King's Ransom. William Speir

just sailed. She’ll be a bit crowded for the crossing, but the trip home will be more comfortable.”

      “Good. I just started telling Captain Hastings here about his mission, but I wanted you here before we went over on the details.”

      Harry hid his confusion. Clearly, this secret mission was important, and he was excited and honored that it was being entrusted to him. He sat quietly and waited, knowing that Shovell and Leicester would fill him in when they were ready.

      “Captain Hastings,” Shovell said as he and Leicester sat down, “as I said before, you’ve been chosen for a specific mission. It will take you far from home for a long time. You’ll be cut off from the Admiralty to a great extent and forced to handle things using your own initiative. Given the nature of the mission and the demands it will place on you and your men, the crew has been specifically selected to complete the mission with as great a chance of success as we can arrange. You must never discuss your orders with anyone outside this room – with the exception of your crew and the individuals who just sailed a short while ago. They’re part of the mission as well, and they’re also under your direct command. In total, almost 350 men will be reporting to you, both on sea and on land.”

      “Land, sir?” Harry asked, surprised.

      “Yes, land. You’re going to need a base of operations to supply, refit, and replace what you need, including crewmembers. No port will be a friendly port where you’re going, so you’re going to have to build your own.”

      “No friendly ports? Where am I going?”

      Leicester pointed to a map on the wall. “The Americas.”

      “But, sir, we have a number of colonies in the Americas. Why wouldn’t they be considered friendly ports?”

      “Let us fill you in on the entire plan, and then you can ask all the questions you want,” Shovell said.

      Harry nodded silently, and Shovell continued.

      “Captain Hastings, we’re on the verge of another war with France. Even though a new treaty has been signed to avert war, His Majesty doesn’t believe it will work. France has its sights set on the Spanish colonies in the Americas. With their wealth, Louis could wage war for years – possibly even achieving victory this time. And we don’t want the ‘Old Pretender’ King James or his Catholic son returned to the throne – French puppet or not.”

      “Our concern is the Spanish treasure fleets,” Leicester interjected. “It’s bad enough that Charles is amassing all that wealth from his colonies, but if the French get their hands on it, it could be real trouble for England. We need to seriously disrupt the flow of treasure from the Americas to Spain and France.”

      “This is where things get complicated,” Shovell continued. “We need to capture or sink as many treasure ships as possible, as well as their escort ships. We’re sending you and your crew over there to do just that.”

      “Correct me if I’m wrong, sir, but isn’t that what we have privateers doing already?”

      “Yes it is,” Shovell replied. “But they can only do so much. They’re only equipped to raid on smaller merchant ships – not the large treasure ships or their military escort ships.”

      “But if I attack a French or Spanish Navy escort, sir, won’t I be committing an act of war? We’re not at war yet, are we?”

      “No, we’re not at war yet, but it’s coming. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but soon. And yes, if a warship sailing under the English flag attacks a warship flying the French or Spanish flag, it will be committing an act of war. That’s why the French and Spanish cannot know you’re an English Navy frigate.”

      “How do I prevent that, sir?”

      “You won’t be sailing under the English ensign or jack, Captain. You’ll be sailing under the black flag.”

      “Pirates?” Harry said, rising to his feet. “You’re ordering me to engage in piracy?”

      “Sit down, Captain Hastings, and let us finish telling you the plan,” Leicester said calmly.

      Harry’s mind was racing as he sat down. The English Navy did not engage in piracy and did not attack the ships of other nations except during times of war. Harry couldn’t believe what he had just been told, and he fought to keep his face from betraying the outrage he felt at his orders.

      His two superiors smiled at him. “Confidentially, we had the exact same reaction when we heard the plan, Captain,” Shovell said. “But in the end we agreed there was no choice. We need time to prepare for the next war. We need the treasure diverted to England to help us pay for our preparations. We need to delay the start of the war by denying the treasure to France and Spain so they can’t pay for their own preparations. And we need a captain who can carry out this mission for the king and the country. Do we have one?”

      Harry stared at the two admirals without answering. He had no love for either the French or the Spanish, but raiding their shipping without a declaration of war seemed wrong. There was no honor in it, and he always considered himself an honorable man.

      As he sat there, deep in thought, he saw the necessity for what he had been told. He understood the need to prepare for war while denying the enemy the means to also prepare for war. His efforts could save countless English lives and potentially shorten the coming war considerably.

      Looking at Shovell, he nodded slowly, still not sure he liked the idea.

      Shovell continued. “Good. We need to do everything we can to distance England from your activities over there. Your ship lies at anchor on the far western end of the harbor. You and your crew will board the ship at night, throw the post watch overboard – unharmed of course – and sail off with the ship, making it look like you stole it. The French spies in Portsmouth will report back that one of our frigates was stolen. We’ll pretend that you decided to take the ship to the Mediterranean, and we’ll send a squadron after you the next day. Those captains won’t know of your mission and will be chasing you. You’ll head for the Americas, so the squadron will never find you. Your ship is a totally new design, so it won’t be recognizable as an English frigate when you reach the Americas.”

      “You’ll set up your base here,” Leicester said, pointing to the map. “It’s an island in the Bahamas called Cat Island. It’s uninhabited, and the southern coast has a defensible position. You’ll have to be careful, though. The island of New Providence is nearby, and that’s where a number of pirates and privateers make port. You’re not to interact with them at all, do you understand? You’ll avoid attacking our privateers unless necessary, but privateers from other countries and all pirates are fair game. Engage and sink them at your discretion.”

      “The whole point of this deception is to make it look like there’s a new pirate threat in the Americas that has nothing to do with England,” Shovell said in a low voice. “You’ll attack whatever French and Spanish treasure ships you deem practicable, whatever French and Spanish warships you believe you can sink or capture, and even the occasional Dutch merchant if the right opportunity presents itself. You may occasionally engage English warships in the area, but you’ll make no attempt to sink them or cause serious damage. We’ll spread the word that English merchant ships are also being attacked and sunk so our enemies won’t think we’re behind all this.

      “Most pirates allow the crews of captured ships the opportunity to join the pirate crew, as opposed to being thrown overboard, set adrift, or beached. You cannot do this. The crews of foreign ships cannot be trusted. I’m not saying you’re to kill the captured crews, but you must appear to be ruthless in your dealings with your captives.”

      “Now, here’s another interesting point to all of this,” Leicester said. “You and your men will maintain fortifications on Cat Island. Your land forces and extra crewmembers are onboard the Seven Provinces, which sailed already. They’ll get there a few days before you and begin setting up the camp and defenses. You’ll have a number of cannons, but you might