HMS Belvidera - 16. Chapter 16

October, 1795

“Travers and Jardines?” Granger asked as they floated in the bathing pool. “They were involved together, and with the Brotherhood?”

“That is why you joined, isn't it? To solve the mystery?” Phillip asked. He moved his hands across the top of the water, savoring the feel of the warm liquid.

Granger thought about that. “Is that why I was invited to join?”

“You answer a question with a question?” Phillip teased. “You would have been asked sooner, but there was some concern that you weren't interested in other men. Arthur was the one who put you forward, and that was readily seconded by Iggy and Jardines.”

“Iggy is a member?” Granger asked. “I guess that makes sense. So is John Travers a member?”

“That isn't an easy question to answer,” Phillip said. “He is considered a member, but he has not been initiated yet.”

“How is that possible?” Granger asked. Was it possible to avoid part of the ceremony? His wrist still throbbed from the pain of the brand, and he decided that if he could have avoided that, he would have.

“They ask a soldier to explain a naval matter to a seaman,” Phillip said with a frustrated sigh. “I will do my best. You know of Hotham's action off Genoa, I assume?” Granger nodded. “There was a furor when he didn't tack and chase the French, but simply let them go. In order to cover himself, he sent a report home blasting Captain Travers, claiming that Aurore gave him false information that led to his decision.” He paused, seemingly to collect his thoughts.

“Aurore was then placed under the orders of Admiral Linzee, who was sympathetic to the situation at hand. He sent her home with dispatches, but his real motive was to allow Travers to defend himself. When Travers got home, he walked right into a firestorm.”

“That would have been hard for him to deal with,” Granger said, concerned.

“You mean because of his father? I suspect that is why Hotham singled him out. He probably figured that Travers was vulnerable, and it would be easy to pin the blame on him. Your wife, a formidable politician, by the way, jumped in to defend him. Your father did as well, and even took him to Court so he could explain himself directly to the King. But Hotham's friends were pushing to have Travers removed from command of Aurore, and there was fear they might succeed,” Phillip said, and then stopped to take a breath.

“I would have thought that Lord Spencer would have the final say on that, and I would have confidence that he knew better,” Granger said.

“That is true, and Spencer was on his side, because he likes Travers and because he was defending one of his officers, but there was considerable pull from some of the other Lords of the Admiralty, and they ultimately determine who gets what ship,” he said.

“You are awfully well versed in the ways of the navy for such a simple soldier,” Granger teased.

Phillip smiled and looked at Granger lustfully. “You really are an Adonis, George. It's hard to take time to tell you of these affairs, so anxious am I to couple with you again.”

“Then I will quit interrupting you,” Granger said with a grin.

“Caroline, your wife, apparently appealed to Arthur, who put his considerable muscle behind Travers, but it was still a tough battle. Evidently Arthur managed to seduce the poor Captain, and was able to get him to admit that he liked other men.” Granger fought back the irritation at that, at having Arthur seducing 'his’ man, but he put that aside. He and Travers had no monogamous commitment, and if Travers was going to fuck someone, Arthur deserved his attention. Phillip continued, pulling Granger's thoughts back to the here and now. “At that point, Arthur decided that he might be a good candidate for the Brotherhood. They have a weakness for handsome men with big dicks,” he joked.

“That would explain why you are a member,” Granger joked.

“It would,” Phillip said. “A few well-placed words from the Duke of Clarence to the Lords of the Admiralty would solve Travers' problems as if by magic. There was some concern about his family background, and that concern remained. Arthur was most insistent, though, and he managed to convince the Leadership Council to meet with Travers.”

“So he went through the same thing that I did today?” Granger asked.

“He did, to a point. He swore his oaths, and they manacled him and we all got to explore his body,” Phillip said. Granger cringed and tried to hide his jealousy, but couldn't quite pull it off. “He's very important to you isn't he?”

“He is,” Granger admitted. “I love him.” Phillip nodded. “Did he react like I did, did he enjoy it?”

Phillip laughed. “George, I don't think I've ever seen anyone enjoy that part as much as you did. They all fell in love with you, the way you responded to our touches.” Granger felt himself blushing, but Phillip pulled him into a kiss to help ease his embarrassment. “He liked it, but he was nervous.”

“I guess I should have shown some restraint,” Granger said thoughtfully.

“Nonsense. You wanted them to like you and they did. So the ceremony continued, and the Duke went up first as he did with you. When he asked Travers if he could fuck him, Travers agreed, but he was really nervous. The Duke found his ass so tight that he only pushed in a bit, just for the symbolism, then let Travers blow him. I guess he doesn't get fucked too often,” Phillip said.

“No, he doesn't,' Granger said. He was one of the few people that Travers let into his ass.

“Generally, they want to see him get fucked by a couple of the men, but they had their eye on him and his thick cock, and I think they were all dreaming of him fucking them, so they were willing to go easy on him. Arthur fucked him, and you know he has a small cock, so that was pretty easy. That, combined with the Duke's symbolic fuck, should have been enough.” Phillip seemed to cringe, and that warned Granger that what would come next would be painful.

Phillip took some water and used it to slick back his hair, which was hanging down around his face. It was such a sexy gesture, it almost made Granger fuck him on the spot, but he wanted, no, needed to know what happened. “But it wasn't?”

“They each went up to Travers, just like they did for you. It was Jardines' turn, and he walked up to Travers and pulled out his dick. You've seen it before?”

“I have,” Granger said, remembering his huge cock.

“He's fucked you before?” Phillip asked. Granger didn't answer, but his blush told Phillip the story. “That must have been a challenge.”

“He's not much thicker than you,” Granger said, flirting. Phillip smiled, his male ego getting a serious boost.

“Jardines pushed his dick into Travers’ mouth, then pulled out and moved up to his ass. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but Jardines was staggering a bit. He's one of those men who can be drunk off his ass and it's hard to tell.” Granger nodded. “So he asked Travers if he could fuck him, and Travers said no. Now, you must understand that it is poor form to ask to fuck someone who obviously can't handle you, but it is also poor form to say no. So everyone was standing there, wondering what to do with these two men who were, in essence breaking the rules.”

“It takes some time to take Jardines,” Granger said, remembering.

“So I hear. I'm not that brave,” Phillip said. “So Jardines says 'fuck that' and surges forward, ramming his big cock right up Travers' ass.” Granger just stared at him, stunned. He felt a flood of emotions. Concern and sympathy for Travers, rage and hatred for Jardines.

“So what happened?” Granger managed to ask, almost a whisper.

Phillip swallowed. “The pain and shock was so intense that Captain Travers screamed, and then blacked out. It took three of us to finally pull Jardines out of him. It was really chaotic. No one knew what to do. Me and a few of the younger and stronger members dragged Jardines into one of the cells and shut him away. Turns out it's convenient having the ceremony in a dungeon,” he joked. Granger didn't laugh, he couldn't laugh.

Phillip seemed embarrassed at having his joke fall flat, but he continued on gamely. “Arthur, the Duke, and the others all gathered around and tried to revive Travers. His ass had been damaged; there was some bleeding, so they did their best to patch him up. When they finally brought him to, he was in agony. There was no way he could go on with the ceremony, plus there is a convention about it: it must be pure. This one obviously wasn't. So the Duke ended it on the spot, declaring that he was a provisional member, pending his ability to complete the ceremony.”

“Were they able to?” Granger asked.

“Not yet. I'm assuming next time he's home it will happen. He told the Duke that he was committed, and there's no reason not to believe him,” Phillip said.

“So Jardines got off with being sent off to India?” Granger asked. “That's a pretty easy punishment.” He'd have probably killed him if he'd seen Jardines do that to Travers.

“For someone like Jardines, that was probably a fate worse than death,” Phillip said. “He had his life pretty well set up here. He served in the Guards, got a decent income from an inheritance, and was in demand by both sexes because of his huge member. His drunkenness was cited as a mitigating factor, and that was the declared punishment.”

“Can he return?” Granger asked.

“No. Never,” Phillip said. “So when he said goodbye to England, it was for the last time.”

“What if he comes back and exposes the Brotherhood?” Granger asked.

“He will die,” Phillip said. “No one exposes the Brotherhood. No one can even admit that it exists. That was part of your oath, remember?”

“I do,” Granger said. “So there is an assassination squad for the Brotherhood?” he joked, trying to put this painful conversation to the back of his mind.

“We all are the assassination squad,” Phillip said. “If someone betrays us, we must all be committed to killing him at the next opportunity.”

Granger thought about that, and it began to dawn on him that this association had a very big dark side. “That might be hard to do.”

“I'm sure it would be. Fortunately, no one has betrayed the group in living memory. Still, it makes me apprehensive when I think about extending an invitation to those who are closest to me. I expect that is why Arthur didn't advance you sooner. He really loves you, you know.”

“And I love him,” Granger said. “Unfortunately, I think my feelings are oriented to friendship while his are more romantic.” But Granger had been in the pool talking for quite some time now, and there was a handsome man in front of him. He moved up and reached down to grab Phillip's dick and smiled when he found him to be as hard as Granger was.

They moved to the side of the pool and Phillip jumped up and out, sitting on the side. Granger moved up between his legs and took his big cock into his mouth. He took him as deep as he could, making sure that Phillip could feel his throat squeezing the head of his dick, and worked him until his balls started to rise up. Granger wanted this to last, so he pulled off and admired the huge cock he'd just sucked. It was so thick, so gorgeous, with pulsing veins sticking out and the head so red and swollen. Granger moved down to suck on his balls. He took the right one into his mouth, then the left, alternating between them. Phillip's moans filled the room. Granger moved down to his perineum, nuzzling it with his nose.

Phillip took the hint and rolled over so his legs were in the water while his stomach was flat on the deck, leaving his butt in the air. Granger moved up and admired his beautiful ass, generously coated with his auburn hair. He dove in with his tongue, rimming his hole, then driving into him, and then alternately rimming him again. Phillip reached back and grabbed Granger's head, first to push him into his ass, and then to pull him up, asking Granger with his movement to fuck him. Only he wasn't lubricated enough, Granger sensed.

He surprised Phillip by jumping out of the pool. Granger held out his hand, helping him up, then led him over to the soapy pool. Phillip got it now, got what Granger was doing. He knelt on his hands and knees in the tub while Granger got in and knelt behind him. Granger used the soapy water to lubricate his dick, and then pushed in gently. He had assumed that Phillip would be a man who didn't let other men fuck him very often, but his reaction told Granger that wasn't the case. In no time at all, Granger was pumping in and out of his tight ass, while Phillip knelt there, moaning like an old whore.

Granger picked up his pace; really going at it, only he'd pushed himself too fast. He felt his load building, felt himself reaching the point of no return, and then he came, blasting his load into Phillip's ass with a roar of ecstasy. When he was done, he left his hard cock in Phillips ass and reached around him to find his hard cock throbbing in anticipation of being stroked. Granger began to jerk him off, making sure his own dick pushed firmly into Phillip's magic spot. With a cry as loud as Granger's, he came too. They collapsed into the soapy water, laughing and panting. Phillip turned around to give him a loving kiss, then they rinsed off in the other pool.

They left for London early the next morning. Granger looked at Phillip, noting yet again how handsome he was. Naked, he was a work of art, but even now he was stunning as he sat in front of Granger with his crisp red coat that seemed to match his auburn hair perfectly. Granger smiled as Phillip winced when the coach hit a bump and jarred his sore ass. They'd fucked each other so many times Granger lost count. “I think you taught me more than I taught you,” Phillip said. “Some mentor I am.”

“I think you're a great mentor,” Granger said, kissing him lovingly. “And I'm happy to have you as a friend.”

Phillip beamed at that. “Having you not hate me, it's like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. You don't know how liberating that is.”

“How will I know if someone is a member of the Brotherhood?” Granger asked, changing the subject.

“They will have the same mark you do,” Phillip said, showing Granger his own brand. “When you meet another member, you are not required to fuck him, but it is considered bad form to say no. You will like most of the men anyway, but if you have a good reason, they won't be offended.”

“I feel like I'm a walking hole,” Granger said, partly joking, partly not.

Phillip laughed. “It's not like that. Besides, I suspect it's their hole that will need servicing. I have found that if there's someone I don't want to be with, I quickly think of a reason for duty to call. That works.”

“Is there a list of members?” Granger asked.

“No. There is no written record. It is a situation where you'll need to run into them. Once a year, on June 6, those who can meet at Stonehenge. It's like a pagan festival, and it often turns into a Bacchanalia. At least the two I've been to have,” Phillip said. “That's the best place to find out who's a member.”

“They made it sound like a big deal, bringing in new members,” Granger said. “Is that something we're required to do?”

“Not required, encouraged. It is tough to do because of our secrecy, and because of our standards. You must remember that Travers was a huge exception to the rule. Someone who can pass their inspection who isn't an aristocrat, well, that person is rare.” Phillip smiled at him. “If you have a candidate, let me know and I can coach you.”

“Coach me? You mean we'll fuck him together?” Granger joked.

“That is always a positive way to recruit. It is tough to explain things to someone when you can't acknowledge that the organization you want them to join even exists.” Granger nodded.

He arrived at home to find a concerned Caroline waiting for him. “Wherever did Arthur drag you?”

“We actually went hunting,” Granger said. She was about to grill him with questions. “The Duke of Clarence was there, although I fear I got separated from the main party.” The mention of the Duke had changed her whole tone.

“You were alone then?” she asked, concerned.

“No, I was with Sir Phillip Kerry,” Granger said.

“He's a very handsome man,” she said. “He's considered quite a catch, although no one has managed to snag him yet.” Phillip had inherited one of the oldest Baronetcies in the Kingdom. Granger found that the thought of Phillip being ‘caught’ irritated him.

“He is, and it was nice to spend time with him. He was a friend of Freddie's, and I hadn't seen him in a while,” Granger said. “We ended up spending the night at Brentwood. You really have done a terrific job with it.”

She beamed with pride at her achievement, and with happiness at having him appreciate it. “Why thank you,” she said. “Are you going to Court?”

“I am. I was planning to pay my respects to the King, and then I must go call on the Duke to apologize for losing the hunting party,” he said.

“Then you must hurry and change. The audience starts soon,” she said urgently. He nodded and rushed up the stairs to find Winkler already laying out his best uniform. In the end, he was only home for forty five minutes before he was in the carriage and on his way to St. James' Palace.

His carriage deposited him at the door, the Chamberlain announced him, and then Granger found himself in the familiar territory of St. James' Palace. He made his way over to the King, waiting patiently while Lord Chatham presented a protégé. Then he made his way forward, bowing as prescribed. He discovered that, now that he'd done this several times, his nervousness had vanished.

“We are pleased to see you Captain,” the King said. “Will your stay at home be long?”

“I am unsure of that, Your Majesty,” Granger said. “I hope you will forgive me if I am forced to depart in a hurry without taking my leave.”

The King actually smiled at him. “We are aware of the exigencies of our service,” he said. Recognizing that he'd been dismissed, Granger backed away and began to circulate. He found Hood standing off by a table nursing a drink and approached him.

“It is good to see you, my lord,” he said.

“Ah Granger. You back home to cause trouble here as well?” Hood groused.

“No, my lord. I came home just to see your lordship,” Granger said, teasing Hood like he always did. “I fear your lordship is not as glad to see me.”

“You leave a complicated wake,” he said. “That was good work in Madeira, by the way. Ignore the press.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Granger said. “What will happen to Admiral Wilcox?”

“Surely you’re not asking out of personal concern?” Hood asked with a raised eyebrow.

“As a matter of fact, my lord, I am. The concern is for myself, and is quite personal indeed.” Hood smiled at him.

“I don't know what they're going to do with him, but you shouldn't worry overmuch. The general consensus is that your conduct was admirable. Doesn't hurt that you had Portland's son serving aboard either.”

“He's turning into a fine young officer, my lord,” Granger said.

“With you as his role model?” Hood asked. “Ha!” He paused to look behind Granger, making him turn to see who was behind him. “Spencer, your golden boy is here harassing me.”

“If I recall correctly, he was your golden boy first,” Spencer said. “I understand you're to visit me with Sir John Jervis tomorrow,” he said to Granger.

“I have been ordered to attend Sir John at the Admiralty at nine o'clock, my lord,” Granger said.

“If he gets his way, you'll be at sea quite soon,” Spencer said. “I fear your wife will miss you and take it out on me.”

“I suspect Lord Hood will miss me as well, my lord,” Granger said, teasing Hood. Hood just shook his head. Granger made his excuses and headed out to his carriage. “Clarence House,” he instructed, then sat back to think. Spencer had said he might be going to sea soon. How soon was soon? Granger scolded himself for being so negligent, for absorbing himself so deeply in his life here in London that he was neglecting his responsibilities to Belvidera. True, he'd been ordered by Spencer to stay here, but his guilt was more internal, knowing that he hadn't really even thought about his ship and crew that much. He was just about to embark on some serious self-flagellation when the carriage stopped at the front of Clarence House.

The footmen opened the door for him, where an equerry met him inquisitively. “Welcome sir,” he said.

“Thank you. I am Captain George Granger, and I have come to call on His Royal Highness, if he is available.”

“His Royal Highness is most appreciative of your call, but I fear he is indisposed,” he said. Clearly he thought Granger was some ordinary naval captain seeking preferment.

“I am sorry to hear that. When I spoke to His Royal Highness yesterday, he instructed me to call. Will you please tell him that I was here?” Granger said, handing the equerry one of his calling cards. Granger eyed this gatekeeper, almost challenging him to disregard him, and it was that attitude that decided the issue.

“If you will wait for a moment, sir, I will see if His Royal Highness is still busy.” Granger nodded instead of saying 'thank you’. The man was gone for only a few minutes. “His Royal Highness asked me to escort you to his library. Won't you follow me?”

“With pleasure,” Granger said. He got to the library and found it empty, so he wandered around, looking at the books that had probably been put there, unread, just to fill up the shelves.

The doors opened abruptly, almost making Granger jump, as the Duke breezed in. “Granger, how good to see you again!” He turned to his equerry. “I am not to be disturbed for any reason.”

“Yes, sir,” the man said, and left.

“It is good to see you too, Your Royal Highness,” Granger said, bowing low as the Duke approached. As soon as Granger stood up, the Duke shocked him by taking him in his arms and kissing him passionately.

“I don't have much time, but I want you so badly,” he said.

“I want you too, sir,” Granger said. He'd learned how to be sexy over the years, so he used his talents on this Royal Duke. “Please sir; even if it's fast it will be wonderful.” The Duke kissed him again, and then spun him around. Granger pulled off his coat while the Duke pulled down Granger's trousers. Granger felt the man’s hands run over his ass, and then the Duke pulled his own trousers down. Now Granger felt a different object, the Duke's big cock, as he guided it gently into Granger's waiting hole.

“God this is wonderful,” he said as he plunged in and out of Granger's ass. After that, he just moaned and grunted until he brought himself off, filling Granger up. “What about you?” he asked thoughtfully.

“I will go home and pleasure myself, thinking about our encounter, sir,” Granger said, grinning seductively.

“We must spend more time together,” he said. “I've a mind to go to sea in Belvidera just to make that possible.”

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure, sir,” Granger said.

“Well Granger, I must be off. You are certainly a bright light in an otherwise dark day.” He gave Granger another passionate kiss, and then strolled confidently from the room. Granger found his way to the door, and to his carriage. He giggled to himself as he felt the Royal semen leaking out of his ass.

Granger stood in the familiar Admiralty waiting room. He had thought about taking a seat, but the only one available was next to a particularly garrulous older lieutenant, and Granger was too tired to drum up the patience for that. He wanted to go look in the big mirror, to ensure that his uniform was in perfect order, but he watched others do it, and it made them look vain. He'd take his chances.

“The First Lord will see you now,” the secretary said. Granger made the mistake of glancing around the room. He saw the looks from the others, these unemployed officers desperately seeking a ship. They were full of evil emotions: Jealousy, hate, and despair. He shook that off and followed the man to the familiar office. He entered in time to hear Jervis' booming voice.

“I can't just sit here in London while Hotham makes a hash of everything. If I do that, there won't be a fleet left to command,” he said, almost a shout.

“Ah, Granger. Welcome,” Spencer said, using his arrival as a pleasant distraction.

“My lord, Sir John,” Granger said, acknowledging them both.

“Are you ready for sea?” Jervis asked.

“Yes sir,” Granger said, and hoped that Roberts had gotten the urgent note he'd sent him yesterday by courier.

“Excellent. Then we'll leave for Portsmouth tomorrow,” he said.

“Aye aye, sir,” Granger said.

“Just a moment Captain. There is a court martial planned for Admiral Wilcox. Your testimony will be required,” Spencer said casually.

“My lord,” Jervis began, “Let us please not waste any more resources on a useless man when we have the French to fight now, and the Spaniards likely to join them soon enough.”

“What would you have me do?” Spencer asked, frustrated.

“Yellow him out and deny the court martial,” Jervis said. A ‘yellow’ Admiral was one that was retired and would never again hold a command. “That way we're all rid of him, and he can bear the shame of suspected cowardice as his punishment.”

“You present an interesting solution Sir John,” Spencer said. “I would like you to remain in London for a few more days while we compile your instructions.”

“My lord, surely you can't be serious? The fleet in the Mediterranean is decaying daily. If I am to be ready to fight His Majesty's enemies, I must get started at once,” Sir John opined assertively. Then they were at a standoff. Sir John was determined to leave, and was willing to be a pain in the ass until they let him go. Spencer, his refined manners barely hiding his irritation, was looking for a face-saving way out of this.

“My lord, begging your pardon, but may I make a suggestion,” Granger said daringly, jumping into the snake pit. They glared at him.

“What is it Granger?” Spencer snapped.

“I am wondering if your lordship has truly evaluated all the benefits of having Sir John leave London?” Granger joked. His instincts were usually good, he usually knew just when to throw humor in to a tense situation. He was lucky in that it worked this time.

Spencer laughed. “You are probably right. Perhaps I should re-think that. Very well, Sir John, if you can restrain yourself until the day after tomorrow, I will have your instructions completed to the degree possible.” He held up his hand to stall Sir John's protests. “That will give Granger a chance to beat you to Portsmouth and prepare for your arrival.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Sir John said, with as much grace as possible.

“Granger, perhaps you and your wife would join us for dinner tonight?” Spencer asked. “Sir John, I would be honored with your presence as well.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Granger said. “We would be honored to attend.” He thought about Caroline, and how upset she would be that he was leaving. Then he thought about Phillip, and found that he had bonded with him more than he had thought possible.

The cold wind whipped around them as they stood on the dock in Portsmouth. Granger fumed impatiently as they loaded his sea chest into his gig, along with the dunnage of Lennox and Cavendish. The past twenty four hours had been a whirlwind of activity, one that was starting to fray his already irritated mood. He saw Cavendish looking up at him nervously. His expression showed that he felt the distance between them and didn't understand what it was, what was causing it. Granger almost felt bad about that until he realized he'd have to have another conversation to explain it.

He'd had a pleasant dinner with the Spencers and Sir John. Caroline never ceased to impress and amaze him with her highly developed social skills. Between her and Lady Spencer, the conversation was fun and animated. The wine was good as well, too good. It had made him feel free and uninhibited last night when they'd gotten home and he and Caroline had had a sexual extravaganza. But this morning, when he woke up, the residual headache and nausea that it left started his day off in a decidedly poor manner.

Then he'd had the long, bumpy coach ride with his two cheerful midshipmen. It had taken him half the day to destroy their good moods as well and to finally shut them up. They were standing by the gig, waiting to climb in. He glared at both of them, venting his anger on them unfairly.

He stopped to think that this was normally the time when he would be happy and excited. This was the time when he'd be full of anticipation of what was to come, and of excitement at being in his own world with his crew. Having Sir John Jervis aboard would do much to squelch that joy. He'd have to surrender his own cabin, that much was certain. Then they'd have to cram the Admiral's staff into the already crowded frigate. Granger almost winced at the thought of the effort it would take.

And then he'd be under the watchful eye of the toughest admiral in the navy. If he missed a stay when tacking Belvidera, Jervis would notice. If a man didn't polish the starboard carronade just right, Jervis would notice. He would notice everything.

Granger followed the midshipmen and Winkler into the boat and nodded to Jeffers. Winkler was another one who had really irritated him. He'd been so excited to get back it had taken a supreme effort on Granger's part to destroy his happiness. He was about to cheer himself for his success when he turned his flagellation inward instead. These men were proud that the admiral would be sailing on their ship. They were excited to get to sea and show her off. That Jervis had picked her to take him to his new command must seem like a special honor to them.

Then Granger's eyes looked ahead to Belvidera as she got closer and closer. Her fine lines, her raked masts, her glittering gold leaf, all those things reminded him of what a fine ship she was and how much he loved her. He felt his bad humor evaporate as he studied her trim, deciding grudgingly that Bailey had gotten it just right. He was so engrossed in the details he was almost surprised by the hail.

The gig hooked on to the chains. As Granger moved toward the chains, he grinned at the two midshipmen, who just looked at him with expressions of complete confusion, wondering at this man who had made them miserable all day but could now be gleeful and charming. Being that mercurial further escalated Granger's mood as he climbed up the side. His ship welcomed him back with the time honored pipes and sideboys.

Granger looked around nervously, worried that things wouldn't be in order, but his experienced eye told him that fear was unfounded. “Welcome back, sir,” Roberts said cheerfully.

“Thank you Mr. Roberts. Are we ready for sea?” Granger asked.

“Yes sir. We took on the last of our stores this morning, just topping off our water,” he said.

“Sir John Jervis will be arriving about this same time tomorrow. We will be hoisting his flag,” Granger said, dropping that bombshell on them.

“Sir John, sir?” Roberts asked.

“I didn't stutter Mr. Roberts,” Granger snapped. “I will see you and Mr. Andrews in my cabin at once. We'll need to prepare extra provisions and sleeping quarters for his staff.”

“Aye aye, sir,” Roberts said. Granger walked down the ladder to the main deck, then headed past the guard into his cabin. He smiled, feeling as if he'd just come home, and then threw himself into the preparations to receive the admiral.