St. Vincent - 36. Chapter 36

March 10, 1797

Granger had stayed in his own room last night, all by himself, and while he may have been lonely, in fact he had spent a good deal of time thinking about his unfortunate situation, and making plans to rectify it. He’d returned to London with a damaged ship and an uncertain future, to find his friends had become strange and detached; and to discover that his wife was pregnant with the child of a man she seemed determined to keep fucking. He’d replayed the looks he’d gotten last night in his mind, the patronizing and condescending looks, and it wasn’t until then, when he was at home in his own bedroom, that the whole situation had become clear to him. He’d been made to look like an utter fool, a cuckolded husband. And worse than that, the gossips had begun to cast questions about his manliness. Did his wife seek another lover because he was inadequate? Perhaps all those rumors about him liking other men were true? Caroline’s indiscretion had made him look like either a sodomite, or an ineffectual lover. Either way, he’d become a laughingstock. He hadn’t slept at all, and it was just as well that the night had been short, since he’d become angrier with every passing second.

“Will we be going to Brentwood today, sir?” Winkler asked as he helped Granger dress. He could feel the tension in his captain, a steely resolve that boded ill for those on the receiving end of his ire.

“No, we are not. I am staying here,” Granger declared. “I am expecting orders for Portsmouth at any time now, though, so you should be prepared for that.”

“Will we be there long, sir?” Winkler asked, wanting to ask about the ship, and where they were going next, but not daring to.

“Only long enough to pay off Belvidera,” Granger said sadly. “They haven’t found me another ship yet.”

“They will, sir. And a good one, as good as Belvidera ever was. You mark my words.”

Granger was cheered by Winkler’s confidence. “And they will probably put me in it and send us around the world.”

“We’ve been there before, sir, and we’ve come back. We can do it again.”

“You’re right, Winkler. Thank you for reminding me of what we are capable of.”

“Sir,” Winkler began nervously, and then stopped. Granger glared at him because he knew Winkler was holding something back. The look was enough to jar it loose. “He was back last night.”

“Prince William?”

“Yes, sir,” Winkler said. “I don’t think anyone else knew, but I saw him sneaking up the back stairs. He didn’t see me, I don’t think.”

“Was I here?” Granger couldn’t believe that they’d be rude enough to have sex in his own home while he was here, but he needed to know for sure.

“No, sir. You were still at Carlton House.” That would explain why Granger hadn’t seen Prince William there. No wonder he’d gotten such strange looks. Did people know the Prince was here, while he was there?

Granger felt the rage flow through his body, but took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Thank you, Winkler. I knew I could count on your loyalty.”

“Yes, sir,” Winkler answered, although he was uncomfortable. He liked Caroline, and didn’t like playing the snoop. “Begging your pardon, sir, but I don’t think her ladyship wants him here.”

“Why do you say that?” Granger demanded, much too forcefully.

“I bumped into one of the maids after I saw him on the stairs, and the lass was so upset she started babbling. She said that Lady Granger doesn’t know how to get him to leave her alone, on account of his rank, sir.”

So Caroline was trapped in this situation? She had, for once, found herself in a predicament that she didn’t know how to get out of. It galled him beyond belief that she had not come to him to discuss it. Then again, it was probably very difficult for her to do that. How do you ask your husband about ending an affair? In any event, that worked into his plans perfectly. “Winkler, thank you for sharing that. I hadn’t really understood that until now. You’ve made things much better.”

Winkler beamed at him. “I’m so glad, sir.” He helped Granger with his cravat. “What will happen to the crew, sir?”

“They’ll be paid off. Probably pressed into the fleet,” Granger said sadly.

“Sir, Jeffers was talking to me about this, begging your pardon. He said that they’ll wait until the men are put ashore. First they’ll scam them for their Admiralty vouchers, and then the press will seize them up before they have a chance to even enjoy their time ashore.” He looked at Granger plaintively. “They’re good men, sir. Can’t we do something to help them?”

Granger patted Winkler on the shoulder affectionately. “I already have the vouchers taken care of. I plan to redeem them myself. After breakfast, I’ll want to meet with you and Jeffers to discuss how we may help the men.”

“Yes, sir,” Winkler said. He brushed Granger’s second-best uniform jacket off one more time, then Granger descended the stairs to the dining room.

“Good morning,” Caroline said, greeting him nervously. “Did you enjoy Carlton House?”

“It was interesting,” Granger said cryptically.

“I think you will enjoy Brentwood. It really is beautiful there.”

“I’m not going to Brentwood. You are,” Granger said, using the same tone he’d use to give orders on board Belvidera.

“I’m going to Brentwood?” Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow to challenge him. She was not about to let him order her around as if she were some mere seaman.

“You are. You are going to stay there for the time being. And you will not receive His Highness while you are there.” Caroline stared at him, blinking, while Granger ignored her as he rang the bell.

Cheevers appeared almost immediately. “Sir George?”

“We will have our breakfast, and then Lady Granger and the children will be going to Brentwood. Please have the staff prepare things for her departure.”

“Yes, Sir George,” he said, and left the room.

“I will not be ordered around!” Caroline said emphatically.

“And I will not be made a fool of!” Granger said, just as emphatically. “I come home to find you bearing another man’s child, and I thought I handled that quite well. But I go out in public and everyone is laughing at me, pitying me as the poor, cuckolded husband.” Her mouth dropped open. She had no idea that people were talking. “You have embarrassed me and both of our families. Your conduct is shameful.”

“I do not object to your other relationships, you have no right to object to mine,” she said defiantly.

“You have objected when they have endangered our reputations. You had Lieutenant Calvert transferred to another ship and sent off almost to his death.”

“This is hardly the same thing.”

“No, Caroline?” Granger asked. “I disagree. It is exactly the same thing. I am going to stay in London and endeavor to set things to rights. You are going to retire to Brentwood with the children for the time being.”

“For how long?” she demanded.

“You should probably stay there until the child is born. No one will see you get larger with the pregnancy, then, and no one will notice that the baby came earlier than one could decently assume.”

“You would have me stay there until the fall?”

Her expression and outrage reminded him that she had her own responsibilities here in London. “No, but I think you should be away for at least a month, if not two.”

He knew she would not give up that easily, would not willingly relinquish her place this close to the base of political power, and he was right. “I will not do it!”

“Yes, you will,” he decreed. “You are my wife, and you will do as instructed.” She made to argue. “I can ask the King to make it a directive, if you prefer.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” she shouted. She stood up to emphasize her point.

“Do not raise your voice to me,” he snapped. “I can, and I will. He has bidden me to come to Windsor. I will ask him then, if not sooner.”

She sat down, defeated. “I cannot believe you are doing this to me. I cannot believe you are banishing me to the country.”

“I cannot believe what you have done to our family,” Granger observed coldly. “I cannot believe that he was here, in my house, twice yesterday. You told me you would not see him, and you have. You had sex with him in my house, while I was in London, on two separate occasions yesterday.”

She was going to argue, but stopped. The staff brought breakfast in, and that interrupted their conversation. They both sat quietly pondering this discussion, waiting until the staff left before they resumed their discussion. “I will do as you ask,” she said.

“Thank you.” He ate his breakfast and said nothing, knowing that she needed to think things through.

“I’m sorry, George. What a horrible way to welcome you home.”

Granger felt himself softening. He really did love Caroline, but he needed to snap her out of this. “It has been truly awful,” he agreed. “And not just because of your antics. All of my friends seem to be possessed by demons. It is like I have somehow landed in a strange land. People might as well be speaking German.”

“My antics?” she asked, offended that he used that term.

He took another bite and swallowed. “I have no problem with you entertaining other men, and I am even willing to accept the consequences of a child not of my blood being born into my family. But I am not willing to be made a fool of, and I am not willing to watch you squander our wealth and position over a fling. And I am certainly not willing to tolerate you lying to me, and deceiving me.” His normally calm demeanor had faded, with the volume of his voice rising with each successive word. He forced himself to calm down, but it was not easy.

“I didn’t realize that people were talking. I didn’t realize people knew,” she said, almost sobbing. “I wouldn’t have done…I would have tried harder to be more discreet.”

He couldn’t relent, not just yet. “And then you entertain this man, have sex with him in my very house, when I am here, when I am in London!” That he repeated this should have told her how much that irritated him.

“And you have not done that?”

“When have I done that?” he demanded. She said nothing. “The truth of the matter is that I have, indeed, done just that.”

“Then how can you sit there so smugly and damn me for doing the same thing!” Now she was outraged.

“Because you did not know about it, and I do. When Francis was last here and I spent time with him, I asked your permission first. You have acted with total disregard to me and my feelings. And your boyfriend treats me with utter contempt.”

She sat in the chair, not eating, looking totally dejected. “So you will stay here in London and enjoy the social whirl, while I am off knitting in the country.”

“I will. I will enjoy myself to the degree that I can. It will not be easy when I have to answer for your conduct. And I will have to prove that you are not sleeping with other men because I am a horrible lover.”

“What are you saying?” she demanded.

“I am saying that I may have to sleep with other women.”

“You promised that you wouldn’t!”

“And you promised me that you would not see him when I was home,” he shot back. He stood up and leaned over the table, staring into her eyes. “I walked around Carlton House last evening, Caroline, and saw all the wags looking at me and laughing as they wondered if I could even get an erection. This is what you have done to me.”

She stared at him, absolutely horrified. Tears flowed down her face as she shook her head, just now realizing how badly she’d damaged her own position, and both of their reputations. She could finally take no more, and stood up slowly, then walked deliberately out of the room. Her stoicism was impressive. Granger finished his breakfast, and noting that he had another hour before Chartley arrived, he reviewed some of the papers Caroline had left him. He was trying to distract his mind and dissipate his anger, and that wasn’t an easy process, but he finally managed to get himself back to his normal level of control. When 45 minutes had passed, he went up to check on his wife. He found her instructing her maids on what to pack.

“Lord Chartley will be arriving shortly. We are going to go riding today.” She just nodded dumbly. “Will you join me for a moment?” He led her to his room and shut the doors.

“I cannot even face you,” she said, but he ignored that and pulled her tightly to him. “I cannot believe that it has come to this.”

“I know you are mad at me for sending you away to the country, but we must do this to repair things. We must.”

She sighed and relaxed in his arms. “It started out so simply, so easily, and the next thing I know, I’m in a relationship.” She began sobbing again, softer sobs, as she buried her head in his chest. She finally looked up and faced him, eye to eye. “I love you so much, George. I really do.”

“I know. I love you too. Just as I have trusted you in the past, now you must trust me.”

“How can you still love me after what I have done to you?”

He smiled at her and wiped a tear away from her eye. “We are not perfect, neither one of us. It is a good thing. It makes us more fun.” She smiled at him, and he kissed her affectionately. “You are a smart woman. You will not make the same mistakes again.”

“No, I will not. I am not going to have another affair as long as I live,” she vowed.

“Yes, you will, and you will do it with my blessing, but next time you will know what mistakes not to make. You will know to keep things from getting out of control. And you will know that if you let your emotions and feelings take hold, it may very well destroy you.”

“And us,” she said sadly.

“We are strong. We are a team. We have been lucky that we actually love each other as well,” he told her, kissing her forehead. “That’s a nice bonus.”

“Will you come see us?”

“Most certainly,” he promised. A knock at his door interrupted their brief interlude.

“Sir George, Lord Chartley has come to call on you,” Cheevers said. “My lady, we should have things packed up for you within the hour.”

“Thank you, Cheevers,” Granger said. He waited until the butler had gone then turned his attention back to Caroline. “I’ll be downstairs. Come see me before you depart.” He gave her a last kiss then went down to see Chartley.

He found the handsome peer waiting to greet him with a grin. “You look quite handsome this morning,” he told Granger.

“I must work hard to not appear hideous when I am standing next to you,” Granger flirted. “So what are we to do today?”

“I thought we were going off to Brentwood. Have our plans changed?”

“They have,” Granger said. “Caroline is going there with the children, and I am remaining in London.”

“Certainly gives me an incentive to stay in the Capital.”

“Caroline will be leaving shortly, and then I must meet with Jeffers and Winkler to discover what I can do to help my crew out when they are paid off. Perhaps you can join us?”

“I have blocked out my day for you.”

“Only the one day?” Granger asked, turning on the charm.

“I have learned to live from day to day.” Granger chuckled. “I am rather hoping they run together.”

They were interrupted by the commotion of Caroline’s departure. She breezed into the room with William, holding his hand. He was a precocious three-year-old, and he pulled himself loose to go see this father of his who was rarely around. Granger picked him up and kissed him. “There’s a good lad,” he said. William played with his epaulette, determined to pull the gold strands off his uniform.

“How wonderful to see you, my lord,” Caroline said to Chartley. She curtsied and allowed him to kiss her hand.

“The pleasure is always mine, my lady,” he said gallantly.

“I fear we must be off, George,” Caroline said. A nurse took William, while Granger gave Charlotte an affectionate kiss. She was adorable already, and she was only two. A final kiss for Alexander, and then the entourage was loaded into the carriage, and they were gone.

“I am surprised that Caroline is leaving town,” Chartley said.

“We have much to talk about,” Granger told him. “First let us deal with Winkler and Jeffers.” Granger summoned them to the sitting room, smiling at their discomfort at being in the relatively palatial room with both him and Chartley.

“You sent for us, sir?” Jeffers asked.

“Winkler and I were discussing the crew, and how to manage them when we pay off the ship.”

“I think their first choice would be to go with you, to your next command, sir,” he said.

Granger sighed. “And that would be my choice as well, but I don’t have a ‘next command’, and I’m probably not going to for a bit.”

“Most of them will be picked up when they’re landed at Portsmouth. The press will intercept them straightaway. They’ll be laying in wait for them, sir.” Winkler said this with considerable emotion. He was really a soft-hearted sort.

“What if we don’t land them in Portsmouth?” Granger asked.

“They’ll be picked up by the press when they go out drinking and whoring, begging your pardon, sir,” Jeffers said.

“What if I gave them a place to stay in the interim, some place they could go and avoid the press? They’d still be at risk if they went into town, but I see no way around that.” Granger was thinking out loud, something he didn’t usually do. It felt strange, just like everything had felt since he’d gotten back.

“That might work, sir,” Jeffers said.

Granger pondered that, his mind buzzing, as Chartley jumped into the conversation. “Why not give them a choice?”

That flowed perfectly with Granger’s line of thinking. “That’s an excellent idea. We can find a place for them to stay and enjoy life ashore, hopefully avoiding the press. We can offer to let them pick their own ship to sign onto. Or we can just let them go and take their chances as they choose.”

“Where would they stay, sir?” Jeffers asked.

“I have a few ideas on that,” Granger said. He turned to Chartley. “Would you fancy a trip to Portsmouth? Maybe spend a few days there?”

“That’s usually not my first choice of places to go,” Chartley joked, “but I think the company will make up for it.”

“Let’s spend the day here, then we’ll leave for Portsmouth in the morning,” Granger announced. “Winkler, I’ll leave it to you to make arrangements.”

“Aye aye sir,” Winkler said with a grin. Granger nodded to dismiss them, then called Cheevers in.

“Sir?”

“I plan to show Lord Chartley the baths. Can you make sure they’re heated?”

“Certainly, sir.” He went off to get the footmen to work on that, while Granger took a few moments to draft a note to Spencer, telling him he’d be in Portsmouth as of tomorrow. That way Spencer would know where to send his orders. Cheevers returned to the room. “They will be ready shortly, sir.”

“Excellent,” Granger said. “Please see that this note is delivered to Lord Spencer at the Admiralty.”

“Yes, sir,” Cheevers said.

“And now,” Granger said to Chartley, “let me show you my favorite part of this house.”

Chartley smiled and followed Granger down to the baths. “I saw these when I first toured the house with Caroline, but I have yet to experience them.”

“These are changing rooms,” Granger said. “I’ll meet you in the water. Be naked.”

Chartley chuckled, and then vanished behind the door to disrobe. Granger ripped off his clothing with undue haste, so anxious was he to get into the water. It was a bit cold still, as they hadn’t gotten the pool quite hot enough, but Granger got used to it fast enough.

Chartley came out of the room and walked over to the main pool. He dropped his robe from his body, showing off his amazing form, but the thing that caught Granger’s attention was the wicked scar that extended across his chest and abdomen, the scar he’d gotten from their battle with the pirates. Granger rose up and walked over to him, guiding him in. He let his hand trace the scar of his wound. “I am deformed,” Chartley said, trying to joke.

“It is a badge of honor, a mark of your bravery,” Granger replied. The water was warmer now, and they sank into it. Granger wasn’t sure exactly how to approach this man. They’d kissed, they’d professed their feelings for one another, and Granger had sucked Chartley’s big dick, but here they were, naked, floating in the water, and Granger wasn’t sure how to make the first move, or even if he should.

Chartley was a perceptive man, and he was especially perceptive when it came to Granger. He’d known him for years, seen him develop as a boy, then an adolescent, and now he knew him as a man. He’d spent his time on Belvidera studying him, watching Granger to see what made him tick, and he’d bonded with him emotionally in a way that neither one of them had foreseen. Yet as he looked at Granger now, he could see the anguish buried just beneath the surface, the pain he was hiding. Much had happened to him, and while he was doing his best to maintain his cool resolve, the veneer was starting to crack. He moved toward Granger in a deliberate way. Granger expected him to stop short of physical contact, but he didn’t, he just swooped in and wrapped his strong arms around the young captain. He moved his face in closer, forcing their lips to meet, then felt Granger respond, slowly at first, then more passionately.

Chartley broke off their kiss and moved his mouth close to Granger’s ear. “You were there for me when I needed you,” he said, softly and seductively. “I’m here for you now, when you need me.”

He felt Granger freeze in his arms, rebelling at the thought that he needed someone, anyone, but then he surrendered, wrapping his arms and legs around Chartley so tightly, as if he were a python. They floated in the pool like that, just embracing, for quite some time, until their libidos finally overruled their emotions.

Granger got out of the water and led Chartley over to the washing pool and got in with him. The water here was warmer, almost too warm, but neither man paid attention to that. Chartley made to explore Granger’s body, to repay him for the blow job Granger had given him on Belvidera, but Granger stopped him. “I need you inside me,” he said plaintively.

Chartley nodded and kissed him, even as he soaped up his big dick. Granger pulled his legs back and felt the head of Chartley’s cock pressing at his hole. He should have prepared himself for such a large intruder, but he didn’t want that. He wanted the pain; he wanted it to hurt so he could enjoy the pleasure. He let out a cry, a soft cry, as Chartley drove into him, and that made Chartley stop. “Please, keep going,” Granger demanded more than asked, and Chartley obliged.

Pain shot through Granger’s body, the pain of being stretched too far too fast, but it gave way in rapid form to pleasure. Chartley moved in and out of him slowly and deliberately at first, but Granger was having none of it. He urged Chartley on, made him go faster, until the young peer was literally pounding Granger’s ass. Granger felt his orgasm rising and it was as if he were alone, his only concern being his own pleasure, as he cried out and let himself go, spraying his load into the soapy water. As soon as he was done, he was refocused on Chartley. He urged Chartley on, kissing him, caressing him, until Chartley exploded as well, depositing his own load deep into Granger’s intestines. They stayed there, frozen in time, with Chartley’s deflating dick still buried in Granger’s ass, panting as they tried to catch their breath.

“Sometimes the anticipation of an event is better than the actual event,” Chartley said, grinning broadly. “Not this time.”

Granger laughed and led him over to the other bath so they could rinse off. As soon as they were in the water, he wrapped himself around Chartley again, hanging onto the man as if he were his lifeline. “I am going to need your help.”

“I know,” Chartley said. “You can trust me, you know that?”

“I do,” Granger said. It occurred to him that he said that with the same conviction he’d used when he’d uttered his marriage vows. He felt the tension leave his body as if it were an apparition that had possessed him, and he did something very out of character: he yawned.

“I bore you?” Chartley joked.

Granger laughed. “Hardly. I have not actually had a moment to relax, where I have felt comfortable, until now. And now that I am, I find I am tired.”

“You have spent months battling storms, the French, the Spanish, pirates, and other naval officers, then you come home to find you must engage in combat with your friends and family,” Chartley said, summing things up. “I think it is reasonable that you are fatigued. I, for one, am glad for it.”

“You want me to be tired?” Granger asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course. Then we have a reason to spend the entire day and night in bed.” Granger laughed, and led Chartley out of the bath. They put on their dressing gowns and headed up to Granger’s room and climbed into bed. Chartley lay on his back and pulled Granger to him, much as he’d done when they slept together in Granger’s cot. For the first time in a long time, George Granger felt content, and he dozed off clinging to the source of his solace. He then did something that was even rarer: he slept soundly.