St. Vincent - 38. Chapter 38

March 12, 1797

The shore boat hooked on to Belvidera, and Granger leaped toward her, grabbed her chains, but slipped, losing his footing. He hung there, scrambling to get his feet back onto the chains, while the ship rolled to the side, dunking him in the water up to his waist. The concerned cries from his gig just made him more embarrassed and irritated. He muffled a curse as he finally got his footing, thankfully saving himself from actually falling completely into the sea, and climbed to the deck, dripping wet. An inauspicious beginning to his day, he thought, or perhaps Belvidera was angry with him for the damage he’d caused her, and she was striking back at him. He truly loved this ship, and felt genuine anguish over the damage she’d incurred.

“Welcome back, sir,” Clifton said politely.

“Thank you, Mr. Clifton,” Granger said, forcing himself to be cheerful. Both of them ignored the water that poured in rivulets from Granger’s legs onto the deck. “We are to be paid off. I expect orders from the Admiralty to that effect at any moment.”

“Yes, sir,” Clifton said. Granger had told him that loudly, on the quarterdeck, so the men would hear him. It would deter desertion, not that Granger had much of a problem with that anyway. It was rare for Belvidera to lose a man to that crime that sometimes plagued the fleet. Some ships books would show scores of men with the word “run” next to their name, indicating that they’d given up everything to escape the world they lived in. But in this case, Granger wanted the men to know that all they had to do was wait a few days and they’d be able to leave the ship with all of their pay, as opposed to deserting now with no money. The lush landscape of the Isle of Wight, and the teeming town of Portsmouth on the other side of the ship, were enough to tempt even the most stalwart tar if he’d been on board for as long as Belvidera’s men. But actually, the equation was even more complicated than that. If they deserted and were caught, they’d be subject to flogging, or hanging. It was worth waiting a day or two. “There haven’t been any desertions.”

“That is good to hear, Mr. Clifton. I am working to help our jacks make their way ashore without falling into the hands of the press.” Again, this comment was for the men on the quarterdeck, pretending not to eavesdrop.

“How will you do that, sir?” Clifton asked, catching on that Granger wanted to have a public conversation. Meurice and Andrews joined them as well, giving them an excuse to speak more loudly.

“First, if there’s a ship in the fleet any of them want to serve in, we can take them there straightaway,” Granger noted. “For those who want to go ashore and make their way home, we can ship them over, but not to Portsmouth. Maybe farther east along the coast.”

“What about those who want to follow you to your next ship, sir?” Meurice asked.

“It appears I own an old abbey in Norwood, not five miles from London,” Granger said. “It was a gift from my father. It requires some work. I’ll need a good number of skilled men to restore it to livable conditions. I’ll pay them, and then they’ll have lodging rights there.”

“That may be an attractive option,” Clifton said. “How will we get them there without falling afoul of the press?”

“I would suspect that if they were my retainers, and if one of the lieutenants wanted to escort them to Norwood, they would not be molested. I was thinking, Mr. Andrews, that perhaps you could bring on a quantity of cloth in my colors, that way the men would have a uniform of sorts.” Men dressed in his colors, in Bridgemont blue and Lammert yellow, who were working for him, may still be vulnerable to the press, but most press gangs were the responsibility of a lieutenant. There weren’t many lieutenants that would willingly anger Sir George Granger.

“It may be difficult to get them off the ship, sir,” Clifton said.

“My father has also solved that problem for me as well. He has provided me with some acreage on the Isle of Wight. It includes the barony of Ryde, although the land is largely in parcels. The largest part is to the east of Cowes, along the coast.” Granger walked to the railing and they looked across to the Isle of Wight. “If I am not mistaken, it is right there.” He pointed to a lovely streak of land with a beach, a perfect landing spot.

“That would be perfect, sir,” Clifton said, grinning. Even Andrews’ taciturn face split into a smile. “We could get them ashore, and have them clothed in their new uniforms before anyone raised an issue.”

“Then we just need a boat to get us back to the mainland,” Granger observed. That would be easy enough to acquire.

“Sir, boat’s alongside with a note for you,” a seaman called. Granger turned to the entry port in time to see a footman climbing aboard, a footman dressed in Bridgemont blue.

“Sir George?” the man asked. Granger nodded. “I have a note from your brother.” He handed Granger the letter and Granger opened it deliberately. It was written on coroneted stationary of the highest quality. Granger recognized his brother’s handwriting.

Dear George,

We are to sail for Bermuda as soon as an adequate conveyance can be found. So much has happened since we last met. I am quite sure that you have no desire to see me, but I am sending you this note to ask you to do just that, to call on me here in town. I am relying on your sense of duty and honor to grant my request, and to give my wife and me a chance to apologize to you in person. It would just kill me, George, if I missed this chance to try and heal our relationship before we are both sent off, possibly to the ends of the earth. We would be obliged if you would join us for supper this evening.

Freddie

Granger felt the anger surge at these two who had plotted to do him immeasurable harm. But his father had asked him to give Freddie a chance, and Freddie was right: His inherent sense of honor and duty would have compelled him to agree. He turned to the footman and gave him a verbal response. “Please tell his lordship that I will join him. I will be accompanied by Lord Chartley.”

“Yes, sir,” the footman said. He gave the details of where they were staying to Jeffers, and then the footman was off.

“I did not know your brother was in Portsmouth, sir,” Clifton said. Granger managed to not glare at him. Clifton didn’t know what was going on, and he didn’t know there was bad blood between the brothers. He was just being polite.

“He has been appointed as His Majesty’s Governor of Bermuda,” Granger said evenly. “He is awaiting passage to that island.”

“Is her ladyship accompanying him, sir?” Clifton asked.

“She is,” Granger answered. Clifton said nothing, but he understood what this meant. He understood that Granger’s brother and sister-in-law were being punished, but he wasn’t sure why they were being punished. “I will be below if I am needed.”

Granger went through his logs and paperwork, closing things off as best he could, and then went back into town to the rooms that Chartley had engaged. Granger found him at his desk, writing a letter. “George!” he said enthusiastically, and got up to welcome Granger back with a hug, and a very passionate kiss.

“I have some interesting news,” Granger said, finally breaking off their kiss, even though he didn’t want to. He watched Chartley get his lust under control. “I have made plans for us this evening.”

“Plans that do not involve us being naked together in that bed?” Chartley asked playfully.

“Plans that allow for that, but will take us from here,” Granger said as he reached down to stroke Chartley’s cock through his trousers. “I have accepted an invitation for us to sup with Freddie and Davina.”

“Indeed?” Granger quit stroking him, now that Chartley’s mind had refocused itself away from his genitals. He gave Chartley the note, and waited expectantly while he read it, probably much as the footman must have done aboard Belvidera.

“My father asked that I give him a chance. It would seem that this is the first step in that process.”

“You should leave your sword here,” Chartley joked.

“I’m not going to kill my own brother,” Granger said, laughing.

“I was thinking more of your sister-in-law.” They laughed more, until their minds wandered lower in their bodies, and then they made love, uniting physically and mentally. When they were done, they lay side by side, facing each other. Granger reached up and gently stroked Chartley’s cheek.

“You’re such a handsome man.”

Chartley grinned. “I am nothing compared to you.” He swallowed hard and looked down, not to take in Granger’s body, even though he did, but to avoid looking into his eyes. “I feared that you would not be able to grapple with what I told you yesterday.”

Granger pulled Chartley’s head up, forcing him to look at Granger again. They’d spent most of the remainder of their ride yesterday in silence, as Granger had let his mind wrestle with what Chartley had revealed. “Bertie is an easy man to love. I cannot blame you for that. The only thing that I could blame you for is if you picked me as a second-best substitute.” He saw Chartley’s eyes flash with anger, but that was the only sign Granger had irked him. “But you have shown me that you love me, and not him. I trust you.”

Chartley grinned. “You are second-best to no one.”

“You should note, though, that it would be most unwise of you to sleep with him again. It would seriously endanger your health.”

“I will limit my other activities to men who are not related to you,” he joked. He watched Granger’s reaction, and now it was his turn to force Granger to look into his eyes. “We both have other people in our lives.”

Granger sighed, a sign of how comfortable he was with Chartley. “I know that, and I am not implying that it should be different.”

“But right now, you are feeling very alone here, and you are relying on me. For right now, you want me for yourself,” Chartley said, reading Granger’s mind perfectly.

“Is that so much to ask?” Granger asked, being cheeky.

“It is not,” Chartley said. Granger felt his heart swell with love for this man, and then he showed him how much he loved him with his body. They lounged about, enjoying each other’s company, and then got ready for their supper with Freddie and Davina.

“You look very handsome,” Granger said to Chartley as they got into the coach. They’d engaged a local vehicle to take them to the residence where Freddie and Davina were staying. Chartley was wearing his uniform, as was Granger, and his scarlet tunic made a pleasing contrast with Granger’s own blue coat.

“As do you.”

“You have full calves,” Granger observed, ogling Chartley’s legs which seemed to bulge out of his stockings. “It’s a shame they are not your most attractive feature.”

“Oh, and what is my most attractive feature?”

Granger leaned into him and ran his hand up Chartley’s leg, gently massaging his formerly flaccid penis. “Your mind,” he said playfully.

“That’s not where my mind is located.”

Granger was brought back to consciousness by a bucket of cold water, which was thrown onto his face and his naked body. He might have screamed, had there not been a gag in his mouth. There was a blindfold covering his eyes, so he could not see either. The last thing he remembered was being accosted by thugs as they were exiting the carriage. His head was throbbing in pain from the blow he’d received. He didn’t even know where they’d stopped. He remembered watching Chartley being attacked, and began to fear for the safety of his friend and lover. Another bucket of water forced him to respond, to writhe around even though he did not want to, and focus on his own circumstance.

His wrists were bound by ropes which must be tied to the ceiling. The ropes elevated his wrists and arms, holding him upright in a spread-eagle position. He was completely naked save for the blindfold; he didn’t even have his shoes on. The floor seemed to be made of tile of sorts, and it was cold, although the room wasn’t. He might have been gagged so he couldn’t talk, and blindfolded so he couldn’t see, but he could smell, and he could hear. He sensed a presence near him, and inhaled the scent of male body odor.

“Well ain’t you pretty?” a coarse voice whispered in his ear. He felt a calloused hand rub across his ass, the fingers lingering near his crack. “You and me are gonna have a fun time.” Granger squirmed to move away from the man’s hand, but that only made the man laugh, since he couldn’t really go very far. He slapped Granger’s ass hard, the pain rippling through his body. Again and again, he smacked Granger’s ass. Granger felt nothing but anger, anger and rage. He forced his mind to relax, to think about his situation, and to ignore the physical contact. He pondered that if he were Llewellyn he’d have an erection, probably an orgasm by now. That further distracted him, especially when he thought how it did nothing for him.

Now the man moved up behind him, pressing his body against Granger’s back. Granger could feel his sheer size, the muscles beneath his hairy skin, and his cock that was pressing into Granger’s crack. He reached around and began to run his hands up and down Granger’s torso, stopping to play with his nipples. Granger had resolved not to react until the man took both nipples between his fingers and twisted them sharply. He resisted uttering a cry of pain into the gag, but just barely. Instead, his body automatically moved back away from the pain, and right into the other man. Now he felt something slick on his ass, probably lard, and then the man was back. He felt the man’s cock pushing at his hole and tried to move away, but the man held him firm and squeezed his nipples hard again. While Granger was focused on that pain, the man drove his dick right into Granger’s ass. Granger had expected that he’d have a big dick, but he didn’t. After taking Chartley all night, this was child’s play.

“This ain’t your first cock,” the man said, laughing. “You feel good. Real good. I’m gonna fuck you, then I might have a few of my friends fuck you, then I’m gonna fuck you again.” The man pumped into Granger’s ass, thrusting hard and grunting, and Granger fought with his body, begged it not to respond, but it refused to listen. The man reached down and grabbed his cock and stroked it, getting him fully erect. “He’s ready, ma’am.”

Granger smelled a different smell now, the smell of perfume. The man had stopped thrusting and had just lodged his cock as far up Granger’s ass as it would go. He pulled Granger back toward him, and then gently pushed Granger forward, holding his cock straight out. Granger felt the tip of his dick come into contact with something moist, and then the man pushed forward, forcing him into a waiting vagina. “You like that pretty boy?” he asked Granger rudely. “You like that cunt?”

Granger fought to pull back, as if trying desperately to get his dick out of this woman, but that just had the effect of pushing him back into the man. The man pushed him forward, pumping him into the woman, and it was as if he were a surrogate for them, as if the man were fucking the woman through Granger. Granger was furious, his head hurt, and he was still wet from the buckets of water, but he used those things to focus on not enjoying himself. His mind fought against his body, but once again, his body betrayed him. He felt his orgasm rising up, felt his body give in to the pleasant stimulation even though he didn’t want it to, and then his body convulsed as he blasted his seed into the waiting vagina. The woman uttered a few moans as she enjoyed her own climax, and Granger realized that she was being quiet on purpose, so he wouldn’t know who she was. He frantically worked to remember the sound of her moans and the smell of her perfume, etching those memories in the back of his brain.

She pulled away from him and the man fucking him finally reached his own climax. He groaned, a loud groan, and then began pumping quickly and urgently into Granger, depositing his load deep into Granger’s ass. When he was done, he pulled out abruptly. He slapped Granger’s ass and chuckled. “Give him a minute, your ladyship, and he’ll be ready to go again.” He heard her hiss at him, and then they both seemed to leave the room.

He’d called her ‘ma’am’, and then he’d called her ‘your ladyship’. This was no ordinary peasant woman. This was a woman of some means. He tried to decide who would do this to him, who would have an interest in fucking him? He thought of some of the women at court whom he’d rejected, women who had no qualms with him breaking his wedding vows, but he couldn’t place them. Suddenly he was overcome with guilt. He’d had sex with another woman. He’d promised Caroline he wouldn’t, and now he had. He’d also told her their deal was off, their bargain was over, but he was mad when he’d said it, and when Chartley had told him he should avoid being a libertine, he’d accepted that with no real qualms. He had intended to honor his vow to Caroline and not sleep with other women. He knew Caroline would forgive him for this; she would understand he didn’t do this voluntarily, assuming he lived to see her again. And then it dawned on him that his life was certainly in danger, especially if this woman thought he’d identified her. He hung there, suspended by the ropes that held his arms up, trying to keep them raised of his own accord so the ropes didn’t dig into his wrists too deeply.

Granger didn’t know how much time passed, but he estimated it to be at least an hour. He heard footsteps in the room, and felt hands caressing his body, the hands of a woman. He recognized the smell; it was the same woman he’d already fucked. She was back for more, he pondered, allowing that thought to boost his badly damaged male ego. Even if Caroline would rather be with Silly Billy than him, this woman had wanted him so badly she’d had him kidnapped, and now that she’d had him, she’d come back for more. It was that same ego that betrayed him as he felt her hands on his dick, stroking him until he was erect again. Granger considered his options, and decided that he was going to have to fuck her one way or the other. If he resisted, he’d end up with another dick up his ass, and he preferred to choose the dick that was penetrating him. He groaned and thrust into her hand, feigning arousal. She released him and must have bent over in front of him, for the next thing he felt was her cunt as it enveloped him again. He began to thrust into her rhythmically, pretending that it was Caroline, and trying to make sure that she got off. He reasoned that maybe if she enjoyed herself, got what she wanted, she’d let him go. He was rather surprised when she forced him to pick up his pace, and when his body decided to produce another orgasm, she let him finish, then pulled away from him and left the room.

Twice more she came in and made him service her. Granger kept trying to keep track of how long he’d been there. He was thirsty and tired, and his wrists were incredibly sore from the ropes. He’d long since lost the strength to hold his arms up, and now it was only the ropes that kept him dangling there. The gag in his mouth had sapped all the moisture. But all of the activity, all of their fucking, had changed one important thing. The blindfold had begun to come loose. He shook his head in brief intervals, pausing to listen to make sure no one was in the room to see him, and had gotten it to the point where if he looked down his nose, he could see out, but just barely.

The woman came in again, and Granger was impressed with her resilience, and her ability to copulate on an almost constant basis. But this time he was glad she was back. When she ran her hands across his body, he responded to her, and could almost feel her smile. He felt his dick rising and willed it along. She bent over in front of him just as she’d done before, only this time he could see her ass as she pushed her cunt back into him. He began to pound her, really fuck her, while he watched her body writhe in enjoyment. As he fucked her, using that to keep her distracted, he shook his head, loosening the blindfold, slowly inching it off his head, to the point where he could look down and tilt his head back enough to see this woman who had caused him so much anger. It wasn’t until he was blasting his fifth orgasm into her, and she responded by looking back to take in his body, that he got a good enough look at her to recognize her. It was his sister-in-law.

He felt the bile rising in his throat, his sheer disgust with her so great that he lost control of all of his bodily functions. He vomited into the gag, which was so vile that it made him vomit more. He kept his head down so she couldn’t see his eyes, but he could see her disgusted reaction as his vomit spilled out of his mouth, down his body, and onto her. That inspired him. As she pulled away from him, he willed his body to urinate, and for the first time that night, it truly followed his instructions. He let out a strong stream of piss, and could see the stream hit her as she scrambled to get up and away from him. She stood up, enraged, and slapped him across the face, so hard that she ripped the blindfold right off his eyes. She gasped, realizing what she’d done.

They stared at each other, and interpreted the looks in each other’s eyes. His eyes were filled with rage, hate and disgust, and drilled those feelings into her with such a force that she actually recoiled. Then she recovered and eyed him back with the strangest expression, one of sadness, regret, and self-satisfaction. She shrewdly waited for the moment to pass, for Granger to calm down and get his bearing, before she pulled the gag out of his mouth.

“Where is Chartley?” Granger asked, the first words out of his mouth.

“He is slightly battered, but otherwise unharmed. “

“That does not answer my question.”

“You are not really in a position to ask questions,” she said. “You are in a position to make requests.”

“Very well,” Granger said, suppressing his anger with considerable restraint. “I would like you to let me loose, let me get cleaned up, and then I would like to see my brother.”

She hadn’t really been expecting that, that he’d demand to see Freddie. She’d expected him to rant and rave, and she seemed a bit disappointed that he hadn’t done that. “I’ll send the men in to tend to you,” she said with an evil smile.

She pulled on a robe and flounced out of the room, leaving Granger hanging there. He didn’t have long to wait before a handsome young man came in, a young man who was stark naked. He wasn’t the same man who had fucked Granger; Granger could tell from his scent, and from the fact that he was almost devoid of body hair, barring his large pubic bush. Granger hadn’t seen the other man, only felt him, but this man had to be at least as big, if not bigger. Muscles seemed to bulge from every part of his body. “I’m gonna clean you up, and then I’ll release you.”

“Release me now,” Granger ordered.

The young man looked at him and said, “No,” not in a defiant way, but in a very calm way. “Easier to clean you up when you can’t cause no problems.” He studied Granger and then left the room, returning shortly with a glass of ale. He held it to Granger’s lips and let him drink his fill, then left again and came back with a bucket of water. He grabbed the soap and a sponge and began to wash Granger off, one part of his body at a time. Granger had been through hell, and didn’t expect to enjoy this. He had expected the man to roughly clean him up and cut him down. Instead, he turned out to be a gentle giant. He lovingly washed Granger’s chest, gently brushing over Granger’s nipples, such a contrast to the man before. He washed his armpits, making Granger giggle, and smiling at Granger as he did. He worked his way down Granger’s abdomen, using the soap and the sponge to clean him off, but the resulting effect was to fuel Granger’s libido again.

The man knelt in front of Granger and began to clean off his pubic area, working his balls as he cleaned them, and stroking Granger’s hard cock as he washed off any residue from Davina’s cunt. He leaned forward and took Granger’s cock in his mouth, surprising Granger, but pleasantly. He sucked on Granger’s dick, slow, sensuous movements, while he cleaned Granger’s legs with his hands. He stood up then, directly in front of Granger, with his own hard dick sticking out in front of him. It was a nice dick, averaged sized, with large veins bulging out that made it look bigger than it was. He moved around behind Granger and began to wash off his ass, cleaning off the lard the other man had put on there, and then he stopped suddenly and stood up. He moved up behind Granger, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his neck while he pushed his cock against Granger’s hole. “Can I?” he asked in a husky whisper.

“Yes,” Granger said, although he wasn’t sure why. The man entered him slowly and lovingly, and then once Granger adjusted to his presence, he began to thrust in and out of him more urgently. He didn’t last long before he came, and he didn’t bring Granger to an orgasm, but it was actually very nice. For Granger, who had been treated so roughly, the young man’s kind touches were much appreciated. When he was done, he released the ropes that bound Granger up, and led him over to the corner where his clothes were.

He leaned into Granger and whispered in his ear. “Thanks.” Granger just smiled at him. “Do you want me to get the constable?”

“You know my ship is the Belvidera?” The man nodded. “Go there; tell them I am being held here against my wishes. Tell them to bring a squad of marines.”

“Aye aye sir,” the young man said, and that one phrase explained so much. The young man had been in the Navy. They watched after their own.