“All this I know,” Palmerston said testily, dismissing any argument with a wave of his hand. “Preparations, yes, we have enough of that. But preparation for what? Is there any overall strategy to unite all this and the nation into a cohesive whole? If there is, I see it not. Certainly the Queen cannot provide us with any aid or succor in this matter.”
“But the Duke of Cambridge, commander of the armies, can certainly be relied upon to—”
“To do what? Vacillate? Get drunk? Spend his time with one of his ladies? No salvation there. He has some good men on his staff, but he overrides them more often than not.”
“Then, unhappily, the burden is still yours.”
“It is indeed.” Palmerston nodded weary agreement. “But the years begin to show. I should have put myself out to pasture long before this. But there is always one more crisis, one more decision to make — with no end in sight.”
He had slumped deeper in his chair as he spoke. His face, despite the fullness of his jowls, was slack and pendulous, his skin an unsightly gray. Russell had never seen him look this ill in all their years of association, was about to remark upon it but held his comment for now. He temporized instead.
“You have worked too hard of late, taken too much upon yourself. Perhaps a spell in the country, a good rest—”
“Cannot be considered,” Lord Palmerston said fiercely. “The country is going to hell in a handbasket, and I shall not be one to hurry it on its way. There is too much to be done, too much…”
Yet even as he spoke these words, his voice died away, ending in a wordless mumble. Russell looked on horrified as his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell forward in a slump, his head dropping onto the desk with a resounding thud. Russell jumped to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor, but even as he hurried forward, Palmerston dropped heavily onto the carpet and slid from sight.
COMMAND DECISION
General Sherman had met President Lincoln at the White House. From there they strolled over to the War Office together. They talked a little about the hot weather that had seized the city in a relentless grip for almost two weeks now. Then Sherman inquired about Mrs. Lincoln’s health, which was improving. Lincoln reported that everyone was pleased that General Grant’s wounded arm had healed so well. They talked about everything except the matter that was of the greatest concern to them. But Gus Fox had been adamant about this; no discussions about the details of the trip aboard Aurora unless it was in Room 313. Which was where they were headed now.
The two guards snapped to attention when they came down the corridor.
Sherman returned the salute, then rapped on the door. Fox unlocked it from the inside and stepped aside so they could enter. He locked the door behind them, then crossed over the small anteroom and unlocked the other, inner room. Once inside, they discovered that the windows were all closed and sealed and it was stifling hot.
“Just a moment,” Fox said, quickly throwing wide the curtains and opening both of the windows. Thick bars prevented any access from outside, but at least the air could circulate now. Lincoln took out his kerchief and patted his face and neck dry, then dropped into an armchair, letting his long legs dangle over one arm.
“Am I at last to discover the facts about your mysterious mission?”
“You are,” Sherman said. “It was dangerous, perhaps foolhardy, but since it was very successful, I imagine that the risks were justified. I suggest that you tell the President about our Russian friend, Gus.”
“I will do just that. It all began while we were all still in Brussels; that was when we met a Count Korzhenevski, someone very high up
their navy — and in their military intelligence as well. I can vouch for his authenticity because I have had contacts with his organization in the past. He speaks perfect English and was educated in England, and actually attended Greenwich Naval College. However, since the Crimean War, he has grown to detest the British who invaded his country. Knowing about our difficulties with Britain, he saw our two countries as natural allies. That was when he made a very generous offer, when he told us that he would like to put his yacht at our disposal. To take us wherever we wished to go.”
“Very nice of the Count.” Lincoln smiled. “You should have asked him to take you to England.”
“That is just where we went.”
The President was rarely caught out — but he was this time. He looked from one to the other of them with bewilderment.
“Do you mean that? You — went there?”
“Indeed we did,” Fox said. “In the guise of Russian officers.”
“I’ve heard some tall stories in my time, but this beats the pants off any of them. Pray tell me, in greatest detail, about where you went and just what you did.”
Sherman sat back and listened in silence while Gus outlined the various aspects of their precarious journey. For the moment the President did not appear to be interested in what they had discovered, but rather in all the surprises and close escapes in their exploration of the English mainland.
Gus finished, “…we sailed all that night and reached Dublin in the morning. That is when we heard about the naval engagement between the two ironclads. Of course we had to return here, so that was the end of our little voyage of exploration.”
Lincoln leaned back with a heavy sigh — then slapped his knee with enthusiasm. “If I had heard this story from anyone else, Gus, anyone other than you, why, I would say he got the liar of the year — no, of the century! — award. You were right not to have informed me of your plans before you left. I would have vetoed them instantly. But now that you have returned, about all I can say is — well done!”
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Sherman said. “In hindsight our little voyage of exploration does appear a mite foolhardy. But we got away with it. We have studied the English ports, cities, and countryside. And we have taken the measure of their defensive ability. It was intelligence hard gained — unhappily at the price of a man’s life. One of the Russian sailors was killed when the ironclad fired on us. But the trip was well worth doing, I assure you.”
“And your conclusions?”
“Militarily we know a great deal more about the British defenses than ever we did before. What is to be done with that knowledge of course depends upon the state of international affairs. The newspapers are all in a frazzle and contain more rumor than news. Before I go on, I would like to hear about the official reactions of the British to the loss of their ship.”