‘Which will delight the crew.’
‘It will infuriate Hotham, given it is sailing pretty close to the wind to act in that fashion, it may be illegal in fact.’
‘A judgement for a court, John. If it discomfits Hotham you have my full support.’
‘Then let us make is so. We can get you proper medical aid and I would suggest a place to convalesce until you are fully recovered.’
‘What about the French sailors?’
‘They won’t be the only men of their nation to serve King George. I will swear them in. The good ones will accept, the others will desert and if they do we will be well shot of them.’
‘They’ll fetch a tidy sum, I reckon, our captures.’
‘True and if my share is scarce enough to match the wealth of Ralph Barclay it will go a long way to aiding my cause.’
Digby became so animated that Pearce had to gently stop him from trying to rise and if his voice was weak there was no denying the vehemence of the words he uttered.
‘If you need more, you may call upon my quarter share. If the only way to bring punishment down on Hotham is through Barclay then I am your supporter.’
‘Rest, Henry and I will come again.’
‘Grey, did he do well?’
‘He did magnificently, even our tars are praising the Lobsters.’
‘That is the world turned upside down indeed.’
‘How much do you reckon they’re worth?’ Grey asked, when told of the intention as well as the fact that if he did not mind a soaking he could visit his ailing superior.
‘I looked at the manifests and had a word with the one surviving mate. It’s all spices and silks, with oils for perfumes too. I would be disappointed by less than thirty thousand.’
‘Which means …?
‘A round thousand for us and the warrants at least.’
Grey swelled with anticipated wealth but Pearce had a fly in the ointment. He had avoided reminding Digby of an upsetting fact; if Lord Hood had been superseded, Hotham would be entitled to an eighth of the prize value.
‘Land ho,’ came the cry, which meant they were close to closing Brindisi. John Pearce was less concerned about that: he was wondering which was the quickest way to get to Naples: by land or sea?
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About the Author
DAVID DONACHIE was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has always had an abiding interest in the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the Roman Republic, and, under the pen-name of Jack Ludlow, has published a number of historical adventure novels. David lives in Deal with his partner, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.
By David Donachie
THE JOHN PEARCE SERIES
By the Mast Divided • A Shot Rolling Ship
An Awkward Commission • A Flag of Truce
The Admirals’ Game • An Ill Wind
Blown Off Course • Enemies at Every Turn
A Sea of Troubles • A Divided Command
The Devil to Pay
Written as Jack Ludlow
THE LAST ROMAN SERIES
Vengeance
Honour
THE REPUBLIC SERIES
The Pillars of Rome
The Sword of Revenge
The Gods of War
THE CONQUEST SERIES
Mercenaries
Warriors
Conquest
THE ROADS TO WAR SERIES
The Burning Sky
A Broken Land
A Bitter Field
THE CRUSADES SERIES
Son of Blood
Soldier of Crusade
Prince of Legend
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
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London W1T 6DW
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published in 2014.
This ebook edition first published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2014.
Copyright © 2014 by DAVID DONACHIE
All characters and events in this publication,
other than those clearly in the public domain,
are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1658–6
The Devil to Pay (John Pearce series) Page 29