“Are there guns behind those ports?” asked Hornblower.

“Twelve pounders, My Lord.”

Even in these days of peace it was not unusual for merchant vessels to carry guns, whether for voyages in the West Indies or the East, but this was a heavier armament than usual.

“She was built as a privateer,” said Hornblower.

“Quite right, My Lord. She’s the Daring; she was built during the war and made one voyage and took six prizes from us before the Treaty of Ghent. And now, My Lord?”

“She could be a slaver.”

“Your Lordship is right again, of course.”

That heavy armament would be desirable in a slaver anchoring up a West African river liable to a treacherous attack; she could easily have a slave deck with that flush build; her speed would minimise deaths among the slaves during the Middle Passage; her lack of capacity for bulk cargo would be unimportant in a slaver.

“Is she a slaver?” asked Hornblower.

“Apparently not, My Lord, despite her appearance. She is being chartered to carry a great many men, all the same.”

“I would like you to explain further, if you please, Mr. Sharpe.”

“I can only tell Your Lordship the facts as disclosed to me. She is under charter to a French General, Count Cambronne.”

“Cambronne? Cambronne? The man who commanded the Imperial Guard at Waterloo?”

“That’s the man, My Lord.”

“The man who said, ‘The Old Guard dies but does not surrender’?”

“Yes, My Lord, although report says he actually used a ruder expression. He was wounded and taken prisoner, but he did not die.”