Joanna Maitland – His Cavalry Lady (страница 6)

‘You’ll get your sea legs soon enough, Captain,’ Calder said. ‘But, until you do, it will be wise to hang on, if you are moving around the ship. Especially going up and down the companionways.’

‘Companionways?’

‘The stairs between decks,’ he explained. ‘The Navy has its own language.’

‘You will forgive me if I say so, sir, but I am extremely surprised to meet an Englishman who not only speaks perfect French, but understands naval slang as well.’

‘My mother is French,’ he replied quickly.

‘That would explain it. Though I would be astonished to learn that she had served in the Navy.’

Calder almost smiled. ‘Touché, Captain. No, of course she did not. But I, myself, have often ventured to sea. We are a maritime nation, we British. It’s in our blood. Whereas for you, I imagine, the vast tracts of steppe play the same role.’

He was right. He was a man of insight, this Mr Calder. Unless…? ‘Have you visited Russia, Mr Calder?’

He looked slightly startled for a moment, but he replied easily enough, ‘No, Captain, I have not. You will understand, being a military man, that travel has been…ah…a little difficult for civilians, these last fifteen years or so. However, now that Bonaparte is safely settled as Emperor of Elba—’ he made a sound in his throat that could have been a snort of derision ‘—now that he is Emperor of Elba,’ he repeated, ‘the English are again indulging their love of travelling. Especially to Paris, of course. Perhaps even as far as Russia? It repays the effort, I am sure.’

‘Oh, indeed, sir. For Russia is such a vast country that we have everything.’

‘Except…’ said Calder softly, pausing on the word, ‘except the sea.’

At that moment, the ship lurched again. Alex felt as though her stomach had remained fixed in the air while the rest of her body sank by a foot.

‘May I suggest you sit, Captain? Then you will not have to put so much effort into trying to keep your balance.’

He sounds almost paternal, Alex thought, wonderingly. Why should a rather stern-faced Englishman take the least trouble over a Russian soldier who looked barely half his own age? But she sat, nonetheless.

‘I can imagine how you feel. I do not suffer from seasickness myself, but I have a much younger brother who goes green at the very sight of a ship.’

‘I see,’ Alex said automatically, feeling increasingly queasy.

‘But it does mean that I am well acquainted with all the best remedies. If you should start to feel ill on the voyage, I will have the galley prepare you a special tisane which will relieve the symptoms, I promise.’

‘You are more than kind, sir.’ With the swell now worsening, she felt real gratitude to this strange Englishman. He might yet turn out to be her saviour.

‘However, to business.’ In clipped tones, Calder described the practical arrangements that had been made for the Emperor’s comfort. There was nothing that Alex could cavil at. Calder, and his naval colleagues, seemed to have thought of just about everything. ‘Emperor Alexander’s host on this voyage to England will be his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, the Prince Regent’s brother. He is a naval man himself. I should perhaps warn you that he has… um…a tendency to be a little bluff. I hope that the Emperor will not take offence. Naval language can be a little ripe, on occasion.’

Alex smiled. In her years as a common trooper, she had probably encountered a great deal more ripe language than any prince of the blood royal would use in front of the Tsar. ‘His Imperial Majesty,’ she replied carefully, ‘is a man of impeccable taste and manners. He will certainly not do anything to put his host out of countenance.’

‘Excellent, thank you.’

‘At what hour is the Emperor’s party expected to come on board?’

‘About an hour or two before the tide, I expect,’ Calder said. ‘The captain of the Impregnable will give us exact information shortly. Tell me, Captain Alexandrov, does his Imperial Majesty travel with a large suite?’

‘No, not on this occasion,’ Alex said. ‘He did not wish to impose on his host.’ She went on to list all the people who were travelling in the Emperor’s immediate entourage.

Calder remained inscrutable throughout her recital. He could clearly be a difficult man to read, when he chose.

‘The Prince Regent has had a splendid set of rooms prepared for the Emperor at St James’s Palace. I am sure his Imperial Majesty will be most comfortable there. His suite also.’

‘Oh dear.’ The words were out before Alex had time to think.

Calder’s eyebrows rose. ‘There is a difficulty?’

‘His Imperial Majesty—’ She stopped, trying to collect her thoughts. ‘You will be aware, I’m sure, Mr Calder, that his Imperial Majesty’s sister, the Grand Duchess, Catherine of Oldenburg, is already in London, on a private visit.’

Calder nodded.

‘His Imperial Majesty has no desire to inconvenience his royal host, but he is extremely fond of his sister, and he has decided that he will reside with her, at the Pulteney Hotel. I assume that will be in order?’ She tried to say it in the airy voice of real assurance, knowing that the Tsar’s mind was absolutely made up on the issue. By failing to forewarn the Prince Regent of his plans, he had also ensured that nothing could be done to thwart them.

‘The Regent, like his Imperial Majesty, is a man of impeccable manners. I can assure you, Captain Alexandrov, that everything shall be done exactly as the Emperor wishes. Provided, of course, that the Pulteney Hotel is able to offer the necessary accommodation for such a guest.’ He quirked an eyebrow.

Alex had a feeling she was blushing. She knew perfectly well that the arrangements had already been made, by the Grand Duchess. ‘I am sure that his Majesty will be more than happy to accept the Prince Regent’s hospitality if the Pulteney fails to come up to scratch. But since it is his Majesty’s own choice, I do sincerely hope that the Pulteney can provide adequate facilities.’

‘No doubt it will,’ Calder said laconically. ‘No doubt it will.’

‘I have explained the arrangements to the Emperor’s junior aide-de-camp,’ Dominic said to the captain of the Impregnable a little later. ‘You may have a spot of bother with him on the voyage. He turns green at the slightest lift of the deck.’

‘Poor lad. He has my sympathy.’ Captain Wood smiled. ‘He doesn’t seem old enough to be an aide-de-camp.’

‘He doesn’t seem old enough to be in uniform at all. But he must be. Firstly, he’s a captain, though I suppose that could be a temporary promotion. But also—did you notice?—he wears the Cross of St George. That’s one of Russia’s highest honours for gallantry. He must have seen action, in spite of his youth.’

Dominic was still finding it difficult to account for his own initial reaction to the young Russian. Alexandrov looked nothing at all like Dominic’s admittedly hazy memory of the amazing young woman at the stable fire, though that was the image that the sound of Alexandrov’s voice had conjured up in Dominic’s mind. Apart from the short hair, there could be no similarity. Dominic’s smoke-fuddled brain must be playing tricks on him. Alexandrov was a small, thin young man with closely cropped hair and unremarkable features, but he seemed a nice enough lad, and one whose quick wits would make him good company. Dominic would just have to learn to ignore the melodious richness of his voice and to banish the memories of that girl for good. That should not be too difficult, surely? After all, he had no chance of ever finding her again. The only practical course was to forget about her.

‘Tell me, Duke, is it true that the Emperor has brought dozens of Russian hangers-on?’

‘Yes. But console yourself. Your fellow captain on the Jason will have not only the Prussian King, but also two of his sons, at least one of his brothers, and various uncles and nephews to boot.’

‘Well, the Royal Navy is big enough to deal with whatever they send. They have armies, but we have the Navy, and that’s what matters. And it will be even stronger once we have the Dutch alliance, from Princess Charlotte’s marriage.’

Dominic nodded. ‘How soon do you expect to sail, Captain?’

‘In about two hours. With the wind in its present quarter, we should make Dover in very good time.’

‘Dare I hope that the voyage will be quick enough to save that young lad from too much distress?’

‘You are generous, Duke, to concern yourself with him.’

‘Perhaps.’ Dominic tried again to banish the embarrassing memory of that quayside encounter. ‘But, as the British liaison officer, I’d rather not have an invalid on my hands. Not when I have to house them all. And, incidentally, to explain to the Regent that the Emperor has spurned his very expensive hospitality.’

‘Truly?’

‘So it appears. Young Alexandrov tells me—that is to say, it rather slipped out—that the Emperor is determined to stay at the Pulteney Hotel along with his sister, the Grand Duchess. So the Regent’s plans to house him in the utmost state in St James’s Palace have come to naught. The first round goes to the Emperor.’

Alex groaned yet again. How could she possibly be so sick when everything inside her was one vast, aching emptiness? At least, the Emperor had excused her from attendance on him. If only she could just—