Praise for The Kydd Series $24.00 C C om m a n d “Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life on ship o and shore in Britain’s oceanic empire is engrossing. A K He writes evocatively of shipboard r outine, the panic m A Kydd Sea Adventure Thomas Kydd takes command of his y and confusion of combat, and the terrifying ap- d own ship—and learns first hand about d proach of a storm at sea, and he knows how to stage Sm the power and loneliness that comes e enthralling action scenes.” —Publishers Weekly a with ultimate responsibility. Aa d v “Likable Tom and his shipmates make a snug fit in en In this seventh book of the series, n that page-turning Forester and O’Brian tradition— t Thomas Kydd has his own command at u thanks to retired Royal Navy author Stockwin.” rd last: the brig-sloop Teazer! But Kydd e —Kirkus Reviews must race the clock to make her battle- Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of ready to defend Malta against Barbary fourteen to ts Indefatigable, a tough sea- “Characterized by hazardous battles and enigmatic pirates and the French who are franti- training school. He joined the British Navy heroism . . . [Quarterdeck is] a very highly recom- cally trying to rescue the remnants of at fi fteen, transferred to the Australian JJ mended novel . . .” —The Midwest Book Review uu their army in the Levant. Then peace Navy when his family emigrated there, and is suddenly declared, and the young saw active service in Vietnam. He became ll “Fast action, great characters and tremendous dia- ii captain fi nds himself ashore on half pay. a teacher and an educational psychologist. logue make [Tenacious], and the five previous Kydd aa To make ends meet, he agrees to trans- Later he was commissioned into the Royal nn port convicts to Australia. Little does he Naval Reserve and was awarded the mbe. books, top-of-the-line naval adventures.” Retired from the rnr with the rank of —Illawarra Mercury know that his friend Renzi, weakened by SS illness and embittered with the service, Lieutenant Commander, he now lives in tt is also bound for the colony as a settler. Devon, England. Visit him on the web at oo There, at the ends of the earth, they will www.julianstockwin.com. cc be forced to face their deepest fears and kk prove themselves against all odds ww ii nn McBooks Press, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-59013-120-6 52400 JJuulliiaann SSttoocckkwwiinn Ithaca, New York M www.mcbooks.com PrcB Cover painting by Geoff Hunt. Cover designed by Panda Musgrove. eo so 9 781590131206 sks Praise for The Kydd Series $24.00 C C om m a n d “Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life on ship o and shore in Britain’s oceanic empire is engrossing. A K He writes evocatively of shipboard r outine, the panic m A Kydd Sea Adventure Thomas Kydd takes command of his y and confusion of combat, and the terrifying ap- d own ship—and learns first hand about d proach of a storm at sea, and he knows how to stage Sm the power and loneliness that comes e enthralling action scenes.” —Publishers Weekly a with ultimate responsibility. Aa d v “Likable Tom and his shipmates make a snug fit in en In this seventh book of the series, n that page-turning Forester and O’Brian tradition— t Thomas Kydd has his own command at u thanks to retired Royal Navy author Stockwin.” rd last: the brig-sloop Teazer! But Kydd e —Kirkus Reviews must race the clock to make her battle- Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of ready to defend Malta against Barbary fourteen to ts Indefatigable, a tough sea- “Characterized by hazardous battles and enigmatic pirates and the French who are franti- training school. He joined the British Navy heroism . . . [Quarterdeck is] a very highly recom- cally trying to rescue the remnants of at fi fteen, transferred to the Australian JJ mended novel . . .” —The Midwest Book Review uu their army in the Levant. Then peace Navy when his family emigrated there, and is suddenly declared, and the young saw active service in Vietnam. He became ll “Fast action, great characters and tremendous dia- ii captain fi nds himself ashore on half pay. a teacher and an educational psychologist. logue make [Tenacious], and the five previous Kydd aa To make ends meet, he agrees to trans- Later he was commissioned into the Royal nn port convicts to Australia. Little does he Naval Reserve and was awarded the mbe. books, top-of-the-line naval adventures.” Retired from the rnr with the rank of —Illawarra Mercury know that his friend Renzi, weakened by SS illness and embittered with the service, Lieutenant Commander, he now lives in tt is also bound for the colony as a settler. Devon, England. Visit him on the web at oo There, at the ends of the earth, they will www.julianstockwin.com. cc be forced to face their deepest fears and kk prove themselves against all odds ww ii nn McBooks Press, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-59013-120-6 52400 JJuulliiaann SSttoocckkwwiinn Ithaca, New York M www.mcbooks.com PrcB Cover painting by Geoff Hunt. Cover designed by Panda Musgrove. eo so 9 781590131206 sks C o m m a n d A Kydd Sea Adventure The Kydd Sea Adventures, by Julian Stockwin Kydd Artemis Seaflower Mutiny Quarterdeck Tenacious Command The Admiral’s Daughter Julian Stockwin C o m m a n d A Kydd Sea Adventure McBooks Press, Inc. Ithaca, New York Published by McBooks Press 2008 Copyright © 2006 by Julian Stockwin First published in Great Britain in 2006 by Hodder and Stoughton A division of Hodder Headline All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher. Requests for such permissions should be addressed to McBooks Press, Inc., ID Booth Building, 520 North Meadow St., Ithaca, NY 14850. Cover painting by Geoff Hunt. Cover and text design: Panda Musgrove. The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Stockwin, Julian. Command : a Kydd sea adventure / by Julian Stockwin. p. cm. ISBN: 978-1-59013-120-6 (alk. paper) 1. Kydd, Thomas (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History, Naval— 18th century—Fiction. 3. Seafaring life—Fiction. I. Title. PR6119.T66C66 2007 823’.92—dc22 2006030102 Visit the McBooks Press website at www.mcbooks.com. Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To do great things is difficult, but to command great things is more difficult— Friedrich Nietzsche Chapter 1 “Damn you, sir! You have set my standing orders to defiance and made Tenacious a spectacle before the Fleet. How dare you attempt an excuse for your conduct?” Captain Rowley’s words could be heard right across the quarterdeck, even above the streaming rain and bluster of the filthy weather. “Sir. M’ respects, but I judged it t’ be—” “Judge? It’s not your place to judge, Mr Kydd! No, sir! It is your sworn duty to ensure my orders are strictly obeyed. All of them—and most especially my written orders.” Rowley’s nostrils flared. “And this is not the first time I have had the disagreeable necessity of remonstrating with you concerning your conduct since I have come aboard.” “Sir, this is—” “Enough!” Rowley shouted. “You, sir, have tried my patience too far.” Kydd’s stomach tightened. “You are now confined to your cabin until such time as the commander-in-chief is informed of your conduct and you have answered for it.” At the words, shocked faces turned: the place for a captain to discipline an officer was the great cabin, not on deck within ear- shot of the entire watch. “Aye aye, sir,” Kydd said thickly, and clapped on his sodden cocked hat. The die was now irrevocably cast: Captain Rowley  Julian Stockwin was taking it further, to the august Admiral Keith, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet. Kydd turned stiffly and went below. This probably signalled the end of his naval career. Rage washed over him. It was not so much the shame and futility, but the unfairness that of all the ghosts from his past it had been Rowley who had come back to haunt him. After the fearsome battle of the Nile two years ago Kydd had distinguished himself in Minorca and at the siege of Acre, then gone on to un- eventful but steady service in Tenacious at the long blockade of Toulon, rising from fourth to second lieutenant under the cautious but fair Captain Faulkner. He had done well for himself, building experience and confidence, but now his hopes for substantial ad- vancement in the fullness of time were crushed. When Rowley had stepped aboard as the new captain of Tenacious, he seemed shocked to find Kydd among the officers. The last time he had seen him was on the night the famous frig- ate Artemis had struck rocks in the Azores; Kydd had been acting quartermaster at the conn and he the officer of the watch. At the subsequent court of inquiry Kydd had been prepared to testify against him but, with other seaman survivors, had been hastily shipped out to the Caribbean as an embarrassment. Rowley, clearly troubled by Kydd’s presence on this new ship, had reacted by making his life aboard Tenacious more and more difficult. It had been a hard time for Kydd and now it had come to a head. Kydd bunched his fists as he relived the incident that had given Rowley the excuse to act. A squally spring north-westerly in the early hours of Kydd’s morning watch had obliged him to shorten sail to topsails. He had duly sent notice of his action to the cap- tain, in accordance with standing orders, then had employed the watch-on-deck to work mast by mast, leaving the watch below to their sleep. A bell or two before the end of the watch, the squall had eased.