HMS Valiant - 24. Chapter 24

November, 1799

Port Mahon, Minorca

Granger strolled down the street, heading away from the dock, and into Port Mahon. He pondered how people in London wouldn’t walk next door, yet here, in this little city on the somewhat obscure island of Minorca, it was an acceptable form of transportation. That probably had more to do with the relative conditions of the roads, which in turn was probably a result of the more arid climate here. Minorca wasn’t pelted with rain like London was. Its roads weren’t rutted and vile.

Granger paused to look back at the port to see Valiant riding contentedly at her anchor. They’d gotten her into port two days ago, after completing their watering, and had disgorged the Elgins and their party. Then Granger had been invited to dine with the governor, along with the Elgins and Blayney. Lady Elgin had actually been relatively subdued, which made Granger worry more about what her plan was. Surely there was some evil afoot, if she was being placid. Blayney had been decidedly more polite to him, as if to try and atone for the rudeness of O’Brian. Granger had responded cordially, as he had no desire to spark a feud with Blayney, but he had no use for O’Brian, and had made that clear to both Blayney and the Governor.

“You are certainly being mysterious,” Granger said to Meurice, as he turned back to continue their stroll into the town. Meurice had asked him to come ashore, but had been reticent about the reason.

“I must thank you for humoring me, my lord,” he said smoothly.

“And how are our Toulonais doing here in Minorca?” Granger asked, referring to the émigrés he’d left here in Minorca in 1793. He assumed that was why Meurice had dragged him ashore today.

“Quite well, my lord,” Meurice said, “as you will see for yourself shortly.”

Granger raised an eyebrow, but walked with Meurice, allowing him to control their destiny, as it were. Granger heard the clumping feet of the four marines who escorted them. Treadway had been adamant that Granger have a guard when he went ashore, and Granger had reluctantly agreed. He had already been forced to yield to circumstances and bring an escort along when he was out and about in England, so it stood to reason that one would be even more appropriate in a land that had been Spanish less than a year ago. Still, it was hard to see danger in the pleasant faces of the Minorcans as they went about their business, seemingly oblivious to the change in government.

They strolled up to a building that looked relatively nondescript, but for the sign on it. Granger stared at it, so surprised he could not hide his shock. “Banque de Granger?” he asked curiously. “I do not recall anyone in my family being involved with the financial world.”

“I am sure no one was trying to imply that you have commercial roots, my lord,” Meurice said with a chuckle. He led them up to the door and they entered the building to find a relatively plain looking establishment. A short, slightly rotund man hurried over to greet him.

“Welcome to our bank, my lord,” he said courteously, in French. “I am sure you do not remember me, but I am Emile de la Garde.”

“I fear I must correct you, Monsieur,” Granger said smoothly in the same language. “I remember you very clearly. You were one of the trusted leaders of the people we left behind some seven years ago.”

“You flatter me, my lord,” de la Garde said, with a courteous bow. “I hope you will allow me to observe that the years have been kind to you.” The last time Granger had seen this man, he’d been a young lieutenant, yet here he was now, a 24-year-old post-captain.

“You are too kind,” Granger responded.

“You are probably surprised to see a bank with your name on it, and you probably think it horribly presumptuous of us to appropriate it for our bank, my lord,” de la Garde said.

“I think it would be more accurate to say that I am curious,” Granger said evenly. The negative aspect of this Continental floweriness was that it took much longer for people to get to the point. De la Garde seemed to sense Granger’s waning patience with this preamble.

“After you provided us with that sizeable sum of money, we spent a considerable amount of time and energy laboring over how to allocate it, my lord,” de la Garde said with a grin.

“I can well imagine,” Granger said with an amused smile. He could easily visualize the French émigrés arguing over how to allocate the money, all of them angling to ensure their share was the largest.

“It was decided, my lord, that the best use of those funds would be to start a bank, to give our people the capital to start up businesses or other ventures,” de la Garde said.

“That would seem to be a responsible course of action,” Granger said, even though he was surprised that this group had opted to do something that was for the collective good, and didn’t satisfy individual greed. “Has the bank been successful?”

“Very much, my lord,” de la Garde said. “I was chosen to run the establishment, because I have extensive banking experience. We have funded many ventures, and have grown the assets of the bank substantially.”

“I am glad to hear that,” Granger said sincerely.

“We have provided backing for the patisserie you may have seen in town, for the cobbler on the next block, and for many other such ventures. We have even invested in a few small merchant ships, my lord,” de la Garde said proudly.

“That is very impressive,” Granger said sincerely. He certainly hadn’t left them enough money to buy vessels, so that meant they must have earned enough from the bank to fund them.

De la Garde got visibly nervous, and then hesitated before continuing. “We have operated this bank as a collective operation, my lord, owned by those who arrived here after you rescued us. But since it was your money that funded the bank, it is only appropriate that ownership revert to you.”

Granger smiled. “That is very generous of you, Monsieur, but I would ask that you leave things as they are. The funds I left were a gift, one that you have put to good use. I would prefer that you continue to do so.”

“Thank you, my lord,” de la Garde said, positively beaming.

“How has it been, living here among Spaniards, and enduring two changes in government?” Granger asked.

De la Garde shrugged, a quintessential French gesture. “The locals were pleasant enough once they realized we would not be a burden on them, and now we are part of this community. I do not think many here would wish to return to Toulon.”

“I am glad you have found a home here,” Granger said sincerely.

“Thank you, my lord. When the Spanish recaptured Minorca, they were content to leave us to ourselves, especially with a few well-placed bribes.” Granger smiled ruefully at how corrupt the world was. “We had initially feared that we would be deported back to France to face the guillotine, but the Directory had come to power, and the desire for vengeance seemed to have faded, and the effort to have us dislodged and shipped back was presumably deemed a wasteful use of time and resources.”

“I am glad to hear that,” Granger said.

“When the island was recaptured by your forces, my lord, it did not impact day to day life here on the island. We were used to British rule, just as we were accustomed to Spanish rule. They both present different opportunities and challenges.”

“I imagine they would,” Granger said. He chatted with de la Garde for a bit longer, and then took his leave, walking back to the dock with Meurice.

“Your generous gesture has certainly benefited these people, my lord,” Meurice mused.

“It is gratifying to see,” Granger said. “I was not expecting them to use that money so wisely.”

Meurice laughed. “Monsieur de la Garde was most adamant and persuasive, my lord, despite the vocal opposition of some of the others. In the end, it has solidified his role as the defacto leader of the Toulonais living here.”

“He seems to be using that role wisely,” Granger said, although it was more of a query.

“Perhaps, my lord,” Meurice said. Granger looked at him, demanding with his eyes that he explain that. “The bank has invested in two merchant ships. I would not want to investigate their activities too closely.”

“Smuggling,” Granger grumbled. His mind immediately flashed to O’Brian, and he wondered if there was some collusion between O’Brian and the bank.

“I would think that is a distinct possibility, my lord,” Meurice said.

Granger deposited Meurice back at the dock, then borrowed five horses, one for him and one for each of the four guards he took with him, then rode back to his watering hole. The marines stayed a respectful distance behind him, giving him some space to ride, and to think.

It was entirely possible that if O’Brian was involved in smuggling, it would also involve Monsieur de la Garde and his bank. Did Granger want to interfere? Discovering that O’Brian was involved in a smuggling ring and ruining his career had a certain appeal, but what if it also ruined the lives of these people he had left here some seven years ago to forge their way? Despite what de la Garde had said, it couldn’t have been easy. What if the two merchant vessels they held were both confiscated? That would undoubtedly bring down the bank, and would limit the opportunities of these people in the future. Granger let this dilemma torture his mind until he arrived at the spring, where he spent half an hour indulging himself by drinking the incredibly fresh water, then returned to the dock.

Before Granger could even return to Valiant, he was intercepted by one of the Governor’s aides, with a message from the Governor asking Granger to call on him. Granger strolled to Government House with his marine guard stomping after him.

He was led in to see the Governor immediately. Sir Charles Stuart responded to Granger’s courtly bow before speaking. “It is good of you to call on me so quickly, my lord.”

“I am of course at Your Excellency’s disposal, but I fear the speed of my appearance was the result of being already ashore,” Granger replied.

“Perhaps that is auspicious,” Stuart said. “I have summoned you to impose upon you.”

“What may I do for you, Your Excellency?”

“I have pondered your words about O’Brian, and have come up with a solution to that issue.”

“Indeed?” Granger asked.

“Lord Nelson has been pestering me for troops to shore up the Sicilian defenses,” Stuart said. “He is evidently of the opinion that the Sicilian troops would be unable to repel a French invasion of that island, should such a thing happen.”

“I would certainly not want to question His Lordship’s assessment of the situation,” Granger said carefully, “but it would seem that as long as the Navy controls the Strait of Messina, there is little threat of invasion.”

“I would suspect that His Lordship has plans to use the troops for other purposes as well,” Stuart said acidly. “Regardless, we do not need them here, as this island is placid, and a small force should be more than adequate to police the populace and repel any Spanish incursions.”

Granger could see his point. It was unlikely that the ramshackle Spanish navy could gather enough resources to mount a credible expedition to retake Minorca, and even if they did, as long as Stuart controlled Port Mahon and its imposing fortress, they would survive a siege until help came. “I have always found the Minorcans to be pleasant and accommodating,” Granger noted.

“I suspect that having their island change hands multiple times has taught them to be flexible,” Stuart observed. “I am sending Blayney to Nelson with the 30^th and 89^th foot. I have just given Blayney his orders, and I suspect that if you study the harbor, you will see that the transports are already being loaded.”

“Your Excellency is to be commended for the speed at which you execute your plans,” Granger said with a grin.

“We will hope Blayney shares my sense of urgency,” Stuart said. “In any event, they should be ready to sail in four days, which is conveniently enough the same timeframe you had allocated for your stay in port.”

“That was my intention, sir,” Granger said.

“I would like you to convey the transports to Sicily,” the governor said. Granger pondered that for only a second. Shepherding cumbersome transports to Sicily would be a laborious process, and it would slow them considerably, but in the end, he really had no choice. Nelson would be seriously vexed with him if he refused to convoy the troops and thus delayed their arrival in Sicily.

“I would be happy to accommodate Your Excellency, of course,” Granger said hastily.

“I will call a meeting tomorrow afternoon so we may see how the preparations are proceeding,” Stuart said, clearly dismissing Granger. “Plan to be here at 1:00 in the afternoon. We can dine after our meeting.”

Granger walked up to the Government House, accompanied by Weston, Treadway, and Clifton. They were received by a chamberlain of sorts, who guided them into the governor’s reception.

There were quite a few red uniforms here, as one might expect in a place that was occupied by the Army. Granger scanned the crowd and was pleased to see that O’Brian was not in attendance. He spotted Lady Elgin chatting with a rather portly man wearing a uniform, although Granger was unsure as to what it represented. Sir Charles strode over to greet him, a marked sign of respect. “Welcome to our gathering, my lord.”

“It is a pleasure to be here with Your Excellency,” Granger said, returning Stuart’s courtly bow.

“It appears that the convoy we had envisioned will consist of only one vessel,” Stuart said. “The troops will embark on Antares, while their heavier equipment will follow later.”

It was not Granger’s place to speculate on what that would mean for the fighting readiness of Blayney’s troops, but that seemed a bit odd. “I am surprised you have arranged things in that manner, although I am sure there is a most excellent reason.”

Stuart smiled. “I fear that we would have to delay you for another week at least, and I am reluctant to do that after Lord Elgin explained the urgency of his mission.”

“His lordship’s sense of urgency has not precluded us from spending three weeks in ports we would not otherwise have called at,” Granger said with a wry smile.

Stuart chuckled. “In any event, I do not want to answer for the delay. I will leave that burden to rest squarely on your shoulders.”

“I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that, Your Excellency, at least not without being insubordinate,” Granger joked, making Stuart laugh.

“Antares should be able to handle the shipping required.”

“I suspect that she will serve,” Granger agreed. Antares was a large ship, one that was probably an old East Indiaman, and was now owned by a consortium and leased to the government to transport troops and their supplies.

“Allow me to introduce you to her captain,” Stuart said, as he led Granger over to the portly man Lady Elgin had been talking to. “Lord Granger, allow me to present Captain Comstock.”

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lord,” Comstock said. He had a crafty look about him, one that made Granger distrust him immediately.

“The pleasure is mine, Captain,” Granger said politely. “How does the Antares sail?”

“She is a bit big and lumbering, but she can show a fair turn of speed, even though she makes a bit of leeway, my lord.”

“I shouldn’t wonder,” Granger said. With her bulky lines, he would be lucky if she was even remotely fast. “I plan to detail a small party to sail with you, one that will be able to understand and interpret my signals.”

“That is highly irregular, my lord,” Comstock said. Granger wanted to make sure there was no confusion about his orders when they were sailing. Normally he would not have taken the precaution of stationing men aboard Antares, but he suspected that Comstock may be difficult, and he was unwilling to gamble with the lives of five hundred of His Majesty’s soldiers. Comstock rightfully deduced that this party would also be there to spy on him, and Granger was fairly sure his books would not bear close scrutiny.

“Perhaps, but that is the way I intend for it to be,” Granger said firmly.

“With all due respect, my lord, it is not for you to say whom I take aboard, it is merely your job to convey us to Palermo,” Comstock asserted.

“Captain, Antares is under contract to His Majesty’s government, which makes her subject to the orders and directives of His Majesty’s Navy convoying her. In effect, that puts her under my command,” Granger said firmly.

“I am not sure which Admiralty regulations Your Lordship is reviewing to come up with that conclusion,” Comstock said.

“Captain, if you are unwilling or unable to conduct your ship in a manner that is satisfactory, I will have you removed from her and replaced,” Granger said.

“You have no authority to do that!” Comstock exclaimed, outraged.

“I will dispatch a party over to Antares, and they will interpret my orders, and you will follow them,” Granger said firmly. “If you do not, I will act as I have promised. And if you have objections, you may voice them when you return to London.”

“I will certainly do that, my lord,” he said in a huff.

“As will I, Captain,” Granger said severely, reminding Comstock that his own connections were significantly more powerful than this merchant captain’s, even if he did have Lady Elgin in his corner.

December, 1799

Port Mahon, Minorca

“Anchor’s aweigh, my lord,” Weston said.

“Lead us out, Mr. Weston,” Granger said. “Signal Antares to take station astern of us.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Weston said.

Granger began to pace Valiant’s quarterdeck, strolling up and down as he’d done so many times before. He was in an unsettled mood, a mood that derived from having both good and bad news to deal with. On the positive side, the Elgins had opted to sail on Antares, which rid Granger of Lady Elgin for this leg of their voyage. On the other hand, Comstock looked to be as uncooperative as Lady Elgin. His uncooperative attitude and his history of command in the merchant fleet made Granger suspect that he too was linked to the Guild. Granger was determined to brook no insolence from the man. Kingsdale fell in step next to him, a much nicer way of interrupting him than blocking his path. “Antares has not acknowledged, sir,” he said nervously.

Granger trained his glass on the big transport and saw no activity at all. On the quarterdeck, he saw Clifton and Comstock having what appeared to be a heated exchange. So Comstock was electing to test him before they even left port? “Fire a gun to direct their attention to my orders.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Weston said. In short order, one of Valiant’s bowchasers fired off a blank charge. That seemed to end the argument Clifton was having, and resulted in a lackadaisical attempt to set sail. Granger fumed as her crew took their time setting sail, and took even longer to weigh the anchor. The entire time, he could see Comstock and Lady Elgin conversing on the quarterdeck as if they were out for a promenade. Everything Antares did was seemingly designed to move at a snail’s pace, something that would have tempted the patience of someone with more of that virtue than Granger had. They should have been able to clear Port Mahon in a few hours, but instead, it took them the entire morning.

“Course east-southeast, Mr. Weston. Mr. Kingsdale, relay that order to Antares.” They both acknowledged his order, and Kingsdale scurried over to supervise the signal hoist. “After we have squared away and Antares is with us, you may send the hands to dinner.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Weston said.

“My lord, Antares has hove to,” Kingsdale exclaimed.

Granger turned to look at the large merchant vessel in disbelief. No sooner had they labored out of port than they had hove to? Clearly Comstock was trying to test him, assuming that Granger would not make good on his threat. Granger was willing to wager that Lady Elgin had all but put him up to it, but unfortunately, in this case, her stooge would have to pay the price.

“Call away the longboat, Mr. Weston. Major Treadway, I would be obliged if you would join me with a full contingent of marines.”

“Aye aye, my lord,” Weston said, but was a little confused. He didn’t understand why Granger would need marines when there were five hundred troops on board Antares. And he didn’t understand why Granger was taking one of Valiant’s biggest boats instead of just using his gig.

“Heave to,” Granger said, mimicking Antares’ maneuver. He fumed internally while the longboat was brought around and the men descended into it. A nod to the coxswain was all that was required to send the longboat speeding toward Antares. They hailed him as was customary, and actually turned out an honor guard for him as he mounted the side.

“I’m surprised to see Your Lordship aboard,” Comstock said to him rudely.

“Since you have shown no inclination to follow my directives, Captain, it makes sense that you would be surprised to find me aboard,” Granger said evenly.

“This vessel is under contract, my lord. I am not one of your lieutenants that you can order around,” the man said defiantly.

“Indeed,” Granger noted. He saw Blayney and his officers, including O’Brian, watching this exchange with interest. “I am relieving you of command of this vessel.”

“You have no authority to do that!” Comstock spluttered. He was possibly correct in that assertion, but Granger was determined not to suffer with this man for the voyage to Sicily. He made the calculation that Comstock would be unlikely to effect anything against him back in London over this encounter.

“Captain, I have all the authority that I need,” Granger said with a hint of amusement. “I have some forty four guns that attest to that,” he said, gesturing at Valiant, “and some five hundred loyal soldiers who will follow my directives as well.”

“This is piracy!” Comstock bellowed. “Piracy!”

“No, Captain, Colonel Blayney and I have a mission to accomplish, and you are a hindrance, so you must be removed,” Granger said.

“That doesn’t give you the authority to seize this vessel! When her owners hear of this outrage, they will clamor for your head!” Granger was not afraid of a bunch of merchants, but in this case, the vessel was not owned by the merchant community.

“And who does own this vessel?” Granger asked.

“The Caldwell and Murchison Consortium,” Comstock said.

“Are you familiar with that corporation?” Granger asked Clifton, who was grinning.

“Indeed I am, sir. I believe your father and mine are the largest shareholders.” Comstock stared at Granger, completely flummoxed by that. That was just an indicator of how tied were the fortunes of Britain’s aristocratic and business communities.

“It is ironic, Captain, that you are unaware of whom you truly work for,” Granger said, and then turned to the others. “Major Treadway, you will escort Captain Comstock into the longboat and land him in Port Mahon. Mr. Clifton, you will assume command of Antares in the interim.”

“This is illegal! It is an outrage!” Comstock shouted. “You can’t put some lieutenant just out of breeching clothes in command of my ship.”

“Major,” Granger prompted.

“Aye aye, my lord,” he said. Several marines manhandled Comstock over the side and into the longboat, in a most unceremonious way. His own crew looked on in mild amusement.

“Mr. Clifton, please have Comstock’s things sent over to the port. I will draft a report for the Governor that will go with it, along with some personal letters. You have an hour to accomplish that,” Granger said.

“Aye aye, sir,” he said, and went to attend to his duties.

“An interesting start to our voyage,” Blayney said to him in a friendly way.

“I think you will find this will make our voyage much better in the long run,” Granger said with a smile.

“I see Your Lordship is adept at making enemies at every turn,” Lady Elgin said to him snidely. Granger hadn’t even noticed her.

“I am unwilling to tolerate insolence from merchants,” Granger said to her evenly. “Even merchants who are adorned with acquired titles.” Blayney hid his snicker, barely, while she glared at Granger and stormed off the deck.

“I would be obliged if you would do what you can to assist Lieutenant Clifton,” Granger said to Blayney. “I am wont to get to Sicily as quickly as possible, and he knows of my methods.”

“We will do what we can to help, since our goals are the same,” Blayney said.

“Perhaps you would like to dine with me tomorrow?” Granger asked.

“I would be delighted,” Blayney said. Granger went below to what had been Comstock’s cabin and dashed out his report, along with a letter of explanation to his father, then sent them ashore with Comstock’s possessions. Then he went on deck and chatted with Blayney and his staff, excepting O’Brian, who absented himself, while they waited for the boat to return.

Granger managed to separate himself from the chatty army officers so he could talk to Clifton. “What do you make of this ship and her officers?”

“They seem to be a decent enough lot, sir,” Clifton said. “This ship is woefully undermanned. I fear the captain was padding the ship’s roster.” That was an old trick, and an unscrupulous one. The Antares would show a larger number of crewmen on her books, and the captain would pocket the extra pay for those men.

“I will send you some men to help, and you may use Colonel Blayney’s men to assist you as well. I think you can rely on his cooperation.”

“I’m sure I can, sir,” Clifton said confidently, then grinned. “You are determined to vex the entire merchant community, sir.”

Granger chuckled. “This was a more calculated gamble on my part, and I am relying on your help to ensure I survive this one unscathed.”

“My help, sir?”

“As this vessel is owned by a consortium of which our fathers are the largest shareholders, I am assuming that they will have no objection to you assuming command on my orders,” Granger said. “I will trust you to explain things to your father when we return.”

“I suspect I can do that just as effectively with a letter, sir,” Clifton said, with his impish grin.

When the longboat returned, Granger returned to Valiant, leaving Clifton to acclimate to his new command. Valiant greeted her captain with the usual honors, and Weston was waiting for him, smiling broadly. “It would appear there has been a change in command aboard Antares, my lord.”

“Indeed there has been,” Granger said, smiling back. “Mr. Clifton has assumed temporary command of Antares.”

“I’ve already re-worked the watch schedules, so we won’t miss him too much, my lord,” Weston said jovially. Weston was such a pleasant man, and his demeanor was contagious.

“Excellent. It appears that Antares is woefully undermanned. I need you to send twenty men over to assist him. Make sure there’s a reliable petty officer who goes with them.

“Aye aye, my lord,” Weston said.

“Then let’s try this again. Course east-southeast, Mr. Weston. Mr. Kingsdale, signal Antares to do the same.”

They chimed their acknowledgement, and this time there was a swift response from Antares, both with her signal, and with her sail handling. It was late afternoon by the time the two ships were out of sight of Minorca, but despite their delays, Granger was confident that they were much better off having gotten rid of Comstock.