CHAPTER 5

Flashback

Archie had not left his friend's side in days – by some miracle Horatio had come through the surgery to remove the bullet as well as could be expected – but the continued near certainty and fear of infection had led the young man to keep a constant vigil at his friend's bedside. Horatio had not yet regained consciousness, which had been a cause of intense despair for Pellew – who blamed himself for consenting to such a risky procedure in the first place when Horatio was far too weak to withstand it. He had spent most of his days residing in the sick berth, keeping an uncommonly paternal watch over Hornblower's comatose form – it was all he could do to convince Archie to return to his duties on deck.

The pair of them had eventually come to an unspoken agreement to keep watch in turns, and had learnt to work in shifts, with Pellew only leaving his young charge's side during the day to take his meals – which had become an increasingly irregular occurrence as time had crept on – and summoning Doctor Hepplewhite whenever he was required on deck. The young man was never to be left alone – not even for a moment. Archie took over in the evenings when Pellew returned to his cabin to rest, sleeping close by his friend should he wake in the night – but to his dismay he never did.

Archie still hadn't forgotten the final moment he had spent with Horatio before his surgery. It had been one of the most painful moments of his life to realise that death was lurking around the corner just waiting for the opportune moment to steal his friend away from him, possibly even before he'd had the chance to say goodbye. Horatio had by then been so out of it with pain and blood loss – even before a generous dose of opiate had been administered – and the mere memory was still the cause of many restless nights plagued by terrible nightmares for an exhausted Archie.

Even now – despite the fact that Horatio had shown some encouraging signs of improvement throughout the past few days, and appeared to still be fighting for his life with a strength which surpassed anything which could have been expected of him – something still troubled both Archie and Pellew, refusing to cease praying upon their minds.

Hepplewhite had assigned a young apprentice to take on the bulk of Horatio's care –Kostello. A man now in his early twenties, he was considered by all to be a little old to only just be starting out in the Navy. He was tall, thin – almost emaciated in his appearance – and suffered from the tell-tale yellow face of jaundice resulting from an unhealthy taste for strong drink, which he would carry in a flask permanently strapped to his trouser belt, and would down in excessive amounts every evening without fail. Despite this however he appeared eager, and seemed genuinly passionate about Horatio's care, although was clearly neglecting his duties.

The young officer's bandages had not been changed in days and many of his wounds had been left exposed to the open air – fearful of infection Pellew had confronted Hepplewhite on several occasions with little success – but the true extent of Horatio's neglect had not come to light until almost a week later.

The young Lefttennant stirred slightly, letting out a faint protest of pain as consciousness in kind returned to him. Pellew, who's turn it had been to keep watch, had been beside him immediately, but Kostello had beaten the Captain to it – opium bottle in hand as he prepared to pour it's remaining milky brown contents down the young officer's throat. Pellew had felt as though he had little choice but to intervene.

"No!" He'd ordered.

"Captain Pellew sir get out of my way." The young man had looked at his superior with a forced air of calm, but a wild look had descended upon his face as he evidently relished on the power he'd been granted over another person's life. Pellew had seen it before in so many of his men, he had almost once considered it a natural part of being human – but to witness it in the eyes of the young medic now standing before him had filled his heart with an impending dread he had never felt the likes of before – and he would not have been ashamed to confess that it had scared him.

"No! I said no more doctor." Pellew had demanded, pushing his way in front of Kostello and putting himself between purported care giver and patient as the younger man had advanced on Horatio. "That's an order!"

"With all due respect sir," the young man had growled, "you are not a medical man, and you are not the one who will suffer the agonies of such a wound as he undoubtedly will if he's allowed to regain consciousness to soon. He's body has not yet been given sufficient time to recover. I am only trying to do my job!" Kostello had spoken through gritted teeth.

"Your words are bordering on mutiny man!" Pellew had warned him. "I would advise you to revise your tone if you hope to continue your service with me."

"I know my work sir." The young man had protested.

"And I know my men!" Had been Pellew's final word on the matter as Kostello had made defiantly for the door – before turning abruptly on his Captain once more. "You haven't been in service very long." Pellew cut the man off before he had given him the chance to speak. "You don't know our Mr Hornblower. He has strength enough to cope with this, but how can you as a medical man ever hope for him to recover if you sedate him every time he shows the slightest sign of waking up."

"The shock could kill him…"

Pellew's heart froze as he saw the smile creep across the other man's face as he uttered these words which struck him like a blow from a musket ball – and he realised that this was a threat. Kostello had left without another word – speech no longer had any baring on the matter – everything he had really wanted to say had been best expressed by the look on his face.

It wasn't in the Captain's nature to jump to hasty conclusions about any his men – each of them had a flee ridden rat in their past which might well plague their future. Pellew was not above giving men second chances, but it was well regarded amongst all the crew that the evening Horatio had been shot they had been betrayed, and the Captain was suspicious. Kostello was the ship's only newly appointed member – the rest were men Pellew already knew and trusted – but he couldn't condemn a man based on suspicion alone and although it would be to his future regret he decided, at least for the present moment to keep his concerns about the young man to himself.

A couple of days later Horatio's fever spiked dangerously and it was clear to everyone that their worst fears had been realised - the infection had spread to his blood, and now it really was going to take a miracle to save the honoured officer's life.

Archie had awoken in the night to find his friend on the floor, his body convulsing with the cold which permeated his bones, but his stony pale skin burning with the fire of high fever – his cheeks bore the tell-tale flush of sickness.

"Horatio…" Archie had uttered in despair as he scrambled from his hammock – nearly losing his footing with the unevenness of the ship as it was carried by the sea's rough waves. He reached his young friend and knelt down beside him, brushing his soaking wet locks away his eyes. "Shhhh its OK Horatio, it's OK… just… just wake up now." He soothed, terror creeping into his tone as he spoke those pleading words to his oblivious friend. "HEPPLEWHITE!" He cried out into the night, "DOCTOR HEPPLEWHITE!… SOMEONE!"

He heard hurried footsteps outside and looked up to see the doctor enter the room – older and more experienced Archie was relieved to see that it was Hepplewhite himself who had heeded to his call rather than Kostello – he would not admit it to Pellew but he had been deeply concerned that Horatio appeared to be showing little sign of improvement under the young apprentice's care.

"I just found him like this…" Archie explained – his breath was ragged as he struggled to control the gut wrenching panic now twisting his insides into a tight knot.

"Go and fetch the Captain Mr Kennedy!" Hepplewhite had instructed him, taking a long look at the shivering form upon the floor before trying to heave the young Hornblower back into bed.

"Will he be alright?" Archie had asked – discouraged by the look upon the doctor's withered face as he glanced gravely at Horatio's exposed wounds.

"I don't know Mr Kennedy…" he answered honestly, "it's not looking good for him I'm afraid." And with that Archie had left the room, his heart struck cold, and numb, as he realised that he had known the answer even before he had asked the question.

Tears began to well in his eyes but he brushed them away as he reached the Captain's cabin and knocked lightly upon the door. He was unsure as to whether Pellew had heard him at first – maybe he was asleep like most of the other men would be at this time of night, he thought, although he considered it unlikely – and he waited until Pellew's deep voice rang out with the order for him to enter, which he did to find his captain sitting at his desk, pen in hand.

"Mr Kennedy!" Pellew exclaimed with surprise, shocked that the young man should not be found at his friend's bedside at this time.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but doctor Hepplewhite would like to speak with you." Archie explained.

"Is it Mr Hornblower?" The Captain asked, rising immediately to his feet, alarm bells evidently ringing.

Kennedy nodded. "I think he may be dyeing." He explained.

Pellew's blanched face pale, his eyes fixed with pained expectation as warm tears began to tricke down Archie's marble cheeks, and this time the young man made no effort to swipe them away – but still the Captain did not permit himself to let go of his guard.

"Come on man…" he spoke softly, placing a comforting hand upon the younger officers shoulder, and giving him a rare taste of the fatherly concern he often showed for the young man in the sick berth below them. "Pull yourself together, let's go and find out what can be done."

There was no time wasted in waiting for Pellew to change – despite the unearthly hour he was still dressed in his uniform and looked as though he hadn't slept properly in days. He shut the door to his cabin tightly behind them – still taking precautions against the suspected traitor on board – and together they made their way back through the maze of corridors below deck to the medical berth. Hepplewhite stood waiting for them at the door of Horatio's room.

"How is he?" Pellew asked.

"I've administered quite a heavy dose of opium so he's sleeping now." The weary doctor explained. "I'm afraid he has developed a severe infection meaning that his fever is now dangerously high but I'm hoping that the drugs should allow him to rest more peacefully… there isn't much more we can do for him now other than keep him as comfortable as possible and hope for the best." He told them both gravely."I've dressed the wounds as far as I can but they are going to need regular cleansing for the next few days to prevent further infection. The only consolation is that the area where the bullet penetrated his abdomen appears quite clear, the poison appears to be largely concentrated around some of the more severe flesh wounds he sustained, so fortunately it hasn't gone too deep."

"But will he be alright?" Archie pressed the man.

"That's very much down to him now I'm afraid." Hepplewhite explained. "It's still very early days, but I wouldn't advise you get your hopes up, he is very dangerously sick."

"How could you allow him to get into this state?" Archie snapped, but Pellew raised a hand to silence him.

"Why did you ask to speak with me?" He asked the doctor.

"Well… I'm afraid…" Hepplewhite began to stutter nervously now, a strangely guilty expression descending upon him. "I'm afraid that all this may be my fault."

"What do you mean?" Archie asked, but Hepplewhite said very little further.

"Follow me." he bade them sombrely to follow him, before turning his back on the two men and heading in the direction of another smaller and rather dingy room adjoining onto the sick berth. "Things are a little more private in here."

It took a while for Archie's eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. There were no windows down here, and so very little light but as his eyes gradually began to adjust to the unnatural gloom of the bowls of the ship he recognised that they were now in a small adjoining bedroom. A strong smell of damp lingered around the vicinity of a near-by bed, and Archie assumed that the aroma was coming from what appeared to be a pile of old sheets and clothing laid out on top of it. He screwed his nose up in disgust at the sickly sweet smell.

"I'm sorry," Hepplewhite spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence which had elapsed between the three men, and Archie gasped as all at once he made out the heaped mass of jumbled rags for what they really were – sprayed out upon the bed was the dead figue of a man – it was Kostello, his eyes closed as though he were sleeping, but his body cold and grey. He turned to look at Pellew who by now had also noticed the unconscious form of the young man – his arm draped carelessly over the edge of the bed, limp and pale.

"It's too late." Hepplewhite explained, his voice uncommonly unsteady with emotion. "He's already dead." But both men had seen enough of death and its effect upon a man's body in their time to already realise this.

"What? How? How did this happen?" Pellew demanded to know.

"I found these beside him." Hepplewhite explained, drawing two small empty viles from deep within his jacket pocket – traces of the opiate still clinging to their glass rims, where it trickled down the inside and formed thin sticky brown puddles. "There was no note…" He told them. "You see I guess I always knew really, who it was who betrayed us, and that he was intentionally neglecting Mr Hornblower's care as soon as he failed to improve. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."

"Who was he… really?" Archie asked, still staring blankly at the body of the dead man laid out upon the bed. "That is if it's not too above my station to ask." He added.

"He was the son of an old friend of mine." Hepplewhite revealed to them, indicating to Lefttennant Kennedy that it was not, and reasoning that if anyone was entitled to an explanation besides Captain Pellew and Lefttennant Hornblower himself it was the friend who had stayed glued to the young man's bedside for the past few days. "I was told that he had gone off the rails somewhat recently," he explained, "and I thought that if I could just give him some semblance of stability – to give him a taste of responsibility – and a chance to prove himself capable, that I might be able to make some sort of difference to the young man's life."

"But you failed!" Archie snapped, turning on the despondent doctor in the grip of an uncharacteristic rage. "You put all of our lives in danger! And for what?" He asked him – although never really expecting an answer. "You jeopardised the life of one of our countries best officers!"

"I know, but he can't hurt anyone anymore." Hepplewhite whispered sadly in a hushed tone, almost as though he were now talking to himself.

"It may already be too late… you saw Horatio just now, the damage has already been done!" Archie snarled.

"But it's not irreversible." The doctor insisted.

"Mr Kennedy where are you going?" The Captain demanded an explanation from the officer as with this Archie began to make his way towards the door.

"Horatio needs me," The young man said, "and if it would be permissible sir I should like to sit with him a while."

Captain Pellew nodded his approval, and Lefttennant Kennedy left, unable to stand the stench of death and the suffocating atmosphere any longer. You could cut the air in the small room with a knife and his head had already begun to throb slightly at the temples as the claustrophobia began to set in.

With the two older men then left alone in the room Hepplewhite made his way slowly over towards the bed where the dead man still lay, bending down almost as though in prayer as he took hold of Kostello's cold, limp hand, and caressing the pale skin of his bony fingers. He heard footsteps from behind as Pellew joined him, and the Captain placed a gentle hand upon the grief stricken doctor's shoulder before quickly drawing it away.

"Thank you." Hepplewhite turned to Pellew, his lips set grave and sombre and the usual chutzpah of the man now abandoned in the midst of the devastation his misguided act had caused.

"For what?" The Captain asked him hollowly. The fact that the situation may easily have been avoided had doctor Hepplewhite acted on his suspicions sooner, or, even better, had he not engaged the employ of a young man with such poor reputation in the first place, had not escaped his notice. He bore a slight frown of confusion upon his face however, and there was a glimmer of feigned surprise within his troubled eyes.

"For doing what I could not." Hepplewhite murmured.

"I don't know what you mean." Pellew brushed away the man's comment abruptly with a curt wave of his hand.

"There was no suicide note." The doctor said, fixing his Captain with a knowing look, as though this fact explained everything. His back to the man Pellew's eyes drew closed in an expression akin to one who has been found out in an act which sat displeasingly with even themselves, a stony look etched into his face.

"As you say he can't hurt anyone anymore." He sighed. "I regret the loss of life but something had to be done. He was a man beyond saving."

"Your secret's safe with me sir." Hepplewhite nodded. "At least now Mr Hornblower might stand a slim chance at life."

An eerie silence brought about by a mutual understanding and acceptance then elapsed between the two men, whilst Archie presently sat in the next room – oblivious to the actions of his Captain, which had quite possibly saved the life of his best friend – although he wouldn't have thought any the less of him had he have known, and would have indeed respected him all the more for the very difficult decision he'd had to make. He had resumed his usual position close by Horatio's bedside but still could not bring himself to sleep, and clinging tightly to his friend's warm and fevered hand in the hope that it might, in time, provoke some positive response from him he muttered a private prayer to guide them home.