“Good evening, sir,” he said. “You are Captain Sir Horatio Hornblower?”
“Yes,” said Hornblower.
“May I introduce myself? I am Colonel Lord Wychwood, of the First Guards.”
“Good evening,” said Hornblower coolly. As Commodore he was decidedly senior to a Colonel, and he could afford to be cool while waiting on events. He supposed that he would soon hear the explanation of this arrival of a Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in full regimentals in the middle of the Baltic Sea.
“I have despatches,” said Lord Wychwood, fumbling in the breast of his tunic, “from our Ambassador at Stockholm for you, sir.”
“Let us go to my cabin, sir,” said Hornblower. He darted a glance at Basse.
“You have already made the acquaintance of Baron Basse, I understand? He has messages for you, too.”
“Then perhaps the Baron will be kind enough to come below as well. If you gentlemen will be kind enough to allow me to precede you, I will show the way.”
Braun interpreted ceremoniously as Hornblower headed the procession. In the darkened cabin Brown hastened to bring lamps and brought forward chairs; Wychwood lowered himself into his with all the caution demanded by his tight overalls.
“You’ve heard what Boney’s done?” he began.
“I have heard nothing recently.”
“He sent 50,000 troops into Swedish Pomerania the moment he got the news of what you did off Stralsund.”
“Indeed?”
“They acted in their usual style. Vandamme was in command. He began by fining the municipality of Stralsund 100,000 francs for not greeting his arrival with the ringing of the church bells. He interrupted the service at the church of the Holy Ghost so as to lay hold of the communion plate. He seized the Governor-General and threw him into gaol. The troops were out of hand because the garrison of Rügen tried to oppose their crossing. There was looting and murder and rape all through Rügen. The Baron here escaped in a fishing-boat. All the other officials and the troops are prisoners.”
“So Boney is at war with Sweden now?”
Wychwood shrugged his shoulders; everyone in the Baltic seemed to shrug shoulders when it was a matter of having to make a downright statement regarding peace and war.
“The Baron here can tell you about that,” said Wychwood. They turned their glances towards the Baron, who began a voluble explanation in Swedish; Braun, standing against the bulkhead, translated.
“He says that the question of peace and war lies with the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Charles John, who used to be known as Marshal Bernadotte. His Royal Highness is not in Sweden at the moment. He is visiting the Tsar in Russia.”
“I expect that’s what these despatches I have for you are about, sir,” said Wychwood. He produced a large canvas envelope, heavily sealed, and handed it over. Hornblower tore it open and read the contents.
Embassy of His Britannic Majesty at Stockholm
May 20, 1812
SIR,
The bearer of this despatch, Colonel Lord Wychwood, First Guards, will inform you as to the political situation here. It is to be hoped that Bonaparte’s invasion of Swedish Pomerania will bring about a declaration of war on the part of the Swedish government. It is therefore necessary that all possible aid should be given to Swedish officials who wish to communicate with H.R.H. the Crown Prince. You are therefore directed and required to use all diligence and despatch to escort or convey any such officials on their way to Russia. You are further directed and required to make all use of this opportunity to enable Lord Wychwood to open communication with the Russian government so as to assure H.I.M. the Tsar of the full support of His Majesty’s forces by land and sea in the event of war between H. I. M. and the French government. You will further make all use of any opportunity which may present itself to you to further good relations between H.M. and H.I.M.
Your obd’t servant,
h. l. merry, H.B.M.’s Ambassador
to the Court of Stockholm
CAPTAIN SIR HORATIO HORNBLOWER, K.B.
Commodore Commanding the British Squadron in the Baltic
Hornblower read the orders through twice, carefully. There was an important decision to be made. Merry had no business giving orders, and especially had no business to give orders in the explicit ‘directed and required’ wording which was the cherished prerogative of his naval superiors. An Ambassador was an important official — to a naval officer in foreign waters the most important official after the Lords of Admiralty — but he could only request and advise, not give orders. If Hornblower should follow Merry’s instructions and the matter turn out ill he would have no excuse to plead to the Admiralty. Yet on the other hand Hornblower knew only too well that if he were to ignore Merry’s letter there would be bitter complaints sent to London.