evil french spyhattery?

Should I be an evil French spyhat then? And if so, are there some plot guidelines I need to follow (so I don't mess things up)?

I can't speak much about plot guidelines, but it would be great to have a French spyhatty type to balance out the British spyhatty types. ^_^

In short: huzzah!

Would I start a new thread? How would it work? Would anyone be evil and French with me? Or at least French?

I was thinking of starting a new thread for the journey to Lisbon - the Obidos one is getting very long now, so I think a new thread could work.

Also, huzzah for spyhatting!

I don't think I can spy Frenchly all aloooooone!

So what will I need, an escort of soldiers on horseback or sommat? And an officer to command them? Or do I command them myself? (Can I call them up like a taxi and ask them to meet me at my doorstep?) If Stephen has a Sharpe, do I need a French!Sharpe?

By the way, happy bastille day! (DIE DIE DIE! All of you! Except for my French!Sharpe and his men.)

An escort of hussars might do well, I think. The details are up to you, as long as they don't get too overwhelming. ^_^

I don't know much of anything about land-based military... stuff. *squints* Hussars? I'll need help, much guidance.

http://www.napoleonguide.com/cavalry_france.htm There's a good bit of useful information on that site.

If you need Hussars, I have a whole company of them. We can always go another way round the ambush (or double time, since there is a lot of leeway in the chronology of the story). On the other hand, Hussars are pretty ...

Yup, that is so, but I meant to continue... Pretty obvious, and not at all given to being undercover. So you may prefer an escort of something less ostentatious.

But for myself, I am not evil, only French.

Edit: if you are proposing to chase down Stephen and his escort, then the Hussars could be vos hommes. If you're planning to sneak unobserved into a Portuguese town, we'd need to do it on dress-down Friday.

I suddenly feel very nervous.

There is no need. With the great Napoleon Bonaparte to lead us, what do we have to fear? We will put our trust in him, and do our duty, and serve him to the best of our ability.

Dr Maturin is going to be livid with me, if he finds out.

And we can support each other.

Damn right he will be, Monsieur des Sablières.

You stay out of this!

(Oh No!! He's found out about us!)

Uh, bonjour, Dr Maturin. Only just now were we thinking about you, and um about taking a little ride in the country, since the weather's so good... A chevauchée, you might say.

Really? I wish I could join you, but I am afraid that I am somewhat indisposed at the moment. Do enjoy your ride though.

I am sorry to hear that, and will hope for your speedy recovery. But I am sure that you are in good hands.

Would you like us to bring you some grapes, although it is perhaps too early in the season?

Thank you for your concern, but I am well enough. I will leave you to your ride.

We don't have as many French as we do English (or Welsh, Private Williams! I do know you're not English!) so any French spyhats would probably be solo agents, but it could work.

I know, I'm not very good at plotty stuff, but then, I don't suppose anyone really wants to be told what to do all the time? It's more fun seeing what happens, rather than 'we have this story and everyone has to drop what they're doing to be in it, even if it's boring as hell'.

BUT, if anyone - or several anyones - want plot, I will try to be a better admin and think of stuff. I want you all to have fun here, after all.

Sharpie (bad mod, but doing her best...)

I think we have a glimmering of an idea, if sans nom wants to run with it. And if we can make it fun without being too French then we may manage to recruit a few more. Once it gets going it should be all right.

Battles will need plotting, I suppose, even if they all go pear-shaped later, but not this sort of spyhatty adhockery (outside of PMing, I mean). Sans nom can speak up if she disagrees.

I'll be with you in a minute... as soon as this heart attack passes and I can get my evil on.

(a minute being the amount of time it takes to work myself up to this, and a heart attack being halp to the power of shudder)

From Oporto to Obidos is 150 miles more or less, and should take us less than 3 hours, according to Autoroute.

So we will have to have been some way south of Oporto before the events in Obidos, patrolling or something just to the north of Coimbra, and get co-opted. Or we'll never get there. Does anyone know how far a light cavalry regiment can travel in a day? If they're hurrying?

Autoroute's fine when driving, but you have to bear in mind the state of the roads back then.

I know the Army managed something like 25 miles a day while being chased towards Corunna in the winter of 1808/09, on very little food. And the Light Division managed 46 miles in 24 hours trying to get to the Battle of Talavera, if that helps any. Though those soldiers were on foot, of course.

I know that knights could sometimes manage 50 or 60 miles a day, and I've heard of some Arabian breeds managing 100 during races - I used an average of 40 miles a day for getting Stephen and Padstowe to Obidos. That's only for a single horse and rider though.

So theoretically it would be possible for the message about Prideaux and his papers to reach Monsieur Ickx [let us call him, and give him Northern French origins], by very fast courier, for him to find us (if we were standing next to him), to find himself a fast horse and for us all to gallop a lot and (in the interests of exciting plot) to catch up with you some time before you get back to Lisbon, particularly if Jonathan and Stephen keep up the invalid act. Though we'll be the ones in enemy territory by then. Well, I'm willing to try it out, starting a few days back, and sans nom can join in and we can edit in a name change if necessary.

How long has it been since the death of Prideaux? I'm not sure if you all lost a day while Stephen slept the sleep of the poppy, or not.

Perhaps M Ickx can have already been on his way, with us as escort, to see Prideaux, which would cut down the time needed for the first two stages of message and chase. Shall I start a new thread for the Chase Group?