He strode out into the corridor and heard the door close behind him. Outside the Governor’s headquarters he squinted as he emerged into the blistering midday heat.There was stillness in the grounds of the fort as everyone who could took shelter from the sun. A sole redcoat tramped slowly along the battlements above the main gate as Arthur made his way back to his rented house. The peace and quiet of the presidency would soon be a thing of the past, he mused. One way or another, war was coming to India and there was no telling if England would prevail, or Tipoo and his French allies.

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

In the following weeks there was a constant stream of communications between the new Governor General and the Company’s resident at the court of the Nizam, Captain James Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick was told to relay the message that England strongly desired closer relations with Hyderabad and would guarantee to support the Nizam, by force if required, against any threat to his position. It was Richard’s conviction that the French officers in the Nizam’s employ might have sufficient sway over their men to unseat the Nizam and replace him with a more compliant ruler.

These thoughts were very much on Arthur’s mind as he drew up plans for removal of the French threat in Hyderabad, as well as the initial draft of a plan for the invasion of Mysore and the defeat of Tipoo. The difficulties presented by such an operation were the same as those that had faced General Cornwallis when he had attempted to bring Tipoo to heel seven years earlier. Cornwallis had managed to bring his army up to the enemy capital of Seringapatam and lay siege to the heavily fortified city. But then his food supplies had run short and he had been forced to retreat, with the added humiliation of having to abandon his heavy guns.This lack of mobility had bedevilled every attempt by English forces to push into the heart of India, and was the reason why the three presidencies were anchored to the coast and forced to communicate with each other by sea.

Colonel Wellesley, as he called himself now, and his small staff pondered the problem for nearly a month before hitting upon a solution that would be as simple as it was effective, and he at once sought a meeting with his brothers to explain his ideas. The instant he entered the office of the Governor General he sensed the tension.

‘What’s happened?’

Richard gestured to a document lying on the desk between him and Henry. ‘The governor of the French colony on Mauritius has announced a formal alliance with Tipoo. He claims that French soldiers will be sent to Mangalore as soon as possible.’

Arthur leaned over the desk and quickly read through the document. ‘Do you think it’s true?’