‘Poor soul,’ Stephen reflected. ‘It will take his mind off this foolish rumour.’ For his own part he was satisfied by the financial expert’s words, and he spent the first part of the day
with Raffles’ Javanese peacock, far finer than the Indian bird, a friendly binturong, the gardens, where he was joined by Mrs Raffles in an apron and leather gloves, and the enormous hortus siccus – such a pleasant forenoon.
Dinner was less agreeable, however. Before it Fox introduced him to three high officials who were to join the mission, almost caricatures of their kind, tall, red, thick, arrogant, with booming voices and an inexhaustible store of platitudes. Their conversation was dull almost past believing, and afterwards Fox said, ‘I am sorry to have inflicted this upon you, but they are necessary properties on the present stage. We have to produce a show at least equal to what the French can offer – it appears that they have three gentlemen apart from the two traitors, who are not regularly accredited, and the servants –
and these people the Governor has lent me are used to missions of this kind: they can stand there in their gold-laced uniforms for hours without suffering; they can give the appearance of listening to speeches; they never have to steal away to the privy; and at banquets they are capable of eating anything from human flesh downwards. But I admit that their company is a trial.’
‘Vous I’avez voulu, George Dandin.’
‘Yes. And I can bear it for the voyage and the time of the negotiations. I could and would bear a great deal more to succeed in this undertaking. Apart from anything else,’ he added with a slight laugh, ‘the Governor tells me that if I bring back a treaty and if he has the writing of the dispatch it might mean a knighthood, even a baronetcy.’ For a moment Stephen did not know whether Fox was speaking seriously, but when after a reflective pause he went on to say, ‘It would so please my mother,’ the doubt was resolved.
The Diane came into Batavia with a leading wind and a making tide that afternoon, and Jack sent an official message to the effect that he hoped to sail at eleven the next morning. It was Seymour who brought the message, together with a private note to Stephen begging him to urge all those concerned to exact promptitude, to give an example himself, and to
suggest that the Governor might like to visit the ship. ‘And I was to say, sir, he was very sorry you were not aboard as we sailed past Thwart-the-Way island, because we were surrounded by those swallows that make bird’s-nest soup.’
‘I should like it of all things,’ said Raffles, on hearing the suggestion. ‘There is nothing, in its way, more beautiful than a man-of-war.’
‘Nor anything, alas, more rigorously dominated by time and bells. I am so glad you are coming. Your presence will oblige the others to show a leg, as we say.’
They showed a leg, whether they liked it or not, for Raffles was as regular as a well tempered chronometer, and a pro cession of boats, headed by the Governor’s barge, set out for the Diane at a quarter to ten. She was looking beautiful, more beautiful than any
ship that had been wooding, watering and taking in stores at such furious speed could be expected to look; but then her captain and her first lieutenant were perfectly aware of the effect of yards exactly squared by the lifts and the braces, the sails furled in a body, and of the quantity of unsightly objects that could be concealed under the hammockcloths, drawn drum-tight and with never a wrinkle. And in any case the smoke of the thirteen-gun salute would hide a number of imperfections, while the ceremony of reception diverted attention from any that might be visible through the clouds. This ceremony had been rehearsed three times since dawn and it passed off perfectly well: the barge hooked on, the white-gloved sideboys ran down with baize-covered manropes to make the ascent almost foolproof, the bosun and his mates sprung their calls, the Diane’s forty marines, red as lobsters and perfect to the last button, presented arms with a fine simultaneous clash as the Governor and the envoy came aboard, welcomed by Captain Aubrey and all his officers in
their best uniforms.
The day was hot and cloudless, and since the great cabin was divided up Jack had caused an awning to be stretched over the after part of the quarterdeck; here he and his guests sat, drinking sherbet or madeira and talking or contemplating the broad harbour with its great numbers of European ships, Chinese junks, Malay proas, and innumerable boats and canoes plying to and fro; and in the meantime the mission’s additional baggage and servants came aboard on the larboard side. At a quarter past ten Raffles asked if he might be shown the ship:
he walked round with Jack and Fielding, making intelligent, appreciative comments, and when he was brought back to the quarterdeck he called his people, said farewell to the mission, thanked Jack heartily for his entertainment and went down into the barge, once more with the usual honours, once more with the roar of guns.
Jack’s eye followed the boat with great approval, and as soon as it was at a proper distance he said to Richardson, the officer of the watch, ‘Let us get under way.’
With the bosun piping All hands to unmoor ship, the frigate sprang to ordered life: she was fast to the chain-moorings laid down long ago for Dutch men-of-war and it took her little time to cast them off and spread her topsails to the moderate westerly breeze.
She made her cautious way through the merchant shipping, some of it wonderfully stupid, and as six bells in the forenoon watch struck she cleared the harbour.
‘Now that is the kind of visitor I really like,’ said Jack, joining Stephen in the cabin.
‘A man who knows just when to come and just when to go. They are wonderfully rare. We will drink a bottle of Latour to his health.’ He took off his massive gold-laced coat and tossed it on to the back of a chair: it slipped off as the Diane heeled to the thrust of her topgallantsails, and Killick, appearing as though from a mouse-hole, snatched it up and carried it away muttering ‘fling it about like it was old rags – best Gloucester broadcloth –
brushed all over again – toil, toil, toil.’
‘You look worn, brother,’ said Stephen.
‘To tell you the truth,’ said Jack with a smile, ‘I am rather worn. Wooding and watering at top speed is a wearing occupation, particularly when the hands are all so eager for liberty, to kick up Bob’s a-dying on shore after so many months at sea. We did lose ten, not having time to comb though all the
bawdy-houses or the backsides of godowns. Still, that does allow us to shift hammocks forward to make room for all these new servants – preposterous numbers of servants. And
then again I believe we can look forward to less anxious sailing now. We are directly in the path of the Indiamen bound for Canton until we have to steer east a little south of the Line, and although the waters are dangerous, I have Muffitt’s very careful charts as well as his directions. And Muffitt, you know, made the voyage more often than any other man in the Company’s service: a better hydrographer, in my opinion, than Horsburgh or even Dalrymple.’
Jack Aubrey, however, was reckoning without his guests. The three necessary properties, designed to give the mission greater weight or at least greater bulk, were called Johnstone, Crabbe and Loder, a judge and two members of the council, who had reached their present rank by outliving and outsitting all competitors; and when the Diane, having made her way through the close-clustered Thousand Islands and having crossed the notorious Tulang shoal with three fathoms to spare, was approaching the Banka Strait, Johnstone met Stephen on the half-deck, the one coming, the other going. Stephen had never known a judge he liked: those few he had met or seen in court had been self-important prating men, unequal to their great authority; and Johnstone was a particularly unfortunate example. After a few insipid remarks he said, ‘I too am very fond of music; nobody loves a tune better than I do. But I always say enough is as good as a feast; do you not agree? And I am one of those curious people that are no good unless they have a good night’s sleep. I am sure the Captain does not know
how permeable the cabin walls are, permeable to sound, I mean; but I hope I may rely upon you to be good enough to drop a hint, just a very gentle diplomatic hint.’