Cousins At Arms: The Thirteenth Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventure by Chris Durbin

Author:Chris Durbin [Durbin, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chris Durbin Author Ltd.
Published: 2023-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Sixteen

A Weighty Matter

Thursday, Thirty-First of December 1761.

Dartmouth, at Sea, Cape San Antonio southeast 40 leagues.

Dartmouth and the brig Petite Marie lay hove-to, rising and falling to the long, low swell that the trade winds had generated on their thousand mile fetch across the broad Caribbean. The brig was a hive of activity and already a new main topmast was in place and the shrouds were being rattled down. Neither the carpenter nor the bosun liked the look of her jury fore topmast and a new one was lying in the waist, ready to be swayed up to its own particular position. They were massive affairs, far too big for the little brig, but they would keep her at sea long enough to be condemned at a prize court. But all that was being supervised by Dartmouth’s carpenter and bosun; the commissioned officers and the sailing master who would normally have been involved in this most interesting evolution were notable by their absence.

Carlisle’s lieutenants and the sailing master couldn’t have been in the brig, for they were all gathered in Dartmouth’s great cabin. They’d been offered wine and coffee and now they were eager to hear what their captain had to say, hoping he would keep it short so that they could get back to the brig’s topmasts. They’d heard rumours of what the master of the brig had said, and a more definite account of the sergeant’s tale, although he’d been warned against repeating everything that he’d told Carlisle. The secret treaty was to remain just that, secret.

‘Well, gentlemen, I find that we must split our forces for a while…’

The door to the sleeping cabin opened and Chiara walked in, taking a seat without any invitation after all the officers had risen to their feet and Gresham had given up the best chair for her.

‘…do join us, my dear.’

Carlisle was just a half second late in offering the invitation, making it sound dangerously like sarcasm, but not a hint of resentment showed on Chiara’s face. She adjusted her dress and smiled broadly, favouring each man with a particular notice before finally nodding agreeably to her husband. Carlisle felt as though he had just lost an argument, which was no way to start a meeting with his officers. He tried to keep his emotions from his face but only succeeded in an unnatural grimace.

‘Now, as I was saying, we must split our forces. The information that the brig’s master gave me suggests that the French are reinforcing their places on the Gulf Coast and may even be considering an expedition into the interior. However, his testimony, even backed up by Sergeant Turner, isn’t firm enough. I find that I must go at least to Mobile and possibly to New Orleans to gather some hard intelligence to take back to Jamaica.’

Carlisle looked at the faces in the cabin. So far he hadn’t said anything that they couldn’t have guessed but each was looking keen, knowing that there was more to come.

‘Now,

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