Raging Rajahs (Man of Conflict Series, Book 2)

by Andrew Wareham

  The Brigadier immediately concluded that Colonel Horncastle was an old fool, for he had been moaning in his ear that Major Pearce was a liability to the regiment. He called Horncastle to his presence.

  “I noticed, Colonel Horncastle, that Major Reynold’s detachment, with you present and in command, experienced a number of difficulties in keeping the peace in the western districts. Indeed, I understand that you had to strip Major Pearce of a number of his men to come to your aid.”

  “The command was Major Reynolds’, of course, sir. I was present to observe him in the field, as it were.”

  “Nonsense, sir! Tosh and balderdash! How can a major have command when his colonel is present at his side? I am most disappointed in you, sir!”

  Colonel Horncastle had no answer, but he felt the Brigadier was being unfair to him.

  “Fair, sir? Fair? We are not schoolgirls to be arguing what is or is not fair! We are soldiers, to do a man’s work and play the man’s part, sir!”

  Colonel Horncastle wilted, but he was sure it was not his fault.

  “You will call the Hampshires to their weekly parade, Colonel Horncastle and there, on Friday next, you will inform the men of the Governor’s thanks for their good work. You will then publicly pass to Major Pearce the Governor’s commendation of his efforts which protected the Company’s interests from all harm.”

  The colonel was outraged, and had to bottle up his resentment. He could not say a word, other than to convey his thanks to be passed to the Governor for honouring his people in such fashion.

  Colonel Horncastle sat over a brandy bottle for hours that night, seeking a way out of the humiliating position he was now in. He was certain that the clerks in the office next to his must have heard Major Pearce’s outburst and the insult he had offered, and which he had supinely acquiesced in. They must have started to talk already. The whisper would be out – ‘Horncastle’s yellow. He’s got no balls’.

  He could not offer a challenge to Major Pearce – the Military Code did not permit an officer to go out with his immediate junior. He had already backed away from a court-martial and it was too late to choose to call one now. He had no close acquaintance who could offer insult to the Major as his proxy, and that would attract little respect in any case.

  He could discover that he was unwell and go to half-pay and take ship to England, but he was not a rich man and did not fancy an existence of genteel poverty on nine shillings a day, paid anything up to two years in arrears. It was not impossible that he might transfer to the Company’s service, not in their armies but as a civilian official earning more than a thousand a year and living high off the hog in India for the remainder of his existence. He decided to broach the topic to Mrs Colonel.

  Septimus had no concerns – he was respected in the whole community, even more so for his firm hand in putting down the rioters. Every merchant had been fearful for his warehouses and had expressed his relief publicly that none had been lost; they all knew why, as well.

  “Came down ‘is bloody self and looked us over and then went back and told they gold-braided buggers what ‘e’d got to have guns, so ‘e did!”

  Aynscow’s voice was not genteel, but it was loud and was heard by all who counted in the city. They all knew who was the source of activity in the Hampshires, and Burtonshawe backed that opinion in the Governor’s Council.

  “We should make a clearance along the edge of the commercial district, Your Excellency, Major Pearce was not at all convinced that it is wise to have the settlements of the peasantry actually backing up against the warehouses and office buildings. He is, as you know, a most able young man, possessed of intellects as well as a belt of pistols!”

  There was a general chuckle – enough of those present had seen the Major in full fig to appreciate the comment.

  “When I was a young fellow, Mr Burtonshawe, my esteemed father would say to me, ‘Charles, do not keep a dog and bark’. I am not to refer to the Major as a dog – far from it – but he has given his knowledgeable opinion and I for one will not gainsay him. A cleared passage of at least fifty yards width would be wise, I think, sir. Let it be taken in hand.”

  The Council murmured their agreement; it was an obviously wise move.

  They passed to other concerns, high among them the need to maintain order in the future.

  “Policemen, Your Excellency, to stop the riots as they start. Better far than to crush them and then face days of idleness with no workers turning up of a morning. I still have not a full complement in my warehouses, sir.”

  “They would have to be foreigners to Bombay, Your Excellency – local men would favour their own.”

  The two merchants reflected the opinion of the whole Council – a Police Force would be a good idea but they would not be able to find trustworthy policemen.

  “Do we know how many died in the riots?”

  Burtonshawe, who had found no reason to repeat the obvious in the debate on policing, stood up and read from a list of figures.

  “Known to be dead, Your Excellency, bodies counted as they went to burial or burning, twelve thousand, three hundred and sixty two. Of those, just over nine thousand were women or children. Uncounted and dumped in the sea or thrown into communal pits, an estimate says about ten thousand, the bulk of them Muslim families. A fair guess is that nearly twenty-five thousand died and probably as many again fled the city. One mission was destroyed, all in it dead, including a pair of German missionaries. The two were the only white men to be killed. It is believed that the Parsee community was untouched on this occasion, due to their location away from the seat of the riots. The Jews were also unscathed.”

  “Not as bad as last time, Mr Burtonshawe.”

  “Not by ten thousand, Your Excellency, probably because the main mob was dispersed at a very early stage in the proceedings. The guns and the Hampshires, Your Excellency, proved to be most effective.”

  “Very good, Mr Burtonshawe. My despatches to the Governor-General will make that point.”

  Man of Conflict Series

  BOOK TWO

  Chapter Eight

  Bombay fell into a period of quiet reflection, even the streets apparently less noisy. The old hands said it was always the same after an outbreak of rioting. They thought it was the case that the sensible, mild forces among the Hindus took power from the hotheads and kept their people in check - until the next time that a revolutionary movement rose among them.

  "Always the same, Major Pearce. If the redcoats are lucky and kill off the leaders of the insurrection then it will be ten or twenty years until the next one. If it's only the spear-carriers who go down then there will be another set of riots next year. The word we have this time is that the second time the guns opened fire, on the bunch of a few hundred who seemed lost, they killed every last one of the major trouble-makers and most of their bodyguard. Not less than ten years of peace this time, sir. An even better result than we had believed!"

  Mr Burtonshawe was almost beside himself with delight; he had been present at the fortuitous moment and shared in its glory.

  "It's religion that's the problem, of course, Major Pearce! It always is with these damned people. If they just had the sense to be Church of England and put their guinea in the plate at Christmas and forget about it for the rest of the year, then they'd all be better off. You don't see our C of E vicars going out and killing by the ten thousand!"

  Septimus gravely agreed - these strange little brown people really did not know what was what.

  Burtonshawe turned to more important matters - if the Indians did not care how many of their own folk they killed, why should he bother himself?

  "Next year, we are told, Major Pearce, in the year Three, we shall advance upon the Marathas and end their troubling. The negotiations have been started again and they have changed their ground once more. The agreements made last year are no longer to be binding they say, as being only an interim set of measures to hold pending a final settlement of their rights and duties
in the new order of India."

  "What does that mean?"

  "Nothing at all, sir! It means simply that they think they can win when it comes to war, as it inevitably must. Probably they have French officers training their people; certainly they will have cast more guns and bought more muskets and they will have strengthened their alliances, or so they believe."

  Septimus picked up the undertones in Burtonshawe's statement.

  "We have subverted some of those alliances, I presume, sir."

  "Probably, Major Pearce. It depends on how dependable the traitors are - and that must always be a moot question! Can you trust a man who is betraying his own people? I suspect it depends on how much we have to offer."

  "Another man's city and lands; money; a garrison of redcoats; a title and a place for his heirs?"

  "All of those things, sir, and probably more besides. An army of his own, to be trained by us and to be allied and to fight at our side, with a share of the lands we conquer in the future. Semi-independence guaranteed for generations, rather than a probability of conquest and humiliation; there is more than one interested party, I understand. You will discover for yourself, of course, your battalion must be called upon to join the army after your performance here, sir."

  Septimus made the noises of gratitude and noted to himself that killing a dozen or fewer trouble-makers and burning half of a village in England had almost destroyed his career; butchering several hundreds and burning a thousand houses in Bombay had made him anew. Indian and English lives were of different value, it seemed.

  "Of course, Major Pearce, your battalion is short of men, but there is a solution to that problem - the Governor has the matter in hand."

  Septimus could not imagine how the Governor could find private soldiers out of thin air - there was no source of recruits in India, not for a King's Regiment. The whole reason for bringing King's Regiments half way round the world to India was that they were entirely made up of British men and were willing to open fire on the Company's battalions of Indians if that need should ever arise; they could not risk diluting that British loyalty by recruiting Indians to their ranks.

  A month into the Dry Season and Colonel Horncastle stiffly informed Septimus that he was in process of selling out. He had been offered, and had accepted, a position with the Company in Madras; he was to be a senior advisor to the Governor on military matters, particularly on the arming and drilling of the Company Army. He was to take up his position with immediate effect.

  "The Governor here, Major Pearce, has been highly cooperative and has opened the way for me to take up my new place. He has arranged for quarters and for a movement order in the most flattering fashion, sir!"

  Septimus was glad to hear that the Governor had such respect for the colonel.

  "When do you go, sir?"

  "Tomorrow, Major Pearce."

  "Too short a period to organise a parade for you, sir. We do not dine-in tonight, sir, so we can hardly arrange a farewell in the Mess."

  "I am aware of that, Major Pearce. You will have to inform the Mess of your temporary rise to command in some other fashion, sir. I have no doubt that the Governor will beg for a new colonel to come out as quickly as may be."

  He might beg, Septimus reflected, but he doubted that a purchaser for a battalion in India would quickly be found. Unless, of course, he was to send back to England himself... it was earlier by far than he had imagined making his own purchase, but in the circumstances it might be possible. The money was no problem, after all. He would dip his toe in the water; a visit to Mr Burtonshawe and a quiet enquiry as to the Governor's view of him doing such a thing. There was no rule to prevent him making the purchase, it would be impossible to stop him, but he would have an uncomfortable life if the authorities did not approve; it was amazing just how many nasty jobs and postings could be found for an unpopular battalion.

  He glanced at his watch, decided it was too late in the day to take any action; he needed to be at home with Marianne who was not having an easy time with her pregnancy. She had succumbed to a fever towards the end of the Monsoon and had not wholly regained her strength, though she had kept the baby, which she was thankful for. Many an Englishwoman had miscarried during a fever - it was perhaps more common than not - and she had been most upset at the prospect and was even now inclined to worry. The medical profession had little to offer in the way of advice and less of useful medicine - they had both decided that she should not be bled, no matter how much they suggested that taking a pint a week would reduce the humours.

  She knew his news already - Mrs Colonel had paid her a courtesy visit that morning to bid her farewell.

  "She is very pleased, husband, for they are to earn more than a thousand a year and will have a few yards aboard an Indiaman each convoy. With a little of proper organisation she says that they may make another thousand in trading for themselves, or five hundred by selling their space to another."

  "He will make a better merchant than a soldier, I doubt not, my dear. I must take advice on my own course over the next few days. Should I seek to purchase the vacancy, do you think?"

  Marianne had asked that question.

  "Mrs Colonel thought that you would not, sir. There are gentlemen on the Governor's staff who might be given the position by brevet, or even by purchase, though that is less likely. Should they take the office then they would depend on you, positively leaning upon your shoulder, and you may be sure that they would remember you with gratitude during your career. That is almost word for word what she said to me, Septimus."

  To what extent could he trust the colonel's wife? She was an intelligent woman, probably more so than her husband, and was certainly no clinging vine, depending upon her man for her whole existence. He would definitely beg Mr Burtonshawe's opinion.

  "Whatever happens, it will take weeks, possibly months to eventuate. There is no great hurry as there will be no campaign till the Year Three is upon us."

  "By which time we shall again be proud parents, sir. Three more months is all!"

  "The driest months of the year as well - by far the most comfortable!"

  Colonel Horncastle vacated his office and his quarters next morning and took ship in the afternoon - all arranged days, possibly weeks in advance and with never a word to the battalion. It was ill-mannered at best, furtive at worst, and the majority of people much preferred to believe the worst of anybody. Rumours, most of them scurrilous, spread within the day.

  The officers dined-in next evening, Septimus at the head of the table, still wearing major's crowns, as all noticed. He stood immediately after the Loyal Toast.

  "Ladies, gentlemen, may I beg your indulgence for discussing battalion matters at table?"

  He was fairly certain they would have been outraged had he left them longer in the dark, but he had to observe the courtesies.

  "Colonel Horncastle has left the regiment and has taken up on a flattering offer from the Governor of Madras, a significant promotion in effect." There was not the least prospect of their believing that, but he had to make the gesture towards courtesy. "We are, I understand, to expect a new colonel in a few days, arranged by the Governor here. I am sure you will join me in welcoming the gentleman when he arrives, and will work with us in preparing the battalion for service in the field next year. I can assure you that the battalion is in good odour with the authorities and will have every opportunity to add extra laurels to its glorious record during the next set of campaigns."

  Septimus would have been very junior, in Indian terms particularly, had he become colonel. A Company colonel would have probably thirty years of service before reaching the top of the ladder by seniority. Septimus with only ten years in would have found it very difficult to make his voice heard without a political force behind him.

  Most of the subalterns were aware of the realities of Indian military existence. Those who were not would soon be told.

  Mr Burtonshawe had been most forthcoming when Septimus had applied to him, had explain
ed all and had indeed offered him the opportunity of a private interview with the Governor if he required such reassurance.

  "The thing is, Major Pearce, that the powers-that-be wished to avoid any suggestion of scandal. Both will deny the imputation publicly, but the Brigadier and the Major-General had come to doubt the fitness for command of Colonel Horncastle, fearing that he had become unenthusiastic in the field. They therefore made arrangements for the good colonel to take a position elsewhere. Was you to be breveted in his place then there might be knowing comment made by those who had heard talk that you had challenged the colonel's honour and there might have been rumour and upset for years, and the Company people might well have become inclined to mock the Kings'. The Governor's senior aide-de-camp, his cousin as well, Mr Vaughan, is a half-pay major of the Foot Guards, and has expressed his willingness to return to service with the Hampshires. He is to purchase, will be breveted the meanwhile. You will appreciate that a prolonged period of half-pay would not be good for his chances of a command in the field when he progresses to Major-General by seniority, so it is to his advantage."

  Burtonshawe drew a breath and leaned forwards to whisper confidentially, though they were in a closed office with no possible audience.

  "You will discover Colonel Vaughan to be out of the ordinary way of Guards officers, Major Pearce, and he will not attempt to turn the Hampshires into tin soldiers. He lacks experience in the field and will be willing indeed to ask your advice; it is the case in fact that he would only take the role because he knew of your experience and reputation. He was not entirely happy in the Guards and had been considering turning his talents towards the field of diplomacy, seeking a post as Military Attaché in one of the great embassies next; he had come here for a year or two with the Governor in furtherance of that aim. Now he will be able to postpone the choice, having the option to remain on the full-pay list. He will be able to use his many contacts in London and in India to the battalion's great advantage, sir."