"How long have you been a signalman?"

"Three months sir."

"You'd best look up your codes, right smartly. The message said: "Captain Lloyd of H.m.s. Pearl apologizes." Make another mistake and your balls are in the wringer."

"Yessir, sorry sir," the crestfallen youth said.

Marlowe went back to the Admiral. To his relief the potential row between the two men seemed to have simmered down and now they were discussing alternative plans of action at Yedo and the long term implications of the Tokaido attack.

While he waited for a lull in the conversation, he cautiously cocked an eyebrow at Tyrer--who smiled back--wanting to be dismissed so he could ask him about Kanagawa and Angelique. He had had to leave the same day Sir William had arrived, three days ago, and had no first-hand information on what had occurred since then.

"Yes, Mr. Marlowe?" The Admiral listened to the message and at once rasped: "Send another signal: report aboard my flagship at sunset." He saw Marlowe wince. "And well you might, Mr. Marlowe.

Such an apology is insufficient excuse for slackness in my fleet. Is it?"

"No sir."

"Consider who should take over your ship in his place--not you!" Admiral Ketterer turned back to Sir William. "You were saying? You don't th--" A gust crackled the rigging.

Both officers looked aloft, then at the sky and all around, tasting the wind. No sign of danger yet, though both knew that the weather this month was unpredictable and in these waters storms came suddenly. "You were saying? You don't think the authorities, this Bakufu, will do what we require?"

"No, not without some form of force. At midnight I got another apology from them and a request for a month's delay so they could "consult higher ups" and more such nonsense--my God, they can prevaricate. I sent the bloody messenger back with a flea in his ear and a curt, rather rude message to give us satisfaction or else."

"Quite right."

"When we anchor off Yedo, can we fire as many salutes as possible, create an entrance?"

"We'll make it 21 guns, a royal salute. I suppose this mission could be construed as a formal visit to their Royalty." Without turning, the Admiral rasped: "Mr. Marlowe, give the order, for the whole fleet and ask the French Admiral if he would do likewise."

"Yessir." Again Marlowe saluted and rushed off.

"The plan for Yedo is still as we agreed?"

Sir William nodded. "Yes. I and my party will go ashore to the Legation--a hundred soldiers as an honor guard should be enough, the Highlanders, their uniforms and bagpipes will be the most impressive. The rest of the plan remains the same."

"Good." Uneasily the Admiral stared ahead. "We'll be able to see Yedo when we get around that headland." His face hardened. "It's one thing to rattle a few sabres and fire off a few blank cannonades but I don't agree to bombard and burn that city--without a legal state of war."

Sir William said carefully, "Let's hope I don't have to ask Lord Palmerston to declare one, or for me to legalize one forced on us. A full report's on the way to him.

Meanwhile his reply is four months away so we have to do the best we can, as usual. These murders must stop, the Bakufu must be brought to heel, one way or another. Now is the perfect time."

"Admiralty instructions are to be prudent."

"By the same post I sent an urgent message to the Governor of Hong Kong also advising him what I planned to do and asking what reinforcements in ships and men could be available if necessary, and about Mr. Struan's condition."

"Oh? When was that, Sir William?"

"Yesterday. Struan's had a clipper available, Mr. McFay agreed the matter merited the most immediate haste."

Ketterer said caustically, "This whole incident seems to be a Struan cause celebre, the fellow who was killed hardly gets a mention, it's nothing but Struan, Struan, Struan."

"The Governor's a personal friend of the family, and the family is, er, very well connected, very important to Her Majesty's trading interests in Asia and China. V."

"They've always sounded like a bunch of pirates to me, gunrunning, opium running, anything for a profit."

"Both are legal enterprises, my dear Admiral. Struan's are highly respectable, Admiral, with very important connections in Parliament."

The Admiral was unimpressed. "A lot of ne'er-do-wells there too, by God, if you don't mind my saying. Bloody idiots most of the time, trying to cut Navy funds and our fleets-- stupid when England depends on sea power."

"I agree we need the best Navy with the most competent officers to carry out Imperial policy," Sir William said. Marlowe, near the Admiral, heard the thinly veiled barb. A quick glance at the back of his superior's neck confirmed the barb had registered. He braced for the inevitable.

"Imperial policy? Seems to me," the Admiral said sharply, "the Navy spends most of its time pulling civilian and trader fingers out of their smelly holes when their greed or double-dealing takes them into messes they should never have been in in the first place. As for those bastards there," his stubby finger pointed at Yokohama on the port side, "they're the worst bunch of scallywags I've ever seen." "Some are, most not, Admiral." Sir William's chin came out. "Without traders and trade there'd be no money, no Empire and no Navy."

The red neck became purple. "Without the Navy there would be no trade and England would not have become the greatest nation in the world, the richest, with the greatest Empire the world has ever seen, by God."

Balls, Sir William wanted to shout, but he knew that if he did, here on the quarterdeck of the flagship, the Admiral would have apoplexy, Marlowe and every sailor within hearing distance would faint. The thought amused him and removed most of the venom that sleepless nights worrying over the Tokaido affair had caused, and permitted him to be diplomatic. "The Navy is the senior service, Admiral. And many share your opinion. I trust we'll be on time?"

"Yes, yes we will." The Admiral eased his shoulders, somewhat mollified, his head aching from the bottle of port he had consumed after dinner, on top of the claret. The ship was making about seven knots, into wind, which pleased him. He checked the lie of the fleet. Now H.m.s. Pearl was very carefully astern, with two 10-gun paddle sloops to port. The French flagship, a three-masted, 20-gun ironclad paddle frigate was carelessly to starboard. "Her helmsman should be put in irons! She could do with a new coat of paint, new rigging, fumigating to get rid of the garlic, and a bloody good holy-stoning and their crew keelhauled. Don't you agree, Mr. Marlowe?"

"Yes sir."

When he was satisfied all was correct, the Admiral then turned back to Sir William.

"This, this Struan family and their so-called Noble House, is it really so important?"

"Yes. Their trade is enormous, their influence in Asia, notably in China without compare, except for Brock and Sons."

"I've seen their clippers of course.

Beauties, and very well armed." The Admiral added bluntly, "I hope to Christ they don't try to peddle opium, or guns here."

"Personally I agree though it's not against present law."

"It is, according to Chinese law. Or Japan's."

"Yes, but there are mitigating circumstances,"

Sir William said wearily. He had been through the same explanation dozens of times. "I'm sure you know Chinese will only accept cash, silver or gold, for the tea we must import, nothing else. The only merchandise they'll pay cash for--gold or silver--is opium, nothing else. It's very unfortunate."

"Then it's up to traders and Parliament and diplomats to pull their fingers out. For the last twenty years the Royal Navy has been enforcing illegal laws in Asia, bombarding China ports and cities, doing all sorts of rotten acts of war, in my opinion just to support opium--a blot on our escutcheon!"