The French Admiral

'Sir, they were…'

'Did you strike a fellow midshipman?' Railsford reiterated.

'Aye, sir, I did, but they…'

'Bully!' Railsford roared. 'To think of a young man of your size, cuffing a little boy about. You disappoint me, Mister Forrester.'

'Vile wretch,' Treghues said, frowning heavily at his relative. 'I had thought better of you until now, boy! And you, Carey, playing at shines as men such as us bleed and die yonder. All of you, shame on you for being such a spoiled pack of unfeeling prodigals. What did we do yesterday? Watched a battle being lost, good ships shot to pieces, good men shot to pieces, and you dare to cut such a caper and still call yourselves gentlemen-in-training as professional sea-officers. Well, you'll pay for it. Mister Coke, a dozen of your best for Forrester and Carey, and a half-dozen for Lewrie and Avery as well. Mastheading for Forrester and Carey until I remember to let them come down. And get that… stuff, off your face. Carry on!'

'Aye, aye, sir.'

Once Treghues was gone below and the strokes had been given out, Railsford turned on them as well. 'Goddamn you all for this childish… shit. I shall have the next fool flogged again, so help me!'

The sun was fully up after quarters were stood down, a day of calm seas and light winds. The sixth of September could have been a marvelous day to be sailing, were the circumstances different. The British fleet still sailed in easy column towards the south-east, pursuing the French, who were perhaps five or six miles off to leeward, drawn further and further away from the Chesapeake and the coast. But there was no question of battle being rejoined; too many ships had been roughly handled and needed urgent repair. The light winds were a blessing, allowing shattered topmasts to be struck so they could be fished or replaced with what few spare spars had been available from ships less hurt.

Admiral Drake's van ships had taken the worst of the pummeling; the Intrepid and Shrewsbury looked as though even an easy swell would roll the masts right out of them. But Terrible was the worst off, nearly in sinking condition, and her many wounded being parceled out to the less damaged ships for medical attention. The chain pumps clanked continually to stem the inrush of the sea from her bilge and lower decks.

The frigates still dashed back and forth on their ceaseless errands to scout dangerously close to the French and to keep an eye on their intentions, to carry spare timber and spars from well-endowed vessels to those most needy, and to pass messages too complicated for the meager signaling book.

Or messages too vitriolic to be shared, Alan thought grimly He could imagine the choler with which Graves might be penning a despatch to the Admiralty about the debacle, dashing off irate questions and accusations to Admiral Hood; Drake might be pouring out pure bile about the near destruction of his ships in the van, thrown away without proper support by the rest of the fleet, especially Hood's rear division. Hood and Drake might be countering with invective about Graves's incredible decision to let the French form beyond the Middle Ground and the waste of a splendid opportunity that Providence did not give grudgingly to any admiral.

How long does it take to become an admiral, anyway, Alan wondered as the usual ship's day proceeded to spin out its ordered sameness. Even with a newly like me in charge, we'd have accomplished more yesterday than what this pack of fools did. And if I should ever make flag rank, will we still have a navy at this rate? We should have stood on into the bay and cut the Frogs' gizzards out of them! Even I know that.

The day before, the sight and sound of battle—in the early stages at least—had raised in him a martial ardor and pride in his uniform that he could scarcely credit as coming from such a churl as himself, and now it all seemed like a fever dream. What was the point in becoming an officer in such an inept Service? What sort of honor and credit would it bring him, and what sort of glory was there to reap with such an addled pack of bunglers?

Why are we still following that damned de Grasse like a cart horse on the way to the stable? Alan wondered. There was a French army in the Chesapeake now landed in Lynnhaven Bay, an army that would force Cornwallis to withdraw within his siege-works sooner or later. The fleet needed to go back and aid the army. Let de Grasse bottle them up in the bay. He would be denied entrance until after the hurricane season began, and had no force of note still with him other than his ships to threaten New York or Charlestown or any other port on the coast. A fleet, even a large one, had never succeeded in taking and holding a garrisoned and fortified location on its own with only marines to put ashore. By God, I don't believe one of these ridiculous jackanapes in charge over us has the slightest idea what to do with the fleet now. We'd do better with that damned Frog to lead us.

In the afternoon a flag hoist from the London summoned Desperate to attend her. Once near enough to hail, London's hard-pressed sailors had a chance to laugh at the sight of Forrester at the main masthead, still blue in the face as a Pict, for the paint indeed would not come off.

'A talisman, is your ancient warrior?' a lieutenant from London asked Treghues by way of greeting as he gained the quarterdeck with the usual canvas-bound packet of despatches under his arm.

'Your japery is out of place, Lieutenant,' Treghues said with icy harshness.

'Your pardon, Commander Treghues,' the lieutenant stammered, taken off guard and remembering his place in the scheme of things when facing a senior officer, even if the lieutenant was blessed to be the senior in the flagship of a major fleet. 'Admiral Graves sends his most sincere respects and directs you to make the best of your way into the Chesapeake to deliver despatches to Lord Cornwallis and then return to the fleet.'

'And where shall the fleet be, I wonder?' Treghues asked of him. 'Halfway to France? Still tagging along behind de Grasse?'

'I would not presume to know, sir. We shall still be at sea, certainly, to the east'rd of the capes.'

'Hmm,' Treghues sniffed in a lordly manner. 'My deepest compliments to Admiral Graves, and I shall assure him the safe arrival of despatches or die in the attempt.'

'Very good, sir. I shall take my leave, then, and not detain you.'

'Good day, sir,' Treghues said. 'Mister Railsford! Mister Monk! Stations to tack ship and lay her on the most direct course for the Chesapeake. Drive 'em, bosun. Crack on all the sail she can fly.'

Before the lieutenant from London had even regained his seat in the flagship's cutter, Desperate was boiling with activity as every reef was shaken out, as she wore about to pinch up close-hauled preparatory to tacking across the wind to a course opposite that of the fleet.

Even with a light north-east wind, she began to fly like a Cambridge coach with the wind broad on her starboard nuarter, one of her fastest points of sail.

'Be in soundin's agin by around two bells o' the evenin' watch, sir,' Monk announced after they had taken several casts of the log. 'We're nigh on nine knots. Will ya be wantin' ta enter the capes afore dawn, sir?'

'High tide should be making around then?'

'Just the start of the flood, sir. But we'll be off the entrance 'bout six bells. Be full dark, sir, and no moon ta speak of. Even so, I wonder if ya wants ta stand in under full sail er plain sail, what with no idea of what the Frogs left behind.'

'Might not be a bad idea to reduce sail, especially the royals and topgallants before sundown, sir.' Railsford stuck into the plans. 'Even if the sun is going down behind the French watchers and we'll be out in the gloom, they'd shine in the last light.'

'You'd have us loiter off the channel 'til dawn and the turn of the low dawn tide, Mister Railsford,' Treghues countered, 'and our orders brook no delay. Royals down in the second dogwatch, topgallants down after we fetch the coast, but we'll enter just as the tide is beginning to flow inward. We shall just have to chance any French warships.'

'Aye, aye, sir.'

'I'll have the ship at quarters, no lights showing, as we enter.'

Treghues looked about the deck once more, then went below to his quarters, bawling for his steward Judkin to attend him.

'Probably wants to look his best when he sees Symonds or Cornwallis,' David whispered once he was off the quarterdeck.

'He'd have to wear coronation robes to sugarcoat this disaster,' Lewrie observed. 'What a shitten mess.'