“What ships are they, sir?”
“Frigates. Ships of war. Three frigates, sometimes four.”
“Commanded by Spanish naval officers, sir?”
“Yes.”
“They’ll never agree, sir. They’ll never violate their orders just because we tell ’em to.”
Cornwallis rolled his eyes up to the deck-beams above and then down again.
“You will have written orders to compel them.”
“Then we’ll have to fight them, sir?”
“If they are so foolish as to resist.”
“And that will be war, sir.”
“Yes. His Majesty’s Government is of the opinion that Spain without eight million dollars is less dangerous as an open enemy than she would be as a secret enemy with that money available. Is the situation perfectly clear now, gentlemen?”
It was instantly obvious. It could be grasped even more quickly than the problem in simple mental arithmetic could be solved. Prize money; one-quarter of three million pounds for the captains – something approaching eight hundred thousand pounds each. An enormous fortune; with that sum a captain could buy a landed estate and still have sufficient left over to provide an income on which to live in dignity when invested in the Funds. Hornblower could see that every one of the four other captains was working out that problem too.
“I see you all understand, gentlemen. Captain Moore will issue his orders to you to take effect in case of separation, and he will make his own plans to effect the interception. Captain Hornblower -” every eye came round “- will proceed immediately in Hotspur to Cadiz to obtain the latest information from His Britannic Majesty’s Consul there, before joining you at the position selected by Captain Moore. Captain Hornblower, will you be kind enough to stay behind after these gentlemen have left?”
It was an extremely polite dismissal of the other four, whom Collins led away to receive their orders, leaving Hornblower face to face with Cornwallis. Cornwallis’s blue eyes, as far as Hornblower knew, were always kindly, but apart from that they were generally remarkably expressionless. As an exception, this time they had an amused twinkle.
“You’ve never made a penny of prize money in your life, have you Hornblower?” asked Cornwallis.
“No, sir.”
“It seems likely enough that you will make several pennies now.”
“You expect the Dons to fight, sir?”
“Don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Only a fool would think otherwise, and you’re no fool, Hornblower.”
An ingratiating man would say “Thank you, sir,” to that speech, but Hornblower would do nothing to ingratiate himself.
“Can we fight Spain as well as France, sir?”
“I think we can. Are you more interested in the war than in prize money, Hornblower?”
“Of course, sir.”
Collins was back in the cabin again, listening to the conversation.
“You’ve done well in the war so far, Hornblower,” said Cornwallis. “You’re on the way towards making a name for yourself.”
“Thank you, sir.” He could say that this time, because a name was nothing.
“You have no interest at Court, I understand? No friends in the Cabinet? Or in the Admiralty?”
“No, sir.”
“It’s a long, long step from Commander to Captain, Hornblower.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’ve no young gentlemen with you in Hotspur, either.”
“No, sir.”
Practically every captain in the Navy had several boys of good family on board, rated as volunteers or as servants, learning to be sea officers. Most families had a younger son to be disposed of, and this was as good a way as any. Accepting such a charge was profitable to the captain in many ways, but particularly because by conferring such a favour he could expect some reciprocal favour from the family. A captain could even make a monetary profit, and frequently did, by appropriating the volunteer’s meagre pay and doling out pocket money instead.
“Why not?” asked Cornwallis.
“When we were commissioned I was sent four volunteers from the Naval Academy, sir. And since then I have not had time.”
The main reason why young gentlemen from the Naval Academy – King’s Letter Boys – were detested by captains was because of this very matter; their presence cut down on the number of volunteers by whom the captain could benefit.
“You were unfortunate,” said Cornwallis.
“Yes, sir.”
“Excuse me, sir,” said Collins, breaking in on the conversation. “Here are your orders, captain, regarding your conduct in Cadiz. You will of course receive additional orders from Captain Moore.”