Chapter 2: Mr. Midshipman Carter

Tony arrived at the Admiralty House on time, wearing white breeches, buckled shoes and a blue coat, the usual attire of a merchantman mate. He expected to be ushered in and out for a brief ‘thank you’ and the settlement of the fare for his passengers. Instead, the admiral showed him into a small dining room where the whole family waited for him.

The tea was served and a friendly conversation ensued. Admiral Lambert satisfied himself that the young man had had a decent schooling, even spoke some French, Spanish, and Dutch, and showed good manners. Lady Lambert had sung the Tony’s praise, and Sir Richard had to agree with his wife. When the ladies retired to their rooms to prepare for dinner, Sir Richard came to the point.

“Well, my dear young man, what are your plans now?”

“I have inherited a share in the shipping company of Whitney &Sons from my father. There may be a chance for me to become master in one of their ships, Sir Richard.”

“Would you be interested in joining the Royal Navy? From what I have seen and heard, you are a very promising young man. Why waste such talent shipping molasses around these islands? If you agree, I can post you as a midshipman. Captain Fanning of the Medusa frigate has a vacancy. He’s an excellent officer, and Medusa will leave shortly on patrol duty.”

Anthony hesitated only briefly. All of a sudden, a new world was open to him. A world of gold-embroidered uniforms and beautiful women. A world in which he could find a place. A world in which redheaded young women of good family might find him acceptable.

Showing the appropriate amount of gratitude, he accepted Sir Richard’s offer and in turn, the admiral showed his satisfaction. A written order was made out for Tony to report to Captain Fanning. Admiral Lambert also gave him a letter of recommendation.

With the fare he had collected from the admiral, Tony started out on the next morning to find a new sea chest and a proper midshipman’s uniform. Mr. Rawling had seen to it that he received an advance payment on the insurance money. The rest of that money would be paid into an account with a local bank house recommended by Mr. Rawling. Tony also made arrangements for a neighbour to look after his father’s house. He planned to keep it for those times when he might be in harbour.

When all these preparations were finished three days later, Tony reported to Captain Fanning in the after cabin of HMS Medusa. Captain Fanning was a lightly built, shrewd looking man. After reading the Admiral’s order and the letter of recommendation, he knew that the new midshipman was his commander in chief’s protégé. Accordingly, he welcomed him on board and introduced him to his immediate superior, the sailing master. That worthy individual, Mr. Boyle, was a grizzled veteran of more than fifty years, but his clear blue eyes belied his age. Anthony felt instinctive respect for this veteran.

“Have your dunnage stowed in the gun room, and report on deck for the afternoon watch,” Boyle wheezed, his voice ravaged by forty years of shouting against gales.

A boy carried his sea chest down the hatchways, from the spar deck to the gun deck and to the orlop deck, and then amidships to the midshipmen’s berth. A smoking tallow lantern spread its weak light over a narrow room. Tony sighed. There were no cots, only hooks where he could sling a hammock. Two children’s faces looked at him from the raw table in the centre of the room.

“Good day, gentlemen,” he addressed them. “Anthony Carter, midshipman, at your service.” The two boys mumbled their names and continued to stare at him.

“Don’t bother with those children!” a strong voice came from one of the hammocks. “Peter Brock, master’s mate! You saw Daniel Swenson on deck? He’s a master’s mate, too. I heard you were second mate in a schooner?”

“Yes, for the last two years.”

“Thank god for a sailor. But you’re a midshipman?”

“That’s how Sir Richard rated me.”

“So you know the big man?”

“I was able to do him a service. Our ship was lost in the hurricane, and my father was killed. But I was able to bring the admiral’s family to safety.”

“You were on the Anne-Marie? It’s good to have you on board, mate!”

“Thank you for the welcome, mate.”

They shook hands. The two midshipmen stepped forward too, to offer their hands.

“By the way, who is the gun room purser? I suppose you’ll need my contribution.”

“I am, and yes, we could use some more food and maybe some ale.”

They were a small group in the gun room, three midshipmen and two master’s mates. Tony was in a good position, rated as midshipman, but he was also recognised as experienced sailor by the two master’s mates. The other two midshipmen were shy boys of sixteen who had come on board only recently. Two senior midshipmen had just left the ship when they passed their exams for lieutenant.

Over the next days, the Medusa made ready for sea, and Anthony became very busy getting familiar with his new duties. Fortunately, as a warrant officer, he was entitled to shore leave. Thus, on the last day in harbour, he made a tour through the familiar establishments of Kingston. He met a few acquaintances and friends of his father’s who expressed their sympathy and their surprise that he had joined the Royal Navy.

Later that evening, he drifted into the Blue Posts, one of the better harbour brothels in Kingston. It was a place frequented by warrant officers and merchant navy mates. Anthony had been there before and he planned to relieve his needs before he went out to sea again for God knew how long.

Being a young, handsome man, the girls flocked around him instantaneously. Looking around to make his pick, he glimpsed a girl in the background. He held his breath for a moment. She was a slender girl of no more than 17 or 18 years, with a reddish hue in her blond curls and a trim figure. Forgetting the other girls around him, he approached her. She looked at him with a mixture of fear and pride, and Tony sensed that she was not yet a seasoned veteran of her trade.

“Hello my lovely. What is your name, pray tell?” he asked her.

“Me name’s Rose,” she answered in so low a voice he could hardly understand her.

“And would you be willing to give a poor sailor a little love, Rose?”

She nodded. “You have to pay a sovereign to Master Phillips for the room,” she stated. “And I’ll have five shillings if it pleases you.”

“So much beauty for such a pittance,” Tony quipped, eliciting a blush on the girl’s face.

He took the her hand and walked over to the bar. He gave the innkeeper a sovereign and the order to be roused by eight bells in the morning. That left him five hours with the girl. When they reached their allotted room, he gave her another sovereign up front. She showed her surprise, not being used to such generosity.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked with some apprehension.

“I want you to undress. I want you to be naked. And I want you to open your hair.”

Hesitantly, the girl complied. She felt awkward undressing before a man’s eyes. When she was naked, she reached up and untied her hair, offering the glorious view of her reddish blonde tresses cascading over her shoulders.

Tony approached her, put his hands on her shoulder and drew her near. “You are very beautiful, do you know that?”

He kissed her, first her mouth, then her throat, and he felt her shiver under his touch. After he had his fill kissing her neck, he led her to the cot and made her lie down. Quickly taking off his clothes, he joined her on the bed and resumed his kissing. Her small pointy breasts were his next target, and her laboured breathing told him of her arousal.

“Have you ever kissed a man’s rod?” he asked her gently.

Rose looked at him and nodded, yes. While Tony lay on his side, she slid down and took his swelling member into her slender hand. She licked the head as if tasting it, and it jerked in her hand. She kissed the tip of the penis in her hand and then slid her lips over it, applying gentle suction. She then swirled her tongue around the tip and pumped the shaft with her hand. She felt the urgency in his movements, felt the approaching release and intensified the suction of her mouth.

With a sobbing sound, Anthony gave his passion free rein and emptied himself into the girl’s mouth. All through his ejaculation she kept up the suction and the gentle caresses of her tongue, and her swallowing movements added to his delight. When he was spent, she released his softening member and looked up at him.

“Was I good?”

“You were perfect, Rose. Now come up.”

Rose moved her body up and put her head on his breast. For a while, they just lay there in a peaceful embrace. Then Tony began to fondle her breasts again, sucking on her nipples and caressing her stomach with his hand.

When his hand began to explore her pubes, Rose put her hand on his tumescent penis and stroked it back to hardness. Then she slid her leg over Tony’s groin and assumed a riding position. She positioned his engorged member at the entrance of her fanny and slowly impaled herself on it.

When she had fully engulfed his penis with the lips of her quim resting on his groin, she began a slow grinding motion. Her nether lips were tickled by his ample pubic hair, and she quickened her pace. When his hands tweaked her nipples, a bolt of lust flashed through her, and she began to fuck him in earnest.

Her movements were met by his upward thrusts, and soon they were both approaching the peak. With a hoarse cry, Tony thrust his member deeply into the girl, all the while holding her down by her hips. The girl let out a shuddering sigh as her own climax hit her. For a full two minutes, they remained pressed together while their sensual overload slowly subsided.

“Thank you, Rose,” Tony managed to say after a while.

“No,” the girl sighed. “You made me feel good, too. I really should not take your money.”

“Oh yes, you should. Just consider it a gift, not a payment. This night will give me enough fodder for dreams during my voyage.”

“When will you have to leave?”

“I have to be back on board at 4 bells in the morning watch. We’ll weigh anchor with the morning tide.”

“Will you ever come back here?” the girl asked.

“I shall be back. Next time, I may take you out of this place for a few days.” He bent over the bed and kissed her.

“That would be nice. I’ll wait for you.” She smiled up at him while he dressed methodically. When he was ready, Rose got up and hugged him for a moment. “You be careful out there,” she said and shoved him out into the dimly lit corridor.

An hour later, Tony reported back for duty, worn out but thoroughly satisfied.

The next weeks and months were immensely taxing on young Anthony Carter. Not only was the sailing of a square rigged frigate entirely different from the fore and aft rigging he was accustomed to. He also had to learn the military side of his profession, gunnery and tactical sailing. And he had to familiarise himself with the small arms, pistol and cutlass.

Whenever the Medusa was back in harbour, he took lessons with an old fencing master, and he learned to rely on quickness rather than strength. He also purchased two fine double barrelled flintlock pistols and practised diligently with these.

When the Medusa was out on patrol, however, there was no time for anything. The handling of a wooden sailing ship was a full time task in itself. Add to that the constant gun drill, the mad races to break records while clearing the ship for action, and the navigation classes with the sailing master, and the young midshipmen were in a constant tired stupor.

When Tony joined the Medusa‘s crew, he was eighteen years of age, clearly senior to the other two midshipmen who were boys of sixteen. Over the months, he rapidly acquired the skills and knowledge expected of him. The sailing master marvelled about his mathematical skills and let him calculate the ship’s position routinely. Soon, when he was midshipman of the watch, the officer of the watch would let him handle the ship all by himself, only watching over things from the background. This, of course, with the blessing of Captain Fanning. After barely more than a year, he was looked upon by the officers as next in line for promotion to commissioned rank.

That moment came earlier than anybody expected. Medusa was completing a patrol of the Caiman Islands when she came upon the Citoyen, a French frigate of equal strength. The ships approached each other with respect, and both captains tried for a while to out-manoeuvre each other. The aim was to win the windward position, generally considered a decisive tactical advantage.

Captain Fanning was aware of the fact that his ship, the Medusa, was the lesser of the two frigates. French ships were generally better built than their English counterparts, and the French captain proved himself equal to the task of thwarting each of Captain Fanning’s feints.