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or even weeks before Mr. Lincoln responds, although I hope not much longer. In the meantime, you may reside here along with me. There’s plenty of room for us and we won’t get in each other’s way. The house was rented on my behalf by a wealthy friend who paid a price well in excess of its worth.”
    “Is the renter anyone I know?”
    “You.”
    “Damn, sir,” Nathan said and then exploded in laughter.
    Almost since the first guns had been fired at Fort Sumter, British shipbuilders had conspired with the Confederacy in a great deception against the Union. Specifically, British shipyards contracted to build blockade-runners and commerce raiders for the South. The subterfuge was simple. A foreign company, French or Dutch for instance, would have the ship built as a merchant vessel in a British yard, and sailed out under its national flag and with an appropriate non-Confederate crew. When it reached a neutral destination, the crew was exchanged for a Southern one, the ship was armed, and sent on its way.
    Through spies that roamed the waterfronts of England, France, and the other seafaring nations, the Union was aware of the duplicity. The Union’s ambassador to Great Britain, Charles Francis Adams, had complained mightily to Her Majesty’s government, but to no avail. It served Great Britain to permit the Confederacy to act in such a manner and to pretend it wasn’t happening. The actions were condoned to the extent that British warships often accompanied the counterfeit merchant ships out to the open sea to ensure that Union warships did not attempt to stop them.
    On this day. the unarmed and brand-new “merchant” ship
Henrietta
was making her maiden run from Liverpool. It was common knowledge that the sleek and swift ship had been built for blockade-running and not for sailing stolidly into a safe harbor with a hull full of bulk goods. At a given place and time, the
Henrietta
would be renamed and transformed into a Confederate blockade-runner.
    On this day, the disguised rebel was escorted out of Liverpool by the Royal Navy’s steam frigate
Gorgon,
as just over the horizon lay the U.S. sailing frigate
St
.
Lawrence.
The Gorgon’s duty was to ensure that the coyly named
Henrietta
safely cleared British waters and was sent on her way unimpaired. If she was captured later, well, that would be someone’s bad luck. She would not, however, be stopped by an American while in anything approximating British waters.
    The
Gorgon
mounted seventy-four guns to the
St. Lawrence’s
fifty, and the qualitative difference was even greater than the numeric as the
Gorgon’s
weapons were newer and larger. Further, the British ship’s ability to use steam instead of depending on sail and the whims of wind made her an adversary with overwhelming advantages.
    As the Confederate in disguise and the British warship headed out of harbor, a number of other, smaller craft followed. Their passengers and crew were in search of excitement.
    In a short while, the U.S. ship hove into view. The
Gorgon
interposed herself between the
Henrietta
and the
St. Lawrence
and
,
almost contemptuously, signaled that the smaller American ship must depart the area. The American declined.
    On board the
Gorgon.
Captain David Hawkes fumed at the insolence of America in general and this American ship in particular. There had been no response from the Yank, and Hawkes considered his options. He hadn’t received official word that Great Britain was at war with the United States, although it was common knowledge that such notice would be forthcoming. England was not going to sit still while her helpless ships were sunk. For all Hawkes knew, news of the war was waiting for him at the dock back at Portsmouth.
    This confronted Hawkes with a dilemma. His orders were to protect the
Henrietta
and nothing more unless the American tried something rash. But if war had been declared, the
St. Lawrence
was a legitimate target and should be taken. If he let her go, then she