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child. He regarded the captain in the light of a father. I know Lis-
burn s behavior was...suspicious, but Donwell would hear noth-
ing against him. Refused to believe it. Could not understand why
his innocent admiration could be taken in such a way. Confessed
himself utterly in the dark as to the captain s conduct with others.
For God s sake, sir, if every man who d ever shared a bed with
another was to be suspected, you d have to hang us all.
Rodney picked a tailor s bill from the top of his pile of papers,
shuffled it to the bottom, leaving an innocent dispatch on view.
What do you want of me? I cannot let the man go. An accusa-
tion has been made, and a court martial is being convened. I can
no more stop these things than I can stop the tides. And would
not if I could. If your friend is as innocent as you say, it will be ap-
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ALEX BEECROFT 215
parent then. If not& . Rodney still wouldn t meet John s gaze.
He cleared his throat before continuing. Well, as I say, you might
discover it would have been better to distance yourself from the
affair.
I heard you were leaving, sir. John looked about at the half
packed up office in confirmation. And I& It s well known, sir,
that with you gone, the presiding officer must be Captain Cord-
ingly of the Wasp. He bent his head, toed a dropped pencil back
under the desk, leaving a broad smudge of lead on the floor-
boards. Recollecting that Rodney, like Fortune, favored the
brave, he looked up once more into that cold aristocratic gaze as
he criticized a superior officer. Captain Cordingly has been
known to hang on rumor alone.
You recall the case in 59, sir, when he hanged a married tar
on the evidence of an accuser who later confessed to have
dreamed the whole incident in a stupor of gin? Forgive me my
presumption, but I cannot let my friend s life ride on the deci-
sion of a man like that. I say nothing of the captain s fitness to
command, sir, but he is no proper judge in a court martial on
this offense.
A snort from the corner diverted the Admiral s wrath. He
glared at his physician, but Blane kept his head down, turning
the pages of his newspaper with a decided, humorous crackle.
Gratefully, John took another breath, plunged on. You, on the
other hand, sir, are a champion of the common man, not letting
a fellow s birth or low state detract from his merits. Mr. Donwell
is a plain man, without influence in the world, and I fear that
Captain Cordingly would take his lack of family to be evidence of
guilt. You, sir, would not. All I ask for him is a fair trial without
pre-judgment, and that I believe only you can provide. Please
stay, sir. You are a hero of England. No one could doubt your ver-
dict one way or another.
Rodney s dark brows lifted in a skeptical flick at this elo-
quence, as though he had heard the like before from too many
professional courtiers and toadies to be impressed. John waited
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216 FALSE COLORS
out the practiced examination with patience, knowing that the
Admiral would see nothing but sincerity in his gaze. He was sin-
cere. His admiration for Rodney at least was no lie the man had
a genius for the sea; for turning the circumstances of any battle
to his own advantage. His dash and enterprise were as sudden
and awesome in action as the stoop of a hawk. Nor did he hesi-
tate to recommend the lowliest for the best positions; and if his
judgment was a little flawed in picking out his followers, it did
not negate the principle.
Of course, Rodney s debts were also legendary, and his cu-
pidity one of the few stains on a character otherwise entirely ad-
mirable. But John had cause to know, now, that no man was so
entirely free from sin that he could afford to be too nice with his
admiration. He held his head up beneath Rodney s cynical gaze,
and at length the Admiral turned aside to lift his silver-topped
sand shaker and set it gently back inside its baize lined box.
He capped the inkwell, slid it into place beside the sand, then
rubbed his long fingers on a handkerchief, in a gesture John
found disturbingly reminiscent of Pontius Pilate. Lieutenant
Cavendish, I believe I have told you that, in my opinion, the Navy
owes you a debt of thanks?
You did, sir.
And is it in consequence of that, that you are emboldened
to make this application?
No, sir. I do not consider my own merits at all, trusting en-
tirely to your regard for justice.
Blane huffed behind the sanctuary of his paper. John lifted
his chair so that the servants could draw the carpet out from
under its feet. Rodney took off his neat wig, revealing a head of
sleek, dark brown hair that made him look full twenty years
younger. He paced away to drape the wig over the bust of Em-
peror Hadrian that graced the window ledge.
You re a man who appreciates honesty, yes? He looked out
of the window, down into the courtyard, until John said yes.
Then he turned and came back to lean a hand on the back of his
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ALEX BEECROFT 217
chair, the other balanced on his sword hilt. Then I will be hon-
est and tell you that I have you down as my choice for captain of
HMS Boreas in the unhappy event which I am told is now in-
evitable of her present captain s death from the fever.
The floor surged up beneath John as if it had crested a wave.
Just for a moment he felt sunshine and a glory of bright silver
spray against a clear washed sky. A fair wind on his cheek, blue
water beneath his keel, and freedom. His own ship? His own
ship! Poor Meteor flashed to mind. How much he had loved her!
Handing her over to another man had been like handing over his
first born child. The pain, even now, in memory, went close to
choking him. On its heel came desire, ravenous, black desire like
salt in his mouth. His own ship.... To be captain again.
I should be more than happy. The uprush of glory tipped
over the edge, went racing down into the hollow dark. Mountains
of water cut off the wind and sun, and he shivered, becalmed, in
the trough. It took no special talent to hear the but in the Ad-
miral s cut-glass Harrow-educated tones.
But the Navy, Mr. Cavendish, prefers not to have its ships
captained by fools, and if you genuinely believe this young man
to be innocent, then you are a fool. If you want him spared and
you are no fool, then you are something worse. Something that
must never be permitted to tread a British quarterdeck. Are you
following me?
John shut his eyes for a brief moment of self pity. When would
the world stop hurting him? This was becoming more than he
could very well endure. Yes, sir.
You are owed one favor, Mr. Cavendish. One. If you ask me,
I will stay. But I strongly advise you for your own sake to take
the ship and let this filthy business go.
Trudging out of the Admiral s office, John climbed up to the bat-
tlements and walked along the quarterdeck of the fort, passing the
patrolling sentries with an unacknowledged nod. From here he
could see out, over Port Royal s small white storehouses the town
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218 FALSE COLORS
a disheveled shadow of what it must have been a century ago to
the blue curve of the distant horizon and the white flecks of a crowd
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Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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