It is ironic that the most elegant ship happens to be the most flawed, it must have been tough to be constantly bailing the water out of her. Granger seemed to handle the situation well enough; he certainly has come a long way.
It never occurred to me I have to say that other officers would be jealous of Granger's advancement, but with human nature being what it is - it's hardly surprising. That said, when he does eventually get promotion the green monster is going to rear its ugly head at some stage. With the Wilcox's no doubt, fanning the flames from somewhere!
Snow on the Isle of Wight, wow, that doesn't happen very often in this neck of the woods, but the Island is quite breathtaking when it does get covered. Though whenever I've been over there, I don't seem to be able to go further than the second pub!
So Caroline is about ready to burst, and fatherhood is literally moments away for Granger. Are we having a pool on a boy or a girl? I think, for what it's worth, it's going to be a little boy - or from the size of her it could be twins!
Great chapter as always Mark.