Chapter 19: Mulberry Street

December 1803

Sailing from Plymouth to Portsmouth in the Pearl proved to be a pleasant affair. The old frigate, free of her heavy ordnance, was a good sailor, even without her top hamper. The weather was cold but dry, with the sun showing frequently, and their progress before the westerly breeze was steady.

Will and his family occupied the former wardroom whilst Granger lorded it in the after cabin, and the other two watch officers occupied the cabins of 1st lieutenant and sailing master, also on the quarter deck. Meals were taken in the wardroom, cooked in fact by Abigail with Fanny’s help, and under the watchful eye of the cook. The remaining officers were very satisfied with the results whilst the ratings enjoyed fresh ale and fresh provisions as well. It was a perfect quid pro quo for both sides. They arrived in Portsmouth after three days, with only little Horace suffering a little from seasickness.

After anchoring, a volunteer work party from Pearl’s crew made short work of manning their possessions up from the hold and transporting them to the shore in the frigate’s longboat. Not content with that, they loaded everything on the platform wagon Will hired, and carried everything into Will’s new house.

Of course, this required Will to accompany them back to the harbour where he hosted the volunteers and the officers in the Blue Posts inn. He was almost 24 shillings poorer afterwards and drunk, too, but when he returned to the house, it was livable. Abigail and Belle had organised the sorting of possessions and small furnishings, and with the exception of the bedframes, everything was in place.

Not enough with that, Pearl’s carpenter, Mister Terence, and his mate, Grover, showed up in the next morning, setting up the bed frames and fixing what damage the furnishings had suffered. In return, they shared the first dinner prepared on their new cooking hearth with the family before they returned to their ship with Will’s thanks and a generous pay.

That night they slept in their accustomed beds and in their new bedchambers. Betty and Fanny were bursting with pride over their new bedchamber, their new bed, and the wool runner in front of it, telling Will time and again that this was the best they had lived in all their lives.

Belle was quite happy, too, with her new quarters. She selected the smaller chamber for their bedroom and furnished the larger chamber as private sitting room, much like in the Coopers’ Alley house.

Abigail was very proud of their new home, too, and she showed Will her appreciation later at night, when both children slept. All this left Will hoping that Odin’s repairs would take a long time.

A day later, the first neighbours paid them visits, welcoming them and being curious about the new family in the neighbourhood. Their next door neighbour, Elizabeth Wilson, was one of the last, having just finished fitting a customer with a coat, and she was obviously delighted over meeting two compatible women of respectable standing. Of interest for Will was the fact that her shop was backed by Captain Anthony Carter, who had been in the Gazette in the Spring after capturing a large French fifth-rate, the Loire, of 44 guns, with an aged twelve-pounder frigate.

Mister Barton showed with his wife, a pretty blonde with a voluptuous body and quite younger than Barton. As it turned out, Mistress Barton had once aspired to a career on the stage before opting for the more secure position at Mister Barton’s side, but she knew Belle from when she had been an understudy in a play in which Belle had played the female lead. The fact that Belle remembered her obviously pleased her, and Belle’s new respectable position as a post captain’s wife raised her even more in Mistress Barton’s eyes.

Abigail was smiling happily when the last welcomers had left.

“This is a nice neighbourhood. I’ll miss Jane and Samuel, but Miss Wilson is delightful, and the Bartons are really nice.”

Belle laughed heartily. “I must be a very good actress. I had no memory of Lydia Barton at all, but I thought it nicer to pretend that I remembered her. She certainly felt better for it.”

Will and Abigail joined her laughter. “You certainly made her grow by at least two inches,” Will threw in. “You really did not recall seeing her?”

“She must have been seventeen at the most back then,” Belle shrugged. “I’ve seen hundreds of girls who hoped to make it on the stage. Perhaps she was only trying to find a husband amongst the patrons. I’ve seen girls like that. Think of the Lady Hamilton! If the rumours are true, she started out as a painter’s muse.”

“It is a better life than what a girl like her can normally expect, if her looks are enticing enough,” Abigail opined. “I set my grapnels in Will as quickly as I could, too!”

“I thought I was the one to grab a golden opportunity,” Will contradicted, making Abigail giggle.

“That’s how I set my hooks, making you think that!”

“You two! You both grabbed golden opportunities!” Belle laughed.

Abigail turned serious. “She’s right, isn’t she?”

Will just smiled and nodded.

Having his family settled in their new home alleviated a lot of the worries Will had. Another worry, the pay for the ratings, was resolved two days later when the assistant paymaster paid a visit to Odin. Wonders over wonders, he even brought enough coin to cover the back pay of the crew. He went over Will’s accounting with a fine comb to be sure, but when he was satisfied, he left over £892 in Will’s hands for him to pay the men.

He spent over two hours handing out the overdue monies to the men, with the bosun, Wallace, sitting at his side to bear witness. The majority of the men left at least some of their pay in Will’s strongbox for safekeeping, whilst another large group left it there when Will opened the slop chest for business. He was almost sold out and completely exhausted when he made the last sale and closed shop after earning almost £179, a quarter of which were profits.

That evening, before they went to bed, Will and Abigail wrote letters to their suppliers in Birmingham and elsewhere, placing orders for new merchandise. In the next morning, Will posted those letters and then deposited the previous day’s windfall in his account at Mister Coutt’s bank house, being leery of leaving large sums of monies at home.

He next strolled the harbour district visiting ship chandlers and other merchants and getting quotes for their merchandise. In the evening, he was in for a small surprise when he returned to his new home. Abigail was sitting with their neighbour, Miss Wilson, and filling a slate with numbers. Abigail beamed when she noticed him.

“Darling, I have good news for you! One of Miss Wilson’s acquaintances owns a very large tailor shop. I showed him the sort of shirts and pants you offer in your slop chest, and with Uncle providing the cloth, Mister Giggs can make pants at 5s8d apiece, and shirts at 3s4d. He’ll task his older apprentices with the work; that’s why the price is so low. What do you think, love?”

Will thought briefly. The price was right if this Master Giggs could make enough.

“I’ll need at least 50 pants and twice as many shirts. Can he make that many?”

Miss Wilson answered that. “It’s a rather large tailor shop. He has five apprentices who are in their third and fourth years, and the work will give them a chance to prove themselves before they get their journeyman letters. His shop does good work. My former master bought the shirts he sold from Giggs, and we never had problems.”

Will nodded. This sounded good, but his ingrained sense of caution made him ask another question.

“Forgive my asking, but where do you and your shop fit in?”

Elizabeth Wilson was very pretty when she smiled. “I can profit in two ways: I can buy shirts from him at the same low price, and I hope to win you and Mistress Potter as customers. You could stand to wear better fitting coats, and your wife should love a few pretty dresses, too.”

Will looked at Abigail who tried to look indifferent and was failing. He had to smile. It was true. Abigail was a pretty woman, a loyal wife, and good mother, and she always looked for ways to help and to please him.

“I can see how this will work out well for all of us. Can Master Giggs produce one shirt and trouser pair for tall, middling and small men, plus one set for boys, as samples for me to judge the workmanship? I shall pay for those of course. Please understand that a sailor’s clothes have a cruel life on board, and they must hold up to higher standards than those of a landsman. Think of washing in seawater only and being wet or moist most of the time.”

“I understand that you must be the judge of your needs, Mister Potter. I shall speak to Master Giggs on your behalf and give you an answer by tomorrow evening.”

“I cannot ask for more, Miss Wilson, and I thank you. Perhaps, my dear wife may want to discuss her own clothing needs with you soon? Her needs are more important than mine, after all.”

“I am still starting my business. Mistress Potter may visit at any time.”

Will understood immediately. Their neighbour was still struggling to establish herself with her little shop.

“Once we are both served, perhaps I can drop your name in the wardroom?”

Her face lit up. “That would be very helpful, Mister Potter. Mistress Potter will have to get an order for blue broadcloth to her uncle first, before I can be of service to the Navy gentlemen.”

It was Abigail’s time to frown now. “I fear my uncle had but a small stock of blue broadcloth, but I know his weaver. Perhaps I should order directly from him? Mister Archer always made good quality cloths. He is from Manchester, but he sells from London.”

“I can see that,” Will agreed. “Mister Trent, my wife’s uncle, sells mostly to the gentry, so his shop is well stocked with fustian and other cotton cloths, but he rarely trades with the Plymouth tailors. I recall asking him about this.”

“How much would I have to order?” Wilson asked cautiously.

Abigail thought briefly. “Uncle always ordered at least a 60-foot bale of each cloth, and you’ll need both heavy and medium wool cloth for uniform coats. You’ll need gilded buttons, too.”

“Oh, dear! I cannot afford such an outlay,” Wilson moaned. “I am only starting.”

Will thought briefly, and a thought hit him.

“What if I make that purchase? I cannot lose, seeing how everything you won’t need can be sold to other tailors. Abigail, you know enough about cloth trading to handle that, don’t you?”

“I shouldn’t have a problem with that,” Abigail said. “I could not do it more than once or twice, because you are no guild member, but if we don’t sell at a mark-up, we should be in the clear. Would you be comfortable with that, Miss Wilson?”

“I don’t know. What if your Mister Archer’s prices are higher than what the cloth merchants here in the city charge?”

Abigail shook her head. “Archer sells to wholesalers, and they sell to cloth merchants, who supply the tailors. If we go around the wholesaler and the merchant, we can save at least a third of the price. What if we look around what the merchants charge, and I promise you that we’ll ask less?”

Will watched his wife with amusement. She was clearly in her element.

“How much outlay have we to consider, dear?” he asked.

Abigail paused for a moment, but then she nodded. “Two bales should run at £14 at most from what I recall.”

“Let us send a letter with the order. I am quite certain that we shan’t lose money on such a purchase.”

“Can you afford that much, Mister Potter?” Wilson asked. “I would hate to ruin our neighbourly relations.”

“Never worry, Miss Wilson. Buying and selling is how I earn my livelihood. You can pay me by making beautiful dresses for my wife.”

Over the next weeks, the Potters settled into their new home. Abigail established tabs at the neighbourhood grocers, butchers and coal merchants, whilst Will procured what furnishings and fixings were needed in their household. He also sent letters to Percy Montgomery and to his uncle, advising them of his new address.

Three weeks after their move, John Alwyn arrived in Portsmouth and reported on board Odin. Mister Croft rated him as purser’s steward, and Will could leave many of the simpler matters to his trusted sidekick.

They also received notice that Odin was next in line for the dry dock. The ship was laid alongside the quay at the arsenal and relieved of her ordnance. There were only few provisions or stores left in the ship, and it was now time to shift the crew to a receiving ship, the former fourth-rate Rippon, a hulk anchored near Whale Island. Of course, Rippon had her own purser, so Will, along with the sailing master, the carpenter and the sailmaker stayed with Odin.