Either the good, he thought sourly, or the twit-like!
The twits he'd served, or served with, he suspected, were well-connected twits and would be at sea that instant. The good men he'd known should be. He took that as a hopeful omen; that either way he was regarded by Admiralty-twit or good'un-he'd soon receive one more active-duty commission and not end up cooling his heels in here with the hopeless!
"Ah, Commander Lewrie, do come in, sir," the strange new secretary offered. Not too cheerful, considering, Lewrie thought; but he'd not sounded threatening either. "Evan Nepean, sir, First Secretary."
"Your servant, Mister Nepean," Lewrie cooed, as the door was shut behind him. Nepean waved him to a wing-back chair before a desk, then took a seat behind it, spreading his coat-tails carefully before he sat down. He was a much younger man than either old Phillip Stephens, or his deputy, Jackson, had been. Cultured, slim, and rapier-like, and togged out most nattily in the latest civilian style. Something about him, though, that arch look perhaps, that wryly observant glare, made Lewrie think he wasn't a man he'd exactly put his trust in.
"Well, well, sir," Nepean drawled, in a lofty, nasal accent of the titled and powerful. "So you are the infamous Lewrie." He smiled, looking at Lewrie intently over steepled fingers.
"Depending on which 'infamous' you had in mind, Mister Nepean," Lewrie most carefully replied, shifting from one buttock to the other, crossing his legs to guard his "nutmegs." Damme, what'd he heard?
"Why, 'the Ram-Cat,' sir," Nepean simpered, "the successful and 'lucky' Lewrie. Toulon, Genoa… of the recently promoted Rear-Admiral Nelson's squadron. The one well-known of-and dare I say it, sir, as highly commended by-a certain ah… audacious and unconventional gentleman from the Foreign Office? The Far East 'tween the wars. A certain Frenchman by name of Choundas? There and, of late, ashore near Genoa? I speak of that Commander Lewrie, sir."
"Ah!" Lewrie gawped. "Well, that!" He pretended to preen with at least a shred of becoming modesty. Thankful they didn't keep files on the other part of "infamous." "Nothing, really… just…"
"Some rather, uhm… sub rosa activities this past year in the Adriatic?" Nepean interrupted. "I've letters on file, hmmrn…" Nepean thumbed through a short stack of correspondence. "Sir Malcom Shockley the M.P… the millionaire. Lord, what a horrid word, do you not believe? Thankfully, a firm supporter of our faction and of the Prime Minister. One from Lord Peter Rushton in Lords. Though not known for anything much… still, full of praise for your nautical quality. At least his first address to the House of Lords could be construed as actually making sense-which is more than one may expect from one of that august body, so…"
Politics, again/ Lewrie groaned to himself; damme. It had even crept into Admiralty, with this new man Evan Nepean thinking him brave because he was Tory and was spoken for by ones who were Tory! Allied with William Pitt the Younger, am IF IVouldn 't know him from Adam if he crawled up and bit me on the ankle! Nor the old Whig, Fox, either!
Well, call this old dog any good name ye wish 'long as it puts me in command of a new ship! he decided, nodding sagaciously yet committing himself to nothing.
"More to the point, though, Commander Lewrie," Nepean sobered from his bout of hero-worship, becoming all business-like, "are your good 'characters' from Captain Thomas Charlton. And from Lord Saint Vincent… a new investiture; you wouldn't have heard of it yet. From Admiral Sir John Jervis, now made Earl."
"Good for him, sir," Lewrie crowed suddenly. "His ennoblement, rather." Yet wondering; When the blades did he ever take time to think good o' me?
"Rather a furor in the Fleet, after The Glorious First of June, Commander Lewrie," Nepean scowled. "Admiral Howe allowing his flag captain, Sir Roger Curtis, to, ah… 'anoint' by mentioning only those few captains of line-of-battle ships present for honours whom he himself thought worthy… those who'd closed yardarm-to-yardarm to take their foe as prizes. For the rest who fought well, nothing. A medal struck, but given only to those fortunate few."
"Excuse me, sir, but…?" Lewrie puzzled. "Whilst in Lisbon, in the careenage, I read a London paper and Admiral Jervis's report made no mention of anyone at all. So you're saying…?"
"A taciturn man is the new Earl Saint Vincent, Commander, as I'm mortal certain you've already discovered." Nepean chuckled, shuffling one pile of papers aside and drawing out a single slim folder to open. "Yet he would not ever make the same mistake. Would never create even more jealousies among his officers. He sent Captain Robert Calder home with his dispatches… which glad arrival soon after resulted in Captain Calder being knighted and promoted. No, 'Old Jarvy,' as I believe the men of the Fleet are wont to call him, waited to write a more complete list and report of the action to the First Lord Earl Spencer, after he'd had time to assess things, to sort them out. This time, every captain of every ship-of-the-line present is to be honoured. Given a medal commemorating the battle too."
"I see, sir." Lewrie nodded again, still striving for "sagacity" but more than a little puzzled by this long, prosing prologue. "Then, again… good for 'Old Jarvy,' the Earl Saint Vincent, that is."
"You, sir, more to the point at hand, were cited in that letter to the First Lord," Nepean said with a smirk, very much like "I know something you don't know!"
"Ah? Sir?" Lewrie gulped, expectations rising.
"For rushing… let me see, how did he phrase it? Ah! 'For his intrepidity and alacrity at rushing to support HMS Captain, his fear-nought daring in engaging the enemy battle-line in complete disregard for the custom and usage of repeating frigates, at such hopeless odds in those minutes before he could hope for reinforcement or succour, I most respectfully request of your Lordship that Commander Alan Lewrie of the Jester sloop be included in the list of those to be honoured.' ':
"Ah?" Lewrie gargled. "Mean t'say … ah, sir! Well…-.!"
"The only officer below 'post' rank to be so named, Commander Lewrie. Breaking away from the line as you did, in trusty and loyal… and dare I say, heroic fashion in support of your old squadron commander, Horatio Nelson! 'Spite of all the rules to the contrary, the risk of court martial and infamy, well, sir! Well, well!" Nepean cried, sounding for a moment almost fawning in his appreciation.
"Well, sir, it was…" Lewrie began, fighting the urge to bark like a pack of seals at such an absurd characterisation.
Pushed me out o' line, he did! Ordered… kickin' an' screamin'!
"In spite of the volume of work still waiting, you will do me the honour of coming with me, Commander Lewrie," Nepean bade, motioning towards the door in the far wall, the one that led to the Board Room!
A discreet knock, a muffled bidding to enter, and they were in the presence of the First Lord of The Admiralty, George John, the Earl Spencer, a fairly tall and distinguished-looking fellow of middling, uncertain age. There followed some cooing remarks which Lewrie could never quite recall for the heady rush of blood in his ears. He would recall, however, the moment the medal was slipped over his head. Long and broad white satin riband, edged in blue, which passed through the oval of a large-ish gold medal-finely milled and rope-chained about its diameter, a scene of Victory standing on the prow of a galley and placing a laurel wreath on the brow of a triumphant Britannia.