England's Mistress_ The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton - Kate Williams [102]
Emma's support for Maria Carolina's aversion to the French would change her life. In August, Admiral Lord Hood, commander in chief of the British fleet in the Mediterranean, decided to call in troops from Naples, to assist his men in defending the French town of Toulon. As his messenger, he sent HMS Agamemnon and its young, ambitious captain, Horatio Nelson.
Neapolitan Nights
CHAPTER 28
The Hero Visits
Since 1787, Horatio Nelson had been retired and miserable, on half pay in muddy Norfolk, making model ships, reading the newspapers, and feigning patience with his sickly, unfulfilled wife, Fanny. When he arrived in Naples on the evening of September 10, 1793, at the age of thirty-five, he knew it was his chance to grab back the future glory that had seemed so secure before his marriage. "I have only to hope I shall succeed with the King," he worried.
Ferdinand came to meet Nelson's ship, resplendent in full court dress, accompanied by the princes and princesses, numerous courtiers, and Emma and Sir William. Nelson had been on shore only twice since leaving Britain four months ago and had hardly seen a woman in that time. He described himself as "sick with fatigue," but he soon perked up when he spotted Lady Hamilton, the glamorous star of the gossip columns, sparkling in her court finery. Emma ushered him back to the Palazzo Sessa and into the apartments prepared for him and his thirteen-year-old stepson, Josiah. They probably occupied the handsome suite with the sea view and the ceiling painted with stars that she first used when she arrived in 1786. Nelson slept in a room adorned with portraits of Emma as a bacchante and a goddess, as was every room in the palazzo, and Vigée-Lebrun's celebrated portrait of Emma as a sibyl glowed softly over his bed.
Still stung by Queen Charlotte's refusal to receive her, Emma strained to prove herself to the visiting captain by planning entertainments and trying to anticipate his every need. Nelson had not eaten fresh meat or vegetables for weeks, and he gleefully tucked into the silver plates of the finest fish, turtle, and exotic sweetmeats arriving regularly from the palazzo's kitchens. Emma accompanied him to court and listened raptly to his stories of bravery, overwhelming the shy sailor with tricks of flirtation and allure she had perfected with hardened Neapolitan courtiers. Obsessed by social rank and terrible at languages, he was immediately impressed by her intimacy with the queen and by her fluent translation from Italian and French.
In just four days, the king pledged Nelson his troops and wrote an obliging letter to Lord Hood. Nelson exulted that the king called him and his company "the saviours of Italy." Exhilarated by his social success and Ferdinand's cooperation, Nelson planned an elaborate Sunday breakfast on his ship. The king was to attend, along with the court, but the pregnant queen probably stayed behind. Also in attendance were Sir William and Emma and the most distinguished English visitors: the Bishop of Winchester and family, Lord and Lady Plymouth, and various other aristocrats. The meat was roasting in the ovens, the table laid with china borrowed from the Palazzo Sessa, and Sir William and Emma were already on board when John Acton sent the urgent message that a French man-of-war had arrived at Sardinia.1 Detecting a chance for glory, Nelson hustled his guests off the ship, rushed to raise the anchor, and set off in pursuit. He wrote to his hosts twelve days later, thanking Sir William