Inferno

Chapter 31

Canning stood warily in the doorway. ‘You wanted to see me, Prime Minister.’

‘Yes. Please come in, sir.’ Portland gestured absently to a seat opposite in the empty Cabinet Room. ‘We have a little, ah, difficulty to face.’ He looked up with a frown. ‘His Majesty has scruples concerning this action that are wholly to his credit. He conceives that a descent on Denmark without warning will bring down odium on Great Britain from friend and foe alike.’

‘You impressed upon His Majesty the doleful necessity of so doing, of course.’

‘I rehearsed the reasons both strategical and political and was graciously accorded a fair hearing. While acceding to the grave imperatives of our circumstances, he nevertheless wishes that every avenue for a diplomatic settlement be made before we-’

‘In course you told him that we’ve deployed every argument, persuasion and threat in our possession but the damned Danish are mesmerised by Bonaparte and will not yield an inch.’

‘Nevertheless he insists that, before any display of aggressive intent, we take positive steps to ensure that the Danish court is made fully aware of the consequences.’

Canning’s face tightened. ‘Prime Minister! He must be made to see that any delay – even of days – can result in our surprise being set aside, resulting in Bonaparte making a pre-emptive attack. I implore you, sir, if-’

‘Foreign Secretary! I beg you will remember whom you are talking of. His Majesty is well aware of the cost of delay but is suggesting a different mode from the diplomatic, more a personal approach.’

‘Personal?’ Canning choked.

‘Quite. May I bring you to remembrance that the King of Denmark, Christian VII, married his sister? King George has every desire and cause to preserve amity between our two crowns. He proposes the immediate dispatch of an emissary charged with laying the facts before His Danish Majesty, one untainted by motives of politics or statecraft in any form. In short, a noble of impeccable ancestry who will speak plainly and discreetly and in courtly form.’

‘Where will you find such a paragon, sir? I demand to know!’

‘Leave that to me, sir,’ Portland said smoothly. ‘To achieve his object I would have thought it most necessary that he not be seen to be associated with your office in any way.’

‘Be damned to it! How will I know what he’s up to if he’s not reporting to me?’

‘The answer is simple. You may mount your expedition, sail the armada to the Sound and lie in dreadful array, but His Majesty will not countenance any motions against the kingdom of Denmark until the emissary specifically reports that he has failed.’