The Gathering Storm (12 page)

'I have nothing more to say to you.'

'I confess I am disappointed. I had thought M. Mappin
would send to me a more experienced emissary, wide versed
in the art of deception and therefore able to acquit himself
well under close questioning. You disappoint me, Lieutenant
Hayter.' Uncocking the pistol.

'Eh?'

'You may think you are brave, but had the wrong people
took you on that beach you would not have stood up at all
well. You would have been broke, and you would have given
us away.'

James gave a bitter little chuckle, and:

'The irony is, monsieur, whoever you are – that I know
nothing at all, because I have been told nothing.'

'M. Mappin gave you no detail of our business?'

'I have been told nothing, and I propose to say nothing.'

'Ah. Then I must say to you: give me the password.'

'Password? It is ...
deus ex machina
.'

'Welcome to beautiful France, Lieutenant. And now, we
have work to do. Madame Maigre has come to us this
morning, and you must meet her.'

The relief in James's breast gave way to returning anger,
and bewilderment.

'But why was I kept blindfolded, if you knew who I was
all the while? Why was I made captive, and dragged about
the countryside? Why have you treated me so shabby?'

'All will be made clear to you in due course, monsieur,
after you have met Madame Maigre.'

'Is Madame Maigre the lady that came in the black
carriage?'

'You have seen her? How?' A frown, then: 'Ahh ... you
saw her from the window.'

'I did indeed, yes.'

Something in the way James made this brief reply caused
the other man to look sharply at him.

'She is very beautiful, no?'

'Very beautiful.'

'That must be the least of your concern, monsieur. We
are here on profoundly important business, and there can
be no foolish distraction of purpose. You understand?'

'Very good, monsieur. I shall endeavour to keep that uppermost
in my mind, and take notice only of what the lady says
to me, when we meet.' With a degree of polite irony. This
produced a coldly fierce response:

'Listen to me, Englishman. You are here on sufferance,
because my superiors have been persuaded of the need, in
our present circumstances, to accept England's offer of help.
I remain sceptical. I remain reluctant. Why should we trust
the English, a duplicitous race – insular, piratical, uncivilised?
What is the reason for your sudden willingness to oblige, to
be charitable, and kind?'

'I do not feel in the least charitable, monsieur. Nor do I
feel disposed to be kind, neither.' Stung to intemperance.

'No? No, I think you do not.' Holding up a hand as James
was about to speak: 'You see, what puzzles me is why M. Mappin
would send to us such a clumsily inept and impetuous fellow,
with the acuity of a cowherd. Whose disguise would not deceive
a dullard child. Whose experience in this exacting field was so
obviously ... off. Could it be that M. Mappin's heart does not
after all beat so very strong in this cause? I wonder.'

'
What
cause? If you are its representative, monsieur, it can
have little hope of survival or success, since you will certainly
poison it from within.' Further stung.

A long, cold, hostile stare, and:

'You will meet Madame Maigre. She must decide. Her
intuition is infallible?'

'Thank you, I look forward to it. Will you tell me your
name, monsieur? I will always like to know who my enemies
are.'

'I am known as – Félix.'

'Monsieur Félix. I shall remember that.'

'You will do well to remember it, monsieur. We shall see
each other again.'

Another cold stare, then he nodded to his companion by
the door, who opened it wide. M. Félix swung out of the
room, the door was closed in a rush of air that swept over
James's face, and the lock turned. Retreating footfalls. Silence.

As she had proceeded south along the coast,
Expedient
's leak
had grown worse, and soon the duty of survey – or the
pretence of it – began to assume a very low priority in Captain
Rennie's mind. He called together and spoke to his officers
in the great cabin, briefly leaving the ship in the hands of
the master's mate Mr Dangerfield.

'Gentlemen, I have decided that we must abandon our
duty of survey, and return to Portsmouth. Mr Adgett and
Mr Tangible have both told me that the pumps are scarce
able to hold their own against the increasing flow of water
into the ship, and Mr Loftus is of the firm opinion that
was we to encounter more bad weather along this coast
we might very probably founder. We will therefore set a
course for England, and there undergo urgent repair. It
cannot be managed at sea. Mr Leigh.' A glance at his
second lieutenant.

'Sir?'

'Assemble the people in the waist, and I will say a word
to them.'

'Very good, sir.' Departing.

'Mr Souter. You are quite recovered now, are you?

'I am, sir, thank you.'

'Very well. Y'may return to your duty as officer of the
deck, and relieve Mr Dangerfield.'

'Sir.' His back very straight. His hat on as he left the cabin.

'No wonder he suffers costiveness, the fellow.' Not aloud.
'His arse is so tight never even a fart could escape.' Turning
to Lieutenant Makepeace: 'Now then, Tom. I could see you
wished to say something. You have a question?'

'Well, sir – I have.'

'Go on.'

'Are we to leave Mr Tonnelier altogether behind in
France?'

'Nay, nay, my duty is to return and take him off at the
Pointe de Malaise on either the twentieth or the twenty-first
day of this month. However, I cannot do so if my ship
sinks under my legs. I will make my best endeavour to
repair and return by that time, but if I am unable to do it
– well, I am confident Mr Tonnelier is a resourceful fellow,
and will discover some other means of coming out of
France.'

'D'y'mean – that he would hire a vessel of his own, sir?'
Puzzled.

'I do not know that. Perhaps he may go independent to a
port, and cross in a packet-boat, I do not know. I hope to
take him off in
Expedient
. I will do my best for him.'

'May I say one word more, sir?'

'Well, Tom?' Raising his eyebrows.

'With great respect, sir, I wonder if there ain't more to
this than simply putting a man ashore, and taking him
off again. I was foxed the night you introduced me to
Mr Tonnelier, I admit – and was ashamed of myself afterward.
Since then I have the strong sense that Mr Tonnelier
ain't a silk merchant at all. My feeling is that he is employed
official, that he is acting in some distinction for government
interest, and not his own – and that is the true reason we
came to France, and not the survey, that is no more than
sham.'

Rennie looked at him a long moment, then turned away
and was silent.

'In course you may very likely say to me that I should
mind my own business, sir – but if I may continue ... ?'
Finding no response: 'Mr Leigh, after his experience in the
launch, is also of the opinion that Mr Tonnelier never was
in the silk trade, and is in fact—'

'Yes yes, well well,' Rennie, over him, and he turned
to look at him again. 'Ye've expressed your view, Mr
Makepeace. I have allowed it, to a point. But I think ye'd
better keep your opinion to yourself, from now on. And so
had Mr Leigh.'

He took up his hat, and his sword.

'We will go on deck.'

*

HMS
Expedient
, frigate, 36, returned to Portsmouth, increasingly
by the head and sluggish in answering the helm, so
that she gave Captain Rennie great anxiety in the four days
the journey took, and he was always waiting for the first
signs of a storm, keeping the deck two and three watches
together. By the urgency of her signals as she reached
Spithead she was given permission to stand in to the dockyard,
where dockyard officers came aboard at her mooring
number. She was straightway examined, and the officers,
including the master shipwright, allowed that she must be
got out of the water and into a dry dock without further
delay, and her copper prised up to discover the extent of
the difficulty. Her people went into a hulk, and the work
began.

Admiral Hapgood was not pleased. He summoned Captain
Rennie.

'This is a very dreadful commission, sir.'

'I can assure you, sir, that I have every wish—'

'Nothing goes right with it. You was delayed an unconscionable
time. All kinds of troublesome people came and went
from London. I was told nothing. And now you return with
your duty not accomplished. Nothing accomplished but
further delay and expense, and failure.'

Rennie did not see how failure could be an accomplishment,
but he did not say so. He thought it best to say nothing
at all.

'Well?' The beetling glare.

'I am as cast down as yourself, sir.'

'Cast down! D'y'say y'are moping, sir, like a damned snivelling
maidservant? This ain't a scullery, Captain Rennie, it
is a naval port, where sea officers must conduct themselves
in a manner befitting their rank and duty.'

Etcetera, etcetera. It was all very vexing and tedious to
Rennie, but he bit his tongue and bore it, and came away
to the Marine Hotel.

Mr Mappin appeared at the Marine Hotel, where Captain
Rennie had been tenderly and joyfully reunited with his wife.
He sought an urgent interview. In fact he came direct to
their rooms and demanded it. Rennie, in his shirtsleeves,
was disinclined to be amiable, his ears still ringing as they
were with Admiral Hapgood's round abuse.

'Mr Mappin, I am not ready to see you just now, you
know. Ye've called at an incon—'

'You will oblige me by coming to the coffee house in ten
minutes.' Mr Mappin, over him, his cane and gloves held
tight in his hand. 'Do not fail me.' Abruptly turning on his
heel and going away downstairs.

'Christ Jesu ...' A great sigh. 'Have not I enough to deal
with? Bloody dockyard men, and my ship took from under
my legs, and bloody Happy Hapgood?'

'Never mind, my darling William.'

'I do mind, though. I must go away from you, just when
we ...'

'You will come back very soon. And I will be here.'

He put on his coat, allowed his wife to tie his stock, kissed
her, and went out.

He met Mr Mappin in the coffee house, and:

'How did y'know I was at Portsmouth, Mr Mappin? I have
only just arrived this morning.'

'I have been much at Portsmouth in recent days. Nearly all
the time. Why did not you remain in your ship, sailing
along the French coast as instructed, after you had put
Mr Tonnelier ashore?'

'Mr Who-is-he? Do not you mean – Lieutenant Hayter?'

Mr Mappin regarded him a moment, and: 'How long have
you known?'

'From the first moment he came into the ship.'

'He told you? He was given very specific instruction never
to—'

'He said nothing. I recognised him at once.' A sniff,
then mildly: 'Look y'here now, I have known James Hayter
many years, as shipmate and close friend. He is as familiar
to me as my own face in the glass. What persuaded you I
would not see through his damnfool disguise before he
had even opened his mouth? Hey? Good heaven, man.
And speaking of my ship, evidently you have not heard of
her condition.'

'Condition?'

'She leaked badly following a storm at sea, and the leak
got worse and worse. I was obliged to bring her home for
repair, else she—'

'Didn't Mr Tonnelier – Lieutenant Hayter – ask you to
wait for him? Until the twentieth of June?' Over him.

'He did. But I repeat – my ship was sinking under my
legs. I had no choice but to return to England.'

'Had you no thought for your passenger, Captain Rennie?
Had you no thought at all for him, and what he had been
required to do?'

'Ah, well, I do not know what he was required to do, you
see. I was never told. I did my duty and put him ashore, at
very considerable risk to my ship and my people. In fact we
lost a man out of the boat. A man was drowned, Mr Mappin,
in carrying out my orders.' Holding up a hand before Mr
Mappin could again interrupt. 'Before you say anything
more to me, I will like to remind you of what I said last
time we spoke. That if I discovered you in a lie, or a deliberate
attempt to hoodwink and confuse me, I would make you
answer for it.'

Mr Mappin, usually so moderate in his speech and
manners, now had to make an effort to be calm. He shook
his head, drew in a breath, and:

'Captain Rennie, above all else you must return to France
at the appointed time, the twentieth of June. You
must.
'

'I can promise nothing, I fear. In course I will not like to
leave Mr Hayter stranded in France, and I will naturally do
my best for him, and for you, in attempting to return by the
appointed time. But I cannot work miracles. We may well
be delayed here at Portsmouth two or three weeks.'

'Three weeks! That cannot be permitted.' Leaning forward
urgently. 'Listen now, what I wish you to do—'

'It ain't a question of what you wish, sir. Fact is fact. When
Expedient
lay in Ordinary her bow timbers had rotted, part
of the wale planking in the region of the cant frames and
breast hooks, and the corruption was not discovered at the
time of her refit. In truth we knew nothing of it at all until
the ship began to leak very bad at sea.'

'I know little of the work of shipbuilders, nor of repair. They
are not pertinent now. You must take another vessel. I will
arrange it. It is
vital
you return to France by the twentieth.
You have little more than a week until that date, given the time
you have wasted in returning—'

'Take another ship ... ?' Rennie, staring at him.

'Yes, another ship. I will arrange it with Their Lordships,
without delay.'

'Mr Mappin, you have tried my patience very far, sir, and
now I will permit you to try it no further. What you propose
is out of the question.' Hands flat on the table.

'Captain Rennie, I must tell you something more.' His
voice very low and emphatic. 'Lieutenant Hayter will not
come out of France alone. He will bring with him a party
of persons, who must be got out of France
on that date
.
Brought away without remark, nor any attention drawn to
them, quietly, discreetly, carefully. You will go there, in the
vessel I shall arrange for you, and you will bring them away.'

'Well well ... I knew nothing of this before, Mr Mappin,
nothing at all. You see what happens to fellows like you,
when you do not trust honourable sea officers, and keep
things from them? You get yourselves in a very pretty fix,
and then you expect the Royal Navy to get you out of it. I
cannot sail to France in another ship. I am commissioned
in
Expedient
.'

'Even if Their Lordships order you to take another ship,
you will not obey?' Angrily incredulous.

Rennie sighed. 'Another frigate? Is that what you suggest?
How will you arrange that, pray? Do you intend to bring a
particular frigate out of Ordinary, refit her and make her
ready for the sea, all in a week?'

'There are other frigates here at Portsmouth, lying at
anchor. One of those will—'

'Aye, and all of those are commissioned, you know, by and
to appointed post captains, just as I am commissioned in
Expedient.
Their Lordships will not take a commissioned ship
from under her captain's legs – just like that. Not even the
Prime Minister can do it – just like that.' Snapping his fingers
in Mr Mappin's face.

Mr Mappin seized Rennie's arm in a powerful grip, and
looked right into his eyes. Low and hard:

'The Prime Minister can, and will, and does. I act upon
his authority, direct.' He released his grip, and stood up,
dropped coins on the table, and: 'Come with me.'

'Eh?'

'We must talk further, and we cannot talk safely here.'

Before an astonished Rennie could ask a single question,
Mr Mappin was already away to the door. Rennie hastily
took up his hat, rose and followed.

Rennie caught him up and walked with Mr Mappin briskly
along the parade toward the fortifications, the castle against
the sky in the east. The day was pleasantly sunny and warm,
and there was a light topsail breeze. Ships lay moored. A
sloop dashed down the harbour, and heeled toward Spithead.
Portsmouth had never looked finer or more naval, thought
Rennie as he glanced at the flag flying from the tower in
the afternoon light. Presently, at the stone wall, Mr Mappin
turned and spoke, and within a very few minutes Rennie had
been made to understand. He stared at Mr Mappin as that
gentleman finished speaking, nodded decisively, and:

'We will not need another ship, Mr Mappin, now that you
have made everything clear to me. To take another ship when
so much is at stake would be tempting fate beyond all sense.
If I go at once to the dockyard and put things in motion,
and lift everyone to his duty urgent, we can be ready for sea
in a very short time indeed. I will make it so.'

'But if
Expedient
ain't—'

'I will do it, I give you my word. We shall return to France
by the appointed date.'

'You are certain ... ?' Frowning at him.

'As certain as I have ever been about anything, by God. I
know my own ship in every distinction, great and small. I will
get her ready, put to sea, and complete this task. You have
my word on it.'

'Well ...' Still doubtful.

'There ain't a moment to lose.' Before Mr Mappin could
demur, or make further objection. 'Good day to you, sir.'

And Rennie set off down the line of fortifications at something
like a run, clutching his hat to his head.