He took her shoulders. "I have never been more proud."
At the Admiralty he was conscious of the eyes watching them, and he felt suddenly reckless and defiant.
He bent his head and kissed her on the neck, and spoke only one word. "Together." Then he replaced his hat and walked up the steps.
There was no delay and he was met by the same elegant lieutenant. It was pointless to ask why he had not told him about Baratte's release when he had first greeted him here. An oversight, or was someone afraid he might make trouble about it?
The acting Controller of the Navy, a big florid-faced admiral, and two other lords of admiralty with Hamett-Parker and his secretary sat at one end of the table. As he had anticipated, Bolitho saw Sillitoe seated slightly apart from all the others, his face set in an impassive mask.
Hamett-Parker raised his eyebrows questioningly, a habit he had displayed at Herrick's court-martial. "You are very prompt, Sir Richard."
One of the other admirals who was unknown to Bolitho said, "On behalf of the board I must thank you for your patience and your invaluable help since you came to London. Your experience, not merely in the art of war but also in your past dealings with the military, make you an obvious choice for this appointment." They all nodded soberly except Hamett-Parker. He continued, "We understand from Sir Paul Sillitoe that you were thinking of a force of perhaps eight frigates? That, of course, would be out of the question."
Bolitho thought of Godschale. One cannot do everything.
He leaned his elbow on one arm of his chair and touched his eye. He had not been to see the surgeon again. Had he accepted that it was hopeless?
"The army is gathering its strength in Cape Town, Sir Richard. You are senior enough to assist but not necessarily conform to their strategy, for it is the intention of His Britannic Majesty's government to invade and overthrow the French island of Mauritius. But before that we must seek out the enemy's naval strength in that ocean and destroy it."
Bolitho said abruptly, "Nobody could do that without ships."
Hamett-Parker commented, "Frigates, and perhaps some smaller vessels?"
Bolitho looked at him. "Yes. Otherwise…"
Hamett-Parker snapped, "There is a new frigate, Valkyrie. She has been accepted into the fleet and now lies at Plymouth." He gave a small smile. "She is captained by one of your fellow Cornishmen, no less! "
Bolitho had heard something of the new frigate. She had been designed originally as an experiment, to compete with the enemy's larger frigates, which in turn had been copied from the latest contenders in the new American Navy. Bigger than any other frigate in the fleet, Valkyrie carried forty-two guns, but was said to be faster and more manoeuvrable than even thirty-eight gun ships like Anemone.
Hamett-Parker continued, "Captain Aaron Trevenen, d'you know him?"
"I know of him."
Hamett-Parker pressed his fingertips together. He was enjoying it. "Another of your curt summings-up of a proud man's achievements?"
Sillitoe said, "Many, many months ago it feels like years we met at Godschale's house by the Thames. You may recall that Lady Catherine Somervell scolded me for…"
Hamett-Parker snapped, "We require no personal references here, Sir Paul! "
Sillitoe ignored him but raised his voice slightly. "Scolded me for sending you, Sir Richard, to yet another demanding appointment. I protested that we could send no other, there was none better or so qualified for the task. After the terrible experiences she shared after the loss of Golden Plover, I am certain that she would not disagree with me again."
Hamett-Parker swallowed his anger. "I will send orders to the Valkyrie. You and your staff can take passage in her as Trevenen will be the senior officer of our eventual flotilla. I shall let you know what I think will be required when and if…"
Bolitho said, "If I am to command this enterprise against Baratte…" He saw two of them start with surprise. Did they really not know what was happening, and what to expect? "Then I will inform you, Sir James."
He bowed his head to the table and walked to the door. Sillitoe followed him as he knew he would.
Outside the door Bolitho said, "I appear to have talked myself into something I would have wished to avoid."
"I meant what I said. The sailors respect you, and you have their hearts. They will know that you will not betray them merely to satisfy some crude craving for glory, nor will you sacrifice their lives for no good purpose."
He watched Bolitho's profile, the arguments matched only by the sensitivity on his sunburned face.
Sillitoe persisted, "If it can be done, you will do it. If not, we shall have to think again." He added indifferently, "By which time the King will be raving mad and, more to the point, there may be those not afraid to mention it! "
They paused by a tall window on the stairs. Sillitoe looked down and said, "How I envy you, Richard. For nothing else but her."
"If anything happens to me…"
Bolitho saw her shading her eyes to look at the window, almost as if she had heard his words.
Sillitoe laughed, "Do not think such thoughts." The mood left him and he said smoothly, "Now, the matter of your new flag lieutenant."
Bolitho barely heard him. "We are returning to Falmouth." He shivered. "How I hate this place, where men's minds are frozen in time." He looked at him steadily. "Send him to me at Falmouth with a letter of introduction."
Sillitoe was watching him curiously. "Is that all? Then I will attend to it."
He gazed after Bolitho as he descended the stairs, and he thought he saw him stumble at one shadowed corner.
He called down, "When you find Baratte again, do not hesitate. Kill him." Then he was gone.
Later, Bolitho thought it had sounded like something personal.
Bolitho stood by the open doors and looked across the garden to the orchard. The breeze from the sea that cooled his face filled the room behind him with the scent of roses.
A few more days, and then he would retrace the way to Plymouth. He could feel Catherine watching him from beside the empty fireplace. She had tried to hide her own preparations for their parting: new shirts from London, another store of wine from the shop in St. James's Street, which had been sent directly to Plymouth. Ozzard had been packing chests, checking every item, his features giving nothing away. He was always like that now, Bolitho thought, ever since the old Hyper ion had gone down. A man haunted by something, and yet in the open boat after the shipwreck he had been surprisingly strong, tending a dying man, rationing out their wretched portions of food and water, his eyes searching secretly for the remaining mutineer who had been hidden amongst them.
"What about John Allday?"
Bolitho turned towards her. It was as if she had been reading his thoughts.
He said, "He'll not stay ashore. So wedding, if wedding there is to be, must wait until we return."
"I'm glad. I shall feel you are safer with him close at hand." Her dark eyes were full of questions, as they had been when she had found him studying his packet of information from the Admiralty.
"Will it be difficult for you?"
Bolitho sat beside her and held her hand, the one on which she wore his beautiful ring of rubies and diamonds. He had slipped it on to her finger immediately after Keen's wedding at Zennor in the little mermaid's church.
"I shall have Valkyrie. I am being given Triton too."
"That was Baratte's ship?"
"Aye. It might drive him to do something foolish." He touched the ring on her finger where she had once worn Somervell's.
"I must ask, Richard. Do you dislike this Captain Trevenen? You may have to rely on him so much."
He shrugged. "Our paths have crossed a few times. His father once served with mine I suspect that has the makings of something. He is the kind of captain I might have expected