Alexander Kent - BEYOND THE REEF

The President said, "You may be seated. There is no point provoking the pain from your wound."

Bolitho found that his fists were so tightly clenched that they hurt. With relief he saw Herrick sit down on the proffered chair. He had expected he might refuse, and so set the tone of the whole proceedings.

Herrick's blue eyes turned and then settled on him. He gave a brief nod of recognition and Bolitho recalled his own anger and hurt when they had met at the Admiralty; it felt like a thousand years ago. Bolitho had shouted after him, stung by Herrick's rebuff over Catherine. Are we so ordinary? It had been a cry from the heart.

Hamett-Parker spoke again in the same flat tones.

"You may begin, Mr Cotgrave."

Herrick's escort, a debonair captain of marines, leaned forward but Herrick was already on his feet again. He had attended enough court martials to know every stage of the procedure.

The Judge Advocate faced him and opened his papers, although Bolitho suspected he knew them as a player knows his lines.

"In accordance with the decision made by their lordships of Admiralty, you, Thomas Herrick Esquire, RearAdmiral of the Red, are hereby charged that on diverse dates last September as stated in the Details of Evidence, you were guilty of misconduct and neglect of duty. This is contrary to the Act of Parliament dated 1749, more commonly called the Articles of War."

Bolitho was conscious of the great silence that hung over his flagship. Even the footfalls of the watchkeepers and the occasional creak of tackles were faraway and muffled.

Cotgrave glanced at Herrick's impassive features before continuing, "Contrary to Article Seventeen, whilst you were appointed for the convoy and guard of merchant ships, you did not diligently attend to that charge. Further, you did not faithfully perform that duty, nor did you defend the ships and goods in said convoy without diverting to other parts or occasions, and if proven guilty shall make reparation of the damage to merchants, owners and others. As the Court of Admiralty shall adjudge, you shall also be punished criminally according to the quality of the offences, be it by pains of death or other punishment as shall be adjudged fit by the court martial. God Save the King!"

Admiral Sir James Hamett-Parker's thin mouth opened and closed like a poacher's trap.

"How plead you?"

"Not guilty." Herrick's reply was equally curt.

"Very well. Be seated. You may presently proceed, Mr Cotgrave, but before doing so, I would remind you that there are some persons present who have no experience of sea fights and strategy other than what they… read." This brought a few smiles despite the seriousness of the moment. "So it may be required from time to time to explain or describe these terms and variations." He pressed his fingertips together and stared at the assembled people. "So be it."

Bolitho leaned forward and watched intently as the Judge Advocate described the various positions of Herrick's convoy, the North Sea Squadron, and the major fleet commanded by Admiral Gambier, who had been in control of operations at and around Copenhagen.

It was the second day of the court martial, the first having been made up mostly of written evidence and sworn statements. There had also been a dying declaration, which had been further testimony to the ferocity of that battle. A junior lieutenant in Herrick's Benbow had managed to make it under oath after a second amputation of his crushed legs.

Bolitho had sensed the moment, not here in the great cabin, but on that terrible day when the enemy ships had bombarded Benbow until she had run with blood, and her masts had been torn out of her like rotten sticks. The lieutenant had died even as he had been describing how he had run aft from his division of upper-deck guns, where most of his men had been cut down or dragged below to the surgeon. He had called on Herrick to strike in the name of pity. We were all dying to no purpose, he had said. He had claimed that the rearadmiral had clutched a pistol in one hand and had threatened to shoot him if he did not return to his station. Then the maintopmast had fallen and crushed his legs. But he persisted in his claim that Herrick's answer had stayed with him. We shall all die today.

One of the clerks had peered at Herrick as if to compare the man on trial with what he was writing.

Another sworn statement had come from Benbow's surgeon, who was also in hospital. He had stated that he had been unable to deal with the great flood of wounded and dying men. He had sent word to the quarterdeck but had received no reply. The Judge Advocate had looked around the court. "We must keep in mind of course that the ship was fighting for her life. The man sent aft with the message, if indeed that was the case, may well have been killed."

It had been very damning, all the same. There had followed a short pause for a meal and some wine, the senior officers and important guests to Keen's own quarters, the remainder to the wardroom.

After that, Captain Varian, at one time in command of the frigate Zest in Herrick's squadron, and himself awaiting the convenience of a court martial, gave evidence on what he had come to expect under the rearadmiral's flag. Bolitho had listened with contempt. This was the man who had failed to support Truculent in which Bolitho had been taking passage from Copenhagen, having been sent on a secret mission to parley with the Danes in a futile attempt to avoid war. Truculent had been shadowed by French men-of-war, a trap from which there had been no escape. Only the arrival of Adam's Anemone had saved the day. But not before Truculent's captain, Poland, had been killed and many of his men with him.

On that occasion, as now, in the great cabin Varian claimed that Herrick never gave any scope or initiative to his captains. He had only been obeying instructions as RearAdmiral Herrick would have demanded.

At length the President turned to Herrick. "You are entitled to question this witness. You refused a defence, so it is your privilege."

Herrick barely glanced at Varian's pale features. "I do not care to discuss this matter with a man already facing a charge of cowardice."

He said it with such disgust that it had brought a gasp from the assembled visitors. "He is a coward and a liar, and but for the intervention of others I would have had him arrested myself."

It had all been much like that. An old carpenter who described the state of Benbow's hull, with the pump barely containing the intake of water and only wounded men available to use it.

The last witness to be called, even as dusk made it necessary to light all the lanterns in the cabin, had been Herrick's servant, Murray. A rather pitiful little figure against so much gold lace and glittering regalia.

Under examination he had admitted that Herrick had been drinking very heavily, which had been more than just unusual.

The Judge Advocate had said, "Just what you know, Murray-opinions have no place here."

He had glanced at Herrick, who had replied, "I was drinking more than usual, he is quite right."

As the little servant had hurried gratefully away, John Cotgrave had rustled through his papers, gauging the time to a second.

"Of course, I had overlooked the fact you have only recently lost your wife."

Herrick had seemed oblivious to everyone else there. "She was everything to me. After that-" He had given a tired shrug.

"So it might be suggested that because of grief and personal distress you threw everything into a fight you could not win against overwhelming odds, with a total disregard for the lives in your care?"

Herrick had stared at him coldly. "That is untrue."

Today had begun with more professional witnesses. Three masters from merchant ships in the convoy, and written testimonies by others who had managed to survive. Several of them had claimed that they could have outsailed the enemy had they been allowed to quit the convoy.