"They'll do,' he said, putting the pistol back in the case, 'and you'd better give me two spare rammers. Hmm . . . yes, do you have a complete spare lock?'

The gun-maker nodded and, taking an oily rag from his pocket, carefully wiped the metal of both guns before putting them back again, 'Finger marks,' he said, 'they lead to rusting. Are you going to be away a long time, my Lord?'

'A long time, and I'm going a long way.'

'The West Indies again, my Lord?'

There was nothing secret about it, so Ramage nodded. 'Their Lordships like to keep me moving about!'

'You were in the Mediterranean at one time, were you not, sir?'

'Mediterranean, Atlantic, West Indies, back to the Atlantic . . . The Admiralty is changing the pattern by sending me to the West Indies this time, instead of the Mediterranean.'

'Rust,' the gun-maker said sorrowfully, 'that's my biggest enemy in the West Indies. Some of my gentlemen bring back pistols from the West Indies that are just a useless mass of rust.

'Yet they only need wiping over with an oily rag every week, and avoid finger marks. Must be a very wet place . . .'

'Not so much wet but hot and damp,' Ramage said. 'The damp gets into everything - clothes mildew, metals rusts, wood rots and tempers fray, too!'

'It must have its compensations, I suppose; many of my gentlemen seem to like it out there.'

'Plenty of prizes to be taken,' Ramage said. 'We poor naval officers need the prize and head money to pay your prices, my dear Mansfield!’

The gun-maker grinned as he locked the case and gave Ramage the key. 'Since the Marchesa is buying these for you, my Lord, she'll probably want you to take them now?'

When Ramage nodded, he said: ‘I will choose some more flints, and I'd like to give you a gross of lead balls which I cast myself. They're polished and packed in a special box so they don't get dented. You are staying at Palace Street, sir?'

'Yes, Blazey House. I leave for Portsmouth on Thursday.'

'My man will deliver them this afternoon, along with the spare rammers and lock.'

That night Ramage excused himself early and left the family to go to his room. There was much to do before he left for Portsmouth to take up his new command, and he knew that Gianna would be disappointed if he did not spend his last whole day in London in her company.

The table in the small room - he preferred one on the third floor because it was quieter - was covered with the day's purchases. There was a black japanned speaking trumpet with a braided silk lanyard, the case of pistols and the sword and belt. Prater had started off by taking Gianna's side in trying to force an ornate sword on him, a wretched affair more suitable for a subaltern in some fashionable regiment that never saw active service, but he had got his own way in the end. There were also two pairs of gold buckles for his shoes. He had always made a point of using pinchbeck while a lieutenant - some captains were touchy about young officers wearing gold - but gold buckles were an economy in the long run, since pinchbeck corroded so quickly.

He put the purchases on the floor. Items of clothing had already been put away in drawers and would soon have to be stowed in a trunk and sent to Portsmouth, but this evening he wanted to catch up with some of his paper work: once he was on board there would be so much more awaiting him that he would soon be swamped.

He put the inkwell, pen and some paper in the middle of the table, retrieved the sand box from the dressing-table, and took his commission from the drawer. It was an imposing document and he delighted in its archaic language, but it had cost him two guineas. He had officially acknowledged receipt of it already, now he had to send the money.

His instructions had arrived that afternoon and they too needed acknowledgement, but most of the evening was going to be taken up with drafting his 'Captain's Orders'. He bitterly regretted not having salvaged his original set when the Triton brig was lost; he had copied those from another commanding officer, adding various items of his own, but now he had to start from scratch.

Drawing up the Captain's Orders was always a difficult business. They were really a set of standing orders showing how the captain wanted things done on board the ship while he was in command. Most captains had them already written down in a little book, which they handed to the first lieutenant soon after they stepped on board. Ramage knew from bitter experience as a midshipman that getting a sight of the book and copying out the details was a matter of urgency for all the ship's officers since every captain had his own way of doing things, his quirks and idiosyncracies ...

Some captains made the mistake of putting too much in the Orders. Others put too little, afraid of committing themselves to some routine, that, in a million-to-one chance, might not meet a particular situation and so leave them open to blame. And some captains, he thought ruefully, sat at tables staring at blank sheets of paper.

He jotted down several headings which covered sail-handling and the day-to-day routine on board, and then he added half a dozen 'Do nots'. Then he started writing them out in full - knowing that his clerk could make a fair copy when he went on board - and beginning: 'Captain's Orders, His Majesty's frigate Juno, Nicholas Ramage, Captain.' He glanced at his list of headings, and wrote first: 'Slovenly evolutions: Any evolutions performed in a slovenly manner will be repeated until satisfactorily executed. There will be no unnecessary hailings from aloft or from the deck.'

He had added 'from the deck' to ensure that enthusiastic but noisy commission and warrant officers watched their tongues: you could always be certain that a ship was badly run if you heard a lot of orders being bellowed by all and sundry.

'Captain called: the Captain is to be called at daylight; when the course cannot be laid; if a strange sail is sighted; if the weather threatens, or the barometer falls or rises suddenly or excessively.' He could add that he should be called if land was sighted, or for a dozen other reasons, but the officer of the deck would be quick enough to call the captain in unusual circumstances. And that reminded him: 'Appearance of land: all appearances of land are to be reported and the Master called at once.'

He glanced at his list and then wrote: 'Trimming and shortening sails: the officer of the deck should trim, make or shorten sails as required, reporting to me after having done so.' That made lieutenants use their initiative and judgement; there was no point in an officer rushing to the captain for permission to carry out a routine task.

'Men's dress: officers of the deck are responsible for the watch being correctly dressed and in a manner suitable for the climate.'

He reached for the list of headings. He had completely forgotten the section dealing with going into action. And 'starting' - that was strictly regulated in any ship he commanded. If the bos'n's mates could not get the men moving fast enough without hitting them across the shoulders with rattans the fault was more likely to be with the bos'n's mates - or even the captain - for not having a properly trained and willing ship's company.

List of clothes: he had forgotten that, too, and he jotted down the items the seamen were expected to have - '3 jackets, 2 waistcoats or inside coats, 2 blue and 2 white pairs of trousers, 3 pairs of stockings, 2 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of drawers.' He could remember that without any effort, having inspected the clothing of hundreds of seamen since he first went to sea.

Keys - damnation, he seemed to have forgotten everything that mattered. 'Keys of the magazine and storerooms are to be kept in the possession of the First Lieutenant. The magazine is never to be opened without the Captain's permission. Storerooms must never be opened without the knowledge of the First Lieutenant and the officer of the deck, and always with a midshipman present. The keys of the spirit, bread and fish rooms and the after hold are to be kept in the care of the Master, one of whose mates is to be the last man out of the hold or room to guard lights and lock the doors and generally take care there is no risk of fire.'