Tide of War Read Online Free PDF Page B

would not have called it a discussion. If his memory served him right—and he had called it to mind on no more than several hundred occasions over the intervening period—the First Lord had said, “I suppose you must have your promotion,” whereupon Nathan had been moved to thank him and been informed that, “We can probably find one of the older frigates for you if someone dies.”
    â€œSince when I have been considering how best to reward your considerable merits,” the First Lord continued, glancing towards the colonel. “The taking of the
Vestale
in the mouth of the Seine, your heroic conduct aboard the admiral’s flagship on the Glorious First of June, your secret work in France, of which Colonel Hollis has been informed, all recommend you for a posting of some eminence. Which is not so easy to contrive as some of your colleagues appear to think, even in time of war.”
    â€œYou are too kind, my lord,” murmured Nathan, wondering a little at this unexpected eulogy. Perhaps it was designed to impress the First Lord’s companion, whose look of doubt had not escaped Nathan’s attention when he had first entered the room.
    â€œHowever, your patience is to be rewarded,” Lord Chatham assuredhim. “Fortune, or I should say,
fate
has conspired to create a suitable vacancy at last and enabled me to offer you the command of one of our latest frigates, the
Unicorn,
of 32 guns, currently stationed in the Havana.”
    Nathan was stunned beyond the power of speech. So much so he almost missed the import of Chatham’s last statement: “Or
was
when last we heard of her.”
    Stumblingly, Nathan expressed his gratitude. He remembered the way the sun had struck the stone unicorn at Windover House only two evenings since when he had been sunk in the depths of despair. He had thought it was portentous of some additional calamity but far from it. He was to have the
Unicorn.
He had read about her in the
Gazette
when she was launched, devouring every vital statistic. One of a new class of heavy frigates. Twenty-six 18-pounder long guns, six 32-pounder carronades …
    But what was it the First Lord had said about her present location? His eyes focused on the map. La Habana, Cuba, the great haven of the Caribbean where the Spanish treasure ships gathered from Panama and Veracruz before sailing across the Atlantic under the heaviest escort the wealth of Spain could contrive. What was the
Unicorn
doing in the Havana? Had she been captured? Must he first take her back from her captors, cut her out from under the guns of the Spanish?
    But the news had addled his brains. In this war, possibly for the first time, Spain was Britain’s ally.
    â€œWell, I would send for a libation to celebrate your promotion,” beamed Chatham, “but in the circumstances I feel it would not be appropriate.”
    Here then was the catch.
    â€œBut before we come to that—there is something else about which you should be informed. Shall we be seated, gentlemen?”
    Ten elegant red-upholstered chairs were arranged around the table for the ease of their lordships while they plotted the discomfort of the enemy. Nathan sat in one. He did not feel any more relaxed.
    â€œThe
Unicorn
is a new ship, as I think I mentioned. Shortly after being commissioned she was despatched to the West Indies, to reinforce the squadron under Admiral Ford at Port Royal. The admiral, hearing reports of a French frigate in the region—the
Virginie,
of 44 guns—sent the
Unicorn
to track her down. Possibly she was the only ship he could spare. Or it may have appealed to his sense of humour.”
    Nathan was confused.
    â€œThe name of the French frigate was the
Virginie,
” the First Lord emphasised. “So he sent a Unicorn in pursuit of a Virgin, d’you see?”
    â€œAh.” Nathan smiled dutifully. He was not such a pedant as to point out that the French for virgin was
la