"Good God, man!" Hugh Elliot exclaimed, springing to his feet. "Are you sure of this?"
"Indeed I am. I had it from the Czarina Catherine's own lips."
"Then we are undone!" The Minister's face showed acute alarm, as he hurried on. "Prince Charles of Hesse-Cassel and the young Crown Prince of Denmark have been in Norway for weeks past raising an army there. They are said to have mustered twenty thousand men, and are expected to march against Stockholm any day now. But if they march south Gothenborg will fall to them without a blow, and with it will founder all hope of Sweden proving the buckler of the Triple Alliance in the north."
"Why so, Sir?" asked Roger, utterly astounded.
"Because Gothenborg is Sweden's greatest commercial city. Its loss will deprive Gustavus of more than half his supplies of war-like stores, and his credit will be ruined. Seeing his cause so utterly lost his discontented nobles will then declare openly against him and force him from the throne. His overthrow would so strengthen Russia, Austria, France and Spain that the security of every other country in Europe would be menaced.
Hugh Elliot paused for a second, then added with swift decision. "This Danish plan will render the King's position desperate, but speedy news of it may yet enable him to save himself. 'Tis imperative that you should leave instantly to carry a warning to Stockholm."
CHAPTER XX
FOR THE HONOUR OF ENGLAND
"HOLD fast, Sir!" Roger exckimed. "I'd gladly oblige you, but to journey into Sweden at a moment's notice is more than I can undertake."
"Why so?" Elliot shot at him. "Despite your extraordinary experiences in Russia you have survived them looking monstrous fit. What is there to prevent you setting out immediately I have made the necessary arrangements?"
"The fact that I brought my wife out of Russia with me. She is awaiting my return at the Silver Hart; but we lie there for two nights only, then rejoin the ship that is carrying us to England."
"Then you must tell her that duty detains you here, and that you will follow her as soon as you are able."
"Nay, Sir. That is impossible. How can I send her, a Russian, who as yet can only speak a few words of English, alone to a strange land where she knows no one?"
"Then let her remain in Copenhagen. I will see to it that she is well cared for; you should be back here within a week."
Roger shook his head. "To require that I should desert her after being married less than a fortnight is asking too much. Besides, she knows nothing of my work. In fact I have not even broken it to her yet that I am an Englishman. How could I possibly explain my leaving her so suddenly?"
"That is deuced awkward," muttered the Minister. "But we will think of a way to get over it. I can only repeat that I consider it imperative that you should carry this warning to Stockholm with the least possible delay."
"Why myself and not another?"
"Because you alone can vouch for the truth of the news you bring, and convince Gustavus of his peril."
"I'd do it readily, Sir, but for the appalling implications arising from my marriage. My wife has as great a love for her country as we have for ours. Think of the state to which she would be reduced were I to confess that, having wooed and married her under the guise of a Frenchman, I am English, and all this time have been secretly a servant of the British crown."
Elliot shrugged his narrow shoulders. "I sympathise with your predicament, Mr. Brook; but, in any event, you will be compelled to reveal your nationality to her when you get her to England. And, since you have mentioned your love for your country, I must appeal to you on that."
He paused then went on very earnestly. "It is but fair that I should reveal to you the true state of affairs; and I vow it has near turned my hair grey with worry during recent weeks. Since your departure from Copenhagen the Government at home have at last seen the sense in my reiterated arguments, that the only way to prevent the Czarina Catherine from turning the Baltic into a Russian lake is for Britain to give active support to Gustavus in his war against her. This being agreed by the Cabinet, they have, through me, secretly promised him this help in the form of a Fleet to be sent to his assistance. That was months ago; yet, owing to dissensions in our parliament, and Mr. Fox's opposition, nothing has been done. I have had to sit here, watching the situation of the Swedes go from bad to worse, turning a deaf ear to their appeals and unable to lift a finger to aid them. If King Gustavus is finally overcome and compelled to abdicate, not only will our plan for mamtaining Sweden as the outpost of the Triple Alliance in the north be brought to nought but it will leave an indelible stain on British honour. Gustavus is a man of great resolution and resource. Even at this eleventh-hour, if warned in time, he may devise a means" of cheating his enemies. But you and I alone have the combined authority and knowledge to place new weapons in his hands. Now, Mr. Brook! Will you, or will you not, accompany me to Sweden?"
"Accompany you, Sir!" Roger repeated in surprise. " 'Tis the first that you have said of going thence yourself."
The tall Scotsman smiled at him. "I took the resolution only in these last few moments. But desperate situations require desperate remedies. Although I am accredited to the court of Denmark, I am also charged with a watching brief over British interests at the court of Sweden as long as the post there remains unoccupied. We are far from London and despite my appeals no guidance has been forthcoming from my Lord Carmarthen. The step I contemplate may mean the premature ending of my career, but since our Government hesitates to fulfil its obligations, 'tis all the more fitting that their representative should stand beside the King of Sweden in his hour of trial. If they repudiate me afterwards at least I'll have the satisfaction of having saved my own honour."
"Well said, Sir!" exclaimed Roger. "Then I'll go with you! Though God alone knows how I'll account for my projected absence to Mistress Brook. But stay! Since you are now resolved on going yourself, and will be able to acquaint the King with the Danish plan, surely 'tis no longer essential that I should quit my wife and thus embroil myself with her?"
"I fear it is," replied the Minister. "You seem to have overlooked the fact that I am accredited to both Courts. As His Majesty's representative here I cannot betray the Danish plans to Sweden, or vice versa. The retailing of the news you have brought is your affair and, officially, I must know nothing of it. My reason for going is to show Gustavus that Britain has not totally deserted him; and, if I can, concert means with him to persuade the Danes to cease hostilities."
"Surely that would be well-nigh impossible?"
"It certainly appears so; but at least I can make the attempt, and as I have a foot in both camps I am well placed to do so."
Roger saw that, having committed himself in a moment of enthusiasm for Hugh Elliot's fine integrity, he could not possibly back down now; but he was at his wit's end how to break the news to Natalia Andreovna. He had known all along that before they reached England he would have to disclose his real identity, but while they were cruising down the Baltic he had let sleeping dogs lie, in the belief that he would still have ample time after they left Copenhagen to consider how to do so with the least chance of disrupting their good relations.
But now he was called on to tell her as much of the truth as was essential without any preparation. Whatever he said must come as a grave shock to her, and to make matters worse, he would be unable to remain with her afterwards to soften the effects of the blow.
Elliot guessed from Roger's worried look what was passing in his mind, so he said quietly: "Why, instead of returning to have an explanation with your wife, do you not leave a letter for her. 'Tis not, I admit, the bravest course in such a situation, but as the proverb has it, 'discretion is oft the better part' of valour'."
"I could do that," Roger murmured uneasily, "providing she gets the letter speedily. Otherwise she will begin to fear that some accident has befallen me."
"She shall have it within the hour, I promise you. Come, now. Sit down at my table and write it while I ride over to th
e Reventlows. You will remember spending a Sunday with them when you were here before. The Count owns a splendid sea-going yacht, and I feel sure that he will lend it to us for our journey. We'll make better time going by sea than over land to Stockholm. I shall also speak to the Countess of the straits in which duty compels you to leave Mrs. Brook, and I can vouch for it that your wife will be well taken care of."
"So be it," agreed Roger, sitting down. "To slide out thus from dancing to the music now the tune is called goes all against the grain; but as a man of your courage recommends it, that salves my conscience to some extent. 'Twill not quiet my anxieties during our absence, for I shall be fretting to know how my wife has sustained the impact of learning the deceit that I have practised upon her; but since our departure must be immediate 'tis perhaps better that I should leave without her reproaches and abuse ringing in my ears."
"You intend, then, to tell her that you are an Englishman?"
"Yes. It would but make matters worse to continue to hide under my French nom-de-guerreand pretend that I am deserting her on account of some business connected with that nation; for that, at no distant date, would prove one more deceit that I should be hard put to it to justify. I pray you tell the truth to Countess Reventlow, and tender my apologies to her for having accepted her hospitality under a false nationality.
The diplomat nodded. "I will take full responsibility for that, and am confident that she will not hold it against you. As for the rest, while we are in Sweden your wife will have time to calm her thoughts, and on your return she may prove much more amenable than had you thrown this bombshell into her lap yourself."
Comforted a little by this last suggestion Roger wryly smiled goodbye to his host and sat down to compose his letter. For some moments he chewed the end of the quill, made three false starts, and, finally, wrote as follows:
My dearest love,
I have to crave your forgiveness upon two matters which will, I fear, come as a severe shock to you; but I pray that you will do your best to give them your sympathetic understanding and accept my assurance that the duplicity which circumstances have forced me to practise in no way affects the depths of my feelings for you.
In the first place I must disclose that my real name is Roger Brook, and that I am the son of an English Admiral. Having acquired in my upbringing some knowledge of maritime matters I was requested, during my tour of the Northern capitals, to make an investigation into the sea-trade carried on by our commercial rivals, the French, in the Baltic ports, and to report upon it on my return.
The suggestion that I should combine the mission with what was originally intended to be a tour, undertaken solely for education and pleasure, arose from the fact that I had already spent some years in France, and that during the latter part of my sojourn in that country, it had often amused me to pass myself off as a Frenchman.
Obviously, to assume that role again opened to me better prospects of carrying out my mission than I should have otherwise enjoyed. In consequence, on my arrival in Copenhagen last April the British Minister here, Mr. Hugh Elliot, introduced me into Danish society as M. le Chevalier de Breuc, and I naturally journeyed on to Stockholm and Petersburg in that role.
I suppose that when I first fell in love with you I ought to have confided my secret to you; but as we then had no thought of marrying it did not seem essential to me that I should do so. Then, later, the circumstances of our marriage were so unusual that I was denied the opportunity of revealing the matter before the ceremony.
I intended, of course, to acquaint you with the facts before we reached England; but I was so very happy during our recent voyage, that a cowardly, and I trust, unjustified fear of marring our bliss by this disclosure caused me to postpone an explanation with you.
And now, with the utmost reluctance and distress, I must acquaint you with my second disclosure. On my reporting to Mr. Elliot, this afternoon, the results of my mission to date, he seized upon my coming to request that I would undertake another matter for him. 'Tis, in short, that I should set out instantly to carry a despatch for him to Stockholm.
None of his usual couriers are, at the moment, available;and he considers it essential that the document he wishes to send should go by the hand of someone in whom he can place implicit trust. Moreover, it is of the utmost urgency. Despite my pleas that it was unreasonable to ask me to interrupt our honeymoon, he insisted that I had been sent to him by Heaven in his extremity; so I could not find it in myself to refuse.
I shall be gone only the inside of a week, and during my absence Mr, Elliot is arranging for the Countess Reventlow to introduce you into Danish society and see that you lack for nothing. Meanwhile I send you the key of our money chest, and do assure you that I shall be thinking only of the moment when I can rejoin you.
I beg you, my dear love, to think of me with such forbearance and kindness as you can. And should the least doubt linger in your mind as to my complete devotion to you, I pray you to recall that it was at my own solicitation that we were remarried in the English church at Petersburg. The vows which I took there remain my most cherished memory, and you may rest assured of my intention to honour them for all my days.
Your greatly distressed but most loving husband.
ROGER BROOK.
Having finished the letter Roger read it through and was moderately pleased with it. He regretted having to tell her two new lies, but that was unavoidable, as the real truth involved Mr. Pitt and therefore had to remain secret. The cover-story that he had invented to explain his having masqueraded as a Frenchman was a partial admission that he was a secret agent; but the inference was that he had been concerned only in ferreting out the secrets of the French, and to that, he felt, Natalia Andreovna could take no serious exception.
After addressing the missive and sealing it with a wafer he remained sitting moodily at title desk for a further quarter of an hour; then Hugh Elliot came hurrying in.
"Cheer up, man!" he cried, giving Roger a friendly slap on the shoulder. "You are in nowhere near so serious a scrape as some in which it seems you got yourself while in Russia; and all goes excellently. I found the Reventlows at home, and on my telling the Count that I desired to get swiftly to Stockholm to see if I could not act as a mediator between the two warring nations he readily agreed to lend me his yacht."
"And the Countess?" Roger inquired.
"She is the sweetest creature, and I knew that we could count upon her. I said that for the negotiations I hope to set on foot 'twas essential that I should take with me a trustworthy companion to act as secretary or confidential messenger when the need arose. The moment I told her of my intention to tear you from your bride she volunteered at once to take her into her own home during your absence. She ordered her carriage and, having accompanied me back here, is now sitting in it outside. You have but to give her your letter and she will drive with it into the city, to deliver it with her own hand and comfort Mrs. Brook when she learns its contents."
"I ain indeed grateful," Roger said more cheerfully. Then he went out to renew his acquaintance with the Countess and thank her personally for her kindness. .
Since there was nothing more that he could do about Natalia, he endeavoured to put her out of his mind while Hugh Elliot brought him up to date with events in Copenhagen. At four o'clock they sat down to dinner, and over it he gave the Minister a more detailed version of all that had befallen him in Stockholm and St. Petersburg. Then at five o'clock they prepared to set out for the harbour. Roger had come ashore wearing his sword, but otherwise he had only the clothes he stood up in, so his companion packed some extra shirts and stockings into his valise.
In the meantime Count Reventlow had sent a message to the captain of his yacht to collect his crew and prepare the ship for sea; so when the two Englishmen went aboard they found the long low craft all but ready to set sail. By seven o'clock the last hamper of fresh provisions had been stowed away and the anchor was weighed.
Soon after midnight the
y were challenged off the island of Born-holm by a warship of the Russo-Danish squadron, which was now operating in the Southern Baltic, again and next morning, as they headed north through Calmar Sound, by a Swedish frigate; but, in deference to Mr. Elliot's presence on board, the yacht was flying the British flag, so, as a neutral, she was allowed to pass on her way. The weather was cold but fine and the beautiful little ship scudded along at a fine pace, bringing them safely to Stockholm a little before mid-day on Friday, the 21st, only forty-one hours after she had left Copenhagen.
At such a time of crisis it seemed more probable that Gustavus would be with his army than at his palace out at Drottingsholm, so on landing, at Roger's suggestion, they went straight to the house of Prebendary Nordin, to ascertain the King's whereabouts.
They found the Prebendary at home and were shown up at once to the book-lined room in which Roger had had his fateful interview with the Swedish King. Nordin's surprise at seeing Mr. Elliot was only equalled by his joy. Rising from his desk he said with a grave smile:
"Your Excellency finds us in most dire straits; but even if you bring bad news it will be more than counterbalanced by the effect of your presence among us."
"I thank you, Sir," Elliot replied, "and only trust that your hope may be justified. Having formed the opinion that the only chance of saving Sweden is to arrange an immediate accommodation with the Danes I am come to offer my services as mediator should His Majesty be pleased to accept them."
"His Majesty has never doubted your Excellency's kind intentions towards us," said the Prebendary a shade uncomfortably. "But unfortunately your Government has so far shown no signs of implementing the promises you have made on its behalf. Therefore, 'tis only fair to tell you that, seeing his affairs in so critical a state, His Majesty has recently contemplated renewing his old friendship with France, and asking King Louis to endeavour to arrange an accommodation between him and his enemies."
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