The Medieval Marine - Cauldron Simmering
Copyright© 2025 by somethin fishy
Chapter 28: Home
“Any soldier returning home must rediscover his humanity and establish a livable peace with the discovered, liberated, permanently dark places in his own heart -- the darkness that is always with us.” – Larry Heinemann.
Hull, Great Britain. July 1079
Luke and the women gathered on the ship’s bow as it slipped into Hull. The women couldn’t believe how advanced the British were, while Luke looked on with fatherly pride as the lessons he had taught were being used to full effect. It appeared that the port had undergone several expansions over the last three years. For the first time since he arrived in England, Luke sensed that maybe, just maybe, the people would heed his warnings and practice his teachings, thus allowing humanity a brighter future.
His women were just as excited. For the first time, they were seeing their new home, and so far, it was everything Luke had promised. Ships that moved without sails or oars. Massive machines that loaded and offloaded them and most stunning for the women were the British women in uniform.
On their way across, they had been stopped by a British Coast Guard cutter. Luke knew Marion was planning on building a coast guard so her navy could concentrate on defending trade and defeating enemies. When Luke saw the British ship approaching, he smiled, seeing that the ship was painted white and had a red diagonal stripe running from the deck to the water line in front of the bridge.
When the cutter came alongside, Morvarid couldn’t keep her jaw closed. She had always thought Luke was kidding when he said women in Britain could be officers. By the luck of the draw, the ship that stopped them had a female commander. The Flemish merchant ship captain wasn’t surprised to see this coast guard ship was commanded by a woman. He had been trading with Britain for 20 years and had experienced all the changes Marion made firsthand.
After Marion came to power, the captain wasn’t sure what to make of the queen. It took him some time to get used to Marion’s changes, but once he did, he found that trade was easier. Now, he wondered how he ever managed. There were no pirates to worry about, all the trade laws were written down and open for anyone to review, and the coinage was second to none. When the captain purchased foreign goods to resell in Britain, his vendors often demanded payment in British pounds, as they were widely accepted throughout Europe.
Their ship glided into its assigned slip, and Luke felt it bump against the stops. He waited until the crew secured the ship before he moved to disembark. But before walking across the gangway, he took a deep breath, and Morvarid came up beside him. She looked at him and smiled.
“Welcome home, Luke,” she said softly. Luke looked at her and smiled.
“Same to you, darling. Same to you.”
He leaned over and kissed her before walking across the gangplank. He couldn’t describe the feeling that washed over him when his foot landed on the dock. He took a deep breath and smiled; he was home. After he got over the feeling, the work began as the luggage had to be offloaded. Luke wasn’t about to take his eyes off the thirty large chests of gold, silver, books, and gems. There was enough treasure that Luke might have been better off renting a shipping container to transport it.
It took almost three hours to offload their luggage and for Luke to secure transportation. A wagon took them to the rail station, where Luke had Tuija buy the tickets so she could practice. Luke instructed her on how to purchase the tickets, and although she still had an accent, the ticket agent understood her without any issues.
When Zeva walked through the crowd, she noticed nobody had given her a second glance despite her scars and obvious Jewish looks. Seeing the people ignore her injuries made Zeva smile, which brought out the beauty in her face. She hoped to find herself a good husband in Britain, knowing she wouldn’t be able to share Luke with other women. She also had little interest in other women.
While Zeva wasn’t interested in other women, Morvarid, Tuija, and Guzal couldn’t wait to get to York and be introduced to Marion, Alice, Kukka, and Gabriella. Morvarid wanted to know if all redheads tasted the same or if they tasted different. The new mothers also learned their children didn’t like crowds when Seferiye and Daniel began crying.
The mums sighed and picked up their children so they could comfort them. Luke guided everyone to the station platform, where they had to wait about five minutes for the train. When the train arrived on time, Luke smiled. He watched as the porters loaded their luggage. Luke figured that just by the weight, they would have an idea of what was inside. The train itself was one of the new electric trains. It obtained its power from overhead lines, drastically reducing the cost of maintenance for each train. With the aluminum wires being made, electric trains were rapidly overtaking the steam engines in Great Britain.
The old steam engines were either sold to the Holy Roman Empire or scrapped. With increased electricity production and scrap steel, Bard had a mini-mill with an electric arc furnace built in Sheffield. He was taking lessons from Luke seriously as Bard spread his industry out and kept the factories in any one area mixed. This way, if one factory closed down, it wouldn’t affect the surrounding area too badly.
Finally, everything was loaded, and Luke boarded the train as the conductor made the final call. Luke moved and sat with his women in a seat next to Gemma. Like Zeva, Gemma and Clara would look for husbands once they settled down in York. None were worried about finding jobs because Luke had promised them jobs and a share of the spoils they brought home. Their share of the spoils alone would support them for the rest of their lives if they were careful.
As the train pulled out of the station, Tuija and Zeva squealed to the delight of the other passengers. Both women turned as red as Tuija’s hair before they broke down in giggles. Morvarid didn’t share in the giggles. She smiled but quickly turned to look out the window. Everything was so new that she wanted to take everything in. Things as simple as the window glass in the coach fascinated her, and more than once, she caught her hand traveling up to feel the smooth glass.
By the time the train had traveled 100 meters, Luke had noticed the quiet ride; there was no clickity-clack. That signaled to Luke that someone had figured out how to thermite weld the rails together to produce one long rail. By welding the rails together, the British reduced the maintenance cost of the tracks and equipment while increasing train safety. Train safety was also why any road crossed a rail line went over or under the tracks, never a grade crossing. Bard pushed Marion to make this law after several horses had been hit, causing derailments.
With everything Morvarid knew about Luke and his mind, she was still rendered speechless, looking up at the towering stacks of the River Derwent Steel Mill. There was something ominous in the steel mill, with the tall black stacks and smoke pouring out. Luke looked up at the stacks and knew he would have to talk with whoever was managing the mill now, as black smoke meant unburned fuel was escaping.
If the women were rendered speechless by Hull, the train, or the mill arriving in York overwhelmed them. Even Luke was a bit stunned. York now reminded him of New York in its traffic. As long as the cabbies didn’t drive like New York City cabbies, then everything would still be good.
While the women watched over the offloading of their luggage, Luke hired several cabs to take them to a nearby hotel. He didn’t know how long it would take him to get through to see Marion. After hearing the tale of the man his daughter killed, Luke knew he wouldn’t be able to just walk in, claiming to be himself. Even wearing his uniform seemed like it could be dangerous.
Instead, Luke knew he would have to use a little bit of deception to get in. For that, he had the perfect name in mind. He knew that once Marion heard it, she would know who he was. With everything lined up in his mind, Luke found a hotel with four ground-floor rooms to spread out some. He knew the widows and Zeva would want to look for ways to rebuild their lives, while their midwife couldn’t wait to meet Alice. Thinking of Alice, Luke changed his plans.
Once everyone was settled, Luke decided to change into his full uniform before gathering the women together and having them follow him to the hospital. Although his uniform still fit, it was starting to look a little rough. When they arrived and were signing in, Luke noticed a flash of red off to the side. He looked up and saw his redheaded doctor walking toward him and talking to another doctor. Luke was going to say something, but before he could, the male doctor put his arm around Alice. His heart fell when Alice looked up at him with a smile, but at least she didn’t kiss him.
He didn’t have a reason to worry because as Alice walked toward them, she was drawn by the large group of women, especially the tall black-haired woman. Then she saw the large man in DCUs looking at her with a sense of worry on his face. Alice dropped the papers she was carrying, screamed, and passed out. Luke was at her side and shoved her guards away as he wrapped his arms around her. He rocked her back and forth until she woke up.
Alice had been talking to one of the newer doctors and had found him knowledgeable and attractive. She had come to the same conclusion as Mackenzie that Luke was never coming back, and while she found plenty of love at home, she was getting an itch that she knew could only be taken care of with a real cock. For the job, Alice had noticed the tall doctor and thought he was handsome enough. She could imagine waking up next to him would be lovely.
As she was walking next to the other doctor, she was planning out how to ask him to sleep with her as she knew he was attracted to her. Walking toward her office, where she planned to ask him, she was attracted by a large group of women and a large man wearing DCUs who had just entered. It wasn’t unusual to see a few men still wearing their DCUs, especially if they had been wounded and forced to resign. Two women had babies in their arms, and one was very pregnant. Then everything in her life was turned upside down when she saw the tall man’s eyes.
While it had been several years, there was no mistaking his build, stance, or eyes, especially his eyes. She had spent years looking into them and knew every wrinkle and glimmer. Then Alice felt dizzy, and her world went black.
Alice came around slowly. At first, she was confused and noticed guards rushing to her while the women from the large group were trying to block them. As her vision cleared, Alice saw the best sight ever. Reaching up, she ran her fingers over his strong jawline, not believing her eyes. Alice just couldn’t believe it. Her man had his arms around her and was rocking her, then the yelling caught her attention.
“GUARDS! STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN!” Alice screamed. The guards stopped and looked at their boss with confusion. “Please escort these women to my office and give them anything they want. I will be there in a little bit.” She looked up at Luke. Although she was sure, Alice wanted to ask him something to be absolutely sure. “Who was your first great love?” Luke smiled and put his lips next to Alice’s ear.