The Dardanelles Conspiracy by Alan Bardos (best ereader for pc TXT) 📗

Johnny shrugged and decided to sit down.

‘That little idea of yours to stop the war proved to be quite prescient, by the by.’ Sir George sat back behind the desk. A relentless smugness still seeped from his very being.

‘Keep out of it and let Austro-Hungary and Serbia fight it out. Could well have worked you know, judging from the hash the Austrian’s made of the invasion of Serbia and the resistance the Serbs put up. There might have been an opportunity to bring both sides to the negotiating table.’

‘Really?’ Johnny couldn’t help feeling pleased that he’d been right.

‘I believe that even now, the essence of your plan could prove of value. In that the fate of Europe could be decided in the East. If Turkey can be knocked out of the war, the situation in the Balkans will change and a backdoor into the Central Powers opened.’

‘Is that possible?’ Johnny was intrigued, flattered to be brought into Sir George’s confidence.

‘It is not only possible, Swift, it can be done without firing a shot.’

Sir George went to the window and looked out onto a tree-lined courtyard. He pointed at the golden dome of Napoleon’s tomb rising above them. Johnny wondered if Sir George had brought him here just so he could invoke his great hero.

‘Napoleon said that, “great ambition is the passion of a great character”.’

Sir George turned away from the window, ‘The Turkish government was split over whether or not to join the war and indeed whose side to take. But while the Germans have plied the Turks with loans, our government made a number of blunders that led to the Turks coming into the war on the side of the Central Powers. Which of course you are familiar with?’

‘Not really.’

Sir George looked to the sky in exasperation. ‘The key point is that at the start of the war, Churchill seized two Turkish cruisers under construction in England. All well and good there was a war on. But he did so without compensating the Turkish government. To compound matters the money to purchase the ships had been raised through public subscription and the Turkish people were up in arms. The Germans in a propaganda masterstroke sent two cruisers to Constantinople in compensation.’

Sir George stopped. Johnny thought he’d been bottling up his frustration over that for a while. ‘With two state-of-the-art cruisers the pro-German members of the Turkish government were able to provoke a war with the Allies. Without the agreement of the rest of the leadership.’

‘So from what you’ve said most of the responsibility falls on the Admiralty. Weren’t you in a position to prevent all this, Sir George?’ Johnny asked, more out of interest than wanting to goad Sir George, although that was a bonus.

‘I’m glad you find the situation entertaining, Swift. My current position is purely in an advisory capacity. That will however soon change.’

‘It all sounds perfectly straightforward to me, Sir George. The Germans gave the Ottoman Empire two ships and some aid to come into the war on their side. Can’t we offer the Turks something similar to show them that it is equally in their interests to come out of the war?’ Johnny asked.

‘Clever chap, that’s exactly what I expect you to do.’ Sir George gave a self-satisfied smirk. Johnny swore realising he’d walked straight into a trap.

‘Now I’ve taken the trouble of procuring you civilian clothing, readymade, but I don’t suppose you’ll notice the difference.’

‘I’m sorry Sir George, this has all been fascinating, but if you’ll excuse me I wish to see my uncle.’ Johnny got up to leave before he was entangled in another one of Sir George’s intrigues.

‘Just one moment, Swift, I haven’t finished with you yet.’

‘Your days of ordering me around are over.’

Sir George picked up the envelope the sailor had handed him. Johnny saw the regimental crest on it and realised it was the envelope that the Colonel had given the sailor. Sir George took out Johnny’s blue court martial form and started to read it.

‘Fraternising with the enemy – attempting to warn them of an impending attack. Come now, Swift, you’re a bright lad. Do you really think that charges of this magnitude can be simply swept away and you can go on drinking and philandering as if nothing had happened? I arranged for you to be brought to Hôtel des Invalides, to keep you off the British books and away from the prying eyes of the army provosts. The commandant is an old friend. Do you imagine any of that was easy? I had to persuade the Director of Naval Intelligence to call in a number of favours. I did that because I have the perfect use for someone with your sewer rat instinct for survival and a proven track record for working with his countries enemies.’

‘You actually expect me to go to an enemy country and negotiate with its government?’

‘You won’t be negotiating as such, I have people for that. You’ll be conveying messages, not unlike the work you did for me before the war.’ He smiled without humour. ‘I need to test the waters to see if the Turkish government are receptive to a bribe and, if not, remind them that the Royal Navy will be there soon enough with its fifteen-inch guns.’

‘Look Sir George, you can’t simply send me off on something like that, my uncle won’t allow it.’

‘I’m afraid you can’t play that card any longer.’ Sir George said solemnly. ‘The gentleman in question died two weeks ago. Not really a shock, the way he knocked it back.’

‘No, I don’t understand. What am I doing here then?’ Johnny asked, his head spinning.

‘Don’t play games Swift. I know perfectly well that you had someone write to my wife, begging for your miserable excuse of a life.’

‘But I