“Sharpe’s a good thug,” Baird said. “He came up from the ranks and you don’t do that by being delicate. Tell `em what you did in Seringapatam, Sharpe.”
“Must I, sir?”
“Yes,” Baird insisted, so Sharpe told the story as briefly as he could. Lavisser listened politely, but Lord Pumphrey, whose presence was still a mystery to Sharpe, opened his eyes and paid very close attention, so close that he unsettled Sharpe. His lordship said nothing, however, when the lame tale was done.
Lavisser spoke instead. “You impress me, Mister Sharpe,” he said, “you impress me mightily.” Sharpe did not know what to say, so he gazed out of the window at a small wheatfield that looked rain-beaten. Beyond the damp wheat stood a haystack, reminding him that Grace had died between haymaking and the harvest a year before. He felt a lump in his throat. God damn it, he thought, God damn it, would it never go? He could see her in his mind’s eye, see her sitting on the terrace with her hands on her swollen belly, laughing at some poor jest. Oh, Christ, he thought, but let it pass.
He became aware that Sir David Baird was now talking about Copenhagen. The Danish King, it seemed, was mad, and the country was ruled instead by the Crown Prince. “Is it true you know him?” Baird demanded of Lavisser.
“The Crown Prince knows me, sir,” Lavisser said carefully. “My grandfather is one of his chamberlains, so I have that introduction. And my master, the Duke, is his first cousin.”
“That will be enough?”
“More than enough,” Lavisser said firmly. Lord Pumphrey took a watch from his pocket, fumbled with the catch, consulted it and yawned.
“Boring you, my lord?” Baird growled.
“I am forever entertained by your company, Sir David,” Lord Pumphrey said in a very high-pitched voice. He pronounced each word very distinctly, which imbued the statement with an odd authority. “I am enthralled by you,” he added, tucking the watch away and closing his eyes.
“Bloody fool,” Sir David muttered, then looked at Sharpe. “We’re talking about the Danish fleet,” he explained. “It’s a damn great fleet that’s holed up in Copenhagen and doing bugger all. Just moldering away. But the Frogs would like to get their damned hands on it and replace the ships we took from them at Trafalgar. So they’re thinking of invading little Denmark and stealing their ships.”
“And if the French do invade,” Lavisser smoothly continued the General’s explanation, “then they will dominate the entrance to the Baltic and so cut off Britain’s trade. Denmark is neutral, of course, but such circumstances have hardly deterred Bonaparte in the past.”
“It’s the Danish fleet he’s after,” Baird insisted, “because the bloody man will use it to invade Britain. So we have to stop him stealing it.”
“How do you do that, sir?” Sharpe asked.
Baird grinned greedily. “By stealing it first, of course. The Foreign Office have a fellow over there trying to persuade the Danish government to send their ships to British ports, but they’re saying no. Captain Lavisser is going to change their minds.”
“You can do that?” Sharpe asked him.
Lavisser shrugged. “I intend to bribe the Crown Prince, Sharpe.” He patted the wooden chest. “We are carrying Danegeld, and we shall dazzle His Majesty with glitter and befuddle him with treasure.”
Lord Pumphrey groaned. Everyone ignored him as Baird took up the explanation. “Captain Lavisser’s going to bribe the Crown Prince, Sharpe, and if the Frogs catch wind of what he’s doing they’ll do their best to stop him. A knife in the back will do that very effectively, so your job is to protect Lavisser.”
Sharpe felt no qualms at such a task, indeed he rather hoped he would get a chance to tangle with some Frenchmen. “What happens if the Danes won’t give us the fleet, sir?” he asked Baird.
“Then we invade,” the General said.
“Denmark?” Sharpe was astonished. The woman at the Frog Prick had suggested as much, but it still seemed surprising. Fighting Denmark? Denmark was not an enemy!
“Denmark!” Baird confirmed. “Our fleet’s ready and waiting in Harwich, and the Danes, Sharpe, ain’t got no choice. They either put their fleet under our protection or I’ll bloody take it from them.”