“You have no shame, do you?” Benjamin said resignedly. “What terms have been extracted from you by the North?”
Lord Lyons gave Benjamin a summary of the negotiations between General Scott and Governor Monck that left the Confederate secretary of state aghast. He had expected the British to depart the war, but not that they would become a new enemy.
“In your position, sir,” said Lyons, “I would negotiate for peace.” “We must fight on,” Benjamin said softly. “Our honor demands it.”
“You must face reality.” Lyons rebuked him gently. “As a result of Britain's ill-fated intervention, enlistments in the Union army have soared to where our sources say they have more than seven hundred thousand men under arms, and that number continues to grow. That's several times larger than the Confederacy's and, even if you could put more men into the field, you couldn't arm them or supply them. You haven't the numbers and you have no industry to support what you do have.”
“You had been helping to supply us,” Benjamin said with a trace of petulance.
“But no more. Look at what is happening. Grant is approaching Richmond, while Sherman is moving down the Shenandoah. It may look like his army is digressing, but he will debauch from the valley to the south and west of Richmond and, with no Confederate army of substance to halt it, will head north towards Richmond. You will be caught in a giant vise and without your best general.
Do you really think Beauregard can stand up to Grant, Thomas and Sherman? The Confederacy has some excellent leaders, but so, too, does the Union. The days when the Confederacy held the advantage in generalship are over. The Union generals are at least as good as yours, perhaps better. Even if they were merely equal, their army is overwhelmingly larger. You do not have armies enough to halt them.”
Lord Lyons declined to inform the Confederate statesman that Union troops under McPherson had begun to land at Norfolk. He would find that out soon enough. “You have betrayed us,” Benjamin said.
“We have protected our interests and we sincerely trust that you will do likewise with yours. Proclaim our perfidy to the skies if you like. It won't matter. The truth about Canty won't come out for generations, if at all. By that time, this will all be behind us. We accepted the fact that we have been defeated and have decided to cut our losses. I urge you to do the same. I have it on good authority that Mr. Lincoln is inclined to be both merciful and just. Negotiate to rejoin the Union.”
“Impossible.”
“Distasteful, yes, but not impossible. The late Palmerston was infatuated with the Roman Empire. It may be that the North is the new Rome, and you are Carthage. Please recall what happened to Carthage. After a series of savage wars, Carthage was utterly destroyed and, if I recall my history, the ground sowed with salt. Do you wish that for the South? Grant is moving slowly in a final attempt to give you time to come to your senses, but his advance is inexorable. If you persist in the agonies of a prolonged siege and continued war. you risk not just defeat but total destruction. Is that what you wish for your people?”
“No.” Benjamin said softly.
“You will have to forfeit slavery, but you will be compensated. Slavery is doomed, but you can save your homes, your livelihood, and your blood. Slavery is dependent on cotton, and now many lands are producing cotton. Soon. King Cotton will exist only as a memory, and what is now the Confederacy will have to compete in a global marketplace with nations where cotton is produced efficiently by free labor and not by inefficient slaves.
“Mr. Benjamin, will you doom your young men to die in a cause that is already lost? Damn it. sir. make peace while you can and save what remains.”
Benjamin stood and Lyons rose also. There was deep sadness etched on the face of the Confederate diplomat. “l will convey your statements and your thoughts to Mr. Davis.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MAJOR JOHN KNOLLYS was admitted to the drawing room, where Rosemarie DeLisle awaited him. She wore a long, silk robe and looked breathtakingly lovely as she sat like a cat on a lounge. He sat on the chair facing her.
“I will be leaving tomorrow.”
“Must you?” she said. To his surprise, she seemed just a little amused. “I don't wish you to.”
“Nor do I, but I must return to England and a new posting.”
“Take me with you.”
Her request stunned him. “It would be a miserable existence. I have made major, but I will never achieve greater rank. I will die a major and be made to suffer through inferior postings to miserable places. I am one of many associated with a terrible setback for British arms and that will be forever held against me.”
“Does that hold true for Napier and Wolsey?”
“Napier will retire, and Wolsey has both influence and wears the mantle of a hero. His taking of Fort Stephens is being heralded as a titanic effort that was made all the more dramatic because of his wounding. Thank God he was not blinded as we all first feared. No. he is the noble hero of a doomed enterprise.”
“But you were in the attack as well. Have their lordships forgotten that?”
“No. That and Wolsey's recommendations are all that keep them from reverting me to my previous rank of captain.”
“Then resign your commission and come with me. Wouldn't their lordships accept it?”
He laughed harshly. “In an instant. But go with you? Where? Are you leaving the South?”
Rosemarie gifted him with a wide and knowing smile. “I am.”
“But your properties?”
“I have no properties here, except for this house: which I rent, and some furniture that is disposable. All else is portable. I am, was: a supporter of the Confederacy. but I was never a fool. You knew that I sold the estates shortly after inheriting them.”
“Indeed, but I thought it was only the larger ones and because of the difficulties a woman would have managing them.”
“That was part of it, John. But another fact was the coming war. While my heart wanted the South to win, my mind said it might not happen. I vowed that I would never be poor again. Thus, I sold all and invested in other assets using banks in New York and Switzerland as conduits. I am now ready to take over some of those assets; however, as before, it would be difficult for a woman. I need a man to be my strong right arm. A knight. A paladin.”
John Knollys was utterly intrigued. “Tell me more. What and where are these assets?”
“Land.” she said. “This time in California, just south of San Francisco. It is an area that is growing and will prosper. There will, however, be those out there who will try to halt me, perhaps even harm me. I need a man to help me, and he will need a dozen or so strong, disciplined men to help him. Would you be that man, that paladin?”
Knollys laughed. “I am your knight in cotton armor. And I indeed know a number of soon-to-be-former British soldiers who would be delighted to join me, and whom I've already trusted with my life.”
Rosemarie smiled in relief. She had been terrified that he would decline her and return to England.
Knollys stood. “I will return to General Napier and tender my resignation immediately.”
Rosemarie stood and approached him, undoing her robe. “Not immediately, John. Make love to me first.”
Rebecca Hunter looked down at the plain gold band on her left hand. She did that a lot lately. It was as if she couldn't quite believe she was married to Nathan. It was good that they were married, as she thought their latest joyous rompings might have made her pregnant. She hadn't yet shared that possibility with Nathan. She would wait until she was certain.