‘Sir Arthur! My dear fellow!’

The brothers looked round to see Castlereagh striding through the crowds towards them with a broad smile on his face. Arthur turned to William and cocked an eyebrow. It seems that we are not completely abandoned.’

‘Not yet,’William muttered sourly.

Castlereagh took their hands in turn and pumped them vigorously. ‘A bad business, this hue and cry over the Cintra treaty. But I am sure it will die away once the inquiry makes its report.’

‘I hope so,’ Arthur responded evenly.

‘Speaking of which,’ Castlereagh looked at Arthur with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, ‘there is someone I think I should introduce you to. Do come with me.’

He took Arthur’s arm and guided him through the crowd towards Charles Franks and his small entourage, who watched their approach with dismay.

Castlereagh waved his hand. ‘Charles! Good to see you here.There’s someone I would like you to meet.’ Arthur’s gaze met that of Charles Franks, and the men stared at each other frostily until Castlereagh continued in an ebullient tone, ‘I don’t think you have ever formally been introduced to Sir Arthur Wellesley, have you?’

‘No, I have not . . .’ Franks attempted to smile politely, but the tension between the dictates of good manners and the knowledge that he was hoping to petition the King to destroy Arthur tied the politician’s tongue.

‘Not what?’ Castlereagh prompted. ‘Not had the pleasure?’

‘Yes. That’s what I meant.’ Charles Franks smiled weakly.

‘Of course that’s what you meant. Now then, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, the hero of Vimeiro.’ He paused and repeated the words with heavy emphasis. ‘The hero of Vimeiro. Has a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you say?’

‘I suppose so,’ Franks replied uncomfortably, his eyes flickering towards Arthur. ‘I congratulate you on your victory, Sir Arthur. However, it is a shame that so signal an achievement should be followed by so shameful a sequel.’

‘That is a matter of opinion,’ Arthur replied flatly.

‘Yes. But I imagine you are just as keen to cast the blame on to Dalrymple and Burrard as they are to cast it on you.’

Arthur shook his head. ‘I keep my opinions to myself. On matters relating to events that took place in Portugal, I reserve my words for the inquiry, which is the proper arena for such comments, as I am sure you would agree?’

‘I suppose so, yes.’

Castlereagh clapped both men on the shoulder. ‘Good! That’s how these things should be done, eh?’

Charles Franks smiled weakly at the Foreign Secretary and then bowed his head. ‘It has been a pleasure to meet you, Sir Arthur, but my friends and I must leave early.We have another engagement, so I bid you good day.’

His friends looked at each other in surprise before they echoed their farewells and the little band made its way through the crowd towards the entrance to the audience chamber. As he watched them depart, Castlereagh muttered,‘So much for their petition. I don’t think it would have had much chance of support in Parliament. Still less now it is seen that his majesty evidently favours you.’

‘Quite.’ Arthur nodded, then turned to the minister. ‘However, I still have to go before the inquiry.’

‘Of course. But I am sure the panel will be persuaded that you cannot be held responsible for the Cintra treaty. Solely responsible, that is. Either all three generals will be condemned or none will.’ Castlereagh shook his hand again. ‘Good luck, Sir Arthur. And goodbye to you, William.’ He turned and strode away to work another section of the crowd.

‘Either all three condemned, or none,’ William echoed. ‘Was that supposed to be a few words of encouragement, do you think?’

Chapter 51

Arthur was wearing his best uniform when he presented himself before the members of the panel. Sir David Dundas had been appointed president of the inquiry and was assisted by six other generals, all of whom were now seated behind a long table at the end of the Great Hall. Several clerks and secretaries sat at small tables in the wings, organising documents and taking down details of what was said to provide an accurate record of the event. Arthur was shown into the hall and escorted to the single chair set before the inquiry panel. He bowed to each of the members and then took his seat. Dundas was an elderly general and one of the most senior in the army. His gaunt figure topped by a thin face, a long nose and white hair. Dundas had a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian and a stickler for rules and regulations.

‘Sir Arthur,’ he began formally,‘you have been called here to account for your actions in relation to the treaty signed at Cintra. Generals Dalrymple and Burrard have already given their evidence. You will answer all questions truthfully and to the best of your knowledge. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Very well then. It is the understanding of this inquiry that you were in command of the army for the duration of the engagement at Vimeiro. Is that so?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘And yet General Burrard had reached the vicinity of the army the day before.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘So, in your view, it would have been possible for Burrard to have assumed command of the army in time to fight the subsequent battle.’

‘It was certainly possible, sir, but not necessary.The army had already won an engagement at Roliça, and it seemed that the enemy was retreating towards Lisbon. Sir Harry arrived in the afternoon and made the decision not to assume command until the next day. There was no expectation of a battle, and had the French not tried to surprise us, Sir Harry would have assumed command of the army in good time.’

‘That may be so, General Wellesley, but let me ask you this. If you had been in Burrard’s place would you have delayed taking command of the army as the senior officer present?’

Arthur paused. There was no way to answer this truthfully that did not undermine Burrard’s position. He drew a sharp breath. ‘No sir, I would not have delayed taking command.’

‘And why is that?’

‘It is my conviction that the initiative should be seized in all things, sir. If not, then you make a gift of it to the enemy, as we discovered.’

‘Just so.’ Dundas nodded, and then looked down at his notes for a moment. ‘So, then, the French attempted to outflank your position.You changed your front to foil them, threw back their attacks and routed their assault columns.’

‘Yes, sir.’