Not as tall as Kydd’s, Nelson’s figure was sparse and drawn, in no sense that of a hero, and seemingly dwarfed by the weight of his decorations and gold lace. Kydd tried not to look at the empty sleeve pinned across his chest and the spindly legs, and tensed as the admiral approached.
‘And Lieutenant Kydd, sir, fifth and junior.’ Houghton’s tone betrayed that he, too, was affected by the presence.
‘Do you come from a seagoing family?’
‘No, sir,’ Kydd answered. ‘I come fr’m Guildford, in th’ country.’ He became uncomfortably aware of prematurely white hair and the odd, milky-blue right eye.
‘Then what made you follow the sea?’
‘I – I was pressed, sir.’
There was no avoiding the admission, but to his relief a thin smile appeared. ‘And now you are a king’s officer, come aft the hardest way. To your great credit, sir – that’s so, Captain?’
‘It is, sir,’ Houghton stuttered.
Kydd tried to think of a suitable reply, but Nelson had passed on.
Before they entered the cabin spaces Houghton turned to the officers. ‘Sir Horatio wishes to address you all. Shall we say my cabin in ten minutes?’
In the great cabin of Tenacious a chart of the Mediterranean was already spread out on the table. Nelson wasted no time. ‘You will have heard from your captain the essence of what faces us. The enemy is up to mischief – but where?’ He looked from face to face. ‘There’s been no news, no more intelligence forwarded to me than you yourselves know. We’re sailing into the unknown. But of this I’m sure. The enemy must make his move soon and we shall be ready, gentlemen. We have the finest sea service of the age, and we shall do our duty!’ There were murmurs of approval, Bryant’s sounding above them all.
‘Now, to strategy. Our course will be to Toulon. We cruise off and on until we discover for a certainty what the French are doing. If they make a move to the west we fall back. I’m prepared to let Gibraltar be taken to make certain that we can hold them at Cadíz and there with the whole fleet we shall try for a conclusion.’ There was a shocked silence, which he broke: ‘We are talking now of the very security of our islands – they will not pass.’
He touched the chart to the east. ‘If, on the other hand, General Buonaparte is considering an adventure to Constantinople he will find he is trapped. The waters are shoal and there is but the one entrance, the Dardanelles. There he will find us waiting, and he will see that it will bring the Turks into close alliance. And if they are further east, to the Levant perhaps, the Red Sea, we shall fall on their lines of supply.’
He straightened painfully, his face grim and set. ‘But all is vaporous posturing until we have met their fleet and disposed of it. While it exists, the Mediterranean is a French lake. All our striving must be to entice it to sea and bring it to battle. That, gentlemen, is our entire strategy. Questions?’
The heightened feeling was almost palpable. Bryant asked boldly, ‘What will be our force, sir?’
‘Vanguard, yourselves, Orion and Alexander, with three frigates. Too big to discourage from looking where we please, too small to think we engage. Big enough to lure ’em out,’ Nelson snapped, and waited for another question.
‘Signals, sir. We haven’t yet the new instructions,’ Kydd found himself saying. The others frowned, but he was concerned that he did not yet have a signal book ready for any major fleet action in prospect.
‘Neither will you,’ Nelson said briefly. ‘You are in a detached squadron of Sir John’s fleet off Cadíz. His signals therefore will still apply.’ He then turned to Kydd and smiled grimly. ‘And if any ship of the enemy lie ahead, why, our duty is plain and no signal required.’
There was a stirring among the officers. These were not the highly planned, intricate tactics of a fleet in line-of-battle: service under this admiral promised to be a time each would remember.
After the men had finished their grog and noon meal the officers sat down to dinner. The wardroom was alive with only one topic. ‘A proud man, but conceited,’ Bampton said firmly. ‘Vanity does not a leader make, in my opinion.’
‘Oh, so you have personal knowledge of our famed commander?’ There was an edge to Adams’s voice.
‘Not directly. But I have heard—’
‘Let the man’s actions speak for ’emselves, I say!’ boomed Bryant.
Bampton came in instantly: ‘They have.’
‘Oh?’
‘Orders. Do you call them orders? “If you see an enemy ship, damn the signals and close with him.” What kind of orders are those? In a fleet action there has to be detail – every circumstance foreseen, all manoeuvres planned in such a manner that every captain will know what is expected of him. As for signals – is this an example to our junior officers? Are you satisfied, Mr Kydd?’