A Shot Rolling Ship (27 page)

‘Well, Marchand, a fine show, what, what?’

‘A most pleasing result, Your Majesty.’

‘Tell me?’

Marchand was brief. As he had told both Pearce and Colbourne in the coach that brought them to Windsor, the King, whom he had met many times, was not a patient man. Story told, in which he flattered his own actions more than others, he turned and said, ‘Allow me to introduce to
you Lieutenant Colbourne, the captain of HMS
Griffin
, who so nobly aided me and my ship in the capture.’

The King leant forward and looked into Colbourne’s face. ‘An arm, eh, Colbourne, a stiff price, what, what?’

‘Well worth paying, sir.’ Colbourne replied, his voice gruff through nerves.

‘Well I shall make sure it is, what, what? Those devils at the Admiralty will find you something to your credit or answer to me.’ Then he spun round suddenly and shouted. ‘Chatham!’

The man who responded did so without haste, approaching the King and giving him a courtly bow. Stood up again, Pearce thought he looked like a drinker, his face carrying that excess flesh which was a sign, that and his eyes, which were rather watery, as though he had slept badly.

‘Your Majesty.’

‘I hope you are going to give this poor devil a ship.’

‘His commission as captain has already been posted. As soon as he is recovered, sir, I am sure we will find him suitable employment.’

‘And this, Your Majesty,’ said Marchand, ‘is the real hero of the hour. It was he, manning each gun himself, who shot away
Valmy
’s rudder. I doubt we would have enjoyed success without his intervention. Indeed, I must admit the outcome could have been in doubt.’

‘Pearce!’ This was said before Marchand could introduce him, his voice becoming very emphatic. ‘Son of the late Adam Pearce.’

That set a buzz of conversation going, and as the King turned to silence it, Pearce got a view of Lady Annabel, and her lips, slightly parted, seemed to be inviting him, or was it his imagination. Concentrating on that, he failed to control his conversation with the King who, with his back to Pearce, was speaking to Chatham again.

‘A lieutenancy would not go amiss as a reward, Chatham, what, what?’

‘If the young man has the required sea time, Your Majesty, I am sure it will be a mere formality.’

‘Sea time, be damned, sir. Lad’s a fighter, what, what, plain as the nose on your face.’

‘The service has rules, Your Majesty.’

‘The service, sir, is the Royal Navy, and I, sir, am the King.’ The voice began to rise as he continued, and Pearce wondered if he was going to lose control of himself. Certainly he had created a few worried faces. ‘And if I am the King, sir, and the Navy is Royal, then they are beholden to me, are they not!’

Another courtier stepped forward, his voice emollient. Shorter and slimmer than Chatham, he was younger looking, more elegant, but yet there was a definite likeness. ‘If it is your wish, sir, then it will be so, rest assured.’

‘Make it so, Mr Pitt, make it so, what, what?’

John Pearce opened his mouth to tell the King about his father, and damn the promotion, but the monarch had gone, and all he got was a view of his disappearing back. Then he was face to face with Pitt.

‘Did I hear your name aright?’
The question was softly posed, there was no rancour or threat in it, which forced Pearce to reply in kind.

‘Then let me say I was sorry to hear of the way your father died. It was monstrous.’

‘Which is what I wanted to tell the King. If he had not been driven from the country, he would still be alive.’

‘Don’t be hard on King George, young man,’ Pitt said. ‘If anyone deserves your anger it is I. William Pitt, First Lord of the Treasury, at your service. I can see in your eyes a flash of hate, which I daresay I deserve. But rest assured if I did anything regarding yourself and your late parent, it was for the safety of the nation.’

‘That sounds like exaggeration.’

‘It may sound like it, but it is not. How do you think I feel about this war, Mr Pearce, about the lives that will be lost, quite apart from the cost in money. Before you finally decide I am destined for hellfire, ask yourself this. When you felt threatened in that fight that has brought you here, did you think about the men that died so you could stay alive, on both sides?’

‘It is not the same.’

‘Please do not presume to tell me what I constitute as a threat to my life, my well being and that of the country. You will have your lieutenancy, Mr Pearce…’

‘I don’t want it.’

‘It matters not. The King has wiled and we do our utmost not to create difficulties in that area, since with His Majesty one has no idea where it would lead.’

Clearly Pitt was referring to the King’s mental state,
which must be more delicate than the nation knew.

‘And if you want a place, write to me and I will ensure you get one. It is the least I can do, for although I do not expect you to believe me, your father is on my conscience. Now, why don’t you mingle. It might take that very sour look off your face.’

‘Perhaps I can help,’ said Lady Annabel, who had again approached unseen. Pitt bowed and walked away. That smile was on her lips again, and the Pearce blood was reacting. ‘Promotion? That is something which should be celebrated and here I am asking myself what I can possibly gift you that would be reward enough?’

It was two days before John Pearce could tear himself away from the arms of Lady Annabel Fitzherbert, and if he had felt twinges of guilt at the delay in setting his Pelicans free, he had also enjoyed rediscovering elegant life and the pleasures of the bedchamber. Dressed as a lieutenant, in a uniform bought for him by his wealthy, gracious and sensuous paramour, he coached to Portsmouth alone in one of her husband’s well sprung carriages, which he commanded take him straight to the Naval Dockyard. There he requested a boat to take him out to
Centurion
, now surrounded by other vessels and scaffold as her damaged upper works were repaired. He came aboard to be greeted by that supercilious sod Burkett, who when he saw his new uniform coat went puce with envy.

‘I have come for my men, Burkett,’ he said, gilding the lily slightly as he added, ‘on the express orders of
Lord Howe, from whom I presume you have had some communication. Please be so good as to send someone for them.’

‘Which men?’

Pearce had some pleasure in forcing him to say sir. ‘Their names are O’Hagan, Taverner and Dommet.’

‘From HMS
Griffin
?’

‘Where else, man?’

Burkett looked at the ceiling, but his face belied the words that followed. ‘Then I am sorry to have to inform you, sir, that the entire crew of
Griffin
was shipped into HMS
Leander
, which was short handed. They are now at sea, on their way to the Mediterranean.’

The events and characters in this novel are entirely fictional, but the conclusion has a basis in fact. Although it took place in an earlier conflict – there was an occasion when a Midshipman, the only officer left standing on the deck of a small ship in the middle of a desperate action, interposed his craft between that of a British ship-of-the-line and an enemy vessel, saving the former from certain capture at the cost of the destruction of his own ship.

As a reward for his gallantry, and on the express orders of the King, he was promoted to lieutenant without being required to sit an examination.

D.D.

Firebrand John Pearce’s first adventure on the high seas.

London 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce is illegally
press-ganged
from the refuge of the Pelican tavern to a brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. In the first few days Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. But he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men - fly Charlie Taverner; quiet Ben Walker; tired old Abel Scrivens; the bairn of the group, Rufus Dommet; the droll, tough Irish labourer, Michael O’Hagan; and the bumptious Gherson - pressed men like him, who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader. During an action-packed two weeks, as HMS Brilliant chases a French privateer across the English Channel, this disparate group of men form friendships that will last a lifetime.

David Donachie cleverly weaves these fictional characters into true historical situations to produce a compelling and utterly absorbing introductory novel.

Stranded in Portsmouth, John Pearce has once again failed to secure the release of those who depended on him - his fellow Pelicans. They have been shipped off to the Mediterranean while he was indulging himself in London. So he must take ship and follow them. His application to William Pitt for a place finds him as 8th lieutenant on HMS Victory, flagship of Admiral Lord Hood.

South and ahead of him, his Pelicans are serving under a flogging captain, but all is not lost as each of the gang does what he can to promote himself - O’Hagan fights to establish his place in the below decks hierarch; Taverner carves out a niche where his trickery can work to the gang’s advantage; Gherson ends up as secretary to Rear Admiral Ralph Barclay.

As the action moves to the main French Mediterranean port of Toulon, the tension between crews and captains intensifies, coming to a brilliant head when the HMS Brilliant is detached from the fleet under the orders of Captain Horatio Nelson, bound for North Africa.

1793. Returning triumphant from a successful mission in Corsica, Lieutenant John Pearce receives a mixed welcome, particularly from his arch-enemy, Captain Ralph Barclay. But with the Siege of Toulon escalating in violence and the revolutionary army preparing to attack, all thoughts of revenge must be put on hold as Pearce is entrusted with escorting five thousand radical French sailors to a port on the Atlantic coast, where they are to be set free. When their assignment goes awry, it is up to Pearce and his comrades to prevent the inevitable bloodshed, but challenging the agents of the French Revolution as well as their navy could be a fatal mistake…

Set against the backdrop of the bloody French Revolution, A Flag of Truce brilliantly combines a gripping adventure with intricate historical detail, to explosive effect.

Since being illegally press-ganged into joining King George’s Navy, John Pearce has overcome numerous adversaries, which have secured him a position of command on board HMS Faron. Having successfully overcome the French at the Siege of Toulon, Pearce and his comrades, the Pelicans, now face the on-going, bloody battle to defend the port.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Pearce’s continuing conflict with Captain Ralph Barclay, the man responsible for press-ganging Pearce and his companions into the Navy, intensifies as Barclay faces a court martial for his actions. But with Barclay’s superiors, Admiral Lord Hood and Admiral Hotham, in dispute over how to deal with Barclay’s misgivings and with his wife, Emily, struggling to cope with his barbarous nature, Barclay’s future looks uncertain. Pearce’s hope for retribution may occur sooner than he anticipated, but would it be to his advantage?

As Pearce confronts assaults from both the French and his superiors, it becomes clear that Pearce and his comrades are part of a large and potentially fatal plan, where war becomes a calculated game to be won.

1794. John Pearce and his Pelicans are going home – to gain their freedom and, using the evidence they have from Admiral, Lord Hood, to put Captain Ralph Barclay in the dock.

But first they must take part in the evacuation of Toulon. With the Republican Army at the gates the citizenry are panicking, trying to flee the retribution of the guillotine. But the Allies must put the needs of war before their lives. The Arsenal and dockyard must be destroyed, the ships they cannot get away must be set alight to deny them to the enemy. Confusion reigns and into this Pearce must go to carry out dangerous tasks given to them by Admiral Hotham. Also ashore, and looking for him, is a certain Major Lipton, who is intent on challenging Pearce to a duel.

A cave hacked out of the rock, lit by flickering torches…two young boys appeal to the famed Roman oracle for a glimpse into their future. The Sybil draws a blood-red shape of an eagle with wings outstretched. An omen of death. As they flee from the cave in fear, Aulus and Lucius make an oath of loyalty until death. An oath that will be tested in the years to come.

Thirty years on and Aulus, now Rome’s most successful general, faces his toughest battle. Barbarian rebels have captured his wife, and are demanding the withdrawal of Roman legions from their land in return for her life. It is unthinkable for Aulus to agree, and he fears her life must be forfeit to Rome. Meanwhile, Lucius has risen to high rank in the Senate; a position he uses and abuses. But when Lucius is suspected of arranging a murder, the very foundations of the Republic are threatened. Lucius and Aulus soon find themselves on very different sides of the conflict - perhaps the prophecy of the eagle will come true after all.

History and adventure, brutality and courage combine to powerful effect, making The Pillars of Rome an outstanding opening to the Republic series.

‘One shall tame a mighty foe, the other strike
to save Rome’s fame, neither will achieve their aim.
Look aloft if you dare, though what you fear cannot fly,
both will face it before you die.’

Aulus is dead. Hailed as a hero of the Republic, his sons, Quintus and Titus have new and heavy responsibilities placed upon them. Lucius, now the most powerful, and sinister, senator in Rome, is keen to manipulate the Cornelii family to achieve his own goals.

Meanwhile the young Aquila lives in Spain with dreams of becoming a powerful solider to fight for Rome and discover his destiny that is hidden within his Eagled amulet.