Galleon (38 page)

“Yes, well, it’s the Spaniards, you see!”

“The
Spaniards
?” Ned exclaimed incredulously. “What about them?”

“They’re preparing to attack the island – and (as instructed by the Privy Council in London, I assure you) I have just paid off the Army who are, as you commented, dispersed like chaff on the wind. With all their back pay in their pockets there isn’t a hope of re-forming them.”

“They’re still wearing their uniforms,” Thomas said. “Those in the bars, anyway. Might be a different story in the brothels.”

“So what am I going to do?” Sir Harold asked desperately.

“These Spaniards,” Ned said. “Who are they? What ships are they coming in? Who sighted them and reported to you? When did you hear about it?”

By now Sir Harold was so distraught that he answered Ned’s last question, that being the only one he could remember. “The day before yesterday – the day before you came back. I’ve tried to keep it secret for the moment, to stop any panic. Just the bastions were warned to fire on ships.”

“Panic,” Ned said musingly. “With all the bars and bordellos full of your former Army, you couldn’t start a panic on the island even if you set fire to all the savanna and arranged a week of earthquakes. But who told you?”

“Oh, the master of a trading sloop from Santo Domingo. A smuggler, but well educated and well informed. I questioned him myself.”

“And what urgent information did he give you?”

“That the Spaniards have a powerful squadron at sea.” He paused a moment, like a small boy savouring the spasm of fear he had just experienced when picturing the ghost his imagination had summoned up. “Yes, a powerful squadron at sea. They have already captured one island and set fire to all the ships. It looks as though they are capturing the Windward Islands one by one and then the islands to leeward: they’ve always forbidden other countries to be here in the Caribbee. ‘No Peace Beyond the Line’, you know.”

“Yes,” Ned said. “I’ve heard the expression somewhere – in Portobelo, I seem to recall.”

“But Portobelo is Spanish?”

“Yes,” Ned said dreamily. “Full of mosquitoes, too. Never seen so many as there.”

Thomas coughed and said, as though apologetically: “Please excuse my friend’s nostalgia. The currency of Jamaica is the piece of eight – as a result of his raid on Portobelo…”

“Indeed,” Luce said absent-mindedly. “Well, I am sure we’re all grateful.”

“That ‘powerful squadron’,” Ned asked. “How many ships and how many troops?”

“Eight ships, my informant said, which I estimate would carry two thousand men – at least two thousand, probably more.”

Ned nodded in agreement. “Yes, if they started at the southern end and worked their way north, that could be the end of the English, French and Dutch in the Caribbee. Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba – probably started there (all the Dutch trade is based on Curaçao). Then Barbados, La Grenade (if the French own it, but I think it’s usually called Grenada), then St Vincent, St Lucia, Martinique, Dominica…dear me, I needn’t recite all the names because you must know them all. Bit of luck,” he commented, “that Jamaica’s the last in the line.”

“But that’s the point!” Sir Harold said excitedly. “They’ve taken the islands up to Porto Rico. Now there are just Spanish islands – Porto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba! Surrounding us they are, and the Spanish squadron bearing down on us. Why, didn’t you see any sign of it while you were at sea?”

Ned shook his head and turned to Thomas. “Did you see any sign of the Dons? Ships, smoking islands, boats full of refugees making for safety?”

“Not a thing,” Thomas said innocently. “Mind you, we weren’t looking for anything like that. After all, we’re only buccaneers and my men were just drinking and wenching. That reminds me, Ned, what shall we do with all those wenches? Can’t get any work out of my men while those wenches are on board.”

“I’d put ’em on shore,” Ned said judiciously. “This island is very short of wenches and–”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Sir Harold pleaded, “only this island stands against Spanish domination of the New World.”

“Probably not even this island by now,” Ned said sadly. “After all, the last we heard from England was that the King had agreed to give it back to the Spaniards as a sort of ‘thank you’ present for looking after him during part of his exile.”

“Yes, I’d forgotten that,” Thomas said, turning to Luce. “Looks as though you’ve lost your job and will soon lose your home. Still, I’m sure that as soon as you tell the Privy Council what’s happened they’ll find you somewhere else to stay. Unless you like England, of course. I find it rather cold, myself, but perhaps you wrap up and don’t mind it.”

Ned saw that Luce was about to burst into tears, fear fighting frustration for possession of his face. Was now the time?

“Your informant – did he mention any actual places attacked or taken by the Spanish?”

“Oh yes, he had all the details of one island and the ships. The Spanish put everything to the torch: the man said it will be years before the town can be rebuilt.”

“Where was it?”

“One of the northern islands. St Martin. Do you know it?”

“Yes,” Ned said gently. “Let me tell you about St Martin.”

Dates given are for first publication and (for Ramge series) year in which novel is set.

These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

Published by House of Stratus

Buccaneer It is the 1650's and Spain considers the Caribbean to be its own private sea. But England, Holland and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans set in days littered with the plunder of piracy. Ned Yorke, a loyal Royalist living in Barbados has a small vessel and devoted crew and together they sail, hunted by Roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colourful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

Admiral Charles II returns from exile bringing with him unease to the Spanish Main. In this vivid description of seventeenth-century buccaneers, Ned Yorke, the leader and hero of the swashbuckling band are depended upon for the defence of Jamaica, fighting with captured Spanish guns. Daring raids on the Spanish seem inevitable, as Yorke sets out on the high seas to distant adventures on behalf of the King and his own honour.

Galleon As England falls under a blanket of peace with the restoration of Charles II, in distant Jamaica all is not well. Though there is peace with Spain, there is No Peace Beyond the Line. It seems that the West Indies have become the private estate of the King of Spain. But Ned Yorke, Admiral of the Brethren, leader of the Buccaneers will not kowtow to the new Governor in Jamaica who is bent on weakening the Island’s defences and destroying its currency. Ned Yorke and his Buccaneers must not remain idle. The third in a series set in the Caribbean, Dudley Pope reveals a masterful plot of subtle, seafaring lore wound around the tense excitement of adventure on the high seas.

Corsair In the 1660's Jamaica was an uneasy island, occupied by Spain but settled by the English and French. When Admiral of the Brethren, Ned Yorke, a brave, loyal Buccaneer, learns that Spain is mounting a Caribbean fleet perhaps to protect the treasures of Spanish ships, or carry an army to Jamaica, he vows to find out the truth. Yorke’s audacious attacks on Spanish camps reveal all and the Buccaneers must fight a bloody, desperate battle to try and hinder them.

Convoy A deadly game of cat and mouse unravels its way out of this spine tingling war story as Lieutenant Yorke must find an answer to one vital question: how are German U-Boats sinking merchant ships from inside the convoys? In this gripping saga of heroism and intrigue, Yorke discovers the fate of one entire convoy. Only his wit and daring can lead to its survival and that of himself.

Decoy It is February 1942 and the war in the Atlantic looks grim for the Allied convoys. The ‘Great Blackout’ has started, leaving the spy centre of Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire at a loss as to what the Nazis are planning. U-boat Command has changed the Hydra cipher. The Enigma cannot be broken. Cipher experts can no longer eavesdrop on Nazi command, which leaves convoys open for attack by packs of marauding Nazi submarines. Winning the Battle of the Atlantic will surely give Hitler a final victory. And who can stop him?