An Infamous Army

An Infamous Army is a novel by Georgette Heyer.

Plot summary

While Waterloo is just a threat, Brussels is the most exciting city in Europe. The novel opens in the Brussels home of Lord and Lady Worth, where members of the British aristocracy in Brussels, including Lady Georgiana Lennox (the daughter of the Duke of Richmond)and Lord Hay, are discussing the precarious situation in Belgium. Everyone is anxious for the Duke of Wellington to arrive from Vienna. When the other guests leave, Lady Worth's brother, Sir Peregrine Taverner, (Perry) expresses his fears about remaining in Brussels, especially since his wife, Harriet is expecting their third child. In the end he decides that if his brother-in-law deems it safe to stay, then it must be safe enough. After he goes, Judith tells her husband about her hopes that Worth's brother Colonel the Hon.Charles Audley (who is a member of Wellington's staff and is still in Vienna) will fall in love with her new friend, Miss Lucy Devenish. This leads her husband to accuse her of trying to play match maker and remark "I perceive that life in Brussels is going to be even more intersting than I had expected."

Amongst the fashionable ton partying in the metropolis Lady Barbara Childe (the granddaughter of Dominic, Duke of Avon) is making her mark. Lady Barbara, or Bab as she is called my her family and friends, is a young widow of great beauty and charm who can make any man fall in love with her. Her elder brother, the Marquis of Vidal highly disapproves of his sister's flirtations and is annoyed that she has made herself the talk of fashionable sociaty. Furthermore, Bab has taken up with the notorious belgian Count de Lavisse. It is the general consensus that Bab is heartless. Bab has another two brothers besides the Marquis, Lord George Alistair, who was said to look and act exactly like his grandfather did in his younger days and Lord Harry Alistair, aged eighteen. Both are serving in the army. After a ball, (where Bab had scandalized Brussels by appearing with painted toenails) her sister-in-law, Lady Vidal, warned Bab that if she or any of her brother's cause a scandel, the Marquis will insist on them all returning to England. To which Lady Barbara responding that she would simply stay in Brussels alone.

A few days later, Judith is suprised to walk into her parlour one morning and find that Charles had arrived. The Duke and his staff were finally in Brussels. Later that evening, at another party, Charles sees Barbara for the first time and is enchanted. This dismays Judith as she wanted Charles to fall in love with Lucy and as such she refuses to introduce Charles to her. As a result Charles asks his old friend, the young Prince of Orange to make his introduction. Against the advice of their other friends, Lord March and Colonel Fremantle, the Prince agrees, but not before warning Charles that "it is the road to ruin." Charles and Bab dance togther twice, leading nearly the whole assembly to whisper about how Bab had seized upon the nicest man in Brussels. A little while later, Charles meets Lucy Devenish looking quite disheveled and upset. He doesn't ask her for any explanation and after he helped her fix herself up, the two become friendly. At the end of the party, Judith is at ease because Charles had admired Lucy and had not said anything about Bab. Worth, on the other ahnd seemed pretty confident that Charles was head over heels in love with Bab. The next day, Charles meets Bab with her notorious Belgian suitor, the Count de Lavisse. Needless to say, the men did not get along. However, Charles seemed to have made an impression on Bab for she confessed to Lady Vidal that she had lost her heart to a younger son. Sometime later, Charles asks Bab to marry him and she accepts, but not before warning him that she would make a terrible wife and that she might change her mind in a week. Charles only laughs and says tha the is willing to risk it. Judith is dismayed and cannot understand what Charles sees in the girl. Charles is adamant that Judith will like Barbara once she gets to know her. Meanwhile, Bab is worried that she will change ehr mind so she asks Charles to marry her soon. He refuses because he wants her to be certain that she loves him before she marries him. This leads Bab to say that Charles is a much better person then she is.

Meanwhile, Barbara's brother George arrives in Brussels. He shows up uninvited to a party given by Lord and Lady Worth, in search of his various siblings. He makes his excuses to Judith and is about to go off in search of Bab, when Judith is suprised to see him staring at Lucy Devenish. Her suprise increases when Lord George excuses himself, saying,"I have seen a lady I know. I must go pay my respects." He promptly goes to Lucy's side side and looks teasingly at her downcast face. When Judith questions the two, George explains that they had met several times and that he was worried that Lucy had forgotten him. Lucy looks at him with reproach and says that she did not forget. She then walks away to find her aunt and George goes off to look for Bab. Judith seeks out Lucy to ask her about the strange meeting. Lucy brushs her off and says that she doesn't wish to speak of Lord George Alistair. After the party, George and Bab discuss her engagment, revealing the depth of her feelings for Charles as well as her reasons for being so callous a flirt. She had been married at eighteen to a much older man named Jasper Childe who she grew to hate and she swore from then on that no man would possess her ever again. And now, even though she loves Charles, she cannot help rebelling against him.

Lady Barbara is determind to make sure that Charles knows how awful she is. He endures much of her flirtations. At one point, it becomes too much. Harriet Tavener, Judith's brother's wife, had snubbed Bab, leading Bab to charm Perry as punishment. Lady Tavener is devestated and Charles takes the matter into his own hands. In a way that reminds Perry unpleasently of Worth, Charles tells him that he must leave for England at onceand be done with such nonsense. Perry agrees with him and immediately makes arrangments to go home, but not before making peace with his wife. This leads to a violent quarrel between Barbara and Charles and their engagement is terminated. After the quarrel, charles meets Lucy who is extremely upset about something. Charles convinces Lucy to confide in him and she does so.

All of Charles friends are distressed at his unhappiness. He had a new hard look and he rarely smiled. He and Lucy have become very close and Bab goes around creating bigger scandels every day. Then, at the Duchesse of Richmond's famous ball, cam the news that Napolean was marching to Waterloo. The city soon empties of officers including, Charles, George, Harry and nearly every other toung man at the ball. The next day, Barbara goes in search of Charles, desperate to make peace with him before the battle, only to learn from Judith Worth, that he has gone. When Worth discovers that Barbara's brother the Marquis of Vidal has gone back to England, Worth takes Barbara in. Judith and Barbara help to nurse the wounded in the street. As the situation becomes more and more desperate, the two woman become very close. Barbara is finally showing her true inner strengh and courage. All the while Barbara is convinced that Charles has fallen in love with Lucy, until Lucy goes to see Barbara to ask her if she heard anything from her brother George! Lucy then confesses that she and George have been married for nearly a year. iIt had been kept secret because neither the Duke of Avon (George's grandfather) nor Lucy's uncle Mr. Fisher would have approved of the match. Until now she had confided in no one but Charles who promised to look out of George.At the end of the whole thing Judith admits to her husband that she had misjudged everyone from the start. Meanwhile, at the battle, the british are taking a hard beating, and none more then the staff officers. Four men who were closest to Charles were dead. ( Canning, Sir Alexander Gordon and Norman Ramsey) While near the hospital, Charles came upon Lord Harry Alistair, who was obviously dying. After he dies, Charles reflects on how he lost so many friends in one day. Whilst in trying to deliever a message to Wellington, Charles is hit by an exploding cannon. Badly wounded, he is ironicaly carried of the field by none other then his old rival Livasse, who also takes the message to the Duke.

The Duke and Duchesse of Avon arrive in Brussels having heard of all the scandels that their grandchildren have been making.While they are at the Worth's, Charles's servant comes to tell the earl about his master's condition. Worth goes t oge thim and bring him to Brussels and he promises Bab that he will bring Charles back safely. When Worth brings Charles back, he is in danger of his life and has to have his arm amputated. The surgeons also say that they might have to cut off his leg, but Worth steps in and stops them from doing it. Charles regains lucidity, aided by the administrations of the Duchesse of Avon. Although he is not the care free boy he once was, Charles reproposes to Bab, telling her to take out the ring that she had given back to him, "there it stays until I give you another in it's place. Bab accepts promising that she will make him a terrible wife but she doesn't care.

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