In Guards We Trust

  ***

  About a week after his return to Montuga, Jason was informed by one of his sailors that the Marquis d’Artois was on the quay in Monte Vista Harbour and that he was requesting leave to come aboard the Phoenix.

  ‘Your highness!’ The Marquis bowed after he was shown into Jason’s cabin.

  ‘At last we meet, my Lord,’ Jason responded. ‘Be seated. What can I do for you? I assume this is about Philippe. I have not seen him since he left the palace. Not that I begrudge him a chance to catch up with his long last father.’

  ‘Yes, highness. And it is I who must thank you for looking after him in my absence. He speaks most highly of you.’

  ‘Think nothing of it. He is a fine, properly brought up young man of whom you may be justly proud,’ Jason said. ‘He must have told you that he is a midshipman now. Following in your footsteps.’

  ‘He did,’ replied the Marquis. He shifted awkwardly in his seat. ‘That is why I am here. I assume you know about my wife and youngest son, your highness.’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘You can understand that Philippe is all the remains of my family. My greatest fear is that I should lose him.’

  ‘I can understand that of course,’ Jason said. ‘But you should have no fear. I am a former captain of the royal navy. A navy acknowledged by all, except possibly the French, to be the best navy in the world.’

  The Marquis eyes narrowed. His face stiffened momentarily.

  ‘You may be aware, your highness, that I was also a Captain. But in the former French navy.’ The Marquis hesitated before continuing. ‘I can only presume that when you compared the royal navy with the French navy, you were of course referring to the current republican navy.’

  ‘I am tempted to reply but modesty forbids,’ Jason replied. ‘But to return to my point, your son’s training could not be in better hands.’

  ‘Even if that be so, highness,’ said the Marquis. ‘There is still the matter of my son’s age. I consider him too young, at fourteen, to enlist in the navy.’

  ‘You will know, however, that fourteen year old midshipmen are not unheard of in the royal navy, or, for that matter in the navy you served in my lord.’

  ‘Such was only the case in France, highness, if the express consent of the boy’s father was granted.’

  ‘And this is what happened. Your son approached the king, whom you appointed as his legal guardian, for leave to join the Montugan navy. The king granted such leave,’ Jason said. ‘He is now a member of the Montugan navy. He is obligated to continue to serve in the navy for two years following the completion of his training. Failure to do so would amount to desertion, as you would no doubt well know.’

  ‘I was hoping that I could persuade your highness to look favourably on my request, but I have obviously come to the wrong place.’ The Marquis rose. His cheeks and his neck reddened appreciably as he glared at Jason. ‘I am left with no choice but to petition the king himself.’

  ‘My lord,’ Jason interrupted. ‘Have you spoken to Philippe about this?’

  ‘I have. He is upset, but he is a child. What does he know about war?’

  ‘My lord, I fear that you have allowed your fear of losing your only son to cloud your judgment about his maturity and about his situation.’ Jason permitted the Marquis a moment to reflect on what he had said before he also rose. ‘I know that you are the king’s friend, but your influence with the king pales in comparison to mine. I suggest you think carefully on the wisdom of challenging me, and about whether it would be wise to approach the king behind my back.’

  ‘I had no intention, highness of going behind your back…’

  ‘There is one more thing you have forgotten, my lord. You are alive solely because of me. The prisoner exchange was my idea. I persuaded the French government to agree to it.’

  ‘Your highness is obviously not aware that I was freed by French royalists, and not as part of the extradition.’ The Marquis latest riposte lacked conviction. To boot, he almost seemed embarrassed at having uttered it.

  ‘Even so, the royalists who freed you produced a document referring to the prisoner exchange I negotiated. You were released because your jailers accepted that the prisoner exchange was genuine and because it was commonly known that it was due to take place imminently. And, you know full well that the ships you sailed on to Montuga would not have sailed but for that same prisoner exchange.’

  The Marquis glared at Jason silently as he contemplated the import of what he had been told. He exhaled deeply. ‘You are right,’ he conceded at last. ‘I am in your debt. I am a man of honour. If you wish to retain Philippe as your midshipman, I shall not refuse.’

  ‘Then we are agreed that your son shall remain in the Montugan navy. But you shall have my assurance that I will do whatever I can to keep your son out of harm’s way.’

  ‘For that, I would be most grateful.’ The Marquis sat down again. ‘I wonder whether your highness would consider accepting my services as a Captain of one of your vessels?’

  ‘Regrettably, my lord, my sailors are mostly of English origin. They might not approve of such a rapid promotion of a Frenchman. I intend to spread my experienced English sailors equally between the five new ships. The Montugans who have signed up to join them are mostly of Italian descent. I am putting it mildly when I say that most of them do not come from a nautical background.’

  ‘I see,’ said the Marquis.

  ‘However, my lord, whilst I have sufficient naval commanders in whom I have implicit trust, the same cannot be said of the Royal Guard. Their commanders are mostly French and so are most of the Guards. Would you instead permit me to put your name forward to his majesty as a senior commander of the royal guard? I could do with a man I could trust there.’

  ‘How senior?’ the Marquis asked. His face was expressionless.

  ‘Joint fourth highest ranking officer in all of Montuga together with the Earl of Somerset,’ Jason replied.

  ‘That would indeed be a great honour. How could I refuse?’

  ‘You will be called upon to fight against France. I expect you to refuse if this presents a problem.’

  ‘Your highness, I love my country dearly. I miss it more than I ever imagined. But the republican France is an unjust cruel place which bears no resemblance to the country I love. Fighting against the republicans is not something which presents any problem for me. Instead, I consider it my duty to do so in the hope of restoring my country to that which it once was and which it can be once again.’

  ‘In that case, I shall make work of this at once,’ Jason said. ‘Do you drink?’

  ‘As often as circumstances permit it,’ replied the Marquis. A slight smile creased his face.

  Jason proceeded to open a bottle of fine red wine. Its contents caused the afternoon’s end to be noticeably more convivial than its beginning had been.