Chapter 4: Wedding Bells

February 1808

One of Missus Pelham’s servants was waiting for Wolverine’s officers at the quay to guide them to her house where their hostess greeted them effusively.

“Welcome, gentlemen, and thank you for accepting my invitation!”

“On behalf of myself and my officers, I thank you for hosting our celebration,” Benning answered. “May I present Commander Eckleson, Master’s Mates Wainbridge and Warner, and Midshipmen Boyle, Prideaux and Pons? You already met Lieutenant Grey at the governor’s soiree?”

“Yes, I did. Again, welcome, gentlemen!”

The dining room was not grand, but pretty enough and spacious. They found their names on cards, and it took a minute or three for them to find their places. Captain Benning had Missus Pelham as his table partner as was proper, but three chairs were not yet taken. This changed when Missus Duncan and her daughters entered. In this moment, Thomas saw the place card at the empty seat to his left. It read “Mrs. Catrina Duncan”.

He gulped, but scrambled to his feet to help Missus Duncan get seated. He could see that she moved stiffly, but the dress she was wearing flattered her womanly figure and her pale skin.

“Are you feeling better yet, Madam?” Thomas heard himself asking.

“A little. Missus Pelham has been very kind to us. I am still hurting though,” she admitted in a low voice.

“Would that we had captured that man alive to give him a feel of the Cat,” Thomas said darkly.

He was shocked when she pressed his arm. Looking at her he saw that her grey eyes had turned dark. “Oh, to see him on a grating, writhing under the lashes!” she hissed. Then she offered a weak shrug, accompanied by a grimace of pain. “At least, he drowned miserably. Captain Benning told me that it was your idea to fire at the boat. I was praying for that! I was praying that you would blow us all to smithereens. I was ... I am not certain that I am happy to survive.”

“Oh!” Thomas said weakly.

“Yes. Missus Pelham is very nice, but many other people will question why I chose to stay alive.”

“To take care of your daughters? They will need their mother to overcome their ordeal.”

“You are a dear young man, Mister Grey. Let not my misery colour your mood. Enjoy this evening.”

“Madam, this evening is enjoyable chiefly because I am allowed to spend it as your table partner!” Thomas lied. He must have lied well because he saw a fleeting smile on her face.

“Oh, dear. Missus Pelham was right. You are a flatterer!”

This was the end of their whispered exchange, for they had to join the talk at the table lest they appeared unsociable. Yet, all evening, whenever a chance or a pretence offered itself, Missus Duncan would press his arm, and once even his knee.

Thomas was confused at first when Missus Pelham across the table gave him a nod and an encouraging smile whilst other-wisely giving her full attention to the captain. Then he realised that the newly posted Captain Elias Benning was a viable candidate to fill the emptiness in her life on a more permanent and certainly more acceptable basis, compared with the attention a newly minted 18 year-old lieutenant could give her. Strangely, the realisation did not hurt him as much as he expected, perhaps because he enjoyed the adoration of the sweet lady by his side. She might be almost twice his age, she might hurt from her ordeal, but her attention made him feel special.

Further down the table, Eileen Duncan basked in the attention of two young men at once, Boyle and Prideaux, whilst her little sister Heather was happy to be silent at the equally mute Pon’s side.

The evening was entirely pleasurable for Wolverine’s officers, and it ended on a high note when Captain Benning and Commander Eckleson announced that every officer would receive a three-day pass over the coming week.

When they were about to take their leave — Thomas had already bid farewell to Missus Duncan — Missus Pelham pulled him to the side.

“I trust that you will accept my invitation to spend your shore leave at my house, Mister Grey?”

“Madam, I do not know if this will be appropriate?” Thomas asked, not wanting to come into his captain’s way. She must have guessed his thoughts for she laughed brightly.

“My dear young man, I am afraid that you will not enjoy quite the hospitality as those five weeks ago. Captain Benning has already agreed to be my guest too,” she smiled. Then she lowered her voice. “I was more thinking of poor Missus Duncan. She adores you, you know? You would be very good for her!”

“B-but she was hurt!” Thomas whispered.

“She has all the more need for tenderness, my dear young man. Please accept!”

Taking a deep breath, Thomas nodded. “Then I accept your kind invitation, Madam.”

Thomas had to go his last Morning Watch in Wolverine before he and Captain Benning took the longboat to their new ship. Thomas had his sea chest only, but Captain Benning brought along more items, including his own cabin furniture and two well made Berber carpets.

HMS Andromeda was a fifth-rate twelve-pounder frigate and a sister ship of the infamous Hermione. She was built in 1804, measured 700 tons and was rated at 32 guns. For a freshly posted captain, she was a catch.

Andromeda’s officers had been forewarned of course. The longboat was hailed and Mister Pons hailed back “Andromeda”. When Captain Benning came aboard, all hands were on deck already and the Royal Marines detachment was presenting their muskets.

Thomas also came aboard, but stood back to allow the Captain to ‘read himself in’, meaning to read verbatim from the posting order. Only when that important ceremony was over and the hands had been dismissed, Thomas proceeded forward and faced the officer of the watch.

“Lieutenant Thomas Grey, come aboard, Sir!”

“Lieutenant Adam Bingham. I’m second. Welcome aboard, Mister Grey!” He turned to a young volunteer. “Run and rouse the wardroom steward!”

Fifteen minutes later, Thomas was settled in his new quarters. The cabin with his cot (not a hammock!), a stool and a tiny desk, was separated from the wardroom by a latticed door. As tiny as this stall was, it was the second-largest of the cabins, the smaller ones being used by junior wardroom officers as were the sailing master Mister Beverly, the purser Mister Coldwater, the Marine lieutenant Mister Polwell, and the ship’s surgeon Mister Hall. Mister Bingham had the cabin opposite from Thomas on the port side, and the First Lieutenant had his separate cabin off the wardroom.

This was where Thomas reported next. Mister Brown, the First Lieutenant was still quite young, in his middling twenties at most, and he must have received his commission at a young age. He greeted Thomas friendly enough, but he was guarded, allowing for the possibility that Thomas was a protégé of the new captain. He carefully explained Thomas’s new responsibilities. On manoeuvre stations, Thomas had the foremast under him, and on battle stations he commanded the starboard battery. This was all cut and dried, and identical to the distribution of duties in hundreds of British frigates.

Brown then asked Thomas about his service so far and intimated that he had been a lieutenant for seven years, earning his commission at seventeen. At least there would be no envy for Thomas’s early advancement. Thomas was then sent to acquaint himself with his stations.

For the next two hours and until the noon meal, Thomas found the warrant and petty officers under his command and had them show him their stations. Clearly, Andromeda was kept in a neat shape and the hands he saw were not sullen and mostly cheerful. As the last point of his inspection, Thomas ran up the ratlines and to the mast head at his best speed. He knew that his first perception by his subordinates would be important, and by his quick ascent he showed that his skills matched those of a topman. On the way down, he carefully inspected the running rigging and the tops to find any weak points. There was one stay that needed a fresh tarring, and once back on deck again, he gave orders to see to this.

The twelve-pounders of the starboard battery were fitted with flintlocks and apparently well cared for. To his surprise, he detected some chafing on the breech rope of the Nº4 twelve-pounder and gave orders to renew it. Turning around, he saw Bingham standing behind him, a grin on his face.

“Found it, huh?” he asked smugly.

Thomas realised that this had been a test, and he grinned too.

“I spotted two, the stay and the breech rope. Were there more?”

Bingham shook his head. “No. That was all we could rig on short notice. There won’t be any repeats either from now on. We just like to know what our men are made of. No offence meant.”

“None taken, Sir.” Thomas replied easily.

“Call me Adam! Are you Thomas or Tom?”

“I prefer Thomas.”

“Then Thomas you will be,” Bingham grinned. “Let’s repair to the wardroom though. I hear we have a mutton stew today.”

During the meal, Thomas was gently quizzed. Not so much about himself, but rather about Captain Benning. He could only report that Benning was rather easy going as long as everybody did their duties, but that he could be unpleasant when discovering slack.

In turn, he learned that the late Captain Andrew Molineaux had been a just captain, however with a terrible temper when angered. Thomas’s own predecessor, Lt. James Kearney had left the ship after he was discovered as a cheat at the cards. Thomas had to admit that he was not a card player at all.

“Well, at least that rules you out as a cheat,” Mister Brown shrugged. “By the way, you’ll have First and Second Dogwatch. Nothing to it, really. Just that some of us were granted shore leave.”

“Looking forward to it, Sir,” Thomas replied.

“The captain also informed me that he gave you a three-day pass starting tomorrow. I’ll let you go some extra watches until then.”

Thomas nodded. It was fair enough. “I wouldn’t have it otherwise, Sir.”

“Why were you given a pass, Thomas?” Adam asked curiously.

Blushing, Thomas admitted to being slated for a medal. Of course, he had to tell the story of the rescue then, without naming Missus Duncan by name of course.

“So you blew those rascals to kingdom come?” Brown asked. “Well done I say. And saving fair damsels works well with their Lordships too. You’re a strong swimmer then?”

“Good enough at least, Sir. There’s a big pond near our house where my father taught me. Sea water is much easier.”

“You’re from Surrey, aren’t you, Sir?” the purser, Mister Coldwater asked.

“Yes, from near Guildford, but it’s also reasonably close to Godalming.”

“Home of Mary Toft,” Mister Hall laughed. Not everybody understood the reference and he explained. “Must have been around ‘25 when a milkmaid by the name of Mary Toft convinced a great number of learned men, even doctors and such, that she could birth live rabbits. She must’ve stuffed them up her quim and then pressed them out. ‘Twas quite a story.”

Thomas grinned. “We have one of Hogarth’s prints satirising the affair. My grandfather told me the story quite often, and he always had tears in his eyes from laughing.”

“What happened to the girl?”

Thomas shrugged. “She confessed in the end, but the Magistrate must have been too busy laughing to sentence her.”

The surgeon guffawed at that, and he must have wrongly inhaled some of his wine, for he had a terrible cough attack, and the purser had to rap him hard between the shoulders.

“Let us return to our duties, gentlemen, lest somebody dies of merriment,” Mister Brown announced, and they duly rose from the table.

The Dog Watches went by rather uneventfully for Thomas, but for some attempts by the crew to test the limits of tolerance of the new 3rd lieutenant. Those attempts were easily dealt with and they stopped entirely when two sailors found themselves stuck with head cleaning duties for three days. Thomas had a wide range of punitive measures to help him discipline the crew, and he had learned from Captain Benning and from Mister Eckleson. In three years, there had been only four corporal punishments, all against the same sailor who had a knack for showing up drunk on duty. Punitive duties worked so much better for minor infractions.

After turning in and enjoying the comfort of his tiny cabin for almost four hours, Thomas had the Middle Watch, the least popular watch on His Majesty’s ships, from midnight to 4 a.m. As had been his habit in Wolverine, Thomas kept awake by pacing the deck and letting his mind wander. He was a little envious of Captain Benning who was spending the night ashore and doubtlessly in Missus Pelham’s soft arms. He also thought about Missus Duncan and about Missus Pelham’s innuendo regarding her. Catrina Duncan appealed both to his protective instincts and to his carnal desires. Being honest with himself, images of her as a slave even fuelled his desire. In the end, he willfully interrupted that train of thought to avoid an embarrassing erection.

After turning over the watch to the sailing master, Thomas managed another two hours of sleep before the bustle of the wardroom steward setting the table woke him. After visiting the wardroom’s privy (no more sharing the heads with the crew!), Thomas shaved and performed a cat lick using a wash cloth. Soon enough he joined the table.

“How did you like the first night in the luxury of your cot?” Adam asked him.

“All my life, it has been my noblest goal to sleep on a lumpy mattress inside a cupboard,” Thomas replied, causing chuckles all around.

“The cupboard even gets a little bigger once you are the lofty 1st lieutenant,” Brown threw in. “You had quite a delinquent list during the Dog Watches.”

“They were testing me, Sir. In the end, they learned.”

“Don’t they always?” Adam asked the wardroom at large. “Like children!”

“Oh, it doesn’t end there. Even the most honourable merchants try that. They know that once you’ve sailed you’re stuck with their goods,” the purser complained. “Even when discovered, they try it again.”

“It is a sad part of human nature, to be sure,” Mister Hall opined, to which they all agreed.

The Forenoon Watch saw Thomas on the quarter deck again. Unlike in English ports, ships at anchor in the roads at Gibraltar had full watches going due to the closeness of the Spanish base in Algeciras. One just never knew when the Spanish might try something. Some years ago, they had sent fireships against the anchored Mediterranean Fleet, and only the readiness of the crews had prevented a disaster.

On this morning, however, the Spanish held their peace, the weather was sunny, and the temperature just right. Thomas watched the routine tasks being performed by the watch such as scrubbing the deck, polishing the brass, mending sails and splicing ropes in the rigging, whilst the watch-free hands were making use of the weather to wash and dry their clothes.

Once relieved at noon, Thomas’s three-day pass started. His sea chest was packed already, and by early afternoon he stood in front of Missus Pelham’s house. A servant opened and guided him to an upstairs guest room. It was small but infinitely more spacious than his cupboard on board the Andromeda. The servant then led him into the small walled garden behind the house where he found his hostess sitting with Captain Benning.

“Ah, there he is! Have a seat, Mister Grey! I hope you brought along your Nº1 uniform?”

“I did, Sir. Will they give me the medal now?”

“No, but Wolverine sailed this morning and with Commander Eckleson gone, I’ll need you as my best man.”

Thomas’s eyes went wide at this, but then he composed himself. He did not have to ask who the bride would be, for Missus Pelham was wearing a beautiful, light-blue dress, and in the background he could see Captain Pelham in his parade uniform.

“My sincerest felicitations, Sir! And to you, Madam! It will be my pleasure and privilege.”

“Well, get dressed then! Shoo!” Missus Pelham laughed. “You’ve only a half hour.”

With his head whirling, Thomas almost ran upstairs to his room. To his surprise, he found Missus Duncan there.

“Missus Pelham asked me to help you dress for the occasion,” she explained. Which she did. Only fifteen minutes later, to guess from the large pendulum clock in the entrance hall, Thomas stood ready in his best uniform, sword at his side. Captain Benning and he then walked ahead to the Governor’s Residence where they entered the attached chapel. The garrison chaplain welcomed them, and several officers of the garrison approached Benning to wish him well.

Noticing movement at the entrance, Thomas felt the need to nudge his captain. “Sir, it’s Lord Collingwood!”

Even Benning straightened as Vice-admiral Lord Cuthbert Collingwood, KCB, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, approached them. Thomas noticed something awkward in his gait as if he were in pain, but he was all smiles as he shook Captain Benning’s hand.

“My best wishes for your wedding, Captain!”

“Thank you for coming, your Lordship! May I present Lieutenant Thomas Grey, my 3rd lieutenant and best man?”

“Ah, the young man who dove into the sea to rescue that poor woman! I am pleased to meet you in the flesh, Lieutenant!”

“Thank you, milord!” Thomas was able to croak, overwhelmed as he was in the presence of one of Britain’s most admired admirals.

“Say, I knew a Commander Grey, Theodore Grey. Are you any relation?”

“He ... he’s my father, milord.”

“Well, give him my greetings when you see him!”

“M-most assuredly, milord!”

It was good that the bridal party arrived now to distract Lord Collingwood. Thomas could see the face of Missus Pelham when she saw who graced her wedding and he foresaw a happy wedding night for his captain. The two Duncan girls were walking in front of her casting petals and Thomas could see Catrina Duncan entering the chapel but staying in the back. Then he had to focus on his task, basically standing a half step behind his captain and not moving.

Captain Pelham led his mother to the front and placed her hand in Benning’s before he, too, stepped back. The chaplain started the ceremony, carefully following the rites of the Church of England. Groom and bride then spoke the vows and the chaplain blessed them before they walked along the aisle to the portal. Thomas and Captain Pelham stayed back to countersign the documents before they, too, left the church.

As Thomas learned, there would be a reception in the Convent Garden which the Governor was kind enough to allow. Therefore it was only a very brief walk for them. Tables had been set up with food and drink, with the guests milling around them and between them. Thomas stood to the side and watched, uncertain whether he belonged.