Everything was ready.
It would take only seconds now for A-turret to go into action.
He lifted himself up and one of the cordite numbers, a young able-seaman, said:
"Ah ... is Dart back yet, sir?"
Gerard sank back quietly on the seat. So they knew. Not the full circumstances, but they were aware that he had sent the destroyer off on her rescue mission. Of course they would know, he told himself—news travels like a breath of wind in a ship ... especially the sort of news that concerns an officer confined to his cabin.