Chin high, Anne Cathrine nodded. “You would be a poor representative of his interests, if you did. Please continue.”
“As you wish, Lady Anne Cathrine.” Sehested turned his gaze to Tromp and van Walbeeck. “I hope you gentlemen will not think ill of me if I am quite candid.”
“We would prefer that,” Tromp said quietly.
“Very well. His Majesty King Christian IV is concerned, and somewhat dismayed, that no provision has been made to reward Denmark for her participation in this mission to the New World. She is not party to the joint ownership of the oil drilling ventures in Trinidad, has been promised no land rights on any of the islands there or here in the Lesser Antilles, and most recently was even denied what seemed a just share of the treasure gained in the recent battle of the Grenada Passage even though her ships were responsible for crippling or sinking all but one of the Spanish vessels that were defeated.”
Eddie frowned. “Sir Sehested, you are incorrect in one particular. Intrepid and Resolve are not Danish ships. They are USE warships.”
“Yes. And seventy percent of their crews are Danish.”
“Provided to the USE through the kind agencies of Gustav Adolf as first sovereign of the union of Kalmar, not directly by King Christian IV.”
“Your father-in-law the king sees the matter differently. However, that is ultimately of no account, here. His requirements are not contingent upon whatever gratitude these Dutch gentlemen might feel for his contributions to this alliance, although he would have preferred that those finer sentiments had been strong enough to induce them to offer voluntarily that upon which I must now insist. Namely, that the island of St. Maarten be taken with all practicable haste in the name of King Christian IV of Denmark.”
Tromp shook his head, more in bemused confusion than negation. “And we are supposed to do that for you?”
“Several support ships and troops are all we require. As for the act of claiming, that will be done by our senior representative and the leader of the expedition to St. Maarten.”
Eddie frowned. “I don’t think Captain Gjedde will wish to—”
“Lord Cantrell, it is you who are the senior representative.”
“Me?”
“Of course. Oh, you are not the ranking military commander, but you are a noble of Denmark. You are the husband of the king’s daughter. And, as your king, Christian IV is happy to pass to you the honor and duty of taking and claiming St. Maarten in his name.”
Eddie was about to wax prolific and even profane on what he thought of being bushwhacked to be the executor of that honor and duty, when he peripherally detected a stiffening in Anne Cathrine. He paused, not looking at her because that could signal weakness or lack of resolve to Sehested. But what might have caused Anne Cathrine to sit up a little straighter, lose her relaxed, confident posture?
The answer came to him immediately. Oh. Sure. Because she’s now skewered along with me on her Daddy’s two-pronged loyalty test. Prong One: is Eddie loyal enough to take up this duty, which would mean that I’m putting my duties as an honorary Danish citizen before any possible objections that might arise from the USE? But if I defy the order and flunk my test, then King Daddy’s Prong Two activates: will Anne Cathrine be more loyal to her father, or her husband?
Eddie frowned. He’d learned, from both life and countless strategy games, that if an adversary confronts you with a choice, your best chance at winning lies in breaking outside that either-or paradigm. In short, you need to come up with a choice of your own. And Eddie saw a way to do that, and save everyone’s reputation and honor, if only they were open-minded enough to play along for the first few steps—
He turned away from Sehested and faced Maarten Tromp. “Admiral, I am put in the uncomfortable position of having to request your assistance in taking St. Maarten as a Danish expedition. With apologies in advance, may I humbly ask for your cooperation in this matter? I assure you, it will earn tremendous gratitude from the highest authorities whom I serve.”
Tromp frowned. “It seems that your highest authority believes our instincts for gratitude are sorely wanting, so I am not sure how our cooperation will improve your royal-father-in-law’s opinion of us.”
Eddie shook his head. “Allow me to clarify. King Christian IV of Denmark is not the highest authority I serve.” He detected flinches from either elbow, one from Anne Cathrine and one from Sehested. “I am an officer in the service of the USE and its commander-in-chief, Gustav Adolf of Sweden, who is its monarch. While I suspect he would frown upon the requirement being exerted by his royal cousin’s proxy-agent, Sir Sehested, I suspect he would be more concerned with ensuring that our fleet continues to be a functional combat force.”