HMS Valiant - 10. Chapter 10

September 10, 1799

Portland Place

Granger stood in front of the mirror, studying the reflection that stared back at him, looking for any flaw. His blond hair was pomaded back in a very stiff and formal way that seemed foreign compared to his normally more relaxed style. He had to admit that there was an advantage to it, as it called attention to his face, with his smooth skin and bright blue eyes. Yet even his youthful visage showed the ravages of war. Above his eye was a scar from when he’d been wounded as a midshipman; and around his eyes were small wrinkles, a reminder of the fever he’d caught in the South Sea, the disease that had almost taken his life. His new uniform fit him perfectly, and was flawless, presumably because the tailor had known of the purpose for the purchase of this new garment. Granger had sported his ermine robes yesterday for the opening of Parliament, but thought that his uniform made him look much better. It was certainly much more comfortable. Wearing ermine robes in the September heat had certainly not been pleasant.

If Granger were being honest with himself, he would put aside his modesty and admit that he was devastatingly handsome. He would acknowledge that when he smiled, and showed off bright white teeth, it was enough to charm even the most heartless of merchants, especially since his lower teeth remained hidden, and they were hopelessly crooked. He would realize that the small dimples in his cheeks added an elixir on top of that, one that was only capped by his courtesy and manners. If he had done that, perhaps he would understand why the King was fond of him, and why he was able to remain remarkably popular in the snake pit that was a royal court. But Granger was too self-deprecating to acknowledge any of those traits.

Caroline Granger saw all of these strengths in George, and more. She strolled up to the mirror, wearing her court dress, the blue one that she’d had made to match the sapphires George had brought her from France. Caroline was a beautiful woman, but she knew she was not attractive on the level that George was. It made her happy to think that he loved her so much that he thought she was as beautiful as he was handsome. Caroline was not one to leave any advantage off the table, though, so she augmented her appearance with not only the sapphires, but diamonds as well, so when she stood next to her husband, fully bejeweled, they made a perfect match.

“You look stunning, dear,” Granger said, trying to be pleasant, even though Caroline could sense his irritation with her.

“I must work hard to look adequate on the arm of the most handsome man in the Navy,” she said, and smiled at him. He smiled back at her weakly, unwilling to let her make him that happy.

“We must leave for the ship,” he said, ending the uncomfortable silence that had encompassed them after her last comment.

“George…” she said, stopping him. “I do not want you to be vexed with me.”

“You have it within your power to solve that problem,” he said, his eyes flashing fire for just a second to show how upset he was. “You have only to be honest with me.”

“I do not object to being honest with you, I would just prefer to have this conversation when you are not about to entertain the King,” she said.

“Yet your reluctance to do so has cast a pall over this event, one that should be such a highlight for me, for us, and for our families,” he said. “So when you look into my eyes, and see my anger, for there is anger there and it is real, you will know that you caused it by your inability to be candid with me.” He turned on his heel and walked calmly toward the door.

“George!” she called, but he ignored her until he was about to exit the room.

“Are you planning to join me?”

“Do you want me to?” she asked.

“I do not, but it is not an option at this point. It is your duty, and it is my duty, so we must go.” He was being very firm and commanding, something that grated on Caroline, who was used to being in control of her world. But he was also right, and she could not, she would not defy him.

Granger strode out of the room and down the stairs, where Winkler met him to make sure that Granger’s uniform was in order, and that his medals were arrayed correctly on this new uniform. “You look very nice, my lord,” he said.

“I am so glad to hear you think so,” Granger snapped, then stopped himself. It was totally unfair to vent his anger on Winkler. “I am sorry,” he said sincerely.

“No apology is necessary, my lord,” Winkler said, and almost chuckled that Granger thought it was a heinous crime to lash out at his chief steward, especially when he did it so rarely. Only decorum prevented him from making such an inappropriate gesture, and concern for Granger soon erased any humor in the situation.

Caroline Granger tried to stop the tears, but they would not yield to her wishes anymore than George would. She had tried so hard to make his homecoming a good one, but he’d managed to find the one issue to focus on that would cause her the most embarrassment and distress. George had seen her expression when she’d been around Treadway, and she knew that while they were both discreet enough, Granger knew her too well to miss the signs, the embarrassment and guilt they both let slip through their shields. She had hoped he would merely overlook the whole incident, but he did not. He had waited until yesterday to confront her about it, and to demand that she tell him what had happened. It had not been a pleasant conversation.

“My lady, His Lordship asked if you will be ready to depart soon,” her maid asked.

“Tell him I require a quarter of an hour, and then I will be ready,” she said. Her voice was even, but the undercurrent of her own anger was obvious to her maid. Caroline had allowed herself to remember the unpleasant words they’d exchanged, and that had made her angry, and defiant. She would show George her own displeasure by delaying him.

“Yes, my lady,” she said. Caroline smiled, thinking she’d won a small victory in this conflict, until she heard the clatter of horses’ hooves on the cobblestones out front. She dashed to the window and looked through it in time to see their carriage going down the street at a very fast pace. “My lady,” the maid said, interrupting her thoughts. “His Lordship said that you may take as much time as you require. He will send the carriage back to get you.”

“Thank you,” Caroline said, then went over to her desk and sat down, overcome with depression over this situation and over what George’s departure without her meant.

Granger allowed himself to fume at his wife during the ride to the Tower of London. He had not been this mad at her since he had returned to England after the Battle of St. Vincent and found her pregnant with another man’s child. This time it was almost worse, since she would not even tell him what she had done. Instead, she let it corrupt his psyche, like an infected sword stuck into his side. She did not understand him as well as she thought she did, otherwise she would have known that it would have been so much better to just admit what she had done and let him deal with it. Instead, she had left it as an open wound, one that would fester until it was ultimately healed, but even then, it was probable that it would leave a scar on their relationship.

The carriage pulled up to the Tower, and as if his mood could not possibly get any worse, it was further eroded at the sight that greeted him. A veritable mob of people were shouting and cheering for him. He would have to wade through them, despite the marines and footmen who would carve a path. Not only that, he would have to pretend to be cheerful, something that was difficult with the mob under normal circumstance, but was especially trying when his mood was so foul. He was tempted to lash out at them, but he would never do that. That would be incredibly rude, and that was something that Granger was most certainly not.

He got out and waved to the crowd, even as their cheering increased. He turned to the coachman. “Please tell Her Ladyship that I will understand if she is indisposed, and does not wish to attend the fete tonight.”

“Certainly, my lord,” he said, and that didn’t really seem to bother the coachman, even though he hadn’t heard that Her Ladyship was not feeling well. But when Caroline received the message, she would understand all too clearly that he had uninvited her. That would be especially galling for her, since Granger had bent royal protocol to the extreme to include her in the first place. He had thought that having Caroline there would add a feminine touch to the evening. Well, he thought ruefully, they would have to do without that.

Granger made his way through the crowd, lifting his hat and smiling as he did, and thankfully reached the safety of The Tower. Granger had allowed himself to indulge in his anger at Caroline on the coach ride, but after arriving at this royal palace, he forced his mind to shift to Valiant. He completely shut Caroline out of his mind and focused on the event ahead of him.

As he approached the ship, his eyes scanned her, looking for any defect, any flaw. He had originally planned to host a standard dinner party for His Majesty, assuming that the King would be interested in seeing one of his ships. But those plans had been dashed a few days ago when Spencer had informed him that the King was probably bringing not only the Queen, but his daughters as well. That had transformed the event from a dinner party into a gala, and so Granger had put his mind to the task, and had transformed Valiant into a floating ballroom.

Valiant had been completely festooned with all kinds of bunting, which made her look vaguely ridiculous in Granger’s opinion. She had flags of many different nations intermingled with wreaths of laurels and flowers, such that the actual upper decks were hidden from the shore. Granger noted the flag of the Ottoman Empire, a flag he would no doubt be seeing much of on this trip. Granger looked beyond these decorations to the actual ship. He didn’t think the King would notice the details all that much, but there would be at least a few naval men with him, and they would. And some of them may just be evil enough to point out any flaws. He strode alongside his ship as he studied every foot of her hull, scanning every bit of her gold leaf. When he was finally satisfied, he ascended the gangplank and boarded the ship. The gangplank had been adapted to make it easier for Their Majesties to board the ship, and that made the climb for Granger quite easy.

Granger walked onto the quarterdeck and was surprised at the transformation. The wreaths, flags, and flowers were so numerous that they all but obscured everything but the deck. It was as if Granger had been transported to a fairy land, where only the thing that he stood on was the same, and everything else was designed for gaiety. But perhaps the most noticeable difference was the aroma from the flowers, which permeated the upper deck, blocking out the normally foul odors from the bilge.

“Welcome back, my lord,” Weston greeted him. He was normally so jovial, but the stress of hosting the King had frayed even his steady nerves, so even his welcome sounded a bit stunted.

“Thank you, Mr. Weston. I would be obliged if you would detail a party to attend to the paint beneath the number four gun on the starboard side,” Granger said, staying on task.

“Of course, my lord.”

“Which of the young gentlemen has the best eyes?”

“I would venture to say that Mr. Kingsdale does, my lord.”

“Excellent. Send him round the ship in my gig to look for any other areas that may require our attention,” Granger said. Weston looked devastated that he had missed something, and seemed to take Granger’s order as a lack of confidence in him, but if Weston had taken these steps himself, he would not be exposed as having overlooked it. That was the plight of a first lieutenant, to always be subject to having his captain point out any shortcomings. “I am going to inspect my cabin, then the rest of the ship, and satisfy myself that we are ready.”

“Of course, my lord,” Weston said. Granger walked into his cabin, with Winkler trailing behind him.

“Will Her Ladyship be joining us?” Winkler asked.

“If she recovers her health, she will join us,” Granger said. He really did not know what Caroline would do, and he really didn’t care. “Now let us focus on the arrival of His Majesty.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Winkler said. Granger’s cabin had been completely opened up, with his sleeping cabin and chartroom removed, and their contents struck below. The large dining room table was expanded as far as it could be, and with the cabin open, it gave the servants plenty of room to serve. They were blessed with good weather, so that meant that the stern windows were open, as was the skylight, allowing a nice breeze to freshen the cabin. He inspected the cabin carefully, looking for any flaw, but he found nothing. Winkler was quite thorough. There were even additional tables set out to hold candelabras, and to thus better illuminate the cabin when darkness fell.

They had been fortunate in that His Majesty had chosen the evening to visit them, and that meant providing supper, which was traditionally a much lighter meal, instead of dinner. Granger walked out of his cabin, to the quarterdeck, which would act as the main reception area. The waist had been boarded over, much as they would do if there was a storm, only this time the space would serve as a stage and a dance floor. They had planned some truly nautical entertainments, including a hornpipe competition. After dinner, there would be dancing. Granger knew that the King was not a keen dancer himself, but his daughters were. Granger saw Treadway speaking to his lieutenant, and felt his anger surge again, but fought it down. This was most certainly not the time for him to deal with the issues between Treadway and Caroline.

Granger tried to immerse himself in preparations, but his mind repeatedly returned to the issue with Caroline. What he would not admit, but was most certainly true, was that this rift made him feel very much alone. That was an odd feeling for Granger, who was quite at home in London, and in the circles in which he associated, but what was lacking was a true friend, someone he could confide in. Summer was a time when most people left the city, so it was no surprise that his closest friend, Cavendish, was gone. Yet he had been gone for a long time, and Granger would have assumed he’d have returned by now. He knew that Cavendish had more pressing things to deal with, and that it was rumored that he was soon to be married, but still he felt neglected by the young man who had become so important to him. Even Arthur, whom Granger relied on for political insight, had been gone. There were plausible excuses for their absences, but Granger had the feeling they were avoiding him. He would distract himself from these thoughts only to allow his mind to return to this same circular trap, and only with great effort could he heave himself out of it.

And so the day went, with the crew of Valiant checking and re-checking their ship for any flaws, and making sure all the preparations were complete. An hour before the expected arrival of the King, Granger dismissed the men to go below and put on their new uniforms. He had dipped into his own purse to provide them with materials that were similar, and had established a set style for the ‘uniform’ they were to sew, and that had turned Valiant’s crew into a homogenous looking body. While the officers were on edge to make sure this was a wonderful event, the crew felt no such pressure, as they had merely to follow orders. To them, it was an unequaled honor, and morale was very high.

“Carriage approaching, my lord,” Travers said. He was designated to look out for dignitaries.

“Let us see who is coming to visit us first,” Granger said pleasantly as he took up his glass. The potential arrival of their guests transformed his mood, from a nervous captain to a polished courtier, a change that surprised most of the men on the deck, even as they quite correctly aped his new mode. Granger saw the familiar carriage, and hid the surprise he felt inside. So Caroline had decided to join them after all. “Lady Granger is arriving,” he said. “Major Treadway, perhaps you would be willing to escort my wife aboard.”

A look of horror flashed briefly across Treadway’s handsome face, but he masked it soon enough. “Aye aye, my lord,” he said, and went down the gangway to go meet Caroline. Granger could have detached another officer, but this was his way of letting Caroline know he was still very annoyed with her, and it would put Treadway on notice that he was vexed at the Major as well. Granger watched as Treadway assisted Caroline out of the carriage, then as he greeted her formally, kissing her hand. He felt the jealous beast inside him rear its ugly head as Treadway offered Caroline his arm for support, but he calmed himself by noting that those two would be much more uncomfortable than he was.

Granger stood aloof on the quarterdeck as his wife preceded Treadway onto Valiant. As soon as her foot landed on Valiant’s deck, he strode forward to greet her. “Welcome aboard,” he said affably.

“Thank you, George,” she said. “Your ship is so lovely. You have all worked wonders to turn her into a floating palace.”

“Thank you,” Granger said. “I am glad you are feeling well enough to join us.”

“I was indisposed, but it has passed now,” she lied, continuing their charade.

“Mr. Eastwyck, perhaps you will show her ladyship around the ship, and acquaint her with all the preparations we have made,” Granger said, conveniently pawning Caroline off on yet another one of his handsome officers.

“It would be my pleasure, my lord,” Eastwyck said gallantly, even as he bowed to Caroline and kissed her hand. He led Caroline forward first and Granger was happy to see her go off so he could focus on the arrival of the King.

“Another carriage approaching, my lord,” Travers announced.

“It appears that the First Lord is arriving, along with Lord Hood,” Granger said as he looked out at the street. He saw another man with them, the one not wearing a naval uniform, and smiled when he recognized his father. “My father is with them as well.”

He wanted to ask whether the signals were ready, but that would only insult his officers. They manned the side as best they could as this trio ascended the gangplank. Spencer was first, as was appropriate due to his rank as First Lord. As soon as his foot landed on the deck, Granger went to greet him, while the salute, 19 guns, began to fire off.

“Welcome sir,” Granger said affably.

“Thank you, Granger,” he said, even as his eyes darted around. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vessel festooned so brightly before. It is almost hard to tell she is a warship. Nicely done.”

“Thank you, sir,” Granger said. “I will have to hope that His Majesty shares your appreciation.”

“One can hope,” Spencer said jokingly, and then he greeted Caroline. As soon as Spencer’s salute was finished, Hood came aboard, with additional guns sounding off to recognize him.

“Welcome aboard, sir,” Granger said to Hood. “You are looking quite handsome this evening.”

“You need to get your eyes fitted for spectacles, Granger,” Hood growled. He was not so dissimilar to St. Vincent when he spoke like that, but Granger knew that Hood had a kinder and much more easy-going disposition than St. Vincent.

“Perhaps you are correct, sir,” Granger agreed, making Spencer chuckle. Hood greeted Caroline as well, and then Clifton took over, introducing these men to the other officers and midshipmen, while Granger focused on greeting his father. “I am glad you were able to make it!”

“When I heard you were being honored, I left Bridgemont and just managed to return yesterday,” the Duke of Suffolk said to his son. He looked around. “It is good to see you as well,” he said to Caroline. The Duke was quite fond of his daughter-in-law. They chatted for a bit, and then Granger tore himself away from their company to attend to his party.

“Major Treadway!”

“My lord?” the young major responded. If Caroline had slept with him, it would be difficult to blame her. He was extremely handsome, but even more than that, his playful nature made him seem boyishly charming, something that could be quite compelling.

“I would be obliged if you would have the band begin their serenade,” Granger said with a forced grin, even though what he really wanted to do was string Treadway up to the shrouds and force from him the story of what he and Caroline had been doing together.

“Aye aye my lord,” he said. The marine band was formed up on the poop deck, so they were conveniently able to play and the music would waft down into Granger’s cabin below, or it could be heard even more loudly on the quarterdeck. It would be so much easier for Granger if Treadway had showed some ineptness in executing his duties, because then he would be able to legitimately vent his anger at the man. But Treadway had handled his portion of this visit with such good form that even a biased Granger was forced to give him credit. The band was just now playing lighter numbers, which would not exhaust them, and would not drown out the conversations of the guests. The band members could rotate playing, and Treadway stated that they could play that way indefinitely.

Granger watched as Spencer and Treadway conversed, and that helped to assuage his fears that Caroline had been indiscreet. Spencer was likely to know if there were gossip about Caroline and Treadway, and Granger was willing to believe that the First Lord was fond enough of him that he would not have foisted Treadway onto him if he’d known there was some liaison between Treadway and Caroline. No, at this point, news of whatever had happened had not spread. That was the one straw Granger hung onto, the one thread that let him maintain his happy disposition and behave as the perfect host.

“You’ve done a nice job, Granger,” Spencer said, joining him on the quarterdeck. “All of the arrangements seem perfect!”

“Thank you, sir,” Granger said with a smile. “And while I do truly value Your Lordship’s praise, I fear it is more significant that His Majesty would agree with you.”

“I think you will be in luck,” Spencer said. “There was a council meeting following the opening of Parliament yesterday, and His Majesty was in a good mood.”

“I am glad no one vexed him, sir, lest I end up paying the price,” Granger joked.

“Sir, His Majesty is arriving,” Travers said, interrupting them. Granger looked out and saw the Royal Carriage arrive with quite a bit of fanfare, guarded as it was by a squadron of the Household Guards. Granger watched as the gouty old King exited, followed by the Queen and the princesses. Granger had been lucky that Spencer had warned him that the King was bringing them along, and was glad that he’d made preparations for this event.

He turned to Treadway. “Make sure that the band plans to play some dancing music after supper.” They’d discussed this before, so it was an unnecessary order.

“Of course, my lord,” Treadway said.

Granger stood by the entry port, watching as the King and Queen worked their way up the gangplank. As soon as they stepped aboard, the salute began to fire off. They would have to fire off 62 guns, necessitating the use of Valiant’s main deck guns to maintain the timing. There were 21 guns to honor His Majesty, an additional 21 guns to salute the City of London, and finally, 20 more guns to recognize the Tower of London as a royal palace. Granger knew he could rely on his officers to see that was carried off correctly, so he focused on Their Majesties. He bowed to the King and Queen, and then greeted them. “Welcome aboard, Your Majesties,” he said. “What an honor you do us with Your presence.”

“Thank you, Granger,” the King said. Caroline stood next to Granger and curtsied deeply for her sovereign. “We are pleased to see you as well,” he said to her.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Caroline said. Caroline and Granger greeted the Queen and Her daughters. The Queen was dour, and tended to rule the princesses with an iron fist, such that they were largely afraid of her. The oldest, Princess Augusta, was 31 years old, and was still not married. She was painfully shy, but seemed relaxed around Granger and Caroline since she had seen them at court often enough. Princess Elizabeth followed her, as the next oldest. She was 29 and also unmarried; although it was rumored that she had had an affair with a man named George Ramus. The next oldest, at 23, was Princess Mary, who was also the prettiest of the King’s daughters. She was best known for being completely obedient to her formidable mother. Princess Sophia, who was 22, followed her. The youngest of the King’s daughters, Princess Amelia, was only 16 years old. She was the King’s favorite daughter, and since His Majesty seemed to like his daughters better than his sons, Amelia was presumably his favorite child as well. Then Granger turned his attention back to the King.

“May I present my officers, Your Majesty?” The King nodded, and Granger went through them, one by one, introducing his officers to their King. For some of them, it would be of no major consequence, since they saw the King at court. Clifton and Treadway, and more recently Kingsdale, would fall into that category. But to the others, like Meurice and Hercule, this was quite an experience.

The men formed up on the area that would be the stage, looking quite good in their uniforms. They were grinning like idiots at seeing their sovereign, even though some of them had already had that privilege when Granger had returned from the Mediterranean in Belvidera and presented the Oran Ruby to the King.

While the guns had been firing off their salute, the royal standard had been slowly hauled up the mainmast. With the salute completed, the band began playing “God Save the King”, and when they had finished, the men gave a rousing cheer for the King and Queen, one which They seemed to appreciate. The men were then dismissed below, and chairs were found for the King and Queen, as well as the Princesses.

Since it was not quite the hour for supper, that time was filled by showing Their Majesties about the ship, even though much of it was concealed by the bunting they’d put out to festoon her. Then four men performed a hornpipe competition, after which His Majesty was asked to judge which was the best.

Supper followed, a meal which had tested Lefavre’s skills in his efforts to outdo himself. He was successful. The meal was served a la francaise, where there were three courses, with all the food for each course brought out at the same time. The first course consisted of soups, vegetables, and fish. The King set the tone for the entire meal. No one sat at the table until His Majesty did. No one picked up their spoon or fork until His Majesty did. And when His Majesty was done eating, and put His utensils down, everyone else was done eating as well, and followed His lead, whether they had finished their plate or not. The second course consisted of various types of meat, including beef, pork, and mutton. The final course was the desserts. Granger made sure to sample some of everything to make sure it was good, and he was once again impressed at how skilled Lefavre was. Finding him aboard the Aurore during the Siege of Toulon had been one of the more fortunate things to happen to him, even though recalling Aurore brought back memories of John Travers. But true to his pledge, Granger smiled when he thought of Travers.

After dinner, Treadway managed to get his weary band to play some dancing music. Granger looked beyond the wreaths and flags to see private boats sailing about the frigate, with wealthy merchants and members of the gentry clamoring to get a glimpse of their sovereign and his family. Granger smiled as he thought about how annoyed they must be with all those decorations that blocked their views. He detailed some seamen and marines to keep an eye on them, to make sure they did not come too close.

And then they began to dance. Granger was thoroughly enjoying himself, even though because there was such limited male company suitable to escort the Princesses, that necessitated that he was dancing constantly. He had just escorted Princess Sophia from the dance floor, when Kingsdale tugged surreptitiously at his arm.

“Sir, have you seen His Majesty?” Kingsdale asked.

Granger kept his cool, even as his eyes darted around, looking for the King, but he was nowhere to be seen.