Ramage At Trafalgar (32 page)

He looked at Ramage. His was not a face that hinted of a friendly nature, and his voice, still with the Northumberland burr, was remote.

“Well, Ramage, you disobeyed – flouted is perhaps the better word – orders: you flouted the custom that frigates do not get involved in the line of battle, going so far as to break through it. And Captain Blackwood tells me that off Cadiz you lured a French 74 on to a shoal where she was wrecked.”

“Yes, sir,” Ramage agreed.

“You were not acting upon Captain Blackwood’s orders then either?”

“The
Euryalus
was too far away to see what was happening, and Captain Blackwood would not have known about the proximity of the shoal, sir.”

By now Ramage had realized that the court martial would try him on two counts – both the
Hasard
and
Le Brave
. It seemed you couldn’t do a damn thing in this man’s Navy without having a senior officer in sight signalling orders…

“Your senior officer is always conveniently out of range, Ramage,” Admiral Collingwood said.

But, damnation take it, senior officers in sight or out, I’ll wager
Le Brave
and the
Hasard
will be included in the score you report to My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, Ramage thought angrily.

Collingwood suddenly smiled. “My congratulations over
Le Brave
. I’ll make no comment for the time being over the
Hasard
. However, in my despatch to Their Lordships on the battle I have included your action against the 74, and you saw me write in the details of the
Hasard
.”

A startled Ramage stared at Collingwood and then mumbled: “Thank-you, sir.”

Collingwood gestured to Ramage to sit down, seating himself at the desk. “You realize that carrying the despatch concerning this battle back to Their Lordships is a great honour, and normally I would have chosen Captain Blackwood and this ship. But I cannot spare him, and when I look round for another frigate I find one commanded by a young junior captain who pays scant regard to orders or custom. However, I have the choice of sending you back with the despatch or court-martialling you, and I really cannot spare five captains for a trial, so you’d better make the best of your way to the Admiralty.”

Ramage sighed. “Thank-you, sir,” he said, and there seemed little else to say.

“There is one important point,” Collingwood said. “The Admiralty must be the first to know – of the battle and the death of Lord Nelson. Wherever you land in England, you will anchor off and have yourself rowed on shore by a trustworthy boat’s crew who will return to the ship immediately. Your first lieutenant will allow no one on board or on shore for a suitable number of days, depending where you land. You realize that anyone having this news before the government announces it could make several fortunes in the City of London?”

Ramage nodded. Yes, someone could buy up shares at a low price and sell them high when the market went up on the good news. Consols would leap up…

“And Ramage,” Collingwood said, a smile on his face, “you can describe in detail how you stranded
Le Brave
, but I should add some embellishments to the tale of the
Hasard
: some admirals may not agree with the way I’ve dealt with the matter.”

Dates given are for first publication and (for Ramge series) year in which novel is set.

These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

Published by House of Stratus

Buccaneer It is the 1650’s and Spain considers the Caribbean to be its own private sea. But England, Holland and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans set in days littered with the plunder of piracy. Ned Yorke, a loyal Royalist living in Barbados has a small vessel and devoted crew and together they sail, hunted by Roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colourful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

Admiral Charles II returns from exile bringing with him unease to the Spanish Main. In this vivid description of seventeenth-century buccaneers, Ned Yorke, the leader and hero of the swashbuckling band are depended upon for the defence of Jamaica, fighting with captured Spanish guns. Daring raids on the Spanish seem inevitable, as Yorke sets out on the high seas to distant adventures on behalf of the King and his own honour.

Galleon As England falls under a blanket of peace with the restoration of Charles II, in distant Jamaica all is not well. Though there is peace with Spain, there is No Peace Beyond the Line. It seems that the West Indies have become the private estate of the King of Spain. But Ned Yorke, Admiral of the Brethren, leader of the Buccaneers will not kowtow to the new Governor in Jamaica who is bent on weakening the Island’s defences and destroying its currency. Ned Yorke and his Buccaneers must not remain idle. The third in a series set in the Caribbean, Dudley Pope reveals a masterful plot of subtle, seafaring lore wound around the tense excitement of adventure on the high seas.

Corsair In the 1660’s Jamaica was an uneasy island, occupied by Spain but settled by the English and French. When Admiral of the Brethren, Ned Yorke, a brave, loyal Buccaneer, learns that Spain is mounting a Caribbean fleet perhaps to protect the treasures of Spanish ships, or carry an army to Jamaica, he vows to find out the truth. Yorke’s audacious attacks on Spanish camps reveal all and the Buccaneers must fight a bloody, desperate battle to try and hinder them.

Convoy A deadly game of cat and mouse unravels its way out of this spine tingling war story as Lieutenant Yorke must find an answer to one vital question: how are German U-Boats sinking merchant ships from inside the convoys? In this gripping saga of heroism and intrigue, Yorke discovers the fate of one entire convoy. Only his wit and daring can lead to its survival and that of himself.

Decoy It is February 1942 and the war in the Atlantic looks grim for the Allied convoys. The ‘Great Blackout’ has started, leaving the spy centre of Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire at a loss as to what the Nazis are planning. U-boat Command has changed the Hydra cipher. The Enigma cannot be broken. Cipher experts can no longer eavesdrop on Nazi command, which leaves convoys open for attack by packs of marauding Nazi submarines. Winning the Battle of the Atlantic will surely give Hitler a final victory. And who can stop him?