Chapter 3: Luke’s Doctor

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein.

Portsmouth, Great Britain. July 1070

Admiral Ewing looked out over the harbor with a sense of accomplishment. The first ships designed and built in the Portsmouth Naval Yard were undergoing sea trials, and unlike the warships constructed in Hull, these warships had both sail and steam engines. The sails were for strategic movement, while the steam engines were for tactical use or when the wind calmed. Each ship mounted four 155mm cannons in two twin mounts plus six Vulcan guns, three on each side. The cannons were mounted before the foremast and behind the mizzenmast, giving them freedom of movement. Unlike other sailing vessels, the vessels constructed in Portsmouth were built of steel instead of wood. Using steel gave the designers much more flexibility in construction and made permanent repairs easier. It only took a cutting torch and a welder to repair the steel on the ship. By this time, stick welding had been introduced, revolutionizing all forms of steel construction.

Luke had introduced shielded metal arc welding or stick welding before he left for France, and it immediately caught on, allowing for metal fabrication to be sped up drastically. The ships Ewing was currently watching would have still been under construction if they were using rivets and wouldn’t have been possible if constructed from wood. The vibration from the guns would have shaken a wooden hull apart. British shipbuilders already had that problem with the wooden destroyers and patrol boats, especially the older ships. As more steel became available, the plan was to replace the wooden ships with steel.

This new class of ship was known as a light cruiser, while the entirely coal-powered ships were known as heavy cruisers. So far, the Portsmouth Naval Yard had built two ships and had three more in the dry docks. The two ships built were designated CL 1 and CL 2 and named the HMS Lion and Tiger, respectively. The CL designation was for a light cruiser, while the HMS York was designated CH for a heavy cruiser. The light cruisers could escort merchant ships worldwide and outgun everything except the HMS York stationed at Hull.

Focused on watching the harbor, Admiral Ewing didn’t hear her office door open and close until the person who entered cleared their throat. Ewing spun around to see General MacDougall and Queen Marion standing there with amused looks on their faces.

“It’s good to see you again, admiral,” started Marion.

“It’s good to be seen, Your Majesty. What brings you to Portsmouth?”

“Piracy.”

“Piracy? I haven’t gotten any reports of piracy.”

“Wrong area, admiral,” Luke spoke for the first time. “We are seeing an increase of piracy along the west coast of Britain, especially closest to Ireland. The 2^nd division caught some raiders red-handed and confirmed they were sent to raid Britain by the King of Dyflin and the King of Leinster. Apparently, Hawise of Rennes has been stirring trouble in Ireland.”

“Hasn’t that bitch had enough?” asked an exasperated Ewing. Luke and Marion chuckled since the admiral had hit a common theme in the intelligence discussions.

“That’s not the first time we’ve heard that phrase,” replied Marion. “Are the two light cruisers ready for sea?”

“Not yet, ma’am. From this morning’s reports, the ships will need another couple of weeks of sea trials before I’m willing to send them into battle. Some of the new fire control technology is giving us problems, and we’re seeing more wear than anticipated on some of the gears in the engine room.”

Unlike many other monarchs, Marion could handle bad news. It was far better to tell her the bad news straight than to try and hide it. People who tried to hide bad news were soon without a job, and some without freedom.

“Why are you seeing more wear? We didn’t have any problems with the destroyers.”

“We haven’t determined that yet, Luke, but the theory is there might have been a quality control problem in the foundry.”

“I’m going to want to see the parts that are wearing as soon as possible.”

“Yes, general. General, I have a question for you.” Luke looked at her and waited. “Why do you want to see the wear?”

Luke smiled at her. “Admiral, I will tell you, but you must swear never to repeat what I tell you to anyone.”

“Of course, general.” Ewing didn’t need to think about it.

“Well, the foundry you bought those parts from, I own it. I own the mines and mills that produced the steel for your ships. The railroads that move the parts and crews for your ships belong to my business empire, and I also own most of the farms that produce the oil to power the destroyers.”

“But how, sir?”

“I introduced the technology all those industries use, and before you ask the next question in your line of thinking, know that I won’t answer it.”

“Yes, sir,” Ewing swallowed. “Would you like to see the parts now?”

“Yes, I would.”

Admiral Ewing led the way as she wondered how Luke developed all the technologies he had introduced. Her musings took them to a workshop in the yard that specialized in propulsion. There, Luke was shown the bearings and gears that had worn faster than they should have. Taking the parts to the quality lab, he started performing tests to see if he could figure out the problem.

Standing by the door, Marion and Admiral Ewing watched Luke go from one test to the next while checking the paperwork that accompanied the parts. It was there he found what was wrong, and when he discovered the issue, he threw the gear in his hand across the shop, where it bounced off the wall with a loud crash. His foundry had used the wrong alloy to produce the parts.

“What’s wrong, Luke?”

“The fucking boneheaded idiots in the foundry used the wrong alloy, but the prints list the correct one. Admiral, I suggest you quarantine all the parts from this shipment until their composition can be verified.”

“Yes, sir.” Ewing turned to give the orders to her aide.

“You okay, darling?” Marion whispered

“Yeah. It just ticks me off when people make such stupid mistakes.”

“How do you know it was a mistake, Luke?”

Luke sighed. A spy might have been working in his foundry; it wasn’t like Luke had decent background checks to find red flags. A far more likely explanation, though, was that someone was stupid and used the wrong recipe to form the alloy. He could not do anything until the rest of the test results came back, so he decided to tour the port to see how it had changed since he helped build it.

“Hey, Marion, come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Take a spin around the port. See if anything has changed.”

Luke held his arm out, and Marion snuggled against him as she felt his arm wrap around her. When the pair left, everyone watched them. They had heard the queen and general were split up, but they looked happy together. Word of Edhida’s death hadn’t reached Portsmouth and likely wouldn’t because Luke insisted the news of her passing not be leaked.

As the pair walked, Marion looked up at Luke, and the smile melted his heart. He was so glad to be back with Marion. Then Luke saw an apothecary, and his mind went to a certain redheaded doctor. Marion saw where he was looking and knew what he was thinking.

“Thinking about Alice?”

“Yeah. I want her back, Marion, but I don’t know if I’m ready to approach her.”

“If you don’t know Luke, you’re not ready.”

Luke smiled as the pair continued their tour of the naval yard. Their final stop was the lighthouse on the Isle of Wight, where they went to the top, and Luke looked out over the harbor and surrounding land. The sun was setting by this time, so Luke pulled Marion next to him and watched the sunset. Marion glanced around to ensure they were alone; their two guards were inside as they were deathly afraid of heights.

“Thinking about your old home?”

Luke sighed, “Is it that obvious?”

“To me, yes. Who are you thinking about?”

“Mackenzie and her children. My niece should be a teenager wherever or whenever she is. Based on how Mackenzie was at that age, I bet my sister has her hands full with my niece. I still wonder how my former employees are doing. Several were single parents just trying to make ends meet and keep their children healthy. I hope they are being taken care of. Mostly though, with every sunset, I thank God for introducing me to the best woman in any world.”

Marion looked up at him with tears running down her face as she tipped her head back to kiss him. Once the sun was gone, the pair returned to the port, where they had a room in the visiting officers’ quarters.

The following day, Marion and Luke had one last meeting with Admiral Ewing before they returned home. Marion’s orders for the admiral were as simple as they were brutal. As soon as the cruisers were ready for sea, they were to head to the Irish Sea, where they were to check all shipping for slaves. If slaves were found, they were to be rescued, and both the slave ship and crew were to be sunk.

York, Great Britain. July 1070

Marion and Luke arrived back in York as the sun was setting. Once they returned to the palace, Gabriella ran up to hug Marion and kiss Luke on his cheek.

“Welcome back, honey,” Gabriella turned back to Marion. “How was Portsmouth?”

“Good. Those damn Irish will think twice before raiding in a few weeks.”

“A few weeks? I thought the cruisers would be ready for sea by now.”

“They’re having teething problems with the fire control systems, and Luke thinks someone mixed the wrong alloy for some of the gears, leading to higher wear than anticipated.”

“Oh. Well, it’s been a few weeks. Can I take your mind off your troubles?” Gabriella asked in a sultry tone.

“I’m already wet, Gabby!”

Gabby and Marion took off for their sleeping chambers while Luke chuckled. Some guards looked at him with questioning faces, but Luke didn’t care. He decided to work in his shop for a few hours to give the ladies some time alone. While walking to his shop, another thought crossed Luke’s mind. There was a woman in his life he could visit, and she had three children who he hadn’t seen in almost a year.

Retracing his steps, Luke went to the house where he heard Alice lived. Looking at it, he approved of her taste before knocking on the door. Inside, he could hear little feet running around before he heard the woman he came to see.

“Damn it, Ælfsige! I’m not interested in you! For the last time, GO AWAY!” Luke smiled and knocked again. “GOD DAMN IT! Take a fucking hint!”

Alice threw back the door, obviously going to say something vicious, when she saw who was standing on the other side of her door.

“Hello, Alice. Would you mind a visit?”

“What do you want, Luke?” she answered rather crossly. Hearing the venom in her voice, Luke had his answer as he tried to stop the tear from running down his cheek, but he was unsuccessful. If Alice saw it, she didn’t react. Without saying a word, Luke turned around to leave; he tried and found Alice hated him. Seeing him move to go, Alice cried out, “Luke, wait!” When he stopped, she continued, “You came all this way; would you like to spend some time with your children?”

“Yes, I would. Thank you, Alice.” Luke managed to get out between his tears as he carefully entered her home. He didn’t want to threaten her in any way, so he took every precaution to seem less threatening. As Luke walked into the front room, he saw a flash of red as Rebecca scampered across the floor. Luke moved quickly and scooped her up, getting a lot of giggling for his effort. That giggling did more for Luke than any therapy he could have imagined.

Alice watched as the face of the man she loved melted when he picked up their daughter. She wished Luke would pick her up and make her giggle, but she thought he was still angry with her. It didn’t occur to her that Luke looked that way because that’s how she presented herself to him. As Luke was playing with a giggling Becky, there was another knock at the door.