That was a curious thing to say. It hinted at division of command, and that was inherently vicious. Better a bad commander-in-chief than a divided command. To tell a subordinate that his superior was under orders to grant him wide discretion was a dangerous thing to do, unless the subordinate was a man of superlative loyalty and common sense. Hornblower gulped at that momenthe had honestly forgotten temporarily that he was the subordinate under consideration; maybe the Admiralty credited him with superlative loyalty and common sense.
Louis was eyeing him curiously.
Dont you want to hear the size of your command? he asked.
Yes, of course, answered Hornblower, but he did not mind very much. The fact that he was going to command something was much more important than what he was going to command.
Youll have the Nonsuch, seventy-four, said Louis. That will give you a ship of force should you need one. For the rest youll have all the small stuff we can scrape together for youLotus and Raven , sloops; two bomb-ketches, Moth and Harvey , and the cutter Clam. Thats all so far, but by the time you sail we might have some more ready for you. We want you to be ready for all the inshore work that may come your way. Theres likely to be plenty.
I expect so, said Hornblower.
Dont know whether youll be fighting for the Russians or against them, mused Louis. Same with the Swedes. God knows whats building up, up there. But His Nibsll tell you all about that.
Hornblower looked a question.
Your revered brother-in-law, the most noble the Marquis Wellesley, K.P., His Britannic Majestys Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. We call him His Nibs for short. Well walk across and see him in a minute. But theres something else important to settle. Who dyou want for captain in Nonsuch ?
Hornblower gasped at that. This was patronage on a grand scale. He had sometimes appointed midshipmen and surgeons mates; a parson of shady record had once hungrily solicited him for nomination as chaplain in his ship, but to have a say in the appointment of a captain of a ship of the line was something infinitely more important than any of these. There were 120 captains junior to Hornblower, men of most distinguished record, whose achievements were talked of with bated breath in the four quarters of the world, and who had won their way to that rank at the cost of their blood and by the performance of feats of skill and daring unparalleled in history. Certainly half of these, perhaps more, would jump at the suggestion of the command of a seventy-four. Hornblower remembered his own joy at his appointment to Sutherland two years ago. Captains on half-pay, captains with shore appointments eating out their hearts with wailing for a sea command, it was in his power to change the whole life and career of one of these. Yet there was no hesitation about his decision. There might be more brilliant captains available, captains with more brains, but there was only one man that he wanted.
Ill have Bush, he said, if hes available.
You can have him, said Louis, with a nod. I was expecting you to ask for him. That wooden leg of his wont be too serious a handicap, you think.
I dont think so, said Hornblower. It would have been irksome in the extreme to go to sea with any other captain than Bush.
Very well, then, said Louis, looking round at the clock on the wall. Lets walk across and see His Nibs, if youve no objection.
Chapter Three
and if he had been content with rush dips the charge would not have been more than twopence. The fire would be a shilling, too. And you could trust an innkeeper to make the maximum charges to a guest who obviously could afford them, a Knight of the Bath, with a servant, and a two-horse chariot. To-morrows bill would be nearer two guineas than one, Hornblower touched his breast pocket to reassure himself that his thick wad of one-pound notes was still there. He could afford to spend two guineas a day.
Reassured, he bent again to the notes which he had made during his interview with the Foreign Secretary. They were in irregular order, jotted down as first one thing and then another had come into Wellesleys mind. It was quite clear that not even the Cabinet knew for certain whether the Russians were going to fight Bonaparte or not. No, that was the wrong way to put it. Nobody knew whether Bonaparte was going to fight the Russians or not. However much ill will the Tsar bore towards the Frenchand obviously it was greathe would not fight unless he had to, unless Bonaparte deliberately attacked him. Certainly the Tsar would make every possible concession rather than fight, at least at present while he was still trying to build up and reorganize his army.
Its hard to think Boney will be mad enough to pick a quarrel, Wellesley had said, when he can get practically all he wants without fighting.
But if there was going to be war it was desirable that England should have a striking force in the Baltic.
If Boney chases Alexander out of Russia, I want you to be on hand to pick him up, said Wellesley. We can always find a use for him.