sharply at thenavigating officer, the only other man present besides Sherbrooke. ‘
Right?
’
Rhodes picked up his notebook from the table. ‘1100 tomorrow.’
Stagg looked around the chart room, a quiet refuge after the bridge and the comings and goings of watchkeepers and working parties.
‘Good.’ He added, ‘You can carry on, Pilot. I expect you have a few things to do.’
The navigator smiled. ‘A few, sir.’
As the door closed behind him, Stagg remarked to Sherbrooke, ‘Useful chap. Don’t want to lose him, if I can help it.’ He unbuttoned his jacket and took out a leather cigar case. ‘You can stop worrying, Guy. There’s been no more news of
Minden.
It’s somebody else’s headache anyway, until she’s buggered off back to Tromsø or some other godforsaken place. Things are moving at last – and as I told them at the Admiralty, it’s not a moment too soon. We need smaller but more powerful units, like Force H, for instance. Our sister ship
Renown
, a carrier, and a strong set of escorts have worked wonders. We can do better. I just told them to get their fingers out!’ It amused him, and he lit a cigar, smiling reminiscently at some thought of London. ‘I can be tough when I like, you know, Guy. Nice as pie if I get treated with respect, but call me pig and I’m pig all the way through!’
He glanced up at the deckhead speaker as it squeaked into life.
‘Watchkeepers of the afternoon watch to dinner!’
He corrected gently, ‘
Lunch.
’
Sherbrooke, gazing at the chart table, barely heard him. Nearly six hours had passed since the signal had been brought to the bridge.
Minden
was out again. There had been three of them that day, when
Pyrrhus
had gone down.
And I still cannot remember.
One second on the bridge, the steel plating buckled inboard like wet cardboard, voicepipes calling and calling, unanswered by the men who lay dead or dying at their stations.
And then?
He stared at the chart lying uppermost on the table,
The approaches to Iceland
, but he did not see it. There must have been another massive explosion, and yet he could recall nothing more, only breaking the surface, gasping and shouting, crushed by the cold, the numbing pressure of icy water. And the ship had gone.
Nothing.
Only a handful of choking, floundering shapes. Men he had known.
Men who trusted me.
Stagg leaned forward, a lock of chestnut hair falling above one eye.
‘You’ve done well, Guy. Damn well. To take command at such short notice.’ His tone hardened. ‘But I wanted you as captain. I knew your record, your style of leadership – it still matters, you know.’ He was suddenly on his feet, the uncontrollable energy manifesting itself again. ‘In every war it takes
time
to get rid of the deadwood. Look at the last one, for God’s sake! Ideas that had scarcely changed since Trafalgar, rules that went out the window when the first U-Boats put to sea!
Winning
is what matters, what counts. Rules are for losers!’
He paused beside the table, and Sherwood could smell his after-shave lotion, strong and powerful, like the man.
‘In Iceland we shall be joined by
Seeker
, a new escort carrier.’ He smiled, and watched his cigar smoke being drawn into the overhead fan. ‘She’s no giant, but it’s a start. We’ll be a small, self-dependent force. There’ll be a lot more before long.’ His smile broadened into a grin. ‘But there’s only one
Reliant
!’
The grin vanished, as though its effect had been calculated. ‘I shall want you with me when we visit theadmiral-commanding in Iceland. Our destroyers can refuel, and I’ll want a full report on why
Montagu
lost a boat. Her commanding officer has a very inflated opinion of himself . . . that’ll stop him farting in church.’
There was a sound, and he turned and exclaimed, ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake! I told them I wasn’t to be disturbed!’
The door opened slightly. It was Rhodes again. ‘Signal from Admiralty, sir.
Minden
is reported
Right?
’
Rhodes picked up his notebook from the table. ‘1100 tomorrow.’
Stagg looked around the chart room, a quiet refuge after the bridge and the comings and goings of watchkeepers and working parties.
‘Good.’ He added, ‘You can carry on, Pilot. I expect you have a few things to do.’
The navigator smiled. ‘A few, sir.’
As the door closed behind him, Stagg remarked to Sherbrooke, ‘Useful chap. Don’t want to lose him, if I can help it.’ He unbuttoned his jacket and took out a leather cigar case. ‘You can stop worrying, Guy. There’s been no more news of
Minden.
It’s somebody else’s headache anyway, until she’s buggered off back to Tromsø or some other godforsaken place. Things are moving at last – and as I told them at the Admiralty, it’s not a moment too soon. We need smaller but more powerful units, like Force H, for instance. Our sister ship
Renown
, a carrier, and a strong set of escorts have worked wonders. We can do better. I just told them to get their fingers out!’ It amused him, and he lit a cigar, smiling reminiscently at some thought of London. ‘I can be tough when I like, you know, Guy. Nice as pie if I get treated with respect, but call me pig and I’m pig all the way through!’
He glanced up at the deckhead speaker as it squeaked into life.
‘Watchkeepers of the afternoon watch to dinner!’
He corrected gently, ‘
Lunch.
’
Sherbrooke, gazing at the chart table, barely heard him. Nearly six hours had passed since the signal had been brought to the bridge.
Minden
was out again. There had been three of them that day, when
Pyrrhus
had gone down.
And I still cannot remember.
One second on the bridge, the steel plating buckled inboard like wet cardboard, voicepipes calling and calling, unanswered by the men who lay dead or dying at their stations.
And then?
He stared at the chart lying uppermost on the table,
The approaches to Iceland
, but he did not see it. There must have been another massive explosion, and yet he could recall nothing more, only breaking the surface, gasping and shouting, crushed by the cold, the numbing pressure of icy water. And the ship had gone.
Nothing.
Only a handful of choking, floundering shapes. Men he had known.
Men who trusted me.
Stagg leaned forward, a lock of chestnut hair falling above one eye.
‘You’ve done well, Guy. Damn well. To take command at such short notice.’ His tone hardened. ‘But I wanted you as captain. I knew your record, your style of leadership – it still matters, you know.’ He was suddenly on his feet, the uncontrollable energy manifesting itself again. ‘In every war it takes
time
to get rid of the deadwood. Look at the last one, for God’s sake! Ideas that had scarcely changed since Trafalgar, rules that went out the window when the first U-Boats put to sea!
Winning
is what matters, what counts. Rules are for losers!’
He paused beside the table, and Sherwood could smell his after-shave lotion, strong and powerful, like the man.
‘In Iceland we shall be joined by
Seeker
, a new escort carrier.’ He smiled, and watched his cigar smoke being drawn into the overhead fan. ‘She’s no giant, but it’s a start. We’ll be a small, self-dependent force. There’ll be a lot more before long.’ His smile broadened into a grin. ‘But there’s only one
Reliant
!’
The grin vanished, as though its effect had been calculated. ‘I shall want you with me when we visit theadmiral-commanding in Iceland. Our destroyers can refuel, and I’ll want a full report on why
Montagu
lost a boat. Her commanding officer has a very inflated opinion of himself . . . that’ll stop him farting in church.’
There was a sound, and he turned and exclaimed, ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake! I told them I wasn’t to be disturbed!’
The door opened slightly. It was Rhodes again. ‘Signal from Admiralty, sir.
Minden
is reported
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