messengers may be on their way to Azgar by now; and in the intervening time, well before Barclay de Tolly and Schwarzenberg can meet, it is to be hoped that the Royal Navy will have made it impossible for any disaffected French man-of-war to help the gold over the water, or for any vessel from the African shore to enter an Adriatic port.’
Mr Dee paused: the colour that had risen into his face while he was speaking faded. He was old and remote once more, and seeing Kent glance at him with evident concern he said, ‘Pray go on, Mr Kent.’
‘Very well, sir,’ said William Kent. ‘Dr Maturin, when we were speaking of this matter with Sir Joseph and his colleagues, it was suggested that with your knowledge of these parts and of the at least nominally Turkish officials governing them – of many important private and ecclesiastical persons – that you might bring pressure to bear – in a word, that you might cause this conspiracy to fail. The Ministry attaches great importance to the matter and you could draw on the Treasury for very large sums indeed if for example arbitrary arrests and the like were called for.’ He looked earnestly into Stephen’s face, coughed and went on, ‘One of those present said that you might decline, for personal reasons and on the grounds that your Turkish and Arabic did not meet your very high standards . .
‘Arabic?’
‘Yes, sir: it might be necessary to intervene in Africa – in Algiers or one of the other ports for example, or conceivably in Azgar itself. Others observed that your command of languages had already allowed you to deal admirably with Turks, Albanians and Montenegrins before: but Sir Joseph, though agreeing most emphatically, was of opinion that a lieutenant capable of writing both these languages might take a great deal of the strain off your shoulders. He said that Mr Dee -‘ a bow to the old gentleman who nodded ‘-
and he were acquainted with just such a person, whose discretion could be guaranteed, whose parts and conversation were usually thought acceptable, and whose presence might induce you to agree – a physical gentleman.’
‘There is indeed a great deal to be said for a literary as well as a merely colloquial knowledge of both those languages: and of Hebrew,’ said Stephen. ‘Would it be possible to see him, at all?’
‘He is in Gibraltar at this moment, Doctor,’ said Kent. Then, ‘I believe I gathered from Sir Joseph that you might possibly be acquainted with him already.’
‘May I ask, sir,’ said Mr Dee, reviving, ‘whether you have any strong feeling against Jews?’
‘I have not, sir,’ replied Stephen.
‘I am glad of that,’ said Mr Dee, ‘for the gentleman, the physical gentleman in question, is a Jew, a Spanish Jew. That is to say he was brought up as an orthodox Sephardi, which gave him not only the curious Spanish the Sephardim speak in Africa and the Turkish dominions, but Hebrew too and Arabic, together with an equally fluent Turkish.
But with age and the influence of the Enlightenment – he studied in Paris before the Revolution – his principles grew more
•
. . liberal, as one might say. Very much more so, indeed:
he quarrelled with the synagogue, and this had a disastrous
effect on his practice, which, from the paying point of view, was entirely among its members. He was reduced to sad straits; but in earlier days, and out of mere kindness, he often used his linguistic skill to help one of our friends; and some time ago it was suggested that this assistance should be put on a more formal basis. Since then he has carried out several missions for us, usually as a merchant in precious stones, of which he has a considerable knowledge; and with his wide acquaintance, relations, medical skill and so on he has given very great satisfaction. We have of course repeatedly tested his –
his discretion – in the usual way.’
‘Tell me, sir, is the gentleman married?’
‘I believe not,’ said Kent. ‘But if it is tomorrow’s unhappy affair that prompts your question, I can assure you he is perfectly orthodox in those respects. For a while he resided in Algiers on our behalf, and the reporting agent mentioned two mistresses, one white, one black. But apart from these ladies he had many connexions in Algiers, his musical abilities making him particularly welcome among the Europeans of the better sort: and these connexions may prove of the utmost value if Algiers is the chosen port, which seems . .
‘Very true,’ said Mr Dee. ‘But I must insist that the Adriatic harbours and dockyards come first: a great show of force, the elimination of potential enemies and the presence of the Royal Navy will necessarily have a great effect upon the fraternities – so great an effect that their conspiracy may well prove abortive. All our efforts should be directed towards that end. I am too old and infirm to take an active part: but my cousins have a banking-house in Ancona, just across the water, and from there I can correspond with my Turkish friends in the Ottoman provinces and co-ordinate our operations. I can also communicate with London by the bankers’ couriers.’
During the time of this conference, Jack had been very much occupied with the rest of his squadron: on the way
down from Madeira he had had all the captains to dinner, he had been aboard them repeatedly, and he had a fair notion of their abilities; but it was still not clear how he should divide the ships for their separate duties. As far as the Adriatic was concerned, he
would certainly shift his pennant into the Surprise, with her wonderful sailing qualities, her old, trained, thoroughly reliable ship’s company, capable of such a deadly rate of fire: but for his consort he could not decide between Pomone and Dover. The difference in broadside weight of metal was very great: no less than a hundred and forty-four pounds.
But the thirty-gun Pomone was the unhappy ship whose captain was laid up in Funchal with a badly broken leg, unlikely to recover, and whose second lieutenant was confined to his cabin to await trial for an offence under the twenty-ninth Article of War, which dealt with ‘unnatural and detestable sin’ – a ship to which Lord Keith had appointed a young man, very recently made post, the only qualified officer at hand. Whatever the outcome of tomorrow’s ugly trial, the Pomone’s people would be very upset – new officers, new ways
… mockery.
‘Larboard, sir?’ asked Bonden in an undertone.
Jack nodded. The gig hooked on and he ran up the frigate’s side, still lost in thought. He had seen the flagship’s barge carrying the civilians away long before and he expected to find Stephen in the cabin. ‘Where is the Doctor?’ he cried.
‘Which he is in the other doctor’s cabin,’ said Killick, appearing as if by magic,
‘discoursing of physical matters and drinking rare old East India sherry. Dr Glover called for another bottle a quarter of an hour ago.’
In fact at this moment they were discoursing of impotence.
Their conversation had begun when, having dismissed the
Sick and Hurt Board as a parcel of incompetent Ascitans,
fit only to dance round an inflated wineskin, Dr Glover asked Stephen whether he had heard of the death of Governor
Wood of Sierra Leone.
‘I have, alas,’ said Stephen. ‘A most hospitable man: he and his wife entertained us nobly when we were there in Bellona. I am about to write .. . the most difficult kind of letter in the world, however highly you esteem the person to whom it is addressed, and however much you sympathize. I grieve for her extremely.’
Dr Glover did not reply for some time: then, having finished his glass, he looked sideways at his old friend and said, ‘I was in Freetown the best part of a year, and they were both my patients. I can tell you as one medico to another that in this case formal expressions of regret would be perfectly adequate: more indeed might be offensive. It was not anything much of a marriage, you know. Indeed legally I believe it was no marriage at all. The Governor was impotent. I took the ordinary measures, and some out of the ordinary: but nothing answered. How the connexion came about in the first place or what they made of it I do not know: but they slept in separate rooms and I had the strong impression that it was but a sad cohabitation – guilt and resentment just under the surface.
He of course was a busy man, and very fortunately she had her anatomical studies – a most uncommonly gifted lady. No. Condolence by all means; but tempered, tempered .
Besides, one very usual and genuine source of grief is wholly lacking: she is well-off in her own right. I know the family in Lancashire.’