Mark Arbour

Well, the ship isn't dead, but she is wounded. I'm sure we'll run into her again, just hopefully not literally. ;-)

Why thank you! I'm so glad Bimeny is coming home! I'm not really planning for the next story to be darker at all. Well, I engineered it so the land for East Cowes Castle is going to be donated to Mr. Nash in return for his work on Granger's own pad in East Cowes. Nash was an interesting chap, but I don't think his friendship with Fox is that big of an impediment. After all, Jervis was friends with Fox too. Besides, I suspect that if we were to dig deep into Mr. Fox's heart (such that there is one), we'd probably find that he really didn't bear Granger much, if any, animosity. I think that for Granger, Freddie and Davina are an annoying sideshow at this point. He's got enough on his plate without worrying about them; I suspect he'll leave them to someone else, probably his father. East Cowes Castle ca. 1824 (from Wiki)

Happy Birthday, my friend! If I could issue Letters Patent, I'd give you a kick-ass title for your birthday!

What an insightful review, plus I loved that song. :-) Don't worry, I've already found George a new ship. You'll meet her in the next chapter or two.

It truly is a luxury!

Two more chapters left.

There are two more chapters left. :-)

March 15, 1797 George Granger paced the deck of his ship, pondering her fate, as well as his own. He’d expected to have received orders from the Admiralty to pay off Belvidera by now, but none had arrived. He’d expected to be back in London by now, but he was still at Spithead. He’d expected to be happy to be back in England, but he wasn’t. Part of that was sheer loneliness. He’d bid farewell to Chartley just that morning. Chartley had been away from

Well, I didn't do it on purpose, and I can only post them when they're done. Hang in there!

LOL. I'm glad you're enjoying George. I personally thought that when their problems came to light, as you so aptly noted, that it made their behavior more rational, in a weird kind of way. Certainly immoral, unethical, and dishonorable, but more rational.

Thanks. I think you're getting the picture pretty well.

A good way to put it. This was a building chapter, to be sure. I think that Wade and Matt are getting comfortable with each other again after this latest round of problems. And you are right: Elizabeth Danfield is not one to be underestimated.

Yay! A review! I was kind of wondering if this chapter wouldn't get any. I understand where you're coming from in club sports, but hockey is a little different in that regard. The coach isn't God, but he is god. :-)

I can see Matt majoring in Economics, but I don't see him as a New Yorker.

GA is running as fast as Tonto with an attack of gout tonight, so I was in the process of posting when you did. I think you're right about Wade being in DC, if that's his goal, but I"m not sure that it is. I also don't think that someone like him will really have a problem getting into any school he wants to. Consider that George W. Bush went to Yale.

What an excellent post! Let me see if I can comment without giving too much away. There's a bit more to this land deal, as you mentioned, but nothing you'll find in the history books. This part of the story is pure fiction, other than the fact that there was a lot of development going on up in Idaho. Elizabeth Danfield strikes me as the kind of person who has lived with a knife over her head for so long (with Alexandra Carmichael) that she's almost immune to fear from it. It's become part of her existence, and something she has to manage, pushing those who have her in their grips, but never too far. Wade's college choices could certainly change, but I think that anything in the top 20 is within his quality range. The lawyers advised him against doing business in Virginia, but it is still his home state (and DC is his home town), so I don't think that would distract him from attending UVA or Georgetown. He certainly could go to Stanford, but it is generally considered bad form to get your graduate degree and undergraduate degree from the same school. Wade would be quite aware of that, and as it's even more important in academia, JP would certainly counsel him in that regard as well. I love the way you express the realization on the trauma of aging. You may very well be right about Jeanine.

I don't think he hates his wife, I think he's afraid of her.

He's not ready for a ship-of-the-line yet, and what's more, he'd find it to be incredibly boring. Remember, those ships spent most of their time with fleets, just sailing around on blockade duty. It was tedious, and certainly not the kind of duty for an energetic young captain.

Interesting point about the footmen reappearing in the navy at some later point to haunt our good Captain. :-)

No one is accepting female rape here. Where did you get that idea? And you are confusing your history. Women weren't dirt, some women could be extremely powerful. Poor women were dirt, but rich women from good families had quite a bit of influence. The Duchess of Devonshire (Georgiana) would be an excellent example, as would Lady Jersey. I'm simply not following your line of thought here.

October 2, 2000 Escorial, CA Wade I called Matt and caught him in between classes. I was in a really bad mood, a really pissed off mood, but just hearing his voice took the edge off. “Hey. Where are you?” I asked him. “Just got out of one class, heading to another one.” “I just got out of my meetings, and I’m heading back to Escorial.” “How’d they go?” “They were interesting,” I said cryptically. He picked up on that and didn’t push me for info

I think the Earl does need to know, and I do agree with you that there's really no justification for what she did. I get the feeling that she's not trying to justify herself; I don't think she feels she has to. I think she is trying to explain herself. The reaction of any good aristocrat to her actions would be sheer horror. They would understand her sense of duty, but not her total lack of honor or scruples. She's banking on the fact that George won't make this a public issue, and that's a good bet. Well said. I am hoping that everyone gets the level of control this gives Davina over Freddie. Can you visualize their life together? Anytime she wants him to do something, she has but to remind him that he can't fulfill his most basic obligation. And every time she does that, it's like a carronade attacking his masculinity. The guy must have absolutely no self-esteem left.

Thanks! Paternity isn't on hold, I just got focused on this one for a bit. I've switched back again. ;-)

I always thought a private army would be cool. ;-) Bertie made his fortune primarily when they conquered the Dutch East Indies, so the answer to your question on that is 'yes'. And I doubt Bertie would be all that insulted at being called a slut.

I think you have to put it in the context of the times, and of their social class. Producing an heir is Davina's duty. She's very focused on achieving that goal, to the extent that anything else is irrelevant. Picture a Wall Street banker who focuses on money, no matter the cost to others. Or the rules. I agree with you about Freddie. I think he's so cowed because of his problem that he's let his wife take over the show. Any time he argues with her, she'll point out that he's "not a man".