoted to pleasure.  They rode, practised with the pistol and rapier, made excursions into the country, dined, and spent their evenings as if the army were nonexistent.  A few only, and these were men who had served as officers, took their profession seriously, and divided among themselves what work had to be done, the young nobles gladly relinquishing it to them.

Chapter 12:  Oudenarde.

Desmond did not remain long at the marshal’s camp, but accompanied expeditions that were sent to Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres.  The inhabitants of these towns had, for some time, been in communication with the marshal.  They were hostile to the English, and had a standing feud, of many years’ duration, with the Dutch.

As soon, therefore, as the French columns approached, they opened their gates.  The weak garrisons that had been placed there, finding themselves unable to at once control the population and defend the walls, evacuated the town before the French arrived.

Beyond writing confidential reports to Berwick, Desmond had had little to do, and spent most of his time with his own regiment, by whom he was heartily welcomed, and with the other Irish battalions encamped near them.  He and the other officers captured in the Salisbury had been given up as lost by their comrades; and the appearance of Desmond, in his staff uniform, was the first intimation they had received of his escape, of which he had more than once to give a detailed account.