HMS Valiant - 17. Chapter 17

October 17, 1799

HMS Valiant

Near Cape Finisterre

Alcmene and Triton were piling on sail, surging ahead to cut the Santa Brigada off from Vigo, while Valiant plodded along, as if she was the beater chasing the Spaniard into the clutches of the hunters.

He turned his attention to Ethalion, and watched as she engaged Thetis. “My lord, it looks like the Don is going to rake Ethalion,” Meurice said with concern. Granger watched as the Don tried to cross Ethalion’s bow, but Young was ready for that. He neatly turned his ship and poured two broadsides into Thetis, after which they began a fierce cannonade. This is what years of naval supremacy had created, this potent weapon, with captains who could outthink their enemies, and crews that could outfight them. Granger put them out of his mind. Ethalion was more than a match for the Don.

Ethalion and Thetis

They watched as Alcmene and Triton closed with the Santa Brigada. Granger had to give credit to Digby, who was handling his ship superbly. He’d positioned Alcmene such that she had blocked Santa Brigada’s path into Vigo, so the Don had turned north, intending to make Pontevedra instead. Triton followed behind the Don, squeezing her into a pincer. “My lord!” shouted Kingsdale. “Triton ran aground!”

Triton must have run into some submerged rocks. With the winds being relatively fluky close to the Spanish coast, Gore had been lucky enough not to lose his spars, but the damage to Triton’s hull must be severe, possibly catastrophic. Granger was about to order their boats into the water, lest they have to rescue the crew of Triton, but he paused as he saw Gore actively managing his ship. In a relatively short period of time, Gore managed to work his ship off of the obstacle. Granger saw water pouring from Triton, courtesy of her pumps, a testament to how damaged she was, but that didn’t stop Gore. As soon as Triton was clear of the rocks, she spread her sails and continued to pursue the Santa Brigada.

Digby had continued to block the Spaniard as he approached the coast. First he had denied her access to Vigo, then Pontevedra, and now he took up a position between Santa Brigada and Muros. With her last potential refuge blocked, it looked as if she must certainly battle Alcmene. He watched as Gore brought Triton back into the chase, closing in on Santa Brigada from the seaward side. It was at times like this that Granger was truly unhappy with Valiant’s slow speed. It had appeared that Alcmene would have to handle the Don on her own, but with Gore’s superb ship handling, Triton would be there to help. Not that it would have mattered: Alcmene should be more than a match for the Santa Brigada.

“Santa Brigada will almost certainly have to engage Alcmene and Triton, my lord,” Meurice predicted sagely. “I fear we will be too late to influence the battle.”

“I think you are incorrect, Mr. Meurice,” Granger said, miraculously hiding his irritation at Valiant’s Master, who could sometimes display the pessimism that seemed more common among his French countrymen. “Our mere presence ensures that Santa Brigada will have to strike if she cannot escape during the battle.”

“I understand, my lord,” Meurice said, somewhat humbled.

Before they could make further predictions, they were interrupted by a hail from the lookout. “My lord, the Don has struck to Ethalion!”

Granger and his officers turned to look back at Ethalion and Thetis, and saw Thetis with her colors lowered, and a boat putting off from Ethalion to take possession of her. He looked at his watch, and noted that they’d been fighting for almost an hour. “Signal Ethalion: Congratulations. Well done,” Granger ordered. He had learned a long time ago that it was important to recognize the achievements of the men he served with.

“Aye aye, sir,” Kingsdale said. That was a complicated message to hoist, but Kingsdale was quite adept with signals now, so it took him little enough time. “Ethalion has acknowledged.”

“Signal Ethalion to take her prize and return to Plymouth,” Granger ordered. Granger waited until Kingsdale relayed that Ethalion had acknowledged his signal, then Granger turned back to see how Triton and Alcmene were doing with Santa Brigada.

Santa Brigada had chosen to try and escape by sailing into the channels around Pontevedra, and that strategy might have been successful if Triton had foundered on the rocks, but the fluky winds in those channels were now penalizing her, by leaving her almost becalmed while Triton, Valiant, and Alcmene closed in on her. Faced with the inevitable, Santa Brigada took in all but her topsails, a clear sign that she was accepting battle. The two British frigates did the same thing, as they slowly converged, while Valiant hurried to join the battle.

Alcmene fired into Santa Brigada first, and then Triton joined the action. For almost an hour, the two frigates slugged it out with the Spaniard. Granger was surprised to see how hard the Spaniards fought against such tall odds. An English frigate would not think twice about tackling two Spaniards, but it was almost unthinkable that a single Spaniard would try to take on two English frigates, especially when all three ships were roughly the same size. Then he remembered that Avila was on board, and that meant that the Dons were most likely fighting not just for their ship, but for the gold and silver they carried. Granger shook his head ruefully at how much those two precious metals could motivate men.

Granger could feel the excitement in his crew, could feel their desperation to get into the battle, but it was not to be. With Valiant finally bringing her heavier guns within long range, and after battling against both Triton and Alcmene for nearly an hour, the Santa Brigada lowered her colors. “Signal Alcmene to take possession of Santa Brigada,” Granger ordered. Triton would have her hands full just dealing with the underwater damage to her hull, so Granger would give the task of manning the prize to Alcmene.

“Alcmene has acknowledged, my lord,” Kingsdale said.

“Mr. Weston, please call away my gig. When we are half a cable from the other ships, heave to,” Granger ordered.

“Aye aye my lord,” Weston said.

“Major Treadway, I would be obliged if you would accompany me, and bring a squad of your men with us.”

“With pleasure, my lord.” While they were closing on the trio of ships, and getting his gig ready, Granger had Winkler find a place in what was normally his cabin, and prepare a makeshift desk with pen and paper, so he could begin drafting his report. He made considerable headway on it, but was unable to finish it before he was informed that his gig was ready.

Granger followed Treadway and his marines into his gig, and made for the Santa Brigada. He was impressed that they remembered to hail his boat, and to man the sides for him. He found both Digby and Gore waiting for him.

“A splendid victory, my lord,” Digby said enthusiastically. “This ship is carrying 300,000 pounds worth of silver.” Granger smiled just as enthusiastically as Digby. This was a bigger haul than he’d made by capturing the San Fernando in the Pacific, only this time he’d have to share it with three other ships.

“A splendid victory, gentlemen,” Granger said. “I cannot imagine seeing two frigates handled in a better way. You both performed superbly. I will say so in my report to the Admiralty.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Digby said. They were both somewhat taken aback by this effusive praise from such a distinguished frigate captain as Granger.

“What of your ship?” he asked Gore.

“We have significant underwater damage, my lord,” he said sadly. “It is important that we return to port as soon as possible.”

“I will finish drafting my reports, and then you two will escort the Santa Brigada back to Plymouth.”

“You are not going with us, my lord?” Gore asked, surprised. This would be a huge victory, and would be trumpeted throughout England. Gore couldn’t fathom how Granger, as the senior officer, would pass up the public accolades for such a success. But Granger had been successful enough, and he had no desire to be embraced even more fervently by the mob.

“Sadly I cannot,” he said. “I must convey Lord Elgin to Constantinople.”

“Of course, my lord,” they both said, happy that they wouldn’t have to share the credit with Granger upon arrival. They were aware that it was likely Granger would steal the limelight if he were to go back to England with them.

“Ethalion captured the Thetis, and I have ordered her back to Plymouth as well. You may encounter them on your return voyage,” Granger said.

“According to the Dons, Thetis was just as valuable as Santa Brigada, my lord,” Digby said. Six hundred thousand pounds, this capture would be worth. That amount of money was huge. Unthinkable. Granger almost laughed when he suspected that it was so large, it might almost pay off the Prince of Wales’ debts. But Digby’s mention of information they’d received from the Dons prompted Granger’s next question.

“Where are the Spanish officers?” Granger asked.

“They are locked up below, my lord,” Digby said.

Granger was horrified at that. It was certainly not a courteous way to treat adversaries who had fought gallantly, especially when those adversaries were not French. He found it impossible to completely hide his annoyance at this breach of protocol. “Please have them brought up on deck at once. I am going to Lisbon, so I will liberate them there.”

“You will parole them, my lord?” Gore asked.

“Of course,” Granger said. There was no reason to confine them to an English village or city, when they could be sent home and pay for their own sustenance pending their exchange. He had to wait for only a few minutes until the Spaniards were brought up on deck. Avila approached him warmly, so warmly the marines nervously moved forward, as if to stop him from assaulting Granger. Granger gestured for them to be at ease.

“My lord, what a pleasure to see you again,” Avila said in English.

“It most certainly is, Colonel,” Granger said, switching to Spanish. “I am sorry we have interrupted your journey.”

“Not as sorry as His Most Catholic Majesty will be,” Avila joked. “Allow me to present Capitan Pillon.”

They bowed to each other. “It is an honor to meet a man who fought his ship so bravely,” Granger said. “Your gallantry and perseverance reminded me of my battle with La Sabina.” Granger had captured her from Captain Stuart, who was renowned in the Spanish navy as one of their best, so this was high praise. Digby and Gore looked on at these conversations with confused expressions, probably because they were so polite, and because they did not understand Spanish.

“The honor is mine, my lord,” Pillon said. “You flatter me.”

“It is not flattery to merely observe the achievements of a man who was so brave in the face of overwhelming odds,” Granger said, remembering the flowery phrasing he’d had to master when he was a prisoner in France.

“Praise from such a distinguished sailor as yourself is reward enough, my lord,” Pillon said. “May I present my officers?”

“But of course,” Granger said. Pillon introduced Granger to his officers, who were unremarkable but for one of them, whom Granger had already met.

“Lieutenant Ramirez, it is good to see you again,” Granger said. Ramirez was incredibly handsome. “It is unfortunate that we meet again, and that means you are once again my prisoner.” Ramirez had been caught fucking Granger’s former clerk, Ramsey, and would have been cashiered out of the Spanish navy and scorned for his homosexual encounter but for Granger’s intervention.

“I would rather be no one else’s prisoner, my lord,” Ramirez said, flashing his smile at Granger. “I heard your kind words about La Sabina. I will pass them on to Capitan Stuart the next time we encounter each other.”

“Please do so, and extend to him my warmest greetings and compliments,” Granger replied.

Granger’s polite conversation was interrupted when he heard a gun fire, and turned to see that it came from Valiant. “Signal from Valiant, my lord. Enemy in sight,” one of Alcmene’s midshipmen informed him.

“Thank you,” Granger said to the young man, and then congregated out of earshot from the Spaniards with the other British officers. “I think we should return to our ships, gentlemen.” Granger was introduced briefly to Alcmene’s first lieutenant, who was taking command of the Santa Brigada, and then he got back to the task at hand.

“Thank you for this opportunity, my lord,” the man said.

“You are welcome, even though you owe your gratitude to Captain Digby,” Granger said, getting a slight smile from Digby. “I will take the Spanish officers with me. You will find that without their leadership, the rest of the crew will be complacent. And useful.”

“Thank you, my lord,” the lieutenant said.

“We will confront whatever ships the Dons have sent out to intercept us, and give Santa Brigada time to get clear of the area and on course to Plymouth,” Granger said.

“Aye aye, my lord,” Digby said, acknowledging his orders.

Granger returned to the Spaniards. “Gentlemen, I would be honored if you would join me on Valiant. I will be able to release you much sooner that way, and deliver you closer to home.”

“With pleasure,” Avila said, with a courtly bow. He followed Granger’s instructions to get into the boat, and as soon as they were safely aboard, Digby briefed him on the signal from Valiant.

“There are four ships putting out from Vigo, my lord. Two frigates and two sail of the line,” Digby said.

“We will form up and challenge them,” Granger said. He saw the stunned expressions clearly on the faces of the others.

“Two battleships, my lord?” Gore asked. It was funny that he hadn’t even mentioned the frigates, so confident were these captains.

Granger nodded. “They will have been hastily manned, and put to sea in a hurry. Their intention is to try and intimidate us into leaving our prize behind. I am willing to wager that a show of defiance on our part will cause them to pause long enough for Santa Brigada to escape.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Digby said skeptically, but they would do as he ordered.

Granger climbed into the boat and gave Jacobs a brief command to take them back to Valiant. He arrived back aboard to find Lady Elgin, along with her husband, on the quarterdeck with his officers. She recoiled in horror and fear when the Spaniards came aboard, and the revulsion she expressed on her face was so rude it could be nothing but an insult to the Dons. “Gentlemen, you may remain on deck if you promise not to interfere in the operations of this ship,” Granger said to the Spaniards.

“We will not cause you problems, my lord,” Pillon replied.

“Mr. Kingsdale, signal to Alcmene and Triton, form line ahead and behind Valiant as is convenient.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Kingsdale said.

Granger took his glass and studied the Spanish ships, which were just now lumbering out of Vigo. The two ships of the line were 74s, and both looked to be in disrepair. They had not even sent up their topmasts. The frigates, a 40-gun ship and a 34-gun ship, seemed in no better condition. He watched as their crews wore ship to head north to intercept Granger’s little flotilla, and the sail handling was atrocious. In fact, it was so bad, that one of the frigates actually ended up all aback. “Are we going to engage them, my lord?” Weston asked.

“We are if we have to,” Granger said. “We must let Santa Brigada escape.”

“What madness is this?” Lady Elgin asked. “You are determined to kill me.” It was absolutely unthinkable, and totally unacceptable, for a woman to insert herself into this matter at all. And to do so in front of their Spanish prisoners was truly horrible. Granger was furious, especially since he knew Avila spoke fluent English.

“It is time for your ladyship to return to the orlop. Major Treadway, please see that her ladyship is escorted below,” Granger said. “Lord Elgin, I would oblige you to go with your wife, to ensure she stays safely out of my way.”

“Of course,” Elgin said, calmly. “Come along, my dear.” Lady Elgin looked at her husband, completely stunned that he would not fight with her to avoid this potential battle, but she did as he said, amazingly enough.

With her out of the way, Granger turned back to watch the approaching Spaniards. They had shown no sign of flinching at the challenge by these three British frigates, but then again, they were still too far away to be within long cannon shot. Granger went up onto the poop deck with his speaking trumpet and hailed Alcmene, which was immediately behind Valiant. Triton had ended up taking station behind Alcmene.

It took a few seconds for Digby to hurry forward so he could hear Granger. “Captain, if we fight the Dons, we will not do it in formation. I will trust you gentlemen to get in your licks and avoid the broadsides of those battleships!”

“Aye aye my lord,” Digby said, but there was relief in his voice, much as Young had sounded. Granger knew that they could not fight a set-piece battle against such a large force, and he knew that his fellow captains needed the freedom and initiative to engage as they thought best. It was also a high form of flattery, with Granger telling them that he had confidence in them, and trusted them to do their part without being micromanaged.

“Please relay that to Captain Gore,” Granger ordered. He got a wave from Digby in response.

“Lady Elgin has been taken below, my lord,” Weston said with a grin. “She wasn’t happy about it.”

“Let us see if she stays there,” Granger said. “Let’s show the Dons our teeth. Run out the larboard battery.”

“Aye aye my lord,” Weston said and executed his order. Granger heard the rumbling and felt the vibration as Valiant’s artillery poked through their gunports. When he looked back at Alcmene and Triton, he saw them doing the same thing. Despite the assistance from those other two frigates, it was Valiant’s strong armament, as well as her strong scantlings, that made this challenge possible. He would give the Spaniards quite a bloody nose. They lumbered toward him, this ill-manned and ill-equipped squadron, making Granger wonder if he’d actually have to fight them. The Spanish officers had assembled on the poop deck, and watched the possible action with interest. They were probably under the impression that they’d be freed in short order after this squadron was successful in capturing Granger’s little flotilla.

“Sir, the Santa Brigada is clearing the channel and heading north,” Kingsdale said.

Granger turned back to study her. She had been knocked about pretty badly, but most of that was, true to British doctrine, damage to her hull. Granger saw her sails filling as she increased her speed. In a few minutes, they could extricate themselves from this situation. It turned out that wasn’t necessary.

The Spanish ships, seeing the prize they wanted to recapture heading out of their grasp, and facing three tenacious adversaries with battle-tested crews, had evidently decided that their mission no longer made sense. They turned around, displaying their ornate sterns to Valiant, as they made their way back to Vigo.

“Mr. Kingsdale, signal Triton and Alcmene to heave to,” Granger ordered. He did as Granger asked.

“They’ve acknowledged, sir,” Kingsdale said.

Granger returned to his makeshift desk and continued to work on his report. He was anxious to release the other two frigates, but he forced himself to slow down his writing to make sure he did the thing justice. It would undoubtedly be published in the newspapers, and he wanted to make sure to recognize the excellent job Young, Digby, and Gore had done. He struggled through it, and then the thing was finally done. He gave it to his clerk to copy, and while he was doing that, Granger took a few minutes to complete his personal correspondence. He finished up the letters he was writing to his father and to Cavendish, and thought about how, in the past, he would have a long letter for Caroline to send home. He had written nothing to her, and was tempted to leave it at that, but even if the romantic aspect of their marriage was all but destroyed, the other part, the business end, was still in place. They would be partners in building a dynasty, even if they weren’t partners in the bedroom. He wrote her a brief note, telling her that he’d won a substantial amount of prize money, and asking her to keep half of it set aside for his own purposes. He told her he was well, and asked the obligatory questions about her health and the children’s health, then signed off on it. He sealed up his report and sent it over to Alcmene with his other dispatches and letters.

Granger watched as Valiant’s cutter skimmed easily across to Alcmene. As soon as she had delivered his package to Digby, he walked over and stood next to Kingsdale. “Signal Triton and Alcmene: proceed.”

“Aye aye, sir,” Kingsdale said, then reported back to him when the other frigates acknowledged his order. He watched them get underway again, their efficient crews setting their sails with remarkable efficiency, as they hurried to escort Santa Brigada home.

Darkness seemed to come upon them suddenly, and Granger did not feel comfortable navigating about on the treacherous Spanish coast at night, so he ordered Valiant to remain hove to. Since his cabin was disassembled anyway, Granger ordered them to put his table back in and set it up, and had them retrieve his dishes and silver while Lefavre made a veritable feast for them.

“Mr. Weston, I would like you to rig up two cabins on the gundeck, near the center, for Lord and Lady Elgin,” Granger said. “After that, I would be most obliged if you would allocate some cots for me and the Spanish officers.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Weston said, but looked confused.

“And when that job is completed, I would appreciate it if you and the other officers who can be spared will join me for supper. It is important that you are one of them.”

“I will arrange that, my lord, and as we are all famished, that should motivate us to get the other arrangements taken care of quite quickly.”

“Excellent,” Granger said with a smile. “Please have Mr. Andrews lay aft.”

Granger had to wait only briefly for Andrews to appear. “My lord?”

“We have won a great victory. I would like you to arrange for a splendid supper for the men,” Granger ordered.

“Of course, my lord,” Andrews said. Valiant must have appeared much like an anthill, with so much activity taking place. The smell of food being prepared permeated the ship, making everyone even hungrier.

“Major Treadway,” Granger said, attracting the attention of his handsome Marine major.

“My lord?”

“I would be obliged if you would show Lord and Lady Elgin to the new cabins Mr. Weston is creating for them. Please advise them that I am hosting a dinner for my officers, and the Spaniards, but will ensure that some food is sent down to them.”

Treadway looked at him, the surprise obvious on his face, as Granger had uninvited the Elgins to his dinner, and snubbed them quite boldly in the process. But Granger had suffered with that woman long enough, and had resolved that he was not going to let her live off of his bounty while causing him endless problems. “Of course, my lord.”

Dinner was a festive affair. The good food and good wine did much to placate the vanquished Spaniards and to put the British officers in a good mood, while Granger was happy to be able to enjoy dinner in his own cabin without Lady Elgin around to bother him.

“I had forgotten how good the food at your table was, my lord,” Lieutenant Ramirez said to him in Spanish.

“I am happy that I have the opportunity to remind you,” Granger said in the same language, then turned his attention to Avila. “I have not yet had the opportunity to tell my officers how much of His Most Catholic Majesty’s gold and silver we have managed to intercept. I hope you will not be offended if I share this with them, and if they are ebullient as a result.”

“The event has already happened, my lord,” Avila said, “so there is no reason for you and your men not to enjoy your victory.”

“Thank you,” Granger said, and then turned to address his officers in English. “I’m sure that you are all anxious to hear about the cargo we captured today, and you will probably be wondering, based on Colonel Avila’s presence, if there was not some silver and gold aboard those ships.”

There was complete silence, as the men stared at Granger, waiting as patiently as they could. “The thought had crossed our minds, my lord,” Treadway said playfully, answering for all of them.

“Then I will sate your curiosity,” Granger said. “There was indeed gold and silver aboard those two ships. Quite a bit, in fact.” Now they were really grinning.

“My lord, begging your pardon, but when you say ‘quite a bit’, can you perhaps reveal how much that may be?” Weston asked.

“I would be happy to oblige you, Mr. Weston,” Granger said, drawing this out. “We have estimated that the combined value of the Thetis and Santa Brigada is in excess of six hundred thousand pounds.”

The smiles at the table vanished in unison, to be replaced by shock. “Six hundred thousand pounds, sir?” Clifton asked just as slowly.

“That is correct,” Granger said. Avila looked on at them with amusement. The shock was replaced once again by glee, as the officers let themselves go, slapping each other on the back and other such gestures, which would be inappropriate if done for any other reason than over such stunningly good news.

“That should set a record, my lord,” Andrews said.

“It is even more than we captured last year when we took the galleon,” Eastwyck added.

“I have made some preliminary estimates,” Granger said jovially. “The amount of prize money for lieutenants, and for you, Major, should be five thousand pounds. Warrant officers should receive half that. Midshipmen close to eight hundred pounds. Each seaman or marine should receive around one hundred seventy-five pounds.” They were stunned again, as they pondered how much money that really was. Seamen were paid twelve pounds per year, so this would end up being fifteen times their annual pay. For Granger, whose pay was a hundred fifty pounds per year, the forty thousand pounds he would receive would represent almost two hundred and seventy years of salary.

“A toast,” Weston said, raising his glass. They had already toasted the King, both English and Spanish, so now it was time for celebratory toasts. “To His Lordship and His Lordship’s incredible luck with prize money.”

“Hear hear!” the others chimed in, and then their revelry continued. They were all quite drunk by the time dinner was over. None of them even thought to complain about the cots they collapsed into that night. Granger had remained more sober than the others, and he spent his evening writing letters to his friends in Spain, including the Duke of Cardona.

October 18, 1799

HMS Valiant

Near Vigo, Spain

Granger sat in his cabin once again, eating breakfast with Colonel Avila and the other Spaniards. He had insisted that they finish their meal before dawn was upon them. He was anxious to get underway, but he was also determined to release Avila, Pillon, and the other Spaniards before he did. He had originally planned to land them in Lisbon, but Avila had suggested that they may not get a very good reception from their Portuguese neighbors. He did not admit it, but Granger could tell he was nervous that the conduct of this war had made civil discourse more difficult.

Granger had no great love for the Portuguese, who had treated him quite badly during his visit to Brazil. He considered Avila to be a friend of sorts, and Pillon had impressed him to such a degree that he did not want to trust them to the vagaries of the Portuguese diplomatic corps.

“Begging your pardon, my lord, but have you decided what is to happen to us?” Avila asked.

“Of course, Colonel. I apologize for not sharing my thoughts on your situation sooner. My intention is to release you this morning. I am hopeful that we will be able to close with one of your ports here and repatriate you under a flag of truce, provided you give me your pledge not to engage in hostile acts against His Britannic Majesty or His Britannic Majesty’s allies until you have been properly exchanged.”

“We will gladly give you our pledge,” Avila said, and the others agreed emphatically as well. “You will forgive me for observing that you had considered taking us to Lisbon instead.”

“I would feel considerable remorse if I forced you to endure the hospitality of my Portuguese allies,” Granger said with a smile, getting a chuckle from the Spaniards.

“We are most appreciative, my lord,” Avila said.

It was visibly lighter now, so Granger led the Spaniards out onto the quarterdeck. “It may be easier to arrange a parley at Pontevedra, my lord,” Pillon said. “The governor there is easier to deal with.”

“I appreciate your insight, Capitan,” Granger said politely.

As dawn broke, Valiant found herself quite close to a large fishing boat, so close that it seemed that they might collide. “Señores!” Granger hailed them. “Heave to and await my instructions!”

The fishermen gave him a foul look, worried that they would lose their boat, and probably their livelihood. “Mr. Eastwyck, please take the cutter and retrieve the captain of that ship and bring him aboard.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Eastwyck said.

They lowered the boat and Eastwyck boarded it with a squad of marines. Lady Elgin chose that moment to appear on deck. “Why are we not on our way to Lisbon? You told me we would arrive in a few days, and we have been dilly dallying around here when we could already be in the Tagus.”

“My duties prevent me from conversing with your ladyship at this time. I request that you go below at once,” Granger said, with a decided lack of grace.

She stood there, glaring at him. “You would delay our trip, and prolong my misery, for them?” she demanded with a sneer, referring to the Spanish prisoners. “You would treat prisoners who attack your King better than the wife of His Majesty’s envoy?”

Granger was furious with her, not the least because she was insulting Avila, Pillon, and their officers. He maintained his calm, and stared at her, making sure she could read his eyes, and see that he planned to brook no further arguments from her. “I would prefer that you go on your own, without an escort.” That was a thinly veiled threat. She turned on her heel and all but stormed off the deck.

She had just vanished when two Spanish fishermen came aboard. They smelled horrible, bad enough that Granger made sure to stand upwind from them. “Why have you seized our boat?” the captain demanded.

“You call me ‘my lord’,” Granger snapped in Spanish, “and I have not seized your boat. Yet.”

“But…” he made to say, but Granger stopped him.

“I am tasking you to take Colonel Avila, Capitan Pillon, and his officers to Pontevedra,” Granger said. At that point, Avila and Pillon entered the conversation. It took them no time at all to convince the fishermen to do their bidding.

Having arranged their passage, Avila approached Granger to take his leave. “My lord, I enjoy our meetings, even if they are most expensive for His Most Catholic Majesty.”

Granger laughed. “As do I. I am hoping that when there is peace between our countries, we will be able to meet under more pleasant circumstances.”

“That is my wish as well,” Avila said.

“I wonder if you would do me a favor,” Granger said.

“I will be happy to oblige you if it is at all possible,” he said.

Granger handed him a packet of letters. “There are letters to some of my friends in Spain, including the Dukes of Cardona and Lerma. I would be most obliged if you would deliver them for me.”

“Nothing could be easier,” Avila said. He took Granger’s package, and then went over to the fishing boat. After she had retrieved her cutter, Valiant continued on her trek to Constantinople, with a crew who was much wealthier.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Much of the action described in these last two chapters is an account of the actual capture of the Santa Brigada and Thetis, which occurred on these dates. Be aware that I have made some alterations to the actual battle itself. In addition to having the ships at different points on the compass at the beginning of the battle, I have made two other blatant changes, as well as some minor ones that I won’t go into. First of all, I slotted Granger and the Valiant in for Captain Pierrepont, and HMS Naiad. In addition, since I wanted Granger to direct that action, I showed him as having more seniority than Captain Digby, when in fact Captain Digby would have been Granger’s senior.