the incursions of the French into Canada, from the massacre of their settlers at Lachine by the Iroquois Indians, to the rebellion of the Marathas against the rule of the Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb in India.
This last item of news led the conversation directly to the true reason for this meeting, the affairs and fortunes of the English East India Company. Hal sensed the change that came over his companions in the way that they regarded him. Their eyes upon him became shrewd and appraising.
“I understand that you are a considerable shareholder in the Company?” Lord Hyde asked innocently.
“I was fortunate enough to purchase a little of the Company stock when I returned from the East, in the seventies,” Hal admitted modestly, “and since then, from time to time, when fortune has been kind I have added to my holdings.” Childs waved away his disclaimer.
“All the world is aware of the distinguished exploits of you and your father during the Dutch wars and thereafter, and the very considerable additions that you made to the privy purse from the prizes of war, and the fruits of your trading voyages to the spice islands and the eastern coasts of the African continent.” He turned to the Chancellor.
“Sir Henry controls four and a half per cent of the Company stock, which does not include the dowry of Alice Grenville who so recently married his eldest son,” he concluded drily.
Hyde looked impressed as he mentally calculated the monetary value that that represented.
“A valiant and resourceful sea captain you have proved yourself,” Hyde murmured.
“And a prudent investor. You richly deserved those rewards.” He was watching Hal with a piercing gaze, and Hal knew that they were coming at last to their true purpose.
“Moreover, your personal interests are closely linked to our own,” the Chancellor went on quietly, rubbing his cropped pate so that the short, stiff hairs rasped under his fingers.
“We are all stockholders, the Crown the largest of all. Thus, the recent news from the East Indies affects us all most painfully.” Hal felt the sudden constriction of dread in his chest.
He straightened in his chair and his voice was tight as he murmured, “Forgive me, my lord, but I arrived in London only this morning and I have heard no news.”
“You are fortunate Hyde, for the news is not good,” Childs grunted, and lifted a lump of beef, dripping blood, to his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, then took a gulp of the claret.
“Two weeks ago the Company ship Yeoman of York tied up at the East India docks. She was sixty@ two days out from Bombay with a cargo of cotton and cochineal, and despatches from Gerald Aungier, the governor f the colony.” Childs frowned and shook his head, reluctant to speak the next words.
“We have lost two ships. The Minotaur and the Albion Spring.” Hal rocked back in his chair as though he had taken a punch to the head.
“Those two are the pride of the fleet,” he exclaimed.
It was almost impossible to believe. The East Indiamen, those stately, magnificent vessels, were the lords of the oceans, built not only for the carrying of cargo but for the prestige of the great and prosperous company that owned them and of the English Crown under whose charter they sailed.
“Wrecked?” Hal hazarded. Even the might of the Company must be shaken by the magnitude of the loss. One such vessel sunk was a terrible blow. Two ships lost was a disaster, perhaps worth a hundred thousand pounds with the cargoes.
“Where were they wrecked?” he demanded.
“The Agulhas Bank? The coral reefs of the Mascarenes?”
“They were not wrecked,” said Childs ominously.
“What then?”
“Pirates,” said Childs.
“Corsairs.”
“Are you sure?
How can we know that?” The East Indiamen were built for speed and heavily armed for just such a contingency. It would take a warship of force to capture one. When this news spread, the value of the Company stock would plunge. His own
This last item of news led the conversation directly to the true reason for this meeting, the affairs and fortunes of the English East India Company. Hal sensed the change that came over his companions in the way that they regarded him. Their eyes upon him became shrewd and appraising.
“I understand that you are a considerable shareholder in the Company?” Lord Hyde asked innocently.
“I was fortunate enough to purchase a little of the Company stock when I returned from the East, in the seventies,” Hal admitted modestly, “and since then, from time to time, when fortune has been kind I have added to my holdings.” Childs waved away his disclaimer.
“All the world is aware of the distinguished exploits of you and your father during the Dutch wars and thereafter, and the very considerable additions that you made to the privy purse from the prizes of war, and the fruits of your trading voyages to the spice islands and the eastern coasts of the African continent.” He turned to the Chancellor.
“Sir Henry controls four and a half per cent of the Company stock, which does not include the dowry of Alice Grenville who so recently married his eldest son,” he concluded drily.
Hyde looked impressed as he mentally calculated the monetary value that that represented.
“A valiant and resourceful sea captain you have proved yourself,” Hyde murmured.
“And a prudent investor. You richly deserved those rewards.” He was watching Hal with a piercing gaze, and Hal knew that they were coming at last to their true purpose.
“Moreover, your personal interests are closely linked to our own,” the Chancellor went on quietly, rubbing his cropped pate so that the short, stiff hairs rasped under his fingers.
“We are all stockholders, the Crown the largest of all. Thus, the recent news from the East Indies affects us all most painfully.” Hal felt the sudden constriction of dread in his chest.
He straightened in his chair and his voice was tight as he murmured, “Forgive me, my lord, but I arrived in London only this morning and I have heard no news.”
“You are fortunate Hyde, for the news is not good,” Childs grunted, and lifted a lump of beef, dripping blood, to his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, then took a gulp of the claret.
“Two weeks ago the Company ship Yeoman of York tied up at the East India docks. She was sixty@ two days out from Bombay with a cargo of cotton and cochineal, and despatches from Gerald Aungier, the governor f the colony.” Childs frowned and shook his head, reluctant to speak the next words.
“We have lost two ships. The Minotaur and the Albion Spring.” Hal rocked back in his chair as though he had taken a punch to the head.
“Those two are the pride of the fleet,” he exclaimed.
It was almost impossible to believe. The East Indiamen, those stately, magnificent vessels, were the lords of the oceans, built not only for the carrying of cargo but for the prestige of the great and prosperous company that owned them and of the English Crown under whose charter they sailed.
“Wrecked?” Hal hazarded. Even the might of the Company must be shaken by the magnitude of the loss. One such vessel sunk was a terrible blow. Two ships lost was a disaster, perhaps worth a hundred thousand pounds with the cargoes.
“Where were they wrecked?” he demanded.
“The Agulhas Bank? The coral reefs of the Mascarenes?”
“They were not wrecked,” said Childs ominously.
“What then?”
“Pirates,” said Childs.
“Corsairs.”
“Are you sure?
How can we know that?” The East Indiamen were built for speed and heavily armed for just such a contingency. It would take a warship of force to capture one. When this news spread, the value of the Company stock would plunge. His own
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