Ramage's Diamond

CHAPTER TWENTY

Dawn found the Juno two miles off Petite Anse d'Arlet, under way after being becalmed for three hours and with Ramage pacing the quarterdeck in a fury of impatience. The first lookouts aloft reported a frigate a mile to the north, still becalmed, and a few minutes later identified her as the Surcouf. Diamond Rock was out of sight behind the headland at the foot of Diamond Hill, and the devil knew what urgent signals might be flying from her signal mast.

Then the wind died again and the gentle curve in the Juno's sails flattened and the canvas hung like drab curtains. 'Bear away!' Ramage snapped at the quartermaster, anxious to turn the ship before she lost way altogether so that she would get the full benefit of any fitful puffs. It was hopeless trying to sail her close-hauled in a wind as light as this; better bear away two or three points and give the sails a chance.

'We could try wetting the sails, sir,' Soutbwick suggested.

Ramage glared at him. 'That's an old fish-wife's tale,' he snapped. 'It just makes them heavier.'

'The water fills the weave and stops the wind passing through, sir,' the Master said defensively.

'Damnation take it,' Ramage exploded, 'this wind is so weak it can't crawl down the side of a cliff, let alone get through the weave of stiff canvas.'

'Aye, aye, sir,' Southwick said mildly, knowing he had had twice as much sleep as the Captain who, the quartermaster had reported, had his light on for much of the night writing reports.

Ramage looked seaward with his telescope. 'Just look at that wind shadow over there. It's a mile away. It'll be noon before we get another puff here and in the meantime the whole damned French fleet could have arrived off the Diamond.'

'They would be becalmed too,' Southwick offered sympathetically.

'Not a chance! There'll be a nice breeze round Pointe des Salines and right up to the Fours Channel. It's just in the lee of these damned mountains -' he pointed to the half a dozen peaks between Morne la Plaine to the north and Morne du Diamant to the south ‘- that we lose the wind.'

At that moment his steward appeared on deck to report that his breakfast was ready and Ramage, who had already put it off twice, decided that his empty stomach was neither improving his temper nor extending his patience. He went below with muttered instructions to Southwick to call him the moment the wind piped up.

He washed and shaved, changed into clean clothes, ate his breakfast, reread the draft of his report to the Admiral and his orders for Wagstaffe, filled in his journal and wrote several more paragraphs of his diary-like letter to Gianna, and still no word came. The sun rose and the sunlight coming through the skylight made circles on the painted canvas covering the deck of his cabin as the Juno slowly turned in the current, like a duck feather floating on a village pond.

The clerk brought the dispatch and orders for him to sign and Ramage growled at him to sharpen his quill. Were the order and letter books up to date? he demanded. The clerk said they were. Were any more reports, inventories, surveys and the like outstanding? No, the clerk said, everything was up to date, including the weekly accounts. Ramage dismissed him, irritated that the man had nothing for him to do. At the same time he was amused. The clerk usually had great difficulty in getting him to deal with any paperwork.

The fact was that he was trying to avoid going on deck. The sight of the cliffs and beaches gradually drawing south as the current took the Juno north was almost more than he could stand. If only the current had taken the frigate out to the west, where they would get a sight of the Diamond . . .

On deck the ship's company went about the day's work. Hammocks had long ago been lashed up and stowed, decks scrubbed and washed down, awnings spread, brasswork polished and the brickdust carefully swept up afterwards. The gunner's mate had appeared with a request that he be allowed to start the men blacking the guns and shot and complained that much had been chipped off the previous day. Ramage, appalled at the thought of men painting coal tar on to the barrels of guns that might be needed within a few hours, refused and told him that if he was making work for the other gunner's mates they could sew up some more canvas aprons for the gun locks. Usually several were lost when the ship went into action. The gunner's mate had agreed in his doleful voice that indeed it did happen, owing to the carelessness of the men, but all the necessary new ones and a dozen to spare had been completed an hour ago. 'Report to Mr Southwick,' Ramage said in desperation, but the gunner's mate said he had already done so, and Mr Southwick had sent him to report to the Captain.

'Grommets,' Ramage said firmly. 'We need a lot more grommets.'

The gunner's mate's eyes lit up. 'Ropework is for the bos'n's mates, really sir, but my men will do their best.'

By ten o'clock Ramage and Southwick were pacing the deck together. The Surcouf was almost at the southern side of Fort Royal Bay, and the Juno less than a mile short of Cap Salomon, but there was not a breath of wind and the sea had flattened into a glassy calm. A dozen times Ramage had thought of hoisting out a cutter and having himself rowed down to the Diamond. It was only the realization that there was nothing he could do when he arrived there that made him finally dismiss it. If enemy ships arrived the only guns that could open fire at them were the Diamond batteries, and they could be relied on to do that anyway.

The very air seemed hot and almost solid and the slightest effort soaked a man in perspiration. Noon came and the men were piped to dinner. With the sun almost overhead, Shadows were nearly vertical and the pitch soft in the deck seams. Southwick commented gloomily that they could be in the Doldrums for all the chance they had of getting a wind.

Five minutes later, as the men finished dinner, the wind came. A fitful puff from the north at first which caught every sail aback and started Ramage bellowing orders, and which died a moment later. A longer puff from the east lasted less than five minutes, and then a steady wind set in from the north-east.

Soon the Juno was making seven knots with every stitch of canvas set - courses, topsails, topgallants, royals and staysails. Ramage had set every able-bodied man to work: Bowen hauled on a rope next to the Captain's clerk; the cook's mate found himself hauling a halyard and being encouraged by the Captain's steward, who complained that his hands were too soft for that sort of work.

The wind reached the Surcouf ten minutes after the Juno was under way and Ramage watched as Aitken let fall sail after sail. At last the bays, beaches and headlands were beginning to slide past: Grande Anse d'Arlet and Pointe Bourgos; Petite Anse d'Arlet and then the headland separating it from Petite Anse du Diamant. Jackson was aloft with a telescope, while Orsini waited by the binnacle with the signal book in his hand and a telescope under his arm.

Diamond Rock suddenly came in sight beyond the headland and a moment later Jackson hailed that no flags were flying from the Juno battery mast. Ramage realized he had been standing rigid waiting for that hail, and as he relaxed he turned to Southwick and grinned. 'The nest is safe!'

'Deck there!' Jackson's voice was urgent. 'They're hoisting a signal now . . . three flags . . . three . . . five . , . nine!'

Ramage snatched the signal book from Orsini and read: The strange ships are of the line; when answered, the signal is to be hauled down once for every ship discovered . . .

'Acknowledge it,' he snapped at the boy, and shouted up at Jackson: 'The moment we answer they'll haul the signal down, but they may hoist and lower it several times. Count the number of times they lower it!'

He trained his telescope on the top of the Rock. He could just make out the signal, and it was lowered once. There was a long pause. One ship of the line. Then three flags were hoisted again and for a moment Ramage thought it was the signal being hoisted again before being lowered a second time, but Jackson shouted down: 'Deck there! A second hoist... three ... six ... nought!'

Ramage hurriedly opened the signal book again. Against the figure 360 was printed: The strange ships are frigates; when answered, the number of frigates to be shewn, as in the preceding signal.

'Acknowledge,' he told Orsini and again shouted a warning to Jackson. The signal was lowered and hoisted, then again, and then a third time.

A ship of the line and three frigates. A French squadron which had been covering the convoy on its way across the Atlantic? Or Admiral Davis at long last?

He called to Orsini, showed him the two signals in the book and said: 'Make 359 with the Surcouf’s pendant and lower it at once when she answers; then her pendant and 360, lowering three times. You understand?'

The boy nodded and ran to the flag locker as Southwick ordered two seamen to help him.

'Mr Southwick, we'll go down to the Rock under topsails!'

'Aye, aye, sir!' Southwick said and began bellowing for topmen.

As the squaresails were furled and the staysails lowered and secured in the tops Ramage cursed the Diamond headland: it was still blocking his view right across the bight down to Pointe des Salines.

The moment the Juno was reduced to topsails, Ramage said quietly to the Master: 'Beat to quarters, Mr Southwick . . .'

The Master passed the order that set the calls of the bos'n's mates shrilling, but his face was sombre as he rejoined Ramage at the quarterdeck rail. ‘I can't help thinking our luck has run out at last,' he said, 'but the lads will put up a good fight, sir.'

Ramage shook his head and, seeing that no one else could hear them, said quietly but distinctly: 'I don't propose taking either ship into action against a ship of the line and three frigates. It would be the same as locking both ships' companies in a magazine and setting fire to it.'

‘We'll be hard put to get past them to make Barbados and raise the alarm,' Southwick said. 'We'd -'

'As soon as we're sure, we'll run round the north end of Martinique. That...'

Jackson's hail from aloft cut him short. 'Signal from the Diamond, sir ...'

Both Ramage and Southwick waited, staring aloft at the American, and listening for him to read out the flags. Orsini was watching through his telescope but said nothing.

'What's happening, blast you?' Southwick roared.

'Sorry, sir,' Jackson called down. 'They began hoisting a three-flag signal but they lowered it again suddenly.'

'More ships of the line coming round Pointe des Salines,' Southwick said sourly. 'I thought just one didn't sound right. . .'

'Hoisting again,' Orsini yelled, followed a moment later by Jackson, who shouted: ‘Three flags . . . three . . . two . . . one!'

Orsini had the signal book open in a moment. 'Sir - The chase is a friend . . .' He looked puzzled, held the book open between his legs and looked again with his telescope. He consulted the book again, shaking his head. 'Yes, it means that, but I do not understand it, sir. Perhaps they made a mistake.'

Ramage patted the boy on the shoulder. 'No, it's correct. They are having to use the best signal they can to tell us what they mean. The signals were never meant to be used by shore batteries. They are telling us that the Admiral has arrived.'

'Not the French Admiral, then?' The boy sounded disappointed,

'No, Admiral Davis from Barbados.’

The boy made a wry face. 'I suppose that will mean more signals, sir ...'

The Juno was just able to point high enough to pass inside the Diamond and Ramage could see the Invincible and her three frigates on the far side of the great bight, running with a quartering wind towards the Rock.

Suddenly Jackson hailed that the Juno battery had hoisted a signal, and a moment later called down the numbers. Orsini looked it up in the book and read it out to Ramage, doubt showing in his voice. 'Number 251 is Ships' companies will have time for dinner or breakfast, sir ...'

Both Ramage and Southwick laughed, and the Master said: 'They know they gave us a scare, and themselves too, I suspect!'

Ramage reached for the signal book, checked a page, and told Orsini: 'The Diamond's pendant and number 112.'

Southwick looked questioningly and Ramage said, 'Keep the maintopsail shivering. Not much of a joke, but the best I can do for the moment.'

As soon as the signal was hauled down he told Orsini to make number 242 with the Surcouf's pendant. There was no need for both frigates to go down to meet the Admiral, and the sight of the former French frigate tacking back and forth in front of La Comète and the seven merchantmen, obeying the order 'Stay by prizes', would help to impress the Admiral, Ramage hoped.

He knew he was going to have to be as sharp as a diamond to make any impression on the Admiral, but he wanted three things. He wanted to get a command for Aitken. Perhaps not the Surcouf, she was a tempting plum for one of the Admiral's favourites, but perhaps La Comète. After repairs and rerigging she would have to be taken to English Harbour to be careened so that the damaged planks could be replaced, and not many officers wanted to spend a few weeks in such a hot place. She might even have to go to the dockyard in Jamaica. There was also a chance that the Admiral might buy La Créole into the service and could be persuaded to put Wagstaffe in command. That would give him a good push up the ladder towards post rank. Lastly he wanted to ensure that the batteries on the Diamond were kept in service. It was a decision that only the Admiral could make, but somehow he felt a proprietary interest in them,

Southwick wanted nothing: he had been offered much in the past but asked only that he be allowed to serve with Ramage. There would be prize money for all the Junos. At a guess, the Surcouf should fetch about £16,000, so the seamen would share £4000, or about £25 each. La Comète would fetch less because she was damaged, say £20 a man. There would be as much again for the seven merchantmen and two schooners. That totalled some £65 a man - the equivalent of six years' pay. Aitken and Wagstaffe would get shares as commanding officers, and only Baker and the men in La Mutine would receive nothing because they were not present during the action.

Baker! Did La Mutine get to Barbados? Why wasn't she with the Admiral's squadron? Had the Admiral ordered Baker to stay in Bridgetown, with the twenty Junos on board La Mutine? Why was the Admiral so late? Plenty of questions, he thought sourly, and no answers...

'Hoist our pendant numbers,' Ramage told Orsini, 'and then watch the flagship. She'll be making a signal very soon.'

Southwick bustled up. 'We're ready to hoist out a boat, sir.' He looked at Ramage's stock and then down at his stockings. 'There's plenty of time for you to change, sir, if you wish.'

The Master was quite right: within half an hour he would probably be on board the flagship, making his report. Clean stock, best uniform, boots polished, hat squared and mind you do not trip over your sword ... At least he had recently shaved, and the report to the Admiral was in his cabin, already signed and sealed. The object, he told himself mockingly, is to make everything seem easy: four French frigates and seven merchantmen accounted for yesterday; today no sign of effort...

He was still in his cabin, his steward brushing his coat, when he heard through the skylight Orsini reporting a signal from the Invincible: the Juno's pendant and number 213. That was one that Ramage knew by heart - The Captain of the ship pointed out to come to the Admiral ... A moment later the boy was at his door, knocking urgently and delivering the message.

Ramage slung the sword belt over his shoulder and finished dressing, crouching as he slid into the coat held up by his steward. He jammed his hat on his head and picked up the canvas bag. It was bulky - not only did it contain his report and the orders he had written for Wagstaffe to take the merchantmen to Barbados, but he decided to take the Master's log and his own journal, as well as his order book. And there were the secret papers from La Comète, perhaps the most important of them all.

The Invincible was a mile away, steering towards them, with a frigate ahead and one on either beam. Southwick was waiting for orders. There had been no signal from the Invincible telling the Juno to take up a particular position in the squadron, which told him that either Admiral Davis was in a hurry to hear the news - by now he would have seen the cluster of ships at anchor off the Diamond - or he was not a fussy man who did not trust his captains.

'Heave to ahead of the flagship,' Ramage said, 'and as soon as the cutter is hoisted out get under way again.'

'And after that, sir?'

'Unless you get a signal from the flagship, get into the Invincible's wake, so there'll be less distance to row when I come back on board!'

The Invincible's captain was waiting on the gangway for him. He returned Ramage's salute and his smile was friendly. That was significant: captains of flagships never gave welcoming smiles to junior captains summoned on board to face an admiral's wrath.

Captain Edwards made no conversation as he led the way down to the Admiral's cabin, however, and Ramage wondered whether he might not be regretting that brief smile. It would have cost him nothing to comment on the anchored ships or even to have asked about the Surcouf, which was clearly in sight and equally clearly a French ship now under British colours, but Edwards held his tongue.

The Admiral's cabin was large and cool and Ramage remembered it well from his first visit in Bridgetown. Then it had been hot and stuffy, with the ship anchored close in to the land. The cabin was empty and Captain Edwards waved to a chair by the table in front of the stern lights. 'Sit down, the Admiral will see you in a few minutes.'

Ramage could hear the Invincible's yards being trimmed round as she got under way again: she had hove-to just long enough for the Juno's cutter to get alongside and Ramage to scramble on board. The minutes passed and he saw the Juno come into sight through the stern lights and take up position two cables astern. Watching her manoeuvring, Ramage felt a glow of pride. Southwick was handling the ship as though he had a full complement on board, instead of less than a third. Once in the flagship's wake, her three masts remained precisely in line. Southwick would be watching the luffs like a hawk, and the men at the wheel and the quartermaster would be meeting each extra puff of wind, every wave that tried to push round the Juno's bow.

The door opened and the Admiral walked in, followed by Captain Edwards and his secretary. Ramage jumped up, watching the expression on the Admiral's face, but it gave nothing away.

The old fool's arrived too late, eh?' he said by way of a greeting. Ramage fidgeted uneasily, not knowing what to say, but the Admiral waved for him to sit down, walked round to the other side of the table and sat down himself opposite Ramage. Captain Edwards was waved to the seat on his right.

'Tell me what happened,' he demanded, and Ramage reached for the canvas bag.

'I have my report here, sir ...'

'Written reports tell admirals what captains think they ought to know, and they can't be interrupted with awkward questions.'

The Admiral seemed hostile and Captain Edwards was watching closely. Between the two men he could see the Juno following astern, her masts still perfectly in line.

'Well, sir, we sighted the convoy ...'

'No, begin from the time you arrived here. I know you covered the schooner business in your first report by La Mutine, but forget that for the moment.'

The Admiral's face was completely expressionless as Ramage told him of the Juno's look into Fort Royal, followed by the night attack on the Juno by the two schooners, and how they cut out the Surcouf from Fort Royal. When Ramage referred to sending La Mutine to Barbados with a warning about the expected French convoy, the Admiral said: 'Why did you choose her and not the other, what's the name, the Créole!'

There was obviously a reason for the question but Ramage could think of none. He shrugged his shoulders. 'It was a matter of chance, sir.'

'She never arrived,' the Admiral said bluntly.

'But my dispatch, sir, you received ...'

'The dispatch arrived but the schooner didn't; she sprang a plank and sank a third of the way over. Baker and his men rowed. Took them nearly four days. Almost dead when they arrived. Most of 'em still in hospital - sunstroke, sunburn and exhaustion ...’

'I'm very sorry -'

'Not your fault,' Admiral Davis said gruffly, 'and a very creditable effort by young Baker and his men. But tell me, Ramage,' he continued, his voice cold, 'why didn't you send the Surcouf with the warning, instead of a little schooner?'

'I was afraid the convoy might arrive early, sir,' Ramage said frankly.

'So you halved the men you had remaining in the Juno and put them on board the Surcouf. That hardly doubled your strength, surely?'

'No sir,' Ramage admitted, ‘but I was hoping that setting up batteries on top of the Diamond Rock to cover the Fours Channel would give us an element of surprise . . .'

'What's that?' the Admiral exclaimed sharply. 'You don't mean to say you even dreamed of getting a gun up on to the top of that Rock? D'you hear that, Edwards? Why, you ...'

Captain Edwards had been watching Ramage closely and he deliberately interrupted the Admiral: 'Perhaps we might hear what Ramage had in mind, sir?'

The Admiral had now put himself in such a difficult position that Ramage hardly knew how to begin. Davis glanced at Edwards and Ramage, his bloodshot eyes missing little. Although Ramage did not know it, Admiral Davis was a man who knew when to cut his losses.

'Did you get a gun up to the top?'

'Yes, sir,' Ramage said, and decided to get it over with at the rush. 'We swayed two up to the top, a third to a ledge half-way up, and a fourth covers the only cove where a boat can land.'

'Bless my soul,' the Admiral said. 'You must have been mad even to try it. Carronades, eh? Men parbuckled 'em up the hill?'

'Ramage said they swayed them up, sir,' Captain Edwards interposed.

'Carronades, though. Didn't do much good, eh? No range, those things. Don't believe in 'em myself.'

Edwards glanced at Ramage and said quietly: 'I noticed the Juno is missing some 12-pounders. Three, I believe, and a 6-pounder, too ...'

Ramage nodded gratefully. 'Yes, sir. You see, I found that we ...’

'Twelve-pounders?' the Admiral almost shouted. 'Do you mean to tell me you swayed a couple of 12-pounders up to the top of the Diamond?'

‘Well, yes sir, you see ...'

The Admiral slapped the table with a thump that made Ramage blink and miss the old man's expression. 'Splendid! Splendid, m'boy! Dammit, Edwards, I knew I should never have let Eames . . .' he broke off. 'Well, go on, now you have the batteries on top of the Diamond and two half-manned frigates. Then you wait and wait for that damned old Admiral, who never comes, eh?'

He was grinning now, and Ramage decided he could be completely frank. Admiral Davis was far shrewder than he seemed and had a sense of humour lurking beneath that almost purple complexion.

'Well, sir, to be truthful, we waited for the convoy ...’

'Damme, that's an honest enough answer, eh, Edwards? What's your seniority, Ramage?'

'Last name in the List when I left England, sir.'

'Ah yes, I remember. By jove, for the last few days you've been commanding a squadron of - how many ships?'

'Eleven, sir: three frigates, a schooner and seven merchant ships.'

'Ah yes, now let's hear about the convoy.’

Ramage began by describing briefly how he hoped to lure the convoy and escorts into the Fours Channel, where he could make a surprise attack with the two frigates, using La Créole as a Trojan horse and, as soon as the French ships were within range, opening fire with the Diamond batteries.

His attempt to keep his story brief failed completely: both the Admiral and Captain Edwards kept interrupting with questions. How did he time the arrival of the Juno and Surcouf so the French were squarely in the Channel? How did Ramage expect to break through two frigates with the half-manned Juno to attack from the unprotected landward side? How could he expect the Surcouf to dodge the two remaining frigates?

Ramage hurried on, trying to hold back the questions. He described how Aitken had suddenly worn the Surcouf round so that the two frigates about to attack him on either bow collided with each other. Then he had to digress to answer the Admiral's question about what had happened to them. He related how the Diamond battery had disabled La Comète and blown up La Prudente so that they could take possession of the whole convoy. La Créole's change of role from a French privateer coming to meet the convoy to a British schooner brought the comment from Captain Edwards about a poacher turning gamekeeper.

They were interrupted by a lieutenant reporting to Captain Edwards that the Invincible was now in the Fours Channel, with the Diamond Rock bearing south one mile. The Admiral waved him away impatiently. 'We'll go up and look into Fort Royal Bay. Scare those privateers, in case they're thinking of sneaking out.'

As the lieutenant left the cabin the Admiral's brow creased. 'Who is in command of all these ships of yours?'

'The Master is on board the Juno, sir; my former First Lieutenant, Aitken, the man I was telling you about, is commanding the Surcouf. My former Second, Wagstaffe, has La Créole. Baker was the Third, and Lacey, the Fourth, is with Aitken. I had to leave a petty officer in command of the Diamond, sir, and he did very well. Altogether I -'

'One frigate goes into action with her commanding officer, the Master and less than a third of her complement; another has a first lieutenant and a fourth . . . Ramage, you are completely mad. If you stay alive long enough to give Their Lordships a chance to appreciate you, you'll go a long way in the Service. Your problem will be staying alive. Now we have to find enough men to get those prizes up to Antigua. The merchant ships, I mean. And I have two more frigates.'

He stood up and walked round the cabin for two or three minutes, obviously trying to reach some sort of decision, and then came and sat down again opposite Ramage.

'I need the Surcouf for a special service. You say she's fast. Her bottom clean? Good condition? Fine, fine. I'm transferring you to her. Wait a moment,' he said when Ramage's face fell, 'you'll have your own ship's company. For what I have in mind you'll need the extra guns and speed, since she's a thirty-six and the Juno is only a thirty-two - a twenty-eight at the moment, rather.'

Ramage knew that if he did not put in a word for Aitken now the Admiral's plans would be completed beyond hope of change. 'Sir, I was hoping that perhaps you could find a place for Aitken ...'

'Hold your tongue a moment, boy, I'm trying to arrange two things at once. You to the Surcouf, so that's settled. This fellow Aitken made post - the Admiralty will confirm it later, no question of that - and given the Juno. We have to find a ship's company for the Juno, but we'll manage that somehow. La Comète needs careening, which means English Harbour, Antigua ...'

'I was hoping, sir, that Wagstaffe –‘

The Admiral glared at him. 'Do you want him as your First in the Surcouf, or let him go off as First in La Comète and eat his heart out in the dockyard for a few weeks?'

'I'd sooner have him with me, sir.'

'Very well; so far you've only interrupted with suggestions that I've already dealt with in my mind. Be patient!'

He tapped the table with the fingers of his right hand. 'There's La Créole. Who deserves her, Baker or your Fourth, Lacey?'

'Baker, sir. Lacey behaved very well, but Baker's row to Barbados ...'

'I'm glad to hear you say that. Lacey can go as Second in the Juno. Good training for him. So that leaves me La Comète, and I have a deserving young lieutenant to be made post into her. Very well, anything else?' he asked briskly.

'No, sir. I will leave my report. Oh yes, sir, there is. We have all La Comète's secret papers. And sir, if you felt that you could make a signal to the Diamond, sir ... The Juno battery, that's the one at the top, they have a signal mast rigged and a copy of the signal book ...'

'Damnation!' the Admiral exclaimed, 'I've forgotten all about the Rock. Four guns need thirty men or more, and we'll probably strengthen the place. It'll be a lieutenant's command. But how the devil do we arrange the paperwork, Edwards?'

'They'll have to be attached to a ship for pay, mustering, victualling and so on, sir.' He thought a moment. That schooner, sir, La Créole. If you buy her into the Service, the garrison of the Rock would be on her books. She could keep them supplied, too, because she's fast enough to get over to Barbados for provisions, and she can slip over to St Lucia for water ...'

Ramage said: 'Perhaps she could be renamed the Diamond, sir.'

'Capital,' the Admiral boomed. 'His Majesty's schooner Diamond . . . Sounds well. By the way, Ramage, who named the top battery?'

'The men, sir. They named all three batteries,' he added hurriedly. 'The middle one is named after my father, sir, not me,'

'You both deserve it,' the Admiral said, standing up. 'Now, we'll go up and look into Fort Royal. You stay patrolling off the Diamond, and report on board here at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Your orders will be ready by then. Have Aitken report to me at half past nine.'

Ramage stood up and as he was leaving the cabin he heard the Admiral saying angrily to Captain Edwards: 'I'm sick of that Jocasta business! Damnation take that fellow Eames. If only...'

The voices faded as Ramage walked away. If only what? And earlier the Admiral had said something like: 'Dammit, Edwards, I knew I should never have let Eames . . .' Eames had been blockading Fort Royal for many weeks, then he had returned to Barbados. Ramage remembered that he was the man the Admiral seemed to have in mind for the special service that the First Lord had referred to in London; the special service for which the Juno had brought out the orders.

Had Eames made a mess of them? He shrugged his shoulders. There was no point in speculating; it did not concern him, although he was unlikely to find Captain Eames becoming a friend. That his young successor, far below him in the List, had established batteries on the Diamond was unlikely to delight him. And what did the Admiral mean about the Jocasta?She was still in Spanish hands after her men mutinied.

The officer of the deck came up to him and saluted. 'Are you ready for your boat, sir?’

For a moment Ramage was too startled to answer and then he returned the salute with as much coolness as he could muster. 'Yes, when you are ready.'

It was pleasant being a post captain, he thought to himself as the Invincible's great foretopsail was backed while the Juno's cutter, which had been towing astern, was brought up for him to climb down into it.

When he arrived on board the Invincible next morning, with fifteen minutes in hand to make sure he was not late for the Admiral, Captain Edwards met him on deck and commented on the beauty of the anchorage. The Invincible and three frigates were anchored close in to the long Grande Anse du Diamant. Directly to seaward was the grey tooth of Diamond Rock; to the north-west Diamond Hill.

The sun was getting hot now, and Captain Edwards nodded towards the awning. 'We'll take a turn or two until the Admiral is ready for you. Tell me, how the devil did you sway those guns up? I don't mind telling you that you spoiled the Admiral's regular game of chess last night. We had charts out, drew diagrams ...'

As the two men walked up and down the quarterdeck, cool in the shade and with the offshore breeze just setting in to ripple the water, Ramage described how he had moored the Juno close against the sheer cliff on the south side, rigged the jackstay and used the capstan to hoist each gun with a gun tackle.

'But a sudden swell,' Captain Edwards interrupted. 'We get them in Barbados - rollers, ten feet high with no warning ...’

'But not here, sir,' Ramage said, 'They're peculiar to Barbados, so far as I know. I never heard of any of the other islands experiencing them.'

'True, but it's frightening when it happens in Carlisle Bay. I once saw a frigate put up on the beach. The sea was calm with just the usual waves knocked up by the Trade winds and nothing strange about the weather. Then these rollers came up, one after the other. Lasted about an hour or more, and parted the frigate's cable ...'

Ramage described how he had moored the Juno so that if the wind had backed or veered and knocked up a sea, he could have cut the cable of the stern anchor, cast off the jackstay, and swung clear.

'You still took a frightful risk,' Edwards commented, looking at his watch.

'I did, sir,' Ramage admitted frankly, 'but it seemed worth it.'

Edwards gave a dry laugh. 'You've commanded ships before as a lieutenant, but you are very new to the post list. I'm a dozen or so names from the top, and I've learned one thing, which I pass on for what it's worth. If you succeed in something like that, Their Lordships will consider the risk was negligible. If you fail you can expect a court martial and you'll never be employed again.'

'I've learned that already, sir,' Ramage said soberly.

Edwards glanced at him sideways. 'Yes, the Admiral was telling me last night of some of the things he had heard about you.'

The voice was neutral and told Ramage nothing of what the Admiral had actually said or any opinions he might have expressed. They reached the taffrail and turned inwards together to begin the walk back to the quarterdeck rail.

‘The Admiral is in a rather difficult position at the moment, Ramage,' Edwards said quietly. 'When you came out in the Juno, you carried orders for the Admiral from Lord St Vincent. You know that, of course.'

'For some special service, yes, sir.’

'Did His Lordship tell you what the special service was?'

'No, sir,' Ramage said, realizing that this encounter with Captain Edwards had been far from accidental.

‘Nor did His Lordship hint that you might be entrusted with it?'

'No, sir. You see, I had just completed some particular service for His Lordship - it was of a very secret nature,' he said apologetically. 'There had been other things, too, and His Lordship made me post after I had reported to him. He gave me the Juno and said I was to serve under Admiral Davis. He told me I was to get under way as soon as possible because of the urgency of the dispatches I was to carry. He also mentioned that I would be carrying orders to the Admiral concerning some special service, and I'm afraid I immediately showed interest, thinking it concerned me. His Lordship made it quite clear that the choice would be up to the Admiral.'

Edwards nodded. 'Hmm, that was the impression the Admiral had and he entrusted the service to his senior frigate captain . . . Well, there have been, er, well, unexpected difficulties, with the result that the particular service has yet to be carried out.'

Edwards paused, and Ramage said in a neutral voice: 'I understand, sir.'

The Captain looked sideways at him and sighed. Clearly he was not enjoying the role the Admiral had given him. 'Good, I thought you would, and you can probably guess the rest.'

'I hope so,' Ramage said cautiously.

'I'm sure you do,' Edwards said, making no attempt to disguise the relief in his voice. 'One thing is important, though: do you have complete trust in your officers and ship's company?'

It was an unexpected question, and Ramage hesitated as he remembered a similar one from Admiral Davis when he first arrived in Barbados. 'In the Master, petty officers and seamen, complete trust, sir: after all, I couldn't have ...'

'Of course,' Edwards said hurriedly. 'But the officers?'

'I'll only have the Master and one lieutenant left,' Ramage pointed out, 'The others will be new.'

‘Quite so,' Edwards said hurriedly. 'Well, wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes.'

When he returned his face was completely expressionless. 'The Admiral is ready to see you now.'

Admiral Davis was sitting in the same chair at the table, with several papers in front of him, and he waved Ramage to the chair opposite, while Edwards excused himself and was promptly told to sit down. The Admiral looked up to bid Ramage a gruff good morning and then continued reading. The Invincible was swinging slightly at anchor as the wind eddied off the land. Ramage saw the headland at the foot of Diamond Hill and a minute or two later, as the ship's stern swung, he saw the Diamond Rock. A sharp eye might detect the tiny signal mast, and Ramage realized that at this very moment French patrols along the coast would be looking at it through telescopes, trying to spot where the batteries were, counting ships, preparing a full report for the Governor. Not, he thought with satisfaction, that there is a damned thing the French can do.

Suddenly the Admiral unfolded a paper and pushed it across to Ramage, who recognized the Admiralty seal. 'Read it,' he said abruptly.

Three paragraphs, after the usual long-winded and stylized beginning, about the Jocasta. The reasons for Captain Edwards's questions about the officers and ship's company were now only too clear. Ramage folded the paper, and the Admiral slid a sealed envelope across the table. ‘They are your preliminary orders - based on what you've just read. The Surcouf will be bought into the King's service, and you will command her. You collect up your former ship's company, unless you want to leave the garrison on the Diamond, in which case Captain Edwards will let you have an equivalent number of men from this ship.'

'And my new officers, sir?'

The Admiral shook his head. 'You get only one lieutenant.'

Ramage looked puzzled and was trying to phrase a mild protest when the Admiral said: 'Aitken and Wagstaffe want to stay with you. I've never heard of a first lieutenant trying to avoid being made post, but that young Scot seems to have a very strong loyalty to you. Not related, are you?'

When Ramage shook his head the Admiral added: 'I tried to persuade him - persuade him, if you please! - to allow me to promote him into the Juno, even though I have several other very deserving young officers. But he said he needed more experience, and he wants to stay with you. So he'll remain as your First Lieutenant in the Surcouf. I gave young Wagstaffe the chance of being La Comète's First Lieutenant, but he preferred to remain your Second rather than have a long stay in a hot dockyard. Lacey will be the only one to gain out of your action; I'm giving him the Créole - the Diamond, rather - because he seems full of initiative and knows Diamond Rock. Baker will be out of hospital by now and he'll be sent up to join you in Antigua.'

'I'm most grateful, sir, and -'

'I want you ready to get under way for English Harbour at dawn. Shift to the Surcouf and I'll send someone over to command the Juno. Leave the two ships' companies as they are - we can sort that out in Antigua. The Invincible will tow La Comète and I'll send prize crews over to the merchantmen. You'll stay in company with the Invincible - a taste of escorting a convoy will do you no harm. You have your final orders . . . No,' he said grimly, interrupting Ramage, 'if you've given any thought to the First Lord's letter you know you've nothing to thank me for.'