Chapter 1: Special Honours (Jan 2, 1815)

Sir Thomas Grey, OSML, checked his appearance in the tall mirror of the dressing room. His coat now sported the epaulettes of a captain of more than three years’ seniority, the green and white sash with the green and white star of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus formed a nice contrast with the dark blue cloth, and the rest of his clothes — spotless white breeches and silk stockings, gold-buckled shoes, a silk cravat and a stiff collared shirt — were of the finest quality.

The only possible exception was the sword at his side, a fine blade to be sure, but largely devoid of gilding and other ornaments. Briefly, Thomas contemplated to exchange it for the heavily gilded, 50-guineas honour sword which he had received as a junior lieutenant, but then he shook his head. The sword at his side had been his late father’s, and he would wear it on his day of honour.

He pulled out his fob watch and checked the time. It was time to leave if they were to be in time.

“Are you ready yet, Darling?” he asked in the direction of the bedroom.

“About done, Thomas!”, came the cheery reply from his wife, and he stepped into the bedroom. Mirabel smiled at him whilst her maidservant, Suzette, was affixing the fashionable hat to her curly hair. “And done!” Mirabel announced. “You look splendid.”

Thomas took in the sight of his wife and smiled. In the dress she was wearing, nothing was visible of her pregnancy, but her face showed the radiance to which he was by now accustomed.

“I am hardly a match for my beautiful wife,” he announced, making Mirabel beam at him. “It is chilly outside, my darling. You’ll need your great coat. Broderick! Is my coat ready?”

The manservant appeared from the dressing room carrying the heavy wool cloth coat which he hung around Thomas’s shoulders.

“Freshly brushed, Sir Thomas. The coach is already waiting.”

It was a chilly, but at least sunny morning on this New Year’s Day, 1815. Mirabel and Thomas climbed into the coach where their hosts were already waiting. Captain Elias Benning and his wife Angela were his invited guests on this occasion, both being long time friends and supporters.

“How do you feel, Thomas?” Elias asked.

“All I know is that I’ll feel much better this afternoon,” Thomas returned with a lopsided smile.

Elias chuckled softly. “It’s your first attendance to court, isn’t it? Oh my, who would’ve imagined this nine years ago?”

Thomas nodded. “Not I, Elias. That’s why I feel almost surreal.”

Nine years earlier, then Midshipman Grey had reported for duty in the Wolverine sloop, under the command of Commander Elias Benning. Over the years as he advanced in rank, their paths had crossed often, and their relationship had gradually morphed into a close friendship. Their wives too had become fast friends, with Angela Benning considering herself Thomas and Mirabel’s honorary aunt.

Now they were on their way from the Bennings’ London house to St. James Palace, to attend a special honours ceremony. Thomas had received the summons in early December. He was to be made a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, adding to his knighthood in the Savoyan Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus which he had won almost two years earlier when fighting Barbary pirates on the Sardinian coast. His new knighthood was to be the reward for another action against the Barbary coast corsairs in which he had fought and sunk an obsolete two-deck battleship, sent by the vengeful Dey of Algiers, with his beloved Unicorn frigate. Shaking himself from the reminiscences, he smiled ruefully.

“Yes, it’s surreal.”

The war against Napoleon had ended the previous summer with a complete victory. On this day, a large batch of Navy and Army officers would be given knighthoods for their feats and true service, forcing a massive enlargement of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Thus, the state rooms of the St. James Palace were positively crammed with the officers, their wives and their guests. Being the youngest officer in presence, Thomas and his group stood to the back and watched as generals and admirals received the newly created Grand Crosses, among them a man whom Thomas and Mirabel knew. Rear Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, with whom they had once dined in Plymouth, was made a Knight Grand Cross for his string of successes in the war against the United States. Then, very senior captains and colonels were made Knight Commanders, another new rank in the order, until Companionships were bestowed on the more junior captains and colonels. There were still a number of captains and army officers waiting, when a courtier announced Thomas.

“Sir Thomas Leander Grey, Captain, Royal Navy!”

Giving Mirabel a quick kiss, Thomas stepped to the fore. He was led before the Prince Regent, who gave him a friendly smile. Thomas bowed elaborately.

“Your Royal Highness!”

“Mornin’, Captain! Glad to have you here.” The Prince Regent quickly looked into a list. “Let’s see. You sank a whole pirate fleet with a fifth-rate, including a two-decker? Now that’s a feat of which you can be proud. Let’s get started!”

A courtier hung a red cloak around Thomas’s shoulders and he was told to kneel. The surreality Thomas felt increased further and he barely felt the accolade and heard the words that made him Sir Thomas Grey, Companion of the Bath, under the new organisation. A new sash and star were draped across his chest and he was allowed to stand again.

“My felicitations, Sir Thomas,” the Prince Regent smiled.

“Thank you, your Royal Highness,” Thomas answered, and then he was already led away whilst the next officer was brought before the Prince Regent.

Hands were offered on his way back which he shook whilst he barely heard or understood the introductions. There was Mirabel giving him a beaming smile, and finally Thomas came back to his senses.

“Did you see everything?” he asked.

“Yes. Elias led us to the front. We saw it all. You looked a little dazed,” Mirabel giggled.

“I feel dazed. Well, I felt dazed.”

“I couldn’t be prouder if my own son had been knighted,” Angela smiled and gave him a brief hug.

“Thank you, Aunt Angela,” Thomas smiled, getting his balance back.

“It’s a tragedy that your parents were denied witnessing this, my dear Thomas,” Elias said solemnly. “If it is any consolation, I felt a fatherly pride for you. You are not alone.”

“Thank you, Elias. Yes, it is such a shame. That is why I am wearing my father’s old sword today.”

“I wear our mother’s ruby ring for the same reason,” Mirabel added, showing her left hand.

“Footman! Four glasses here!” Elias commanded one of the circulating attendants, and soon they were holding glasses with sparkling wine from the French Champagne region. “To your parents! I never had the luck to meet them, but I recognised early on what an exceptional young man they raised. May they look down on us from where they are now and find solace in your good fortunes!”

They drank solemnly to Theodore and Margaret Grey, lost in their memories for a brief spell. Then somebody coughed politely. Turning, Thomas stood straight. A Navy captain wearing the insignia of the Bath stood there, a stunning woman at his side. Thomas recalled him to have been appointed as Companion amongst the first officers. He noticed that his left hand was missing, replaced by a stuffed glove.

“Sir Thomas, please forgive my interruption in this moment. I am Captain Jerem ... well, Sir Jeremiah Anson, late of HMS Syren. My felicitations!”

“Thank you, Sir Jeremiah! I also wish to congratulate you. May I introduce my wife, the Lady Grey? This is Captain Benning, late of Northumberland and Mrs. Benning, our dear friends.”

Anson kissed first Angela’s and then Mirabel’s hand.

“I am enchanted, Mrs. Benning, Lady Grey! May I introduce the newly minted Lady Anson? She is far better known under her maiden name, Elizabeth Maynard.”

Thomas had not heard the name before, but he nevertheless bowed to kiss the beautiful lady’s hand.

“Enchanté, milady! I must confess to my ignorance, having spent the last nine years either on shipboard or in Surrey.”

Lady Anson smiled easily. “That is refreshing! I am a little known as a writer of short stories and theatre plays, the latter mostly for my good friend Anita Heyworth. May I also offer my felicitations? My husband told me of your feats, Sir Thomas. You have every right to be proud.” Her eyes fell on Mirabel. “But we have met! At the Carters’, wasn’t it?”

Mirabel nodded and smiled. “Yes, I remember. You made quite an impression on us.”

Lady Anson turned to her husband. “I like her! She has taste!” She giggled then and gave the startled Mirabel a hug. “I thought you were adorable. I still do. Oh, my! You are expecting?”

Mirabel eyes widened. “Yes. It’s still five months hence. Am I showing already?”

Lady Anson smiled and shook her head, letting her glorious brown tresses dance.

“No. It’s just that you are positively glowing. That’s how I can tell.”

“My wife is a keen observer,” Anson stated with a degree of pride. “Anyway, the reason for my intrusion upon you is that I would ask you for an interview. I have been serving at the Admiralty, on the planning staff, for the last years. I would ask you for an hour or two of your time to tell me about your experiences and insights regarding the Barbary states. Something will have to be done about them soon, and you’ve had repeated dealings with them.”

Thomas forced himself to become a Navy officer again. “With the greatest pleasure, Sir Jeremiah. We plan to stay with our friends for two more weeks before returning to Surrey. I shall hold myself ready for your summons.”

Anson shook his head. “The Admiralty is overrun by unemployed officers and not a good place to talk. I was thinking more in the line of having you and your charming wife for dinner one of the next days. Perhaps Captain Benning and Mrs. Benning, too? I seem to recall that Captain Benning served as Hastings’s flag captain, and his insights will be welcome as well.”

Thomas looked at Elias, who nodded. “Of course, we accept with the greatest pleasure. You may send your billet to Captain Bennings’s town house on Stanhope Gate, in Mayfair.”

“You can find my house on Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea. Say, day after tomorrow?”

Again, Thomas looked at Elias for approval before he accepted.

“Second dogwatch then,” Anson laughed. “It has been a pleasure meeting you, ladies and gentlemen! We bid our farewell now. We have to reunite with our guests.”

“It was our pleasure, Sir Jeremiah,” Thomas assured him.

As the Ansons disappeared in the crowd, he looked at Elias.

“Do you know the man?”

“Heard of him. Commanded a fifth rate at Trafalgar, replacing his fallen captain. Lost his hand when they boarded a French 74. They posted him to the Sea Fencibles at first, but two years later he got the Syren frigate and made a name for himself on the Dutch coast, under Sir George Brent. Earned a small fortune in prize monies and was then appointed to the staff at the Admiralty. Was behind the landings in Portugal during the Peninsular War. That’s all I know.”

“Important man?”

“I’d say. Besides, we have to accept the invitation. Angela would throttle me to death tonight if I made her miss the chance to have dinner with Lady Anson,” Elias said to the emphatic nodding of his wife.

“I guess I’m ignorant about her,” Thomas admitted.

Mirabel smiled at him. “Well, you’ll know more of her soon. She is an astonishing woman, and I do not use those words lightly.”

Meandering through the crowd they also found the Hothams, and Thomas paid his respects, also using the opportunity to introduce the former Mirabel Goodwin as his wife. Indeed, the Hothams remembered them, and they spent a few minutes in their company.

The Greys and the Bennings slept late on the next morning, a Monday. Mirabel had been in an amorous mood when they returned from St. James Palace, and it had been long after midnight before they finally fell asleep. Still, they’d had a good night’s sleep before they received the summons to breakfast at 11 a.m. A quarter hour later, they joined their hosts at table.

The breakfast was eaten in a lighthearted mood. Mirabel and Angela compared notes on the persons and personages they’d met the day before, but they soon focused on the dresses and headdresses they had seen. Meanwhile, Thomas and Elias discussed their impressions of the Prince Regent and compared them with the public image he had. To Thomas he had seemed cordial and marginally interested whilst it had also become quite clear that his life of debauchery was taking a toll on his health.

Angela was planning to pay a visit with a friend after breakfast, mostly to report about her visit to the court of St. James, and Mirabel was pressed into accompanying her. This left Thomas and Elias to their own devices, and they resolved to spend some time at their club.

As had to be expected, the newly minted Sir Thomas Grey, CB, OSML, had to offer drinks of French brandy to all members in presence, for the gentlemen to toast him. The proprietor, the Marquis de St. Croix himself, joined in the felicitations, even offering another round of drinks on the house, before he sat down to amend the membership list with Thomas’s new knightly title.

Once the felicitations had run their course, Thomas and Elias sat to enjoy another glass of the St. Croix Réserve Privée whilst they perused the offered newspapers. Of course, the appointments of the New Year’s Honours were reported in those, and Thomas could see his name not quite at the bottom of the list, along with the latest news from the Vienna Congress which, it seemed, accomplished nothing whilst the delegates expended their energies on the constant balls and soirées. There was also a growing discontent in France, fuelled by the chaotic rule of an inept Bourbon monarchy whose noblest goal was to alienate friends and allies. There were even some writers who were weighing the possibility of Napoleon Buonaparte’s return to France and to power. That was an unsettling thought for Thomas and Elias, who had spent the better part of their lives fighting that man’s ambitions.

Both men enjoyed a light dinner at the club before they took a cab back to Stanhope Gate. Mirabel and Angela were still absent but returned only a half hour after them, having talked five hours with Angela’s friends and being throughly exhausted.

The evening was spent in leisure, with only a light supper and a game of Whist afterwards. None of them were serious card players, and they engaged in what Elias jokingly called, ‘random redistribution of pennies’, in other words, playing for fun only. This lasted until the fire died down after which the four friends retired to their respective bedrooms.

The friends had dinner invitations for the next days, beginning with the informal interview at Captain Anson’s house on the next evening. Thomas and Elias would dine with Sir Harold Hastings at Boodle’s a day later, before they would all attend a soirée at the house of Mr. Augustus Leeds. There they would also see their erstwhile protégé Melinda Curry again, with young Owen Leeds, now her official fiancé, but also with Captain Oliver Curry, Melinda’s father. The latter had been set free after the Peace of Ghent had been signed, but he had immediately taken up residence in London to revive the trade of his remaining ships with Britain. This would be a delicate meeting Thomas expected.

The coach ride to the Ansons’ on the next evening was a tad over 2 miles long and still took them almost an hour through the crowded streets. The house was not overly large, but very nicely furnished as they found out when Sir Jeremiah bade them enter. Lady Anson received them in the small foyer, a cute girl of perhaps six years at her side.