would be inconvenient to the occupants. And in truth he had no desire to. Not in his own state of wretchedness. He went instead to the United Service, arriving a little after midnight, and in the smoking room, to his surprise, he found the commander-in-chief still, and a little gathering of officers, all in plain clothes but some of whom he recognized.
His inclination was to bow and then retire, but Lord Hill saw him first.
'Hervey!'
'My lord,' he replied, with a less formal bow than he would have made had it not been in his club, where notions of a certain gentlemanly egality applied.
'Come, join us. We were talking of affairs in the Levant.'
Hervey nodded.
'Now, you may know, I imagine, Generals Burt and Richardson, Colonel Cowan and Major Hawtrey.' Lord Hill indicated each in turn.
It was a gracious way of introduction, for Hervey knew only the two generals, and those by name alone.
'Gentlemen, this is Colonel Hervey, lately returned from the Cape, where he has been raising a corps of mounted rifles.'
There was no shaking of hands, merely the usual bows of acknowledgement.
'And also lately of the gunpowder mills at Waltham Abbey, do I not recall?' said General Richardson.
'Yes, General,' replied Hervey, somewhat indifferently since attitudes to the action at the mills were, he knew, mixed.
'Sit you down,' commanded Lord Hill, but benignly, as befitted his nickname among the troops – 'Daddy'.
Hervey took the remaining tub chair gratefully. The evening, the whole day, had drained him of resource to an extent he would not have imagined.
'Colonel Hervey is to have command of the Eighty-first in Canada next year,' Lord Hill told his party.
There was a general murmur of approval. Hervey shifted awkwardly in his chair, the matter yet undecided in his own mind.
'When do you return to the Cape?' asked Lord Hill.
'I have just had a letter from the lieutenant-governor hastening it, my lord. I believe I shall sail within the fortnight.' He realised too late that by mentioning haste he might be inviting the commanderin- chief to enquire into the necessity for it, and since Somervile's position was somewhat precarious, and the expedition to the territory of the Zulu doubtless an enterprise without sanction from the Secretary for War, he might well have jeopardized his old friend's initiative.
But Lord Hill's concerns were not with so distant a place about which the Horse Guards knew very little. The situation in the Eastern Mediterranean was what occupied His Majesty's ministers, and was consequently the concern of the commander-in-chief. 'And when do you relinquish the commission with the Rifles?'
'The date is uncertain, my lord, but I believe it will be before the end of the year.'
'Mm.' Lord Hill appeared to be turning something over in his mind.
The smoking-room waiter brought Hervey his brandy and soda.
'How is your French, Hervey?'
'I fancy it is very adequate, sir,' he replied, rather startled by the turn of questioning. His French was entirely fluent, as was his German.
'You have no Russian, I imagine?'
Hervey's brow furrowed, curious. 'No-o, General.'
'Well, French would be perfectly serviceable. What say you to an attachment to Prince Worontzov's headquarters?'
Hervey had no very precise idea who was Prince Worontzov, or where his headquarters might be, but with the Russians now at war with the Turks it could be supposed that it was in the Levant (anything more precise was hardly necessary at this stage of enquiry). 'I am all enthusiasm, my lord, but I believe I must return to the Cape, at least for a month or so – to make proper arrangements for the corps, and indeed for the return of my detachment of dragoons.'
Lord Hill nodded. 'That is understood. Indeed, it works to advantage. George Bingham is to go at once, but he will have to return by the year's end to take command of the Seventeenth.'
Hervey had to check his instinct to agree to the commission at once.
'Think on it a while,' said Lord Hill, rising to leave. 'Let my military secretary know before you embark for sunnier climes.'
Hervey rose with him, and smiled. 'I will indeed, sir.'
'And, by the bye, I should have mentioned it before. I saw the notice of your marriage. Hearty congratulations, my boy! Ivo Lankester's widow, is she not?'
Hervey shifted a little awkwardly, forcing something of a smile. 'I suppose it will be some years before she is referred to as wife rather than widow, my lord.'
Lord Hill returned the smile. 'Just so, Hervey, just so. I stand rebuked. Mind you don't make her a widow again in that uncivilized colony of yours. The Eighty-first will be looking to welcome you both in due course.'
'Thank you for your sentiment, my lord.'
The commander-in-chief and his party took their leave, and Hervey sank down gratefully into his tub chair
