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Leon and Wladek were both mystified and irritated by the Baron’s words War sounded like an exciting adventure which they would be sure to miss if they had to leave the castle The servants took several days to pack the Baron’s possessions and Wladek and Leon were infor for their s Monday The two boys continued, largely unsupervised, with their work and play but they could now find no one in the castle with the inclination or time to answer their myriad questions

On Saturdays, lessons were held only in theAdam Mickiewicz’s Pan Tadeusz into Latin when they heard the guns At first, Wladek thought the fa on the estate; the boys returned to the poetry A second volley of shots, much closer,from downstairs They stared at each other in bewilder as they had never experienced anything in their short lives that should havethem alone, and then came another shot, this time in the corridor outside their roo

Suddenly the door crashed open and a rey soldier’s unifor on to Wladek, while Wladek stared at the intruder The soldier shouted at the to knoho they were, but neither boy replied, despite the fact that they had e, and could speak it as well as their ue Another soldier appeared behind his corabbed them by the necks, not unlike chickens, and pulled them out into the corridor, down the hall to the front of the castle and then into the gardens, where they found Florentyna screanass in front of her Leon could not bear to look, and buried his head in Wadek’s shoulder Wladek gazed as much in surprise as in horror at a row of dead bodies,placed face doards He was ainst a pool of blood It was the trapper Wladek felt nothing as Florentyna continued screa

’Is Papa there?’ asked Leon ’Is Papa thereF Wladek scanned the line of bodies once again He thanked God that there was no sign of the Baron Rosnovski He was about to tell Leon the good nehen a soldier caesprochen?’ he demanded fiercely

’Ich,’ said Wladek defiantly

The soldier raised his rifle and brought the butt crashing down on Wladek’s head He sank to the ground, blood spurting over his face Where was the Baron, as happening, ere they being treated like this in their own ho to protect him from the second blohich the soldier had intended for Wladek’s stoht the back of Leon’s head

Both boys lay motionless, Wladek because he was still dazed by the blow and the sudden weight of Leon’s body on top of him, and Leon because he was dead

Wladek could hear another soldier berating their tor - mentor for the action he had taken They picked up Leon, but NVIadek clung on to him

It took two soldiers to prise his friend’s body away and durass Wladek’s eyes never left the motionless body of his dearest friend until he was finally marr,hed back inside the castle, and, with a handful of dazed survivors, led to the dungeons Nobody spoke for feax of joining the line of bodies on the grass, until the dungeon doors were bolted and the last murmur of the soldiers had vanished in the distance Then Wladek said, ’Holy God’

For there in a corner, sluainst the wall, sat the Baron, uninjured but stunned, staring into space, alive only because the conquerors needed someone to be responsible for the prisoners Wladek went over to him, while the others sat as far away froazed at each other, as they had on the first day they had met Wladek put his hand out, and as on the first day the Baron took it Wladek watched the tears course down the Baron’s proud face Neither spoke They had both lost the one person they had loved rew very quickly, and was considered an adorable child by all who came in contact with hienerally besotted relatives and doting servants

The top floor of the Kanes’ eighteenth - century house in Louisburg Square on Beacon Hill had been converted into nursery quarters, cra room were made available for the newly acquired nurse The floor was far enough away from Richard Kane for hi, wet nappies and the irregular and undisciplined cries for more food First sound, first tooth, first step andfirst ere all recorded in a faress in his height and weight Anne was surprised to find that these statistics differed very little from those of any other child hom she came into contact on Beacon Hill