Guns to the Far East (11 page)

He was of no more than medium height, slightly built and cleanshaven, his brown hair—worn a trifle longer than current fashion decreed—luxuriant and curling, despite the severity with which it was dressed. He had, Phillip thought, many of the qualities which distinguished Commodore Keppel— breeding, personal courage, and a fine brain, coupled with exceptional powers of leadership. Like Keppel, he was immensely popular with the officers and men he commanded, and his meteoric rise to his present rank had won him more friends than enemies. There were a few, of course—mostly his contemporaries, men with less brilliant records than he—who professed mistrust of Peel's volatile temperament and keen intelligence, maintaining that his rapid promotion had been due rather to the influence of his father, the late Sir Robert Peel, than to his own merit. But he had confounded his critics in the Crimea and won the wholehearted approval of Their Lordships and no one in naval circles doubted that he was destined for further advancement in the near future—in spite of his age.

“I was truly distressed to hear about the
Raleigh,
” he went on, passing Phillip a glass and courteously raising his own. “Good health! Because we're not likely to see her like again in naval service, are we? Even this ship, although she's the first of her class, is really a compromise. With the development and perfection of the marine engine, it won't be long before we dispense with sail altogether and that will indeed be a sad day.”

“It will,” Phillip agreed, with feeling. Peel questioned him about the circumstances of the
Raleigh
's loss and then said, gesturing to his arm, “I see you've been winged, my dear fellow … is it bad?”

“No, it's healing nicely. But I was lucky not to lose it.” In response to Peel's prompting, he supplied a condensed account of the Fatshan action, ending wryly, “I got this when we were coming down river in the
Hong Kong,
after it was all over. The junks we had taken in the early morning attack had been set on fire and abandoned so hastily that their guns were still loaded and, of course, they were going off in the heat. A charge of grape hit us and I, like an idiot, failed to duck.”

“I'm glad the wound's healing. Mine took a very long time, as you may have heard … oddly enough, it was also my left arm. By what I now regard as a curious coincidence, some of my officers were arguing, the night before the assault on the Redan”—Peel smiled reminiscently—“as to which limb they could best spare, if one had to be lost. Dayell and young Wood both agreed on the left arm but I said that arms were more useful for sailors than legs. They talked me round eventually by suggesting that a one-legged man would probably become very stout and next day, believe it or not, all three of us were hit in the left arm! Poor Dayell lost his, Wood and I were more fortunate, although I almost certainly wouldn't have been if my other A.D.C., Edward Daniels, hadn't come to my aid so promptly. Fine boys those, Phillip … Daniels, as you probably noticed, is with me still. He was the only one, out of seven officers, who wasn't hit that day. Wood, incidentally, obtained a cornet's commission in the Cavalary. He's now in India with the Seventeenth Lancers, in Bombay, I believe.”

“Talking of India, sir …” Phillip began. “I …”

“Don't tell me,” William Peel put in, his smile widening. “There's nothing likely to be doing here for the next two or three months and you've heard the rumour that we may be ordered to convey Lord Elgin to Calcutta. You've also heard that India is threatened with a sepoy revolt and you've come to ask if the
Shannon
has any vacancies for officers. Am I right?”

“Yes,” Phillip admitted. “But how did you guess?”

“You are now the fourth officer to approach me on the same errand today, my dear fellow,” the
Shannon
's Captain returned dryly. “The other three buttonholed me aboard the Commander-in-Chief's flagship this morning, all of them convinced that the
Shannon
's departure for Calcutta is imminent and drawing the inference that, if
I'm
in command, a Naval Brigade is bound to be formed and sent up country to assist in quelling the mutiny!”

Even the possibility of such an outcome rekindled Phillip's hopes and he asked, unable to hide his eagerness, “Is there any chance of that happening, sir?”

“For God's sake, Phillip, I don't know! I don't even know as yet whether Lord Elgin intends to pay a visit to Calcutta. He's mentioned it, certainly, but nothing's been decided. Elgin's only been here a few days—he hasn't had time to reach a decision.” Peel spread his hands in a resigned gesture. “He has to consult with Sir John Bowring and Parkes and the other Plenipotentiaries, as well as with the Admirals—ours and the French and the United States Commodore. I don't suppose he's had time to read all his mail from England yet—there was a stack of it waiting for him when he arrived.”

“Yes, but—”

“All I can tell you is that the situation in India is giving cause for grave anxiety, Phillip. But how much help we can give from here doesn't depend on me.”

“I realise that, sir. But didn't the Admiral say anything?” Phillip persisted. “I mean, if there's no prospect of our attacking Canton for the next two or three months, surely he doesn't need to retain a large fleet here?”

William Peel shook his head. “No, but he could say nothing definite. Lord Elgin is the one who will have to decide, I tell you. Dear God, have you become a glory hunter? I should have thought that you'd have had enough action to last you for a while, after Fatshan … but you can't wait to get into the thick of it, can you?”

His tone, if not quite censorious, was critical and Phillip stared at him in surprise. “You misunderstand me, Captain Peel,” he defended stiffly. “I'm not looking for glory, I assure you. I—”

“Then why all this damned eagerness to get to India? That's what you're after, is it not? It's why you've come to see me, in spite of having one arm in a sling and—”

“I have two sisters in Lucknow, sir. My damned eagerness is prompted by fears for their safety,” Phillip returned, still stiff. “If you imagine that I—”

“I'm sorry, my dear fellow.” Peel laid a hand on his arm. “I didn't realise. In Lucknow, you say—both of them?”

Phillip nodded. “As far as I know they are but there's been no recent news of them. One is married to a subaltern of the Queen's 32nd and, when my parents last heard from her, she and her husband were in Cawnpore, expecting to follow the regiment to Lucknow. My elder sister, Harriet, was in Sitapur, which is an out-station about forty or fifty miles north of Lucknow. She assured my mother that there was no likelihood of their sepoy regiments joining the mutiny but, if they did, it had been decided to send the women and children to seek refuge with Sir Henry Lawrence's British garrison at the Lucknow Residency. I can only pray they got there safely … Harriet has three small children, the youngest less than a year old.” He had a mental vision of his sister Harriet's pretty, smiling face. He had not seen her since her marriage, seven years previously, to Major James—Jemmy—Dorling, but as a boy, she had been his favourite sister, an affectionate, gentle person, who had frequently defended him from his father's wrath and whom he had loved deeply. He looked up to meet Peel's gaze and added quietly, “If there's any chance at all of a Naval Brigade being sent up country, sir, I'd … dear heaven, I'd give my right arm, as well as this one, to be able to go with them! In any capacity—as a volunteer, if necessary, without pay. I can't stay here, kicking my heels when they … I must do something and I'd esteem it a favour if you could make any use of my services, Captain Peel.”

“This puts a different complexion on the matter,” Peel said. “I understand how you feel but …” He was frowning. “
If
we're ordered to India—and there's no guarantee that we shall be— I could probably give you passage, Phillip. As a volunteer or in a supernumerary capacity. All the
Raleighs
will have to be reappointed to other ships, obviously, and I'm sure you know that nothing would please me more than to have you appointed to the
Shannon—
but your rank raises a problem. I have my full complement of officers and my First Lieutenant, Jim Vaughan, is junior to you, although I think he has a couple of years' more service. It would hardly be fair to put you over his head, would it?”

“No, no, of course not. I wouldn't expect you to do anything of the kind, sir.”

“And what about that arm? It is really healing?”

Phillip reddened. “It is, I promise you. Your Surgeon can examine it, if you wish.”

Peel smiled. “Nonsense, I'll take your word for it, my dear fellow. Failing all else, it might serve as a valid reason for you to apply for sick leave and take a cruise to Calcutta with us to recuperate.”

“I hadn't thought of that,” Phillip confessed.

“Then think about it,” William Peel advised. “You said it was immaterial in what capacity you joined us, did you not?” He rose, holding out his hand for his visitor's glass. “Let me replenish that for you.” Busy with the selection of bottles on his sideboard, he went on, “You could also make a formal request to the Admiral, you know—or ask your Chief to do so on your behalf. Commodore Keppel's very persuasive and you do have good reason for wishing to go to India. He'll be sympathetic, will he not?”

“Oh, yes—he's the kindest, most generous man in the world. But—” Phillip hesitated. “He has troubles of his own at present, as you may have heard.”

“Yes, the Admiral mentioned it.” William Peel passed him a brimming glass and resumed his own seat. “He seems to think Keppel will go home.”

“Jim Goodenough, our ex-First Lieutenant, is with the Commodore up river, and he said that it was a strong possibility. I was hoping it wasn't true.” Phillip sighed. “If he
is
going, then it's a damnable shame! He was cleared of all responsibility for the loss of the
Raleigh
and rightly so, since he was in no way to blame …” He went into details and Peel listened gravely.

“Keppel deserves better of Their Lordships, Phillip—by God he does! I'm told he was simply magnificent at Fatshan.”

“He was—and equally so, when the
Raleigh
went down.”

“I fear that the underlying reasons for Their Lordships' actions are political … and personal. Or so the Admiral hinted.
He
doesn't want Keppel to leave the station and, like you, he's hoping it won't come to that. However”—Peel's tone was dry—“if you want a barometer with which to measure the situation here, Phillip, I fancy the Commodore will provide one.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

Peel's laugh was devoid of amusement. “Well, if there's any possibility of an attack on Canton within the next two months, your esteemed Chief won't throw his hand in—whatever the First Lord writes or says or does. Not until it's over, anyway. So if he takes passage home, the chances are that we shall be ordered to take Lord Elgin to Calcutta … and you'd be well advised to make your application for extended sick leave and come with us.”

They talked for another twenty minutes about the mutiny in India, Peel supplying what information he could, and then Phillip drained his glass and got to his feet.

“I won't take up any more of your time, Captain Peel,” he said. “Thank you for seeing me and I'm more grateful than I can begin to tell you for affording me the opportunity to join your ship's company if you are ordered to India. Indeed, sir, you—”

Peel cut him short. “Say no more, my dear Phillip—you'll be worth your weight in gold to me if I
am
called upon to form a Naval Brigade. Won't you dine with me? I've some of the
Calcutta
's officers coming and Commander Sotheby of the
Pearl,
who may or may not be known to you.”

“I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him. But—”

“Then stay,” William Peel urged. “We can find you a cabin on board and you can return to Macao with the
Firmée
in the morning. Make a night of it and get to know your shipmates, it'll do you good. For a start, let Jim Vaughan show off the ship to you … He's as proud of her as if he'd designed her himself and it gives him enormous pleasure to demonstrate her refinements to an appreciative audience.”

It was an invitation to put himself on good terms with the one man who might resent his joining, Phillip realised, and he accepted it gratefully, liking Peel the more for having issued it. The
Shannon,
he quickly learnt—whilst the First Lieutenant was demonstrating her refinements to him—was a happy ship, her company efficient and well disciplined. A number of her seamen and virtually all her officers had served under William Peel before and were united in their admiration for him, particularly those who were veterans of the Crimean Naval Brigade, and they included one or two whom Phillip recognised as “Queen's Hard Bargains” of the O'Leary stamp. He spent a pleasant evening on board the frigate, finding the wardroom officers friendly and hospitable and her Commander's table predictably excellent. He departed next morning to resume his convalescence in Macao, submitted a formal request for sick leave and, a week later, was summoned to Hong Kong to attend a medical board.

Dr Crawford, who was a member of the board, supported his request, it was granted and Phillip readily obtained permission to join the
Shannon
for a recuperative cruise, the Admiral giving official approval to his appointment in a supernumerary capacity—which, he thought, would set Jim Vaughan's mind at rest.

The
Shannon,
the Admiral's Secretary informed him, when he called to pay his formal respects, was under orders to sail for Calcutta within the next few days. “Lord Elgin has decided— in view of the gravity of the crisis in India—that a consultation between the Governor-General and himself is imperative. So you'll be embarking His Excellency with his staff, Commander, and the
Pearl
will accompany you, as well as three hundred Royal Marines from this station. And there's talk of a Naval Brigade being formed …” Abandoning formality, the Secretary added, with feeling, “I must confess I envy you, sir—I really do! I'd give a year's pay to have a crack at those damned mutineers. The tales one hears of what they're doing to defenceless British women and children make one's blood boil!”