Ramage kissed Mrs van Someren's hand, did the same to Maria, and turned to Major Lausser, who was holding out his hand and shook Ramage's firmly. None of them had said a word, but sides had obviously been taken long before Ramage arrived back at Otrabanda, let alone landed on Punda.

'You were successful,' Lausser said. 'My congratulations. I did not think it possible.'

'Much depends on one's enemy making mistakes.'

Lausser glanced up and smiled. 'Indeed, how right you are. And if one can wait long enough, they usually do.'

Ramage nodded, understanding exactly what Lausser was telling him. Now to make sure Maria was not just a neutral. 'Your fiance is still the first lieutenant in the Delft, Mademoiselle?'

'My fiance? Why, My Lord, I am not engaged.' Her hand moved her fan slowly, and Ramage saw the faint mark on her finger where until very recently there had been a heavily - jewelled ring.

'My apologies,' Ramage said quickly. 'I must have heard idle chatter about someone else. But what a pleasant surprise for you all, the Delft arriving after all this time.'

'Oh yes,' Maria said quietly. 'As you can see, we are all so delighted that we are giving a ball for all the officers.'

'How kind of you. What evening will it be?'

'Oh, it is now,' Maria said. The edge on her laugh showed she was not far from tears. 'Can you not see all the gay couples dancing? Our orchestra here in Amsterdam is like our honour, invisible and silent'

'Maria!' her mother protested but without much conviction. 'Your father has his duty to do.'

Ramage wondered why Lausser was not wearing uniform instead of a soberly - cut grey coat, with matching breeches. The Dutchman read Ramage's thoughts. 'I resigned my commission' at noon,' he said.

'Before the former Governor sent a letter over to the Calypso?' 'Yes. A few minutes before. Several others resigned at the same time.'

'I see,' Ramage said. 'But you are in a minority?'

Lausser shrugged his shoulders. 'Yes, because only few people know what is going on.'

'They can guess, surely?'

'Probably not. The surrender to the British has not yet been published in the island's official gazette. Only a dozen people know you in fact lawfully command in Curacao. The rest believe a rumour, that the British had offered to help. Now the Delft has arrived, obviously the British can leave.'

'Can they leave?'

Again Lausser shrugged his shoulders. 'At the time I resigned,' he said carefully, 'that decision had not been made.'

Ramage saw that Lausser was watching someone behind him and turned to find van Someren had joined them. He touched Ramage's arm. 'Come now, you must meet the captain of the Delft.' 'In your study,' Ramage said firmly. This is not a social encounter.'

'But, my dear Lord Ramage, of course it is!'

'Mister van Someren,' Ramage said heavily, 'you have no doubt heard of Newmarket Heath, in England?'

'Newmarket? Isn't that where the horses race?'

'Yes, and I must remind you of two things that even the unluckiest gambler on the Heath learned at his father's knee . . .'

'And what are they?'

"The first is that only one horse can win a race.'

Van Someren grunted. 'He did not learn how to choose the winner, though."

'No, that needs skill. But even the betting man knows the second lesson concerning horses.'

'And I am supposed to ask what that is?' van Someren asked impatiently.

'No, you are supposed to know that it is dangerous to change horses in midstream.'

'Come!' van Someren said crossly. We go to my study." He led the way from the drawing room, snapping fingers at the two naval officers, indicating that they should follow. In the study he began introductions, but Ramage stopped him, even though he was curious about the younger man, who had been engaged to Maria. 'I am forbidden by the laws of the Navy from having any meeting with the enemy. I accepted the surrender of this island from you, which means that you and your people are now under my protection. This gentleman, if he commands the Delft, either surrenders his ship to me, or he remains my enemy. Britain is still at war with the Batavian Republic . . .'

This is ridiculous,' van Someren snapped. 'You don't take that surrender seriously, do you? Why, it was signed under duress.'

'All surrenders are signed under duress,' Ramage said dryly. 'Only I wasn't applying the duress; your own Dutch rebels and the French privateersmen were, if you remember.'

The duress, or threat, does not exist. You know that.'

'Oh yes, I know that it does not exist now, I removed it for you.'

'So you can see how absurd it is that I should surrender an island like this to a single English frigate I Quite absurd.'

The instrument of surrender has your signature on it, witnessed by Major Lausser.'

'Lausser no longer holds a commission.'

'Neither do you,' Ramage said quietly. 'You are no longer the Governor of the island, by virtue of the surrender you signed, .but that doesn't make the surrender document invalid: nothing - ' he paused and then said with more emphasis - 'nothing erases your signature. You surrendered the island of Curacao.'

Van Someren gave an airy wave of his hand. This is just the idle chatter of a young man,' he said in English to the Delft's captain. 'He knows nothing of law, diplomacy or politics.'

And that, Ramage thought, is the end of that: he had given van Someren plenty of time to reconsider: whatever happens to him now is his own fault. Ramage admitted to himself that be was angry because he had taken van Someren for a man of honour, forgetting he was first and foremost a politician and a survivor: he had changed his politics and survived as Governor of Curacao when the French invaded the Netherlands and his own monarch had fled to England.

'Mister van Someren,' Ramage said, with a slight emphasis on the 'mister', 'I must return to my ship, but before I go I think my admiral would want me to point out two things. First, the instrument of surrender will be published in England, and the moment the French government read it your life won't be worth a worn - out shoe if they can get their hands on you; they'll trot you off to the guillotine. Any question of your going back on it, therefore, is suicide. Second, Curacao has been surrendered to the British. That a Dutch I

frigate has since arrived in the port is of no consequence. Now the island is British and we shall keep our word - my signature is on the document by which you place Curacao under my King's protection. Long before you can send any news to the Netherlands, let alone receive any help, a substantial British force will have arrived here from Jamaica.'

The Delft's captain, a swarthy and stocky man with a plump, white face in which the eyes seemed to be deeply - embedded currants in a suet pudding, tapped Ramage on the shoulder, and grinned, showing yellowed teeth which reminded Ramage of the horse that van Someren was changing in midstream, 'You know the answer, English?' Ramage shook his head.

"The answer, English, is that this surrender paper must not leave Amsterdam.'

In a fraction of a second Ramage realized that not only was he in a trap and the Delft had sprung it, but there was no point in acknowledging defeat. Surprise, that was the secret, helped by a white lie or so. He gave a contemptuous laugh. 'Must not leave Amsterdam? You don't seriously think it is still here, do you?'

The captain looked nervously at van Someren, who had gone white. 'When did you send it away? How? No ship has left Amsterdam!'

'Amsterdam is hardly the only place from which a ship can leave the island. What do you think my admiral would say if I took the surrender of the island and then, without telling him, went off over the hills chasing a horde of pirates and rebels? He would court - martial me!'