Betrayal

living spaces, but these vessels would be little more than boats and unfit for extended habitation. If they were to maintain lengthy patrols there was the question of clothing and victuals of a kind that could be readily stowed, a dockyard of sorts with skilled hands for timely repairs, a reliable source of water in a city that carried its own about in carts . . . The complications went on and on.

General Beresford was in a foul temper. ‘God rot his soul!’

‘Er, who is that, sir?’ his aide enquired.

‘Why, this Liniers in Montevideo, in course! Sent to me that he begs to attend his sick family here in Buenos Aires. I grant him a passport and he spends his time creeping about, noting down our strength and positions.’

‘Liniers, sir?’

‘An officer lost to honour and civilised conduct – yes, this is the scoundrel who’s leading the insurrection out of Montevideo. A cunning fox, I’m told – and a Frenchman. Been in the Spanish service for twenty years but he fought us in the American war and knows his onions. We’ll need to keep good guard, I’m persuaded.’

Colonel Pack glowered from the other end of the table. ‘What sticks in m’ craw is those priests o’ yours. You give ’em leave t’ range as they will and next thing the damn papists are topping it the spy.’

‘I had little choice in the matter, Dennis. They claim it their religion to take their ministration to the people and will not be denied. Should I forbid their free movement it’ll anger the populace, and that is something neither you nor I wish.’

‘So we-’

‘I have a plan that should give you heart. The people are restless and inquisitive of our small numbers. I now propose to free the slaves on the grounds that as slavery is not countenanced in England neither is it here. This will result in many thousands of grateful men who, at the same time, are unemployed. You will offer the more able- bodied service in the Army – at the very least it will double, if not triple, our strength.’

‘Ah. Now that’s a capital idea! I’ve taken t’ dressing as a soldier any common servant on his rounds, the odd sailor an’ such, just t’ have ’em march about the place to impress. When will I have ’em?’

‘I’m to tell the cabildo tonight. Now, I’m getting reports that up-country horsemen are massing against us from this side, to the north-west. Gauchos, who are apparently splendid light cavalry. As we have next to none it’s of grave importance that they are prevented from joining up with Liniers. I’ve pickets out on that side of the city but I don’t fear any assault – unless Liniers gets to ’em.’

For a moment his eyes glazed and he muttered, ‘These damned reinforcements cannot come fast enough for me.’

Then he stiffened and snapped, ‘Captain – how are our sea defences proceeding?’

Kydd tried to give a confident smile. ‘Sir, should you come with me up to the lookout you’ll get a sight of our progress.’

‘Then I shall! Gentlemen, let us remove to the upper regions.’

The same prospect of muddy grey sea looked increasingly morose under a threatening low winter sky. Small clusters of merchant ships were moored together further out, and at the far distant dark grey horizon two specks of white, spaced far apart. ‘I’ve named ’em Staunch and Protector,’ Kydd enthused, ‘on patrol already at the far side of the Ortiz Bank. And here-’ he indicated the mole below the fort where four other craft were in varying stages of fitting out ‘-there are more. In all, seven armed vessels.’

‘They look very small, Captain,’ Beresford said doubtfully, eyeing the half-decked, two-masted craft and the men swarming over them.

‘Sixty feet long, sir. This is accounted sizeable in these waters – any bigger and they’d take the mud, and we need ’em to go into every creek and bay without fear.’ This was the local sumaca, nearly flat-bottomed and with a gaff main, square sail on the fore, and headsails aplenty, often to be seen about the province carrying local cargo.

‘How are they armed?’

‘Carronades,’ Kydd answered immediately. This gave them a great advantage in fire-power but only if they could close with the enemy – and these were boat carronades only, not the formidable weapons of a frigate. In the close-quarter scuffles to be expected in lonely bays, it would be cutlasses and pistols that must settle the day.

‘And how deployed?’

‘General Liniers will not want to take boat from Montevideo as this is a long voyage and leaves him exposed to our cruisers. He’ll stay on that side and march to the only other port o’ consequence, Colonia, which is opposite us thirty miles, and wait his opportunity to cross, which in course we’ll deny him.’

‘I asked how deployed.’

‘Two on watch off Colonia, two at large off the coast. One on passage to relieve, two under replenishment and repair.’

‘Umm. So they’ll live on board.’

‘Yes, sir.’ There was no need for details: it would be the hardest of conditions but these were all volunteers and he’d been insistent on extra foul-weather clothing, a double rum ration and pre-cooked meat, the best he could do for them. Jack Tar’s jaunty spirit had known worse.

‘And your captains, are you confident that-’

‘They’re selected by me personally, General, and bear my complete confidence.’ There had been no shortage of bored junior officers in the larger ships who were eager for action, and Popham had had to decide whether or not he should weaken their sea defences against a return of the Spanish Navy from the north.

‘Very well. I’ll be sleeping a little better for your efforts, Captain. Thank you.’

Back in his office, Kydd held his head in his hands. So much depended on him. One thought hammered in: was there anything else that could be done? The strategics were straightforward, but stopping Liniers crossing now had added urgency with the reports of gauchos gathering on this side. If they managed to join together, it would be a short time only before they must be overwhelmed or sent running like rabbits from their new-won piece of empire.

Where were their damned reinforcements?

Then there was the threat of winter weather. If a dreaded pampero struck it would decimate his little fleet, the only comfort being that the enemy would suffer likewise. Yet there was no alternative. They had to keep the sea, whatever the cost.

He picked up a half-completed provisioning list, irritated by the task. Despite the increasing threat, it seemed he had to find time to attend to pettifogging details like this. The Army was given forage money if not supplied in the field. The Navy received no such allowance because it was assumed that the men would be properly victualled in their ship. The contrived solution was complicated: the seamen would be borne on the garrison books but the army quartermaster would be reimbursed by individual pursers, even though the ships’ muster rolls would show the men present on board, obliging the purser to seek compensation from the Admiralty directly.

He ground his teeth and set to, authorising the insanity.

‘Sir?’ The master’s mate approached hesitantly.

‘Well?’ Kydd gave an ill-natured grunt.

‘L’tenant Garrick, Dolores, sir. He’s below, wishes to report – there’s two sizeable enemy men-o’-war just been sighted opposite.’

Chapter 10

Kydd was out of his chair and down to the entrance room in a flash. Garrick scrambled to his feet and took off his hat. ‘Sir. Er, pursuant to your-’

‘Be damned to it, what did you see?’ he demanded.

‘Two ship-sloops enter Colonia.’

This changed everything: three masted square-riggers, often termed minor frigates, were a dismaying menace to his little navy and obviously brought up for the job of securing the vital crossing. Where they’d come from and how they were handling the shoal water was another matter. For now . . .