‘You have my word. Now pack. I told our coachman to be tardy in returning to the city but that leaves little time.’
The shay was not large enough to accommodate Emily and all the Pelicans, which had Charlie Taverner and Rufus Dommet, as well as one of the Hamilton servants to give directions, jogging alongside her and Michael, with the observation that the poor creature hauling them would have preferred a lighter carcase to bear.
What was called the Bathing House sat on the shore beyond the promontory, in a wide and arcing bay that lay to the west of the Palazzo Sessa. If Emma Hamilton had described it as small it was because she had never been accommodated aboard a ship of war. If it was plain it was also, on two floors, as spacious as a small London house of the artisan type.
The Chevalier obviously took his sea dipping seriously. There was a large cistern on the roof to collect rainwater, that to feed not just the needs of the house but also a plunge pool by which he could wash off the salt after bathing. Added to that he could rest here if he wished, with a comfortable first-floor room for him with a day bed as well as a shelf of books, a functioning kitchen and accommodation for any servants he fetched along with him.
The party, despite the fears of their hostess, had been afforded much time to get clear for Naples was blessed with numerous churches as well as the Cathedral of San Gennaro. Ralph Barclay found himself ushered into one after another, to be shown painted panels, arched roofs replete with heavenly visions, magnificent stained-glass windows and enough statuary to fill the Horse Guards’ drilling ground, but only after he had been obliged to admire the exterior stonework and carvings.
None of this impressed very much a man who preferred a plain English country building with weathered blocks of grey stone and whitewashed walls inside, lacking any embellishments bar the odd crucifix and a carved pulpit. Indeed, he was bored and finding it hard to disguise the fact, glad when finally the Chevalier led him back to the quayside and his waiting coach.
‘If you wish to fetch along your barge crew, Captain Barclay, I have no objection, though they are scarce necessary. We will, of course, accommodate you tonight and if you wish to name a time, your boat can come for you on the morrow.’
About to agree, Barclay hesitated. ‘I have one request, sir. I have given my clerk a certain task to carry out and I need to know if he has been as zealous as he is required to be. I ask that he be allowed to call upon me at your residence prior to going back aboard.’
‘Of course.’
‘Then, if you will furnish him with directions, my man Devenow will await his return to the quay and tell him to come on to …?’
‘The Palazzo Sessa in Posillipo. If your man engages a hack and requests to be taken to the home of the Madonna Inglese he will not need directions.’ To a raised Barclay eyebrow, the ambassador added, ‘It is the name with which the locals favour my wife.’
As a sea officer, Barclay lacked the diplomatic skills of his companion; he could not keep off his face the confusion such an appellation created. How someone called a whore by many in England could be termed a maternal virgin here escaped him and his response thus lacked any conviction at all.
‘Fully deserved, I’m sure. Now, if you will excuse me I will tell my man of the duty he needs to perform.’
On the journey the Chevalier was the main instigator of conversation, asking about the loss of the captain’s arm and then, Toulon having been mentioned, for his impressions of that event and the subsequent siege. Barclay was quite vehement about it having all been an error and too preoccupied to note the slight surprise that he should say so.
‘Captain Nelson stated it was the most perfect thing.’
‘But Admiral Hotham, a much wiser fellow than Nelson, was dead against it, sir, and he was right to be so. Sadly, Lord Hood ignored him.’
That said the Chevalier fell into a contemplative silence, not broken by a companion who failed to spot there should be a reason, which was of short duration given they were soon at the palazzo.
‘Well?’ Emma demanded, as she faced her husband prior to joining Ralph Barclay on the veranda, where he had been left to sip a cooling glass of lemon water and admire the view.
‘I fear he is as coarse as many of his breed, my dear. I doubt you will take to him. Also, he has sent a man to enquire around in Naples, you can guess what for?’
That had Emma biting her lip; how many times had Emily Barclay shared her open coach these last months and been hailed almost as much as she herself for her beauty? Anyone enquiring would soon be told of her presence as well as the company she kept.
‘He may not find out that she was accommodated with us.’
That got a very severe look and what was tantamount to a command. ‘If he asks after his wife, Emma, we cannot lie to him.’
John Pearce had been welcomed aboard Agamemnon like a long-lost brother: it was not a mood that lasted. Horatio Nelson had no sooner had brought to his table the wine they would consume, as usual delivered by his surly servant, than his guest demanded to be told if the Agamemnons had had any hand in the affair of which he was being accused.
Nelson looked so embarrassed it precluded any attempt at denial.
‘Our C-in-C severely castigated me about the affair. I fear Admiral Hotham found my excuse of overenthusiasm and mere high spirits did not answer. The only thing I could do to mitigate his anger was to take the blame for my ship and leave out the fact that we had a trio of frigates with us.’
‘Your midshipmen have a reputation, sir.’
‘I know, but my liberty men were just as involved as Agamemnon’s young gentlemen, which goes some way to explaining the level of violence visited on those bullocks. Their injuries were inflicted by hardened tars.’
‘Then I need to know how my name came to be associated with the actions of your men?’
‘While I must tell you, Mr Pearce, that I have no idea. I would, however, point out, and you cannot gainsay this, that one of the number assaulted, indeed the fellow who brought it to the attention of our commanding officer, had, prior to the event, literally crossed swords with you.’
Nelson gave him a look then, head canted and eyebrows lowered that invited Pearce to relate the details of a fight he had no desire to describe. Nor, and for the same reasons of a degree of shame, did he wish to admit that the bullocks in question had deliberately insulted Emily, then left him with no route to achieve recourse. He took refuge in an untruth that could not be challenged.
‘Yes, and the matter ended there.’
‘That, Mr Pearce, is plainly not the case.’
‘If your men took on these bullocks it was not on my behalf, was it? Outside yourself and Mr Farmiloe I would scarce recognise one of your young gentlemen to speak with and I certainly do not have any acquaintances on your lower deck. Why, in that case, would they take up cudgels on my behalf?’
‘I am at a loss to know how to satisfy you.’
‘I must ask if you enquired into the affair with your men and you must forgive me for the temerity.’
‘I read them the Riot Act, or emphasised the relevant Articles of War at Sunday Service to be precise, but I doubt it made anyone feel remorse. We engage men to be fighters, Mr Pearce, and if they get into such scrapes while off the ship I do not see how it can be stopped. I was a tad more severe with my young gentlemen, of course, than the hands. As budding officers they should know better.’
Nelson smiled, which lit up what had been a rather severe countenance.
‘Threatened them with all sorts, the gunner’s daughter and endless mast headings, but I fear they know me too well to take seriously such exhortations.’
‘I ask to be allowed to question them.’ That had Nelson sitting back and it was clear he was far from keen. ‘I need to know, sir, for it is my name and my reputation that is on the line.’
‘Mr Pearce …’ The hands spread and the expression was sad; it was obvious, without being stated, that his visitor was a man under a cloud by his very rank and existence.
‘One I would be most reluctant to call in. Lepée, send for the midshipmen.’
‘All of them?’ was the growled and less than respectful reply.
‘Aye, they have questions to answer.’
‘Being born would serve to damn most of them.’
‘Just do as I ask,’ Nelson sighed. As the servant departed he gave Pearce a look of tolerance well overstretched. ‘Everyone wonders why I keep him, Mr Pearce. Tell me, how can I dismiss a man who, however badly he behaves, once saved my life?’
There being no answer to that both sat sipping wine in silence until the ‘young gentlemen’ appeared, half a dozen youngsters of varying ages. John Pearce had seen many a group of midshipmen gathered, yet it was clear that none of these had become the kind of creature who would ever be stuck in the gun room, thirty years old and rising. Nothing could surely be more depressing than to never have any prospect of making lieutenant but such long-serving souls were a far from uncommon sight.
The questions Pearce asked had them shuffling their feet, until their commander quietly insisted they respond. What came out lacked clarity to an alarming degree and that forced their inquisitor to be more direct, until a young fellow called Hoste, well into puberty by the spots on his cheeks, chose to answer.
‘We could not abide the insults, sir.’
‘What insults?’
Josiah Nisbet was the one to respond. ‘Made against my stepfather, sir.’
Pearce had seen Nisbet before, on an occasion when Nelson had acted in a far from respectable manner in this very port, drooling over an overripe opera singer at a ball and clearly the worse for wear with drink. He was, of course, known to be lightheaded when it came to wine and no more chaste than any of his peers. Yet to behave badly in front of his wife’s son was risky in the extreme.
‘They had been calling into question his qualities in a very offensive way. Said he was a burden at Calvi for seeking to do what was best done by redcoats.’
‘We were told so, were we not, Josiah?’
‘Told so, Mr Hoste?’ Pearce asked.
‘That and a lot more besides, downright insults of a most personal nature.’
‘What kind of insults?’ Nelson demanded, an interruption which irritated Pearce, though he could not say so.
‘That you lacked height, ran a filthy ship, were born out of wedlock, greedy and that no boy was safe in your company.’
‘What!’
That shouted outburst of fury produced a strange reaction, very close to a veiled smile. It was almost as if the lad was enjoying the discomfiture his words had caused. Nelson was shaking his head, clearly upset and did not observe the look, which allowed Pearce to continue.
‘Told? You did not hear these insults delivered yourselves, is that what you are saying?’
‘No, Mr Pearce,’ Hoste responded, before realising he was causing confusion. ‘I mean to say, yes. They were related to us by a couple of hands from another ship.’
‘A swab I got hold of by the throat,’ Nisbet added, with a face screwed up to indicate the level of his recollected fury. The questioning look had him continue, his snarl designed to show resolution. ‘Thought the sod was the one making the accusations. When I got hold of him he soon told me the truth of it. That it was the bullocks. They had been goin’ round the whole town slighting Agamemnon and our captain.’
‘They paid the price,’ Hoste added. ‘Be a rate of time afore they insult anyone in a blue coat again.’
‘Which ship did these fellows come from?’
‘No idea, sir. We didn’t ask and they didn’t say.’
‘There were three of them, one being a lad who had never dipped his wick,’ Hoste added, with a sly grin, ‘which was put paid to by a collection. Had to be carried to his doom and came back all grins.’
‘Freckles damn near fell off,’ Nisbet said, with a chuckle. ‘There was another of the trio, a brute of a Paddy, hands like hams and a real bruiser by the look, well drunk he was, too, dancing and singing with some of the hands from the frigates, they being Irishmen likewise.’
‘Didn’t get the name of the one that related to us what these bullocks from the 65th Foot had been saying. But he told us where they rested and so off we went to teach them some manners.’
The sinking feeling in John Pearce’s gut was acute and he had to fight hard to keep his voice even. ‘A description might help.’
‘Sandy hair, comely look about him and a silvery tongue for sure.’
‘And they accompanied you?’
‘No,’ Hoste replied, ‘which seems strange now. Didn’t remark on it at the time. Never saw hide nor hair after we went looking for the bullocks.’
‘Well, gentlemen, I thank you.’ Never comfortable with blatant lies Pearce had to force himself to say the next words in a like tone. ‘I don’t feel much enlightened by what you have related to me, nor can I tell why my name is associated with what happened. But it is and I will be at a stand to find a way to correct it.’
‘Be assured, sir,’ Hoste added, ‘we will put the word about that you had no part.’
‘Thank you, Mr Hoste.’
‘Best be about your duties,’ Nelson ordered, which had them nodding and exiting his cabin, he not speaking till they were gone. ‘I cannot see what further aid I can give you, sir.’
‘Neither can I, sir, though I would request that when you set out to return to San Fiorenzo Bay I can come along as a passenger. I have a need to see Admiral Hotham.’
The name got a raised eyebrow but no request for an explanation. ‘Most certainly. It will be a matter of a day or two, but how many I will not know until I have spoken with Captain Urquhart. You may berth aboard till then, if you wish.’
‘Most kind.’
Nelson stood up. ‘Let me see you to your boat.’
‘Uncommonly civil of you, sir.’
They came out onto a busy deck, with derricks being rigged to take in stores and many a shout from below as what they had left was being shifted to make space for what was already being piled up on the quay.
‘Odd that Semele is not here,’ Nelson said idly, looking across the anchorage.
‘That being Captain Barclay’s ship,’ Pearce responded unnecessarily; who had what was no secret.
‘Aye. She departed Corsica two days before we did, though it was our turn to revictual ahead of her. If she’s not here she will be cruising. I daresay our C-in-C was keen to indulge Barclay, given they are close. He will be out there somewhere seeking to line his already bulging purse.’
Captain Urquhart was unhappy to see Pearce again, but not enough to refuse to answer the question posed, even if he did so with ill-grace.
No, he had not seen any sign of HMS Semele.
CHAPTER TEN
‘Lady Hamilton, it is an almost unmeasurable pleasure to meet with you.’
‘How very gracious, Captain Barclay.’
Had the woman addressed known of the thoughts coursing through his mind she would not have smiled at such a greeting. He was thinking of how he could relate to others that he had actually encountered this Jezebel. His listeners would be avid to hear of it, to be told if the signs of her known debaucheries were plain to the eye or hidden from view. And was her husband the old booby he was supposed to be, hoodwinked into marrying a woman whose reputation was so tainted that he had apparently forfeited the good opinion of society and his childhood friend King George?
‘No words can do justice to your beauty, milady, which is famed throughout the land.’
Two deep lines appeared at either side of the top of Emma Hamilton’s nose, which told Ralph Barclay he had overcooked his compliments; her beauty might be what he had said, but it was not that for which she was best known and in terms of bloom it was past its peak. That said she was too exper
ienced to let on.
‘It is always a pleasure to have officers of our country’s wooden walls as a guest, sir, though too infrequent as my husband will tell you. And sir, I beg you to resume your seat.’
Manners had Barclay wait until she had herself taken a chair. The point made by his wife was taken up by the ambassador. ‘I cannot seem to persuade your seniors of the dangers under which Naples labours.’
‘While I admit to ignorance.’
‘Really?’ came the surprised response. ‘The monarchy hereabouts is shaky, Captain Barclay. There is a deal of republican sentiment—’
‘Harshly dealt with, I trust,’ Barclay interrupted, which earned him a frown.
‘I have made representations to Lord Hood on more than one occasion that the sight of a British ship of the line in the Bay of Naples would do much to temper the more fervent elements seduced by the scoundrels of Paris.’
‘And he declined to respond?’
‘From what I have been told he could not do so, his responsibilities elsewhere being so great. But Captain Nelson—’
Now it was his wife who interrupted to say, ‘Our good friend Captain Nelson,’ though it was received with a graceful nod from her husband.
‘Quite. He has written to us many times to say that he reminds Lord Hood of the need, though of course that must now be aimed at his successor.’
Pigs might fly, Ralph Barclay thought; Hotham would not listen to Nelson, quite the reverse.
‘This city,’ Hamilton continued, ‘is also across the main shipping routes from the Levant to the Atlantic and it is much pestered by piracy. That, I have suggested, would be solved by a pair of frigates and I need hardly point out to you, Captain Barclay, that such a service in such an area against such people could prove to be very profitable.’
‘I fear that Admiral Hotham can no more oblige you than Lord Hood. The task at hand is to beat the French fleet, sir, and he would say nothing may distract from that. Believe me when I assure you, I know his mind.’
‘No doubt he feels he must compete with Lord Howe for the affection of the nation.’
The Perils of Command Page 10