A War by Diplomacy Read online

  The crowds had thinned while they were in the theater, but there were still many people on the streets. Daphne noted that there were more raffish-looking gentlemen than earlier, and few respectable-looking women, and those few were dressed in very poor-looking clothes. The women flaunting themselves were more prominent than ever. They reminded Daphne of her unanswered question. She took up the subject again when she and Giles were alone in their room.

  “You never did answer my question,” she began. “You just changed the subject to nosegays.”

  “Yes, I didn’t answer your question. I rather hoped that you would forget it.”

  “Well?” Daphne pressed.

  “I did just once. That is have a whore. It was at my father’s instigation and Ashton’s, my older half-brother. It happened just before I joined my first ship as a midshipman. They said it would make a man of me and … and … and prevent me from becoming a…a… a bum boy. I didn’t want to really, but they told me not to be a sissy and, well, they made me. They took me to a brothel – rather a good one, I imagine – it was actually quite near here. My father selected a woman for me.”

  “What happened?”

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Yes. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”

  “Ugh … well…ugh … she took me to a room and … ugh … she took my member out of my trousers and …”

  “And?”

  “And she … ugh … she got me hard. And she lay down on the bed and pulled me into her. It didn’t last very long. In fact, I had to wait sometime downstairs until my father and Ashton had finished.”

  “That was your only time with a doxy?”

  “Yes. I hated it, to tell the truth. I was embarrassed and scared. I hated that my father made me do it and that I didn’t know how to say no or how to talk to the woman and explain that I wasn’t comfortable about it. I have never forgiven him. It wasn’t even any good. I reckoned my hand could do a much better job, so that is what I used afterward instead of hiring a … a strumpet.”

  Daphne decided that it was wise not to pursue that last remark, lest she have to confess her own secret discoveries concerning how her own hand could be used in ways she suspected were inappropriate. She didn’t want that to be material for discussion – that was certain!

  Chapter II

  Giles was several minutes early for his appointment at the Admiralty. Nevertheless, he was shown to the First Lord’s room immediately. There had been a change of government since he had last been at the Admiralty and now the First Lord was his old acquaintance, Sir David McDougall. Sir David greeted him and waved him to a chair. The Second Secretary was also on hand.

  “Good to see you again, Captain Giles. I trust that your leg has recovered.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Now about your ship, Impetuous. She has been condemned and will be broken up.”

  “I am surprised, Sir David. My latest news from the Chatham Dockyard was that repairs had been delayed but that she would be ready soon.”

  “Aye, well, that was my doing. A ruse to keep your crew together.”

  “I don’t understand, sir.”

  “Aye, well, I knew that I had a delicate matter for you and I didn’t want you to have to waste time training a raw crew when your new ship is ready.”

  “New ship?”

  “Aye. A frigate. Thirty-six. Twenty-four pounders. Plus those eighteen-pounder bow-chasers that you like. Being built at Stewart’s Yard at Butler’s Hard. I believe you know him.”

  “Yes, sir. My previous ship, Patroclus, was built by him, and his son is one of my midshipmen.”

  “This ship will be called ‘Glaucus’. I don’t know where we get these names.”

  “It is the name of a Greek sea god, Sir David,” announced the Second Secretary.

  “I know. It is also the name of a sea-slug. I hope the ship is named after the first meaning and not the second.”

  ‘Yes, my lord. I didn’t know about that other meaning.”

  “You should have, since the name has been given to the disgusting creature by someone on one of the Navy’s discovery voyages. Anyway, Captain Giles, like it or not, your ship is called ‘Glaucus’. She should be ready to sail in three weeks’ time. Your crew and officers are being transported from Chatham and should already be at Butler’s Hard or will arrive there shortly.

  “Now, about your duties. You are going to St. Petersburg. With a special ambassador, a fellow called Sir Walcott Lainey, pompous fool in my view, but capable of doing the job we want. He has no knowledge of what we really have in mind nor does he have the imagination to realize what that is likely to be. As near to spy-proof as we can get, especially as we rather hope that the details of his ostensible mission will be leaked to the French. He will be offering the Tsar rather lower support than we are already committed to. The hope is that the Tsar will appear to be so infuriated with that sum and with the ambassador who you will be taking to Russia that he will publically and angrily declare that he is refusing all aid from us. To strengthen that belief among spies in St. Petersburg, our ambassador will now seem to be an unsympathetic person, so the Tsar might well get angry with him as well and so appear to reduce the strength of our alliance with him.

  “It is all sham. Directed mainly at Prussia. Prussia is likely to be the first target if Bonaparte decides to go east again. But if the Prussians think that Russia is about to attack them, they might try to form an alliance with Bonaparte to attack Russia or Austria. We certainly do not want there to be any such alliance, since if Bonaparte feels safer on his eastern flank, he may devote even more troops to trying to invade us. The plan strikes me as being a bit too complicated to be successful. It’s based on too many hypotheses about how others will react. I doubt that it will work, but that is the reasoning of the people who are supposed to know diplomacy and we just have to try to implement this scheme

  “The special ambassador will be joining you, at Butler’s Hard in three weeks’ time. He thinks going to Butler’s Hard is for secrecy, though the news that he has a mission that he thinks is of paramount importance will be well known to French agents long before he leaves London. He is the type who thinks that all gentlemen are inherently honorable and that servants do not have ears. Neither is true, and certainly not in the circles in which he mingles. I am sure that he would be unable to resist boasting about anything that he thinks might enhance his status so we can be sure that every spy in London will know about his mission and its purpose, as he sees it, long before he joins you.

  Sir Walcott is sure to bring far too much luggage, and you may have to tell him that discretion should mean that he should appear more businesslike and less like a fashion plate. You might suggest that less baggage is better than more for purposes of appearing unremarkable and efficient. He will certainly stand out, but we don’t want to overdo it. He most assuredly is not efficient. In the same vein, he should not have too great an entourage. You can tell him that he can only have two servants, as he has already been informed. Threaten to press any extra servants if he protests. I am sure you can always use extra crew members so actually do it. He doesn’t have nearly as much influence as he thinks he has.

  “Sir Walcott’s apparent mission is to persuade the Russians to support us and build up their army, largely at our expense. There is nothing much to it. It will all be in a letter he delivers and is a straightforward bribe. You may wonder why we don’t use our regular ambassador, Lord Malthampton.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Aye, well, the cover story is that he is too much in love with the Russians, particularly with the Tsar, Alexander. We will be supposed not to fully trust Malthampton, for he thinks we were wrong to resist Russian expansion into Turkish areas. He’s a bit like Sir William Hamilton at Naples, though without the flamboyant wife. In fact, he has already negotiated a very important secret treaty whose existence we would prefer Prussia and France not to be aware of.

  “Now, for your own
role. I want you to keep your ears and eyes open. We need to know more about the state of the Russian navy. That is your real mission. You will be in Kronstadt undoubtedly, and will likely be moored at their naval dockyard when you get to St. Petersburg. You are sure to be entertained by Russian officers. They will be curious about you, especially as your exploits will not be unknown to them. We know that many Russian officers follow the Naval Gazette. You don’t speak French, do you?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Pity. It is the language of the court in St. Petersburg. But quite a few of their officers, I am told, do speak some English. Presume that anything you say will get back to the French. So make us sound very well-prepared to deal with the French fleet and with any invasion. Don’t be blatant about it. An ‘unintentional’ hint often carries more weight than a straight-forward boast about our strengths. Remember that. For that reason, make sure you don’t tell the real state of our defenses to anyone, no matter how friendly they seem. We would rather have the French think we are stronger than we are. If you want, you can even boast about how we sent a lot of misinformation by that turncoat captain, what was his name? Oh, yes, Hoxley. Aye, mention him in connection with our hope that the French would try to invade prematurely and so be beaten – I know, that is another fiction.

  “Now, the second and crucial part of your own mission. This is an offer for you to deliver to the Russian Minister of the Navy, Count Smirnov, in person. You will have a letter to him, but it is only an introduction. The message is to be transmitted orally. You are to offer a subsidy, of £50,000 per annum, to be paid secretly, though only as long as Russia continues to be a member of the coalition against Napoleon. There will also be a payment of £5,000 for the Count himself for arranging for this. Luckily, the Count is not a particularly rich man and has some expensive tastes. The main payment is in addition to the subsidy for the army that we are already paying to keep Russia neutral. It has nothing to do with Sir Walcott’s false offer. The reality is that we are already shoring up the coalition, and you will be offering new money to strengthen their naval commitment, which is somewhat lacking.

  “There are some additional terms that you are to propose to the minister, and this is the part that we especially do not want to put down on paper because of repercussions elsewhere if it is known to what we are committing ourselves. First, if Russia allies herself with France, we will deal with the Russian fleet the way we dealt with the Danes at Copenhagen, that is, attack them in their home anchorage and wipe them out. You will also promise that if Sweden should join the French, we will destroy their fleet, in the same way as we did the Danes, provided, and only provided, that Russia enters the war on our side. Otherwise, we will leave the naval side alone. Well, that is, in summary, what you are to do. Secretary Newsome, of course, has your written orders. However, we should go over your real mission more carefully, since none of it will be written down, except for the letter indicating that you speak for us.”

  The next half-hour was spent with Sir David elaborating on the messages and with Giles and the Second Secretary trying to anticipate whatever questions the Russian minister might raise. When they had run through all the possibilities that they could anticipate and it was quite clear that Giles had by memory all the important details of his mission, he raised an issue that had been bothering him.

  “Sir David, how am I to communicate with Count Smirnov. I don’t speak Russian or French.”

  “Aye. A good point. The Count is believed to speak English quite fluently. If he doesn’t, you could use your lieutenant who is fluent in the French language, Lieutenant Hendricks, I believe. Newsome here has your commission and orders, don’t you Newsome?”

  “Yes, Sir David,” responded the Second Secretary.

  “Then add to them that Captain Giles is to press any servants that Sir Walcott seeks to bring with him above two. You can tell Sir Walcott that it is for discretion, but that, once enrolled, the men will remain in the navy when you return. That should put him in his place, without you, Captain Giles, appearing to be petty.

  “Oh, and, Captain Giles, no taking of prizes and avoid clashes with the Danes and the Swedes. In fact, only engage a French ship if there is no alternative.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  “Good! Are those orders ready? Good day, Captain Giles. We are counting on you to perform your duties in accord with the highest standards of the Service.”

  Giles found himself on the pavement outside the Admiralty without really being aware of how the transition from the First Lord’s room had been effected. He had been thinking more about how Sir David seemed to have every detail at his fingertips, even to which of Giles’s lieutenants was fluent in French, rather than about his new ship and where his orders were sending him. He didn’t have to rush away to his ship now and Daphne would probably be away from the hotel all day. He would go to his club in Pall Mall and see if he could find someone with whom to have luncheon.

  Giles was sitting in the lobby of the hotel, reading a newspaper, when Daphne returned in the afternoon. “I have had such a wonderful time, Richard! You cannot believe the stores there are in London. I bought so much fabric for dresses, both for now and for after the baby. I am sure that I have spent all your money and you will be deeply in debt.”

  “I doubt that, my dear.”

  “Have the others returned? I suppose there is a bit of a rush to get changed and to eat dinner and still get to the theatre.”

  “There is a bit. Ah, here they are now.”

  Lady Marianne was just coming through the doors of the hotel followed by Lydia and Catherine with Captain Bolton bringing up the rear. Lady Marianne looked tired but willing to endure still more in a good cause, Lydia clearly looked bad tempered, while Catherine, quite uncharacteristically, was happy and excited.

  “Aunt Daphne, Uncle Richard,” Catherine greeted the couple. “Captain Bolton is wonderfully knowledgeable about paintings and painters. The day wasn’t nearly long enough.”

  “I am glad you had a good time, Catherine. It was very good of you to show them the paintings, Captain Bolton,” Daphne responded.

  “Not at all, Lady Giles. The pleasure was all mine.”

  “Uncle Richard, did you say you have a box at the theatre tonight?” asked Catherine.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Could Captain Bolton come with us, would there be room?”

  “Yes. Bolton, we would all be delighted to have you join us, and for dinner too.”

  “It is very good of you, Giles, to invite me, but I won’t have time to change.”

  Daphne looked him up and down critically.

  “I think you look very elegant, Captain Bolton. Richard, you will go in your day clothes too, won’t you? So that Captain Bolton will not feel out of place.”

  “Of course I will. That quite solves the problem, doesn’t it, Bolton?”

  With that matter settled, the ladies went to change, with firm orders not to dawdle, and the two captains retired to the lounge to catch up with each other’s doings over a glass of sherry.

  Giles broke his news to the whole company at dinner. Daphne was the first to speak, “Richard, that is very good news. A new frigate. When do you have to join her?”

  “Not for a couple of weeks, more or less, but I would like to go down tomorrow to Butler’s Hard, just to see that everything is in order. Would you like to come?”

  “I would love to. But what about the others?”

  “They can return to Dipton tomorrow, just as we planned.”

  “Oh, Uncle Richard, can’t we stay another day?” asked Lydia. “I haven’t seen anything very much of London. I want to shop. Especially with my wedding coming up soon.”

  “I will be happy to accompany the ladies again tomorrow,” interposed Captain Bolton.

  “I don’t want to see any more pictures,” declared Lydia. “I will just go shopping alone.”

  “Oh, no, you won’t,” responded Lady Marianne, “even if you are betrothed.”<
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  “I promise no more pictures. There are many other things to do in London, and we could spend as much of the day as you want on any of them,” Captain Bolton said, clarifying his offer.

  All three agreed, so it was settled.

  The sun was easing towards the horizon when Butler’s hard came into sight the next day. Anchored in the river was a new frigate, no doubt Glaucus. Giles stopped the coach to look at her and to point out some distinguishing features to Daphne, most of which she did not actually appreciate. They then went on to the inn where they were intending to spend the night. However, even as they were getting out of the coach, a small, well-dressed man, not young and with an air of authority, came running up.

  “Captain Giles, welcome to Butler’s Hard. I suspected that you would be here soon when your crew arrived. It is a pleasure to have you here.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Daphne, may I present Mr. Stewart, who is the man who is building Glaucus. He is also the father of Midshipman Stewart, whom you met at our wedding and also on Impetuous. Mr. Stewart, my wife, Lady Giles.”

  “Lady Giles, I have heard about you from my son. He almost worships you. Both of you actually. I thought it must be you when I saw a private coach arriving.”

  “You don’t have many coaches here, Mr. Stewart?”

  “No, my lady, very few. I thought I would just come to see if it was you, Captain Giles. Now, you cannot stay at the inn, especially not with Lady Giles accompanying you.”

  “Why ever not?”

  “It’s a pretty rough and ready sort of place. Not really suitable for ladies. Anyway, Mrs. Stewart and I want you to stay with us. Ship-building has been very good to me and we have a large house. Quite comfortable, if I do say so myself. I am sure you would be much happier with us than at the inn. And both Mrs. Stewart and young Daniel would be devastated if we weren’t able to provide you with our best hospitality.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Stewart,” Giles replied. “We will be honored to accept your generous offer. I shouldn’t be surprised by your welcome, though I was certainly not expecting it. Midshipman Stewart is a very well-brought-up young man.”