At the Sign of the Sword guide

Summary

Characters

• AimeeAlso NeuvilleLeadFrom Chapter 1
• EdmondAlso ValentinLoveFrom Chapter 1
• MelanieHelperFrom Chapter 1
• ArnaudAlso RigauxVillainFrom Chapter 1
• HenriAlso NeuvilleGatekeeperFrom Chapter 1
• KaiserVillainFrom Chapter 1
• Baron de NeuvilleAlso The BaronGuardianFrom Chapter 1
• HuartHelperFrom Chapter 5
• General Paul ThalmannGatekeeperFrom Chapter 8
• FrancoisAlso Mazy, Uncle FrancoisHelperFrom Chapter 10
• Baron Wernher von MeyerenVillainFrom Chapter 11
• Baroness de NeuvilleGuardianFrom Chapter 11
• ErnstVillainFrom Chapter 11

Chapter by chapter

Storylines

• Aimee and Edmond sustain a mutual love conducted through clandestine meetings; her sworn refusal to marry Rigaux reassures Edmond after his apparent doubt hurts her.

  • Their secluded meeting and embrace renew their intimacy; Aimee accepts Edmond's military duty despite her distress over the impending war.
  • Aimee and Edmond meet again; she confirms her love for him and declares her intention to marry him.
  • Their unexpected reunion allows them to exchange accounts of their ordeals. Aimee's renewed refusal to marry Arnaud reassures Edmond, and her fear for him continues after they separate.
  • Aimee chooses possible death over marriage to Rigaux and breaking her vow to Edmond.
  • Edmond rescues Aimee, and her love for him gives her strength during their escape.
  • Aimee commits to sharing Edmond's danger, recognizes his devotion through his rescue and kisses, and learns about his wartime actions and investigation.
  • Aimee supports the wounded Edmond, refuses to leave his side, and ultimately marries him.

• Aimee and Edmond conceal their meetings. A hotel patron infers their clandestine relationship, while Edmond fears that their secret has been discovered and reported to Henri; no report to Henri is confirmed.

  • They continue meeting on their secluded path; no disclosure to Henri is established.
  • Their concealment is breached: Arnaud has arranged surveillance and tells Henri about their meetings. Aimee realizes Arnaud knows and explicitly confirms her love for Edmond.
  • Their relationship is exposed to another clandestine observer, although neither the watcher's identity nor a report to Henri is established.
  • Their association becomes known to her parents and the public, culminating in a public wedding, although the press gives only vague hints of their earlier romance.

• Aimee uses shopping for her mother's lace as cover for meeting Edmond. When her mother decides to accompany her, Aimee invents an archaeological engagement that persuades her mother to stay home, enabling the meeting.

• Aimee commits herself against marrying Rigaux, affirming her attachment to Edmond; whether she can maintain that refusal remains unsettled.

  • Henri renews pressure for the marriage and tries to make Aimee abandon Edmond. Despite Arnaud's inducements and unwanted advance, she refuses him unconditionally and orders him to convey her refusal to Henri; the pressure remains unsettled.
  • Aimee strengthens her refusal by swearing she would prefer death or suicide to marriage with Arnaud; Edmond is reassured, but the marriage pressure is not settled.
  • Aimee maintains her refusal even when Rigaux makes escape conditional on marriage and threatens to leave her to the soldiers.
  • Aimee marries Edmond, settling her resistance to marrying Rigaux.

• After resigning from military service, Edmond pursues law as his profession and has undertaken criminal defence work.

  • Edmond gains professional recognition through Sigart's acquittal, then arranges to transfer his cases to Verbruggen as he prepares to return to military service.
  • Edmond achieves sensational public success in the Rue du Trone case, attracting newspaper coverage that Arnaud reads.

• Germany seeks Belgian cooperation with its military operations, while Belgium refuses and commits to neutrality.

  • The King reportedly appeals for British support for Belgian neutrality. Despite reassuring diplomatic assessments, Henri's confidence weakens, while the account establishes German advance planning and military preparations.
  • Germany's decision for war and preparations for invading Belgium make the threat to Belgian neutrality concrete, while Arnaud supplies the Belgian government with false reassurance.
  • Germany's invasion turns the dispute over Belgian neutrality into active warfare, with Belgian troops deploying to Liege and reports of destruction and civilian killings.
  • Belgian resistance becomes sustained combat against the invasion, while England enters the war against Germany. German troops force the local crossing of the Meuse and compel the Chasseurs to retreat; the wider conflict remains unsettled.
  • Belgian resistance continues under heavy bombardment and casualties. Local withdrawals concede ground, but repeated German attempts to take Liege fail and its defenders refuse the requested armistice.

• The stockbroker proposes meeting Edmond again in a week to vindicate his prediction.

• Edmond reaffirms his determination to take revenge on Arnaud soon.

  • Edmond kills Arnaud while rescuing Aimee, accomplishing his intended revenge.

• Aimee opposes Edmond's return to military service because he may be wounded or killed, but accepts his duty and relinquishes her opposition.

  • Learning that Edmond has returned to service and inferring that he is already at the front make Aimee's fear for his life immediate; renewed opposition is not shown.

• Edmond decides to rejoin his old regiment immediately as a sous-officier and arranges for Verbruggen to take his court cases.

  • Edmond implements his decision to rejoin as a sous-officier and marches into Liege with his regiment; the transfer of his court cases is not confirmed.
  • Edmond has rejoined the colours and is serving in combat, taking command of a machine-gun and leading its crew during the retreat. His intended return to military service is accomplished.

• Henri is consulted by the King about a secret national financial transaction.

• Arnaud secretly serves the Kaiser, supplying reports on Belgian finances and other matters. He knows war is coming and has prepared for it while publicly dismissing the danger.

  • Arnaud delivers the requested intelligence through the Kaiser's emissary, reports Belgium's financial weakness, and receives assurance of payment. His repeated paid service to the Prussian General Staff and his deception of Belgium's government are explicitly established.
  • Arnaud receives secret military information by wireless and supplies coded intelligence about Brussels to Nauen.
  • German officers recognize Arnaud's authorization as a secret-service traveller. He then has Henri's indemnity undertaking transmitted in code to Nauen; acknowledgment of the report remains pending.
  • Arnaud appears in a German major's uniform, is recognized by Aimee, and is described as having undertaken a mission into German lines.
  • Aimee treats Arnaud as a traitor, Edmond has learned of his treachery, and Arnaud boasts of ruining Belgium and Henri. His allegiance is no longer concealed from the lovers, though his claims of responsibility remain unverified.
  • Edmond reports discovering Arnaud in a German major's uniform and shooting him. Thalmann accepts the report, while headquarters' capture order confirms official pursuit of Arnaud; he is subsequently treated as dead.

• Arnaud arranges surveillance of Aimee and Edmond and uses information about their meetings to alert Henri.

• Arnaud urges Henri to send Aimee to England to separate her from Edmond and offers to follow her there; Henri's agreement is not established.

  • Aimee refuses separation from Edmond, travels to England with him, and marries him, defeating the intended separation.

• Arnaud pursues Aimee through promises and an unwanted physical advance. She feels revulsion, expels him, and detects his hatred after rejecting him.

  • Arnaud turns his offer of rescue into coercion, threatens punishment, and resolves to obtain Aimee by any means. Her refusal defeats his existing calculations.
  • Aimee refuses Arnaud despite threats and repeated forced kisses. Edmond kills him, ending his coercive pursuit.

• Germany prepares to invade Belgium, crush resistance, advance through Luxembourg and attack Britain, with London its chief goal.

  • The planned invasion of Belgium begins, and the Kaiser orders ruthless treatment of opponents; the projected attacks through Luxembourg and against Britain remain unconfirmed.
  • The invasion is underway. Aerial reconnaissance supports the German attack, and German troops cross the bridge despite Belgian resistance. The further objectives involving Luxembourg, Britain and London are not established as achieved.
  • German forces press the invasion through occupation, assaults, infiltration and bombardment. Attempts to take Liege meet resistance, both disguised infiltrating parties are exposed and killed, and heavy howitzers are approaching; the wider campaign remains unfinished.
  • German advances force Belgian retreats, destroy the Liege forts, capture Leman and accompany the government's relocation to Antwerp.
  • German forces occupy Brussels, capture Liege, Tirlemont and Louvain, and advance toward Namur; Brussels's Civil Guard is disbanded. These events advance the Belgian invasion without establishing progress against Britain.
  • German forces spread through Belgium and storm Dinant, carrying the invasion forward.

• Arnaud conceals a functioning wireless installation in his attic and uses it to intercept naval and commercial transmissions; he reveals its access and capabilities to Silberfeld.

  • The secret wireless operation supports an active exchange of military news and intelligence reports.
  • Arnaud's concealed wireless installation serves active intelligence transmission: an operator sends his report to Nauen and awaits acknowledgment.

• A German intelligence network in Liege includes sixty agents and Wilberz's clandestine wireless; its agents have received warning of the impending attack.

  • German espionage around Liege becomes overtly active: rooftop signallers are captured, about a dozen spies are reportedly executed, and Huart discovers a German spy among his foremen. No identification with the previously named agents or wireless installation is established.
  • German spies are exposed at Liege and elsewhere, and many are arrested in Brussels and Antwerp; the events do not establish which previously identified agents are caught.

• Aimee plans to inform her father of the invasion if she can reach him.

• Huart commits to remaining at the works and holding out until the company instructs him.

• Aimee seeks news of Edmond's location and actions with the Eighth Chasseurs; Huart promises assistance, but the failed telephone connection obstructs her access.

  • Arnaud gives Aimee possible locations for Edmond following the retreat, but his whereabouts remain uncertain.
  • Aimee encounters Edmond himself and learns that he is alive and present, fulfilling her immediate search for his whereabouts.

• The burgomaster of Cheratte seeks immediate transmission of his eyewitness report of atrocities to the Minister of Justice.

• Aimee conceals the outbreak of war from her mother to protect her weak heart, disguising Huart's call as routine business.

  • Aimee tells her mother that Uhlans have arrived; her mother hears atrocity reports and experiences the attack and flight herself. Concealing the war from her is no longer possible.

• A gunner vows revenge for the death of the red-moustached officer.

• Edmond takes charge of the machine-gun and works to keep it operational through the fighting; after repairing shell damage, he directs its dismantling and removal during the retreat.

  • Edmond establishes his gun in a sheltered roadside ditch. During the subsequent retreat, the Maxim is dismounted and its barrel carried away as the regiment withdraws to sheltered ground.
  • Edmond continues operating his Maxim effectively, inflicting heavy German casualties.
  • Edmond answers the alarm, returns to his machine-gun at the citadel and uses it in the defence, limiting his fire where civilians cannot be distinguished from the enemy.
  • Edmond continues operating the Maxim against German infantry, killing about twenty men.

• The Kaiser orders atrocities against Belgian civilians as a military strategy, and German troops carry out killings, destruction and plunder.

  • German troops continue plunder, deliberate burning and violence against civilians. Edmond hears reports of executions and atrocities and sees another village burning.
  • German forces continue systematic violence through civilian shields, executions, mutilation, sexual violence, attacks involving Red Cross vehicles, plunder and destruction.
  • The terror strategy is reinforced by attacks on civilians and retaliatory burning. At Severac, Meyeren orders destruction and arson, soldiers plunder the house and kill fleeing servants, and he announces an intention to burn Namur.
  • Further executions, plunder, destruction and displacement establish the continuing implementation of German violence against civilians.
  • German forces destroy property and attack inhabitants in Dinant, while Beeger receives explicit orders to repeat the terror inflicted at Aerschot and Vise.
  • German forces continue civilian killings, mass executions, destruction and arrests in Dinant.
  • Further civilian killing, coercive detention and reported destruction extend the German campaign of atrocities.
  • German forces carry out executions, plunder and further atrocities in Dinant, and their commander orders the town burned.
  • German troops extend the violence to Leffe through pillage, burning and the coerced acclamation of Germany by women and children.

• Belgian defenders resolve to prevent German conquest and hold out until allied help arrives; the Eighth Chasseurs renew their determination to protect their loved ones despite heavy losses and diminishing hope.

  • Resistance continues, but successive retreats, the evacuation of Brussels and the fall of Liege severely obstruct the defenders' aim of holding back conquest.
  • The occupation of Brussels, capture of further cities and disbanding of the Civil Guard compound the obstacles to preventing German conquest.
  • French assistance becomes effective: after losing Dinant's citadel and retreating, the Belgians advance with French support and recapture it. This local victory advances resistance to conquest, although heavy casualties and the wider invasion leave the goal unsettled.
  • Belgian defenders inflict substantial losses on the deployed Uhlans by trapping them, materially resisting the invasion.
  • Belgian resistance continues at Dinant: the citadel has been retaken, and the renewed German attack brings the defenders, including Edmond, back into action.
  • German forces take Dinant and force the defenders to withdraw; the Belgians establish another defensive position behind Houx and destroy the railway bridge.
  • Belgian forces are driven out of Dinant.
  • British troops arrive to help defend Antwerp, bringing the allied assistance the Belgian defenders have awaited; the broader struggle remains unsettled.

• Henri proposes sending his wife and Aimee to England for safety, but his wife refuses to leave him.

  • After learning how near the German advance has come, Henri promises to consider sending his wife and daughter to the coast. Departure and agreement by his wife remain unconfirmed.
  • Henri and his wife reach London, and Aimee subsequently joins them with Edmond.

• Carton de Wiart prepares an official report of German atrocities for the Powers.

  • The Belgian government issues an official report on the Dinant atrocities to the Powers; the event does not establish whether this completes Carton de Wiart's particular report.

• Aimee relays reports of German atrocities to Henri, who dismisses them as wild rumours.

• Refugees seek safety westward after German violence and destruction drive them from their homes; exhaustion and despair impede their flight.

  • Refugees from the Ourthe valley seek shelter in France, while women driven from Rossignol reach Anseremme; lasting refuge remains unconfirmed.

• Aimee detects a revealing slip in Arnaud's praise of German secrecy, giving her grounds for suspicion without establishing that she knows his allegiance.

  • Recognizing Rigaux in a German major's uniform gives Aimee stronger grounds for mistrusting his allegiance.
  • Aimee now recognizes Arnaud as a traitor and understands the cruelty concealed beneath his former friendship.

• Aimee comes to suspect that Edmond's commander is a paid German traitor after Arnaud supplies the allegation; its truth remains unconfirmed.

• Henri undertakes to arrange the entire indemnity loan demanded from Brussels through his London friends, guaranteeing it if necessary, and commits to a noon meeting at the Hotel de Ville. Arnaud promises to notify Max.

• Edmond wants to send Aimee words of hope, but has no means of delivering a letter; his concern for her welfare persists after the battle.

• Meyeren's occupation of the chateau escalates from coerced hospitality under promises of protection to destruction, plunder and violence. Aimee resists his unwanted touching, and he orders her seizure; she and her mother escape, but fear recapture.

  • Aimee reaches Belgian protection and later England; her mother also reaches England, ending their immediate exposure to recapture.

• Aimee and her mother seek safety after the soldiers set their home alight. They escape through the concealed staircase and woods into open fields, but their lasting safety remains unsettled.

  • Their intended family refuge fails, but Labarre and Elise shelter them. Aimee considers her mother safe and recovers before departing alone; renewed exhaustion and devastation along her route leave her own safety unsettled.
  • Aimee reaches shelter in the inn's cellars during the attack, gaining immediate protection. Lasting safety for her and her mother remains unsettled.
  • Aimee's pursuit of safety suffers a further reversal when soldiers seize her in the cellar; her mother's circumstances are not established here.
  • Aimee remains captive and refuses the escape Rigaux offers on condition of marriage; her mother's safety receives no new confirmation.
  • Aimee is freed from Arnaud and escapes through Dinant with Edmond towards Leffe. Her lasting safety and her mother's safety remain unsettled.
  • Aimee continues her flight with Edmond through repeated evasions, but a German sentry halts and entraps them before safety is reached; her mother's safety receives no new confirmation.
  • Aimee and her mother both reach safety in England and reunite.

• After escaping the burning chateau, Aimee proposes returning to Brussels with her mother.

  • Interrupted communications and difficult travel obstruct the proposed return to Brussels, while the renewed attack creates an immediate need for local shelter.

• Aimee and her mother seek protection at Hannaerts's house, but find the refuge ruined and learn that he has been executed.

• Aimee proposes seeking Labarre; she and her mother reach his farmhouse and receive shelter and care.

• After learning that telephone communication with Brussels is open, Aimee leaves her mother with Elise and travels alone to Dinant to telephone her father for guidance. She reaches Dinant, but no call is established.

  • Aimee explains her purpose to Edmond but learns that communications are interrupted, preventing the intended telephone call to her father.
  • Rigaux says Henri is in Brussels but conditions taking Aimee to him on marriage. She refuses, and no communication with Henri is established.
  • Aimee establishes communication with her parents from Antwerp and receives news of their whereabouts, fulfilling the contact sought through the failed Dinant telephone attempt.

• Edmond undertakes to deliver his captain's message to the infantry captain at the wrecked bridge; delivery is not established.

• An unidentified watcher secretly observes Aimee and Edmond together in Dinant, then withdraws into the shadows; the watcher's allegiance and any subsequent report remain unknown.

• Aimee accepts Edmond's proposal to shelter at the Hotel de l'Epee. When the attack begins, he directs her to Francois's cellars, where she obtains refuge.

  • The cellar refuge fails when soldiers enter, capture the women and kill Francois.
  • The cellar refuge has failed: the women are brought upstairs, and Aimee is detained in the kitchen.

• Edmond intends to seek permission to visit Aimee the next day so they can decide what to do; the renewed attack separates them before any further plan is settled.

  • Edmond withdraws with his brigade while Aimee is captured, obstructing his intended visit and their opportunity to decide what to do.
  • The interrupted intention to decide their next steps is superseded by joint flight, followed by their completed journey to London.

• Edmond's defence of Dinant is constrained by civilians mingled with the enemy in Grand Place; he restrains his machine-gun fire to avoid killing them.

• Edmond determines to prevent Aimee's capture, but his ordered withdrawal separates him from her; he blames himself for sending her to Francois.

  • Belgian forces lose Dinant while Aimee remains detained by the Germans, obstructing Edmond's aim of preventing her capture.
  • Edmond frees Aimee and uses his disguise to escort her past German soldiers, but their escape to Belgian lines remains incomplete.
  • Edmond's account establishes his hazardous return and rescue of Aimee, and he renews his protective commitment, but their interception prevents him from bringing her to safety.
  • Despite his wound, Edmond gets Aimee through to Belgian protection, and they later reach England together.

• Francois proposes going outside to verify the atrocity reports he disbelieves, but is killed before any verification is established.

  • Francois's killing prevents him from carrying out his proposed investigation.

• Francois seeks to save the women sheltering in his cellar and commits to staying with them even at the cost of his life; soldiers kill him after he protests their treatment.

  • Francois is dead, and the women remain under military control; his protective aim is not achieved.

• German soldiers capture Aimee and the other cellar women, using rough handling and Francois's killing to compel submission; the captives expect sexual violation or death.

  • The captors kill an elderly woman, separate the women by age, detain the younger women and march them away. Arnaud uses the threat of leaving Aimee to the soldiers to compel marriage.
  • Aimee escapes actual captivity under cover of being Edmond's prisoner, while other women remain subject to armed coercion.
  • Aimee escapes German captivity and reaches safety; the fate of the other captured women is not established.

• Arnaud claims responsibility for Henri's financial ruin, adding alleged financial retaliation to his coercion of Aimee; the claim is not independently confirmed.

  • Arnaud repeats his claim to have ruined Henri and extends it to Belgium and the chateau. Aimee recognizes his malice, but his claimed responsibility is not independently confirmed.

• Arnaud recognizes Aimee with Edmond in Dinant while on a mission into German lines; his observation gives him knowledge of their continued association.

• Edmond conceals his identity and connection to Aimee beneath a Bavarian uniform and apparent coercion. German soldiers mistake him for a comrade taking a captive; exposure threatens him with execution as a spy.

  • The Bavarian disguise again deceives German outposts, but Edmond ends its use by changing back into his Belgian uniform. Their subsequent interception does not establish discovery of his earlier impersonation.

• Edmond plans to escape immediately with Aimee to the Belgian line, disguising himself as a Bavarian soldier and making her appear an unwilling captive. They pass German soldiers and reach the road towards Leffe, but have not yet reached safety.

  • They adapt their escape by travelling separately, hiding until dark and recovering Edmond's Belgian uniform. His mistaken assessment of the copse leads them into an enemy camp, where a sentry interrupts their escape.
  • They complete their passage through German lines despite Edmond's gunshot wound, reach the Belgian camp, and persuade Thalmann that Edmond is not a spy.

• Edmond investigates Rigaux as a suspected German secret agent but delays denunciation until he can act effectively and justify himself to Aimee; Arnaud suspects surveillance and fears a report to the Minister of War.

  • Edmond establishes Arnaud's German allegiance through his uniform and reports shooting him; Thalmann accepts the account and orders it recorded, ending the deferred investigation.

• Edmond undergoes treatment for his gunshot wound, but he and Aimee learn that he will probably never regain use of his right arm.

• Thalmann commits to rewarding Edmond's distinguished services after praising his conduct and intelligence gathering.

• Aimee commits to staying with the wounded Edmond despite her mother's invitation to London and becomes a volunteer Red Cross nurse at his hospital.

• Edmond and Aimee resolve to leave Antwerp for London and rejoin her parents; they complete the journey together.

Places

Meuse, Ardennes, Dinant, Namur, Anseremme, Lesse, Hotel de la Meuse, France, Brussels, London, England, Cowes, Antwerp, Belgium, Europe, Severac, Ghent, Germany, Taverne Joseph, Holland, Russia, Austria, Luxembourg, Paris, Avenue Louise, Bois de la Cambre, Potsdam, The Bois, Berlin, Cologne, Liege, Grand Hotel, Ireland, Alexandria, Marseilles, Ostend, Dover, Britain, Fort Loncin, Argenteau, Vise, St Trond, Tongres, Charleroi, Louvain, Esneux, Herstal, Place Cockerill, Angleur, Malines, The fort of Flemalle, Aerschot, Orsmael, Haelen, Velm, Seraing, Tirlemont, Loverai, Nivelles, Hotel of the Sword, Bouvignes, Winenne, Bourseigne, Mezieres, Mons, Phillipeville, Rossignol, Roche Bayard, Rue Sax, Brewery of Nicaise Freres, Faubourg de Leffe, Leffe, Bouvigne, Assesse, Farmhouse on the hill, Langham Hotel, Straits of Dover, Trafalgar Square