“So who is our inner council of war, then? Just the two of us?”
“Well, Maarten, truth be told, I’m none too sure about your reliability, either.”
“Very funny, Jan. Who else? Eddie, obviously. Banckert.”
“Even though you have to leave him behind in Oranjestad, again?”
“Absolutely. Joost must know what we are doing, and when, and why, if he is to be able to react to unforeseen crises or changes.”
“Fair enough, Maarten. Anyone else?”
“I do not think we can include Eddie without including Gjedde. It would be too profound a slight to the senior officer of our allies. And besides, Gjedde doesn’t speak much, but when he does, it’s always worth listening to.”
Van Walbeeck nodded vigorously. “Agreed. Simonszoon?”
“I think we must, and he’s not much more talkative than Gjedde, usually.”
“What about the ground commanders? Once we get to Santo Domingo, they will need to know everything.”
“Yes, but at this stage, they do not need to know anything. As we begin studying the maps we have of Santo Domingo, and gathering reports on its walls and troops, then we will bring them in. Although—”
“Yes?”
“I wish we had the earl of Tyrconnell here. He is a clever fellow, quite experienced, and well educated. More importantly, he has spent his life in Spanish service and knows the smallest details of their protocols.”
“Having taken a few Spanish ships and towns ourselves, we are hardly ignorant in such matters, Maarten.”
“True, but we still remain outsiders to that knowledge. It is not instinctive to us. Conversely, the earl of Tyrconnell was a well-placed insider, trained in Spanish service, including artillery. Besides, he is a prudent man who has spent a lifetime learning how to hold his tongue and be cautious. He had little choice, since the English have wanted his head, and do so more than ever, now.”
“Ah. Because he is the last earl of Ireland. Tell me, why is he not here?”
Tromp shrugged. “Because he is doing other important work that only he may do.”
“And what, and where, is that?”
“O’Donnell and Pieter Floriszoon split off from our fleet when we drew near Montserrat.”
“Why there?”
“The population is overwhelmingly comprised of Irish catholic refugees from Nevis. Apparently they fled after a religious disagreement several years back. He is hoping to rally the support of the settlement there, possibly even draw some new recruits to his colors.”
“Well, it still sounds as though he had some help with that. Without Floriszoon’s Eendracht, he would have had to ask the recruits to swim back here.”
“Not entirely true. He is half owner of the patache his men took in Puerto Cabello. We own the other half.”
“And so is the earl a proficient seaman, among his other wonderful traits?”
“No, although Floriszoon tells me he has the right instincts for it. And whereas our fellows are teaching the Irish how to be sailors, the Wild Geese are imparting some lessons in weapon-handling and even the finer arts of boarding a ship.”
“They are teaching us how to board ships?”
“Many of them spent time as ship’s troops. The Spanish train their lead-rank boarders quite specially it seems. O’Donnell and Floriszoon are sharing that knowledge and between them, they seem to be making a good team.”
“Yes,” agreed Jan, “it’s all needful skills they are exchanging.”
Tromp shook his head. “I mean more than that, and more than the greater and improbable combination of our Dutch sea dogs and O’Donnell’s Wild Geese. I’m referring to the pairing of O’Donnell with Floriszoon personally, the fact that they get along well, that they have worked together. That is a serendipitous first bridge between Amsterdam and Brussels in this new Netherlands in which we now exist.”
“In what way?”
Sometimes, Jan van Walbeeck’s fine intellectual insights blinded him to more visceral human truths. Not often, but this was one of those moments. “Jan, O’Donnell and Floriszoon are both young men, both educated, both tired of the religious bigotry that fueled the wars that defined their lives and those of their forebears. We are fortunate that both are philosophical enough in their respective faiths to find ample room for toleration of the other.” Tromp leaned back. “I would not interrupt the solidification of that friendship even if it cost me a ship and twenty good guns. Because the cooperation—willing cooperation—between the Brabant and our United Provinces, of linking our fates and fortunes as a single nation means more in the long run than any single battle. And it will be fortunate and wise to have men of intelligence and experience who may be liaisons between those two dominions at moments of friction. Men such as O’Donnell and Floriszoon. Much may be done if the leaders of our new country are operating in concert. Much may be lost if they are not. And men such as these two young captains may be just the insurance the Netherlands needs to maintain enough unity of purpose and mutual understanding to survive the first years of genuine integration. Allies are far more difficult to manage than enemies, after all.”