'You wished to see the sights of Naples. If we are fortunate we will soon have the opportunity to take our fill of the most diverting curiosities ...'
Not far from the royal palace Renzi pointed out, a little further up the hilly streets, a relatively modest building. Kydd saw it bore the arms of Great Britain. 'The embassy?'
'Of course. I am to renew acquaintance with Sir William Hamilton and his amusing wife, I believe.'
The doorman accepted Renzi's card and ushered them both into a drawing room. Presently a tall, aristocratic gentleman with striking eyes and a hooked nose entered, holding Renzi's card and looking puzzled. 'Lieutenant Renzi?' He looked at them keenly, then suddenly exclaimed, 'Mr Laughton! You have the advantage of me, sir, I had no knowledge of your arrival, and—'
'Sir, I am known in the sea service as Lieutenant Renzi.'
Kydd had long known of his friend's past, and how, for deeply held moral conviction in respect of a family act resulting in the suicide of a youth, he had self-sentenced himself to a period of exile in the fo'c'sle of a man-o'-war. Renzi had taken the name of an obscure medieval monk, who had placed the love of learning above the distractions of the world.
'Very well.' The keen eyes rested for a moment longer on him, then shifted to Kydd.
'Sir, may I present Mr Thomas Kydd, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy who is my particular friend.'
'The honour is all mine, gentlemen, to be in the presence of two such who have lately met with so much success in the destruction of England's enemies.'
Kydd and Renzi bowed, and Hamilton went on, 'Regrettably my wife cannot receive you as she is at this moment with the Queen.'
'Sir, do not stand on ceremony for our sake. My friend wishes merely to make the acquaintance of the author of the celebrated Campi Phlegraei, to perhaps view some small curiosities, treasures of an enquiring mind.'
Hamilton's expression eased. 'You were always of a persuasion to discover your classical education at source, as I remember, Mr Lau—Mr Renzi.' His intelligent eyes turned on Kydd. 'Do you, sir, know aught of the Pausilypon, the Serapeum of Puteoli, perhaps?'
'It would please me well t' see 'em at first hand, if that were possible,' Kydd said stoutly. His answer would serve whether these were places or things.
Renzi hurried to his rescue: 'Since I have been absent, sir, has progress been made at all on the discoveries of Herculaneum?'
'Indeed so! Should you be at leisure on the morrow, it is my practice, as you may recollect, to mount to the rim of Vesuvius in the interests of science. It would certainly be possible to visit Ercolano on our way. Might I suggest the hour of eight o' clock?'
Herculaneum turned out to be a dusty expanse of crumbling ruins, picked over by paid labourers and dilettantes. Kydd was glad they had taken the precaution of shifting to shore clothing and stout shoes.
Renzi was in his element, happily exchanging observations on the House of Argus, Pliny the Elder and other unpronounceable names. Kydd was glad for him, but it seemed an age before they resumed their carriage and made for the colossal, glowering presence of the volcano.
'Has it been, er, angry at all since ...'
Hamilton smiled. 'We had a brisk entertainment in 'seventy-nine, certainly, and have had some alarums since. But had you confided your unease to me before we left I could have provided you with a phial of the blood of San Gennaro, which infallibly protects those who venture on the slopes of Vesuvius.'
'That won't be necessary,' said Kydd, and stared out at the scrubby countryside. It grew thin and bare and, with a sudden thrill, he caught sight of the first brown-black hardened lava flows. A little further on the carriage stopped at a small gathering of waiting retainers and horses.
'We shall ride to the end of the track, gentlemen. Then we will be obliged to walk the rest of the way.' Hamilton swung astride a pony and led the party in single file up a steep path that wound round the massive flanks of the volcano. They rode in silence, the uneasy quiet and garish rocks speaking to Kydd of a devilish underworld that lay beneath him ready to explode at any moment.
The soil lost the last of its vegetation, its colour now an inflamed dull red. Then the track petered out and the horses were slipping on the grey-black cinder that covered everything in sight. 'Now we walk,' Hamilton said, and dismounted.
They trudged up an incline, the cinders crunching underfoot. The acrid pungency of the volcano hung on the air. Renzi glanced at Kydd's set face and grinned. 'You are in the best of hands, brother. Sir William's writings on the character of volcanoes are applauded throughout the civilised world.'
Kydd muttered, in a low voice, 'Y' know well that I can't abide fire—and now y' asks me to look on the fires o' hell itself.'
Hamilton affected not to hear. 'I'd give half my fortune to be in England when they receive news of your famous victory.'
Renzi chuckled. 'There'll be a scramble on 'Change, I'd wager,' he said. 'Pitt will see his chance to turn the credit to hard coin—it will quite put the opposition to the blush.'
'No doubt,' said Hamilton, regarding Renzi curiously. 'But you must appreciate that the greater effect will be here. Conceive of it—not just a victory over the French but their annihilation! They now have no means to support their claim to the Mediterranean. In short, the careful building of colonies and garrisons since you were driven from the Mediterranean is as nothing now. All are isolated and ripe for our seizing, one by one and at our convenience.
'You will be aware that Turkey has declared against France and is opening the Dardanelles to our ships. Austria is much heartened—as you will know the Queen of Naples is the daughter of an Austrian emperor and is now in raptures. Dare we hope that a Second Coalition is possible?'
Renzi nodded quietly.
A crooked smile appeared on Hamilton's face. 'But what I relish most is the sure knowledge that at this very
