"I know I can trust you, Perks. Make the most of it, lad. Kissin' don't last!"
Well, that couldn't be plainer, Polly thought as the armed men by the door beckoned them forward.
"Stick to the walls, okay, ladies? And be quick with that rag!"
The heavy door swung open. Half a dozen arrows bounced and pinwheeled along the corridor. Another one tore through the flag.
Polly waved it desperately. She heard distant shouting, and then cheers.
"Go! Go!" said a guard, pushing her forward.
She stepped out into the sudden daylight and, to make sure, waved the flag overhead a few more times. There were men in the courtyard and lining the battlements around it. There were bodies, too.
A captain, with blood soaking through his jacket, stepped across the fallen and held out his hand.
"You may give that to me, soldier," he said.
"No, sir. I must deliver it to your commander, and wait for his reply, sir."
"Then you give it to me, soldier, and I will bring you back the reply. You have surrendered, after all."
Polly shook her head. "No. This is a truce. That's not the same thing. I have to hand this over personally and you aren't big enough." A thought hit her. "I demand to take this to Commander Vimes!"
The captain stared at her, and then looked closer. "Aren't you one of those - "
"Yes," said Polly.
"And you locked them in chains and threw the key away?"
"Yes," said Polly, seeing her life start to flash before her eyes.
"And they had to hop miles with shackles on and no clothes?"
"Yes!"
"And you're just... women?" ;Hrumph!" said Froc.
"What say?" said Stoffer, looking puzzled.
"There are ladies present, brigadier. That is, ahah, the problem."
"Damn right!" said Tonker.
"Understood, general. But the party was led by a man, am I right?"
"Lieutenant Blouse tells me he is a man, sir," said Clogston. "Since he is an officer and a gentleman, I will take his word for it."
"Well, then, problem solved. These young ladies helped him. Smuggled him in, and so forth. Assisted him. Fine traditions of Borogravian womanhood and all that. Not soldiers at all. Give the man a big medal and make him a captain, and all this'll be forgotten."
"Excuse me one moment, general," said Clogston. "I will consult with what we would call the accused if anyone would enlighten me as to the precise nature of the charges."
He walked over to the squad and lowered his voice. "I think this is the best offer you're going to get," he said. "I can probably get the money, too. How about it?"
"It's completely ridiculous!" said Blouse. "They showed tremendous courage and determination. All this would not have been possible without them."
"Yes, Blouse, and you would be allowed to say that," said Clogston. "Stoffer has come up with quite a clever idea. Everyone gets what they want, but you just have to avoid any suggestion that you were in fact acting as soldiers. Brave Borogravian women going to the aid of a gallant hero, that works. You could take the view that these are changing times, and you are helping them change faster. Well?"
The squad exchanged glances.