HMS Valiant - 42. Chapter 42

March, 1800

The Isle of Wight, England

Granger rode across the pasture, pushing the horse to go ever faster, reveling in the speed and the thrill of it as much as the stallion seemed to. He smiled, and even laughed as he went, but as he came to the edge of the wooded area, he reined the horse in and retraced his path at a much more relaxed trot. He had been admonished to take footmen with him when he went riding, but here on the Isle of Wight, it seemed to be an unnecessary precaution, so he was enjoying his solo ride.

It had been two days since he’d watched Valiant spread her sails and leave Spithead, and two nights since his physical and emotional reunion with Calvert. That made his smile just a little bit bigger, as he balanced the two events, and decided that he was very fortunate. He had lost his ship, but he had regained Calvert. There was a bond between them, a bond that connected them at all levels of their beings, and Granger was just starting to realize how much their break had bothered him. Calvert would be sailing Valiant down the Channel, and he’d be sleeping in Granger’s cot, and he’d be enjoying Granger’s stove, and he’d be fucking Gatling. Just a few days ago, the thought of Calvert and Gatling together, and indeed the visualization of it, would have caused Granger enough anguish to cause him physical pain. Now, there was a slight twinge of annoyance and jealousy, and then he was able to move on. Calvert had spent almost the entire night with him, and with Valiant sailing on the morning tide, that had been a considerable sacrifice. In the end, it showed Calvert’s confidence in Weston and the other officers, while proving to Granger that he was important to Calvert, possibly even more important than the ship. For a captain, that was a considerable statement.

Granger trotted on, feeling almost jubilant. He’d been lonely, and he’d felt deserted by the men and woman who were important in his life. He thought of Caroline and scowled. In the past, he’d been anxious to see her, almost chomping at the bit; now, he was in no hurry to do so. He had largely healed his wounds with Cavendish, but there was still a level of annoyance there, a level of suspicion and lack of trust that had not existed prior to Cavendish’s tryst with Caroline. Jardines was like a Turkish concubine, locked up on Tenedos. And Chartley had still not returned from the Far East. What was supposed to be a quick trip to China was obviously becoming a much more permanent position. His reunion and reconciliation with Calvert had helped him deal with the fact that he had no one close to him. He didn’t have a partner. Aside from Daventry and Teasdale, even close friends were lacking.

Thinking of Jardines had reminded Granger of his meeting with Jardines’ attorney yesterday. The man had been less than reputable, but seemed competent enough. Jardines’ total debts were close to 8000 pounds, so Granger opted to pay off the lot of them. It seemed only fair, based on the sizeable amount of treasure they’d found as a result of Jardines’ involvement in the scheme with the Guild.

Granger rode up to the house, admiring yet again what an excellent job John Nash had done. If he were ever assigned to the Channel Fleet, this house would be even more ideal. A groom waited for him, and took the reins, walking the horse back to the stables, while Granger walked up the stairs. The door opened seemingly by magic, at least until one saw the footman waiting on the other side. “Welcome back, my lord.”

“Thank you,” Granger said.

“Her Ladyship just arrived,” he said. Granger stopped and stared at the man, frightening him immeasurably; so intense was Granger’s gaze.

“Lady Granger is here?” he asked.

“Yes, my lord,” the footman said, swallowing.

“Are my children with her?”

“I do not think so, my lord,” he said. Granger nodded, and went upstairs to his room. Winkler arrived to help him change clothes, and then Granger occupied himself on some correspondence. He didn’t go downstairs until it was time for dinner.

Caroline was already at the table. She rose up, smiling weakly at him, while Granger smiled back just as weakly. She was wearing a blue gown, along with the sapphires Granger had brought her from France. “Welcome home, George.”

He approached her, took her hands in his, and kissed her on each cheek. “Thank you,” he said, with a distinct lack of emotion. “How are the children?”

“They are doing fine,” she said evenly.

“I am glad to see you are in good health,” he said, focusing on her only after he knew his offspring were doing well.

Granger took his seat at the other end of the table, although the leaves had been removed, so it was still quite intimate. He could see the confusion in Caroline’s expression, as she’d probably expected that time away from her would soften his attitude, and heal their wounds. It had not, and Granger could not fake the emotions, the love, she was hoping to see, nor did he want to. Caroline rebounded quickly enough. “I think that is a greater achievement for you, based on the trek you have been on.”

“It was an exciting voyage,” Granger said, almost ruefully. “And a most lucrative one.”

“I like the way you have styled your hair,” Caroline said, smiling at him. She did so in a suggestive way, which he found brazen and a bit unattractive.

“Thank you.”

“I brought the accounts with me, so you could see how I invested your money from the treasure fleet,” she said. “Per your instructions, half of it is still sequestered.”

“Thank you,” Granger said. “There is to be more.”

“Indeed?”

“We captured two chests on Rhodes,” Granger said. It occurred to him that he was taking Caroline deep into his confidence, even though his feelings for her were significantly reduced. He acknowledged, in his mind, that he trusted her completely, at least with financial and political affairs.

“I heard about them,” she said. “I spoke at length with Lord Daventry. I volunteered to come down here and return with you to London.”

“That is excellent,” Granger said. “Thank you for doing that.”

“I love you, George,” she said, almost plaintively.

Granger swallowed hard. “And I am very fond of you.” He could not lie to her, but it saddened him to see her lower lip quiver. He remembered how Cavendish had acted in London, how he’d come to see him. He’d apologized to Granger, and explained everything, opening up completely. Caroline still hadn’t done that, and it didn’t seem that she was going to. Quite frankly, to Granger, her opportunity to do that had probably already passed.

Granger began to assail himself with his fussy sense of justice, wondering why he could forgive Cavendish and Treadway, but not Caroline. The first issue, as he’d already pondered, was that she hadn’t asked for his forgiveness. The second, and more important issue, was that her tryst with Cavendish and Treadway had threatened his family, threatened them to the very core. She could have scandalized society and ruined much of what he’d worked so hard to build up, and she could have damaged his children. It was as if she had run through the house he had built with a torch, screaming like a madwoman, and only through luck and quick action had they managed to stop her from burning the place down.

Caroline distracted herself by eating, so Granger joined her, and then she returned to the business at hand. “There is some consternation about what to do with the gold and gems you captured.”

“I suspect there is,” Granger said, and chuckled.

“I think the preferred thing to happen, as far as the government is concerned, is for the whole thing to be dealt with behind the curtain, as it were, so the public is none the wiser.” Granger knew that ‘the public’ did not include everyone; it only included everyone who mattered, which would mostly consist of the leading families of the realm along with members of Parliament and the press.

“I suppose they want me to hand the money back to the Guild with a smile,” Granger said, shaking his head.

“If you would be so kind,” Caroline said, smiling at their idiocy.

“I will not,” Granger said firmly. “I already distributed half of the money to the crew.”

“And if the government demands the return of those funds?”

“Then I would submit it is lucky for me that I have that reserve fund sequestered away,” Granger said. The thought of giving away that much money made Caroline cringe briefly, which Granger found amusing.

“I came down here with a squadron of Life Guards,” she said.

“That is quite a distinguished escort,” Granger noted. It was also very unusual.

“It is for you, not for me,” she said. “His Majesty is trying to show you how pleased he is with you, and he is also trying to irritate his ministers.”

“That is good news for me,” Granger said, and it was.

“We are to return to London tomorrow, complete with our escort,” she said. “I am sure we will encounter quite a few people as we travel.”

“And by making such a public procession, I would call attention to myself, such that I have the ear of people,” Granger deduced.

“It makes it almost impossible for them to sideline you,” she said.

“The Guild continues to commit treason, and even if the King is willing to overlook their vileness, I am surprised that John Company is willing to put up with these depredations,” Granger said. Caroline gave him a patronizing look, one that truly annoyed Granger.

“As you know, the Honorable East India Company receives much of its direction from the Board of Control,” she said. “Henry Dundas is the president of the Board. There are four privy councilors who serve on the board, in addition to Dundas and Mr. Pitt.”

“You are trying to tell me that the Board of Control is hostile to the Company it is designated to regulate?” Granger asked, amazed.

“That is why they cannot fight back against the Guild,” she said. “At least not effectively. When their nefarious schemes are exposed, the Board shuts down the Company’s ability to respond.”

“There was much concern about secrecy, about preventing the Guild from knowing their plot has been foiled,” Granger said, but it was more of a question.

“As soon as the government knows, the Guild will know,” she said.

“How did this happen?” Granger couldn’t believe this was all done in the form of a dramatic coup.

“Dundas is a friend of the Guild,” Caroline said. “He controls the patronage of the Board, and of the Company. He has used that to insert those who are loyal to him, or will at least do as he directs.”

“Surely the King can’t be happy about this,” Granger said.

“I’m sure he isn’t, but this was done over time, and His Majesty is usually willing to favorably consider nominations forwarded to him by the Government,” she said.

“So Dundas has slowly built up his alliance, until he has gotten to the point where they are all but unassailable,” Granger deduced.

“Almost,” Caroline said, with a smile. “That is where you come in.”

“And what am I to do?” Granger asked.

“It is hoped that you will be able to exert enough pressure on the government that they will be forced to replace two of the six Board Members.” She handed Granger a list of these men, and it was no surprise to Granger that they both had links to Scotland. Dundas all but ruled that country.

“And then the Guild will find themselves facing a very angry John Company,” Granger said, smiling.

“I believe they will,” she said. “That list is written in order of those who must be removed first.” Granger found it interesting that Caroline would not say their names out loud. He wondered if she had reason to believe the Guild had infiltrated his household.

“What is to prevent Dundas from merely appointing new sycophants?” Granger asked.

“Because you must demand that your father be added to the Board, and that he be the person responsible for choosing the other new board member” she said.

“Then he would replace Dundas,” Granger mused.

“That is the desired outcome.”

“I did not realize my father wanted a position so closely tied to the Company,” Granger said. He thought it smacked a bit too much of a commercial tie, and that his father would eschew that lest he appear bourgeois.

“I think he wants to solve the problem, and he can best do it from the inside. I do not think he plans to be on the Board for long, but who can say,” she said. It made no difference to Granger; he trusted his father completely. “I think this is also his way of trying to help Bertie out, and he’s probably remembering the issue with Bertie’s money when he was trying to gain an advance in the peerage.”

“So I am to return to London, and do what?” Granger asked.

“You will be invited to meet with Pitt and Dundas,” she said. “I think it is unlikely the rest of the cabinet will be there. Spencer, for one, will be furious if he finds out about this. I would suspect that there could be some resignations from the government if this becomes widely known.”

“I have a good relationship with Mr. Pitt, or at least I did,” Granger said. He didn’t tell Caroline, but it had seemed as if Pitt’s interest in him was not just professional. Then again, Pitt was often inebriated, so that may have had something to do with his flirting.

“Pitt largely delegates the Company affairs to Dundas,” she said. “He is Pitt’s right hand man, and as a result, he has wide latitude, and Pitt does not keep too close of tabs on him.”

“I cannot see that this will remain secret from the Guild, regardless of how this plays out,” Granger said, with real irritation in his voice.

“Perhaps, but Daventry noted that no one has been told that you dispatched Lieutenant Waltham to India.” Perhaps that would give Mornington time to deal with the Maratha threat before it could materialize.

That was all fine and good, but as secrecy was the primary reason Calvert was posted to Valiant, the purpose was already defeated. “It would seem that it was unnecessary to separate me from my command.”

“Daventry did not understand the scope of the problem until he arrived in London,” Caroline said. “You will be needed in the capital for much longer than if you simply put in to reprovision.”

“I am unconvinced, and I am intensely irritated at being manipulated,” Granger said.

“You may rant as much as you like, but it will not change the circumstances,” Caroline said in a relatively nasty way.

Granger felt his temper rising, but manfully controlled it. “Then we will have to see how things turn out. When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow at dawn,” she said.

“Then I will see you on the pier at dawn,” Granger said. He stood up, put his napkin down, and strode out of the room, while a distraught Caroline Granger watched him go.

April 1, 1800

Portsmouth, England

Granger sat silently next to his wife as the barge slowly neared the jetty. Other than the obligatory morning greetings, Granger had not seen fit to have a conversation with his wife, and she did not seem overly anxious to talk to him. Granger watched the coxswain deftly guide the barge, and so well done was the maneuver that the boat bumped only slightly against the wooden piers. “Nicely done,” Granger said to the man, and handed him some coins.

“Thank you, my lord,” he said. Granger helped Caroline out of the boat, and then turned to find the carriage waiting for them. It was surrounded by the Life Guards, some fifty mounted men, with their red uniforms, and helmets that looked as if they’d been copied from the ancient Trojans. A white cockade was stuck on the left side of the helmet. Granger thought the entire thing looked odd, but they certainly were martial in appearance. Just beyond them were the crowds, who began cheering for him as if he were Jesus returning.

“Major James Gambier, of His Majesty’s 1^st Regiment of Life Guards, my lord,” the commander said, introducing himself. This was a small troop for a full major to command. Granger chose to view Gambier’s presence here as a compliment.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Major,” Granger said.

“The pleasure is most assuredly mine, my lord,” Gambier said.

“And how is your father?” Granger asked. Gambier was the son of Admiral Gambier, who was one of the Lords of the Admiralty.

“He is doing quite well, my lord,” he replied. “You must call on him when you get to London.”

“I will do that,” Granger said, then paused to introduce Gambier to the rest of his party. He obviously already knew Caroline.

“Your men are turned out quite nicely today,” Caroline said to Gambier. It was almost coquettish, and while that would have seemed charming to Granger before, now it just made her seem like a wanton woman.

“Thank you, my lady,” the major said. “We have two coaches with us. I would recommend, since the weather is nice, that Your Lordship and Your Ladyship ride in the open landau. Your staff can follow in the carriage.”

“If it rains, we can always compel them to trade places,” Granger joked, getting fake frowns from Jackson, Andrews, Winkler, Patton, Jacobs, and Lefavre. “Jacobs, I would be obliged if you would put the bag of coins in the landau.”

“Of course, my lord,” Jacobs said, and put the sack of copper coins in the open carriage.

“My dear,” Granger said, and offered Caroline his arm. He led her to the landau and helped her up, then paused to raise his hat to acknowledge the cheering crowds. Ten men were dispatched ahead of their convoy, presumably to make sure the roads were clear, while the remainder was divided in two. Half the troop went in front of them, with half behind. They wound out of Portsmouth at a much slower pace than normal, giving the populace time to see Granger, and giving him and Caroline the opportunity to toss copper coins to the crowds.

They were taking the Portsmouth Road to London. With fifty Lifeguards as an escort, they had nothing to fear from highwaymen. They went along briskly until they reached a town, then they would slow and wave to the cheering townspeople. They didn’t talk to each other while going through the towns, but once they were in the country, they could converse more easily. “You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Caroline said.

Granger looked at her dubiously. “It reminds me of my trek through France.”

“Then, you were a prisoner of war,” Caroline noted.

“And here, I am merely a different kind of prisoner, being forced to perform for the populace,” Granger responded.

“I am sure most of your contemporaries would be thrilled to be so lauded by the people,” Caroline said.

Granger looked at her in annoyance. She knew him well enough to know that he hated things like this. It seemed to him as if she were taunting him. “I am not like most of my contemporaries.”

“Indeed,” Caroline said, and then turned away from him, annoyed at him for being so temperamental. She had no problem dealing with the adulating crowds, and if she were to be painfully honest, she would probably be forced to admit she liked the attention. Their conversation after that mostly revolved around gossip, and was friendly but shallow. It was a weary group that finally arrived at Portland Place.

“Major, I must thank you and your men for most ably escorting us,” Granger said.

“It was my pleasure, my lord,” Gambier said. He and his troop saluted Granger briskly, and then trotted down Portland Place, back to their barracks. Granger escorted his wife up the steps of their house, greeted Cheevers and the other servants, and then they retired to their respective rooms.

April 2, 1800

Portland Place, England

Granger finished his breakfast, even as he and Caroline looked at the two letters arrayed in front of him. The first was from his father, alerting Granger that he’d been delayed at Bridgemont and would not return until tomorrow or the next day. The second was from Mr. Pitt, instructing Granger to call at Downing Street at his earliest convenience. In addition, there were his orders from the Admiralty, requiring him to report in as soon as possible, and there was his obligation to pay his respect to both the King and the Prince of Wales.

“Whom will you call on first?” Caroline asked.

“It would seem that the preferred sequence would be for me to call on Mr. Pitt, and to then go to the Admiralty,” Granger said.

“So it would seem,” she said, which was not really an opinion.

“And what do you think I should do?”

“My opinion surely doesn’t matter,” Caroline said petulantly. She was obviously still annoyed with him for their lack of any kind of reconciliation.

“Yet I have asked you for it,” Granger said firmly. Caroline Granger chafed at once again having to yield to her husband’s authority, even over such a minor event as this.

“I think your plan is fine,” she said. And with that, she got up and left the room. Granger merely stared after her, and then stood up, straightening his uniform, and walked out to find his carriage waiting. He wanted to talk to Cavendish and Daventry to get their input, but they weren’t here. He wanted to get guidance from his father, but he was delayed in Derbyshire. He had a note from Mr. Pitt asking him to come to Downing Street, which carried more weight even than Admiralty orders. He simply could not delay his call on the Prime Minister.

“Number 10 Downing Street,” Granger said to his coachman.

“Of course, my lord,” he said. Granger noticed that there was an ample group of footmen along, presumably for crowd control. The ride to the Prime Minister’s residence was brief enough, barely giving Granger time to collect his thoughts. He alit from the coach and climbed the steps, and was admitted immediately by a footman and Pitt’s butler.

“If you will wait for just a moment, my lord, I will inform His Excellency that you are here,” the butler said courteously.

“Certainly,” Granger said. He waited almost no time at all before the butler returned.

“This way, if you please, my lord,” he said. He led Granger back to what appeared to be a conference room, although it could just have easily served as a dining room. There were three other men in the room: Pitt, Dundas, and Daventry.

“Welcome home, my lord,” Pitt said affably. “I must thank you for calling on me so promptly.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency,” Granger said. “I am at your service.”

“A glass for you,” Pitt said, and poured him some wine.

“Mr. Dundas,” Granger said, acknowledging the Scot, and getting a polite bow in return. “It is good to see you, Daventry.”

“That is a comment I hear all too often,” Daventry joked, making Granger chuckle.

They sat around the conference table, eying each other with a calmness that belied the tension beneath the surface. “You uncovered a most interesting plot on the island of Rhodes,” Pitt said.

“Assuming the documents you captured were legitimate,” Dundas grumbled.

“It was a most nefarious scheme, one that rises, in my opinion, to the level of treason,” Granger said firmly. “I would think that the legitimacy of the documents is almost assured by the presence of such a large amount of specie and jewels.”

“In any event, we must now decide how to handle this matter, something we had just begun to discuss with Daventry before your arrival,” Pitt said.

“It would be in the best interests of His Majesty, and the country in general, if this entire matter could be forgotten,” Dundas said.

“I cannot see how that would serve the interests of either His Majesty or the nation,” Granger said. “I can only see how it would serve the interests of the Guild.”

“I would never dream of contradicting you on a matter of maritime import, so I would expect that you would accord me the same courtesy when considering such high affairs of state,” Dundas said, with considerable annoyance.

“It does not take a veteran statesman to see the evil behind this plot, Mr. Dundas, and I will not merely step aside so the men of the Guild may continue to plot against the Honorable East India Company,” Granger said, yielding not an inch. Pitt and Daventry watched their exchange and said nothing.

“If we alienate the Guild, how would you propose we fund this conflict, my lord?” Dundas asked acidly.

“You are suggesting, Mr. Dundas, that we should surrender our honor for so many pounds and guineas?” Granger responded. “Perhaps you are willing to do so, but I am not.”

Dundas got a crafty expression. “Or perhaps a suitable enough reward for your capture would adjust your viewpoint?” Granger was incredibly offended at his crass attempt at bribery, but he kept his feelings hidden beneath his stoic shield. He glanced briefly at Daventry, and saw him almost rolling his eyes at Dundas’ pathetic gesture. Pitt just looked on attentively. He acted much like a disinterested observer, which he most certainly was not.

“And what did you have in mind, Mr. Dundas?” Granger asked, merely to lead him on.

“I would think, based on Your Lordship’s stunning successes on this last voyage, a promotion in the peerage would be a reasonable award,” Dundas said slyly. Granger almost laughed at that, at the thought that being made an earl would silence him.

“I have a counterproposal to make,” Granger said. “I am willing to ignore what we discovered on Rhodes, provided you remove three gentlemen from the Board of Control of the Honorable East India Company, and provided you appoint my father as the president of that board, and give him the authority to select the two remaining privy councilors who will join that body.” That was more than Caroline told him to ask for, but Granger felt empowered, and their pathetic offer of an earldom had exposed the weakness of their position.

“The president of the Board is a cabinet-level position,” Pitt objected, speaking for the first time.

“Then perhaps, Your Excellency, it is time to adjust your cabinet,” Granger said. He paused to marvel that he was all but jousting with the prime minister.

“Your demands are wholly unreasonable,” Dundas blustered.

“I think my demands are not only reasonable, they are largely inevitable, Mr. Dundas,” Granger said calmly.

“Inevitable?” Pitt asked.

“I would think, Your Excellency, that when I raise this issue in the House of Lords, and disclose what I have discovered, changes in the Board of Control will seem like a paltry thing to achieve,” Granger said, leveling that threat with a calm, even demeanor. “I would further suggest that when His Majesty discovers the depths of perfidy being committed, he will also think such a penalty is inadequate, at best.”

“You are determined to present your case in the Lords,” Pitt mused, almost to himself.

“I see that as my only option if the government will not make reasonable changes, as I have outlined,” Granger said.

“And if these changes are effected?” Pitt asked.

“Surely you’re not considering yielding to his demands?” Dundas asked. A sharp look from Pitt was all it took to silence him.

“I would expect that those who know of this matter will then be able to be limited to the people in this room; to His Majesty and their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Clarence; to members of my family I have confided in; and to Lord Spencer,” Granger said.

“Spencer?” Dundas asked, with concern.

“As the person to whom I am ultimately responsible for my conduct on this voyage, I think it is only fair that he is aware of what I have encountered.”

“And then you will consider that this matter never happened?” Pitt asked Granger.

“I will,” Granger said.

“And will you?” he asked Daventry.

“I will,” Daventry concurred.

“Then I think we can make the changes you are suggesting,” Pitt pronounced. Dundas was so upset; his face had turned red with anger. It seemed possible that he might explode.

Instead, he changed the topic. “When will you be delivering the chests you captured?” he asked Granger.

Granger looked at him and smiled. “What chests?”

“The chests you retrieved from Rhodes?” Dundas spluttered.

“I don’t know what chests you’re referring to,” Granger said calmly. “As far as I can remember, I retrieved no chests and no information in Rhodes.”

“So the other part of the deal is that you get to keep the money?” Dundas demanded. He was almost hysterical.

“Money, Mr. Dundas?” Granger asked.

Pitt smiled briefly, and then corrected his countenance. “It seems that if you discovered nothing at Rhodes, there is nothing for you to deliver to us.” He paused to let everyone digest that. “I would like to thank both of you for calling on me. Lord Granger, it would please me if you would dine with me the day after tomorrow.”

“I would be honored, Your Excellency, but perhaps you will allow me the honor of hosting you?” Granger asked.

“Then I will see you the day after tomorrow, at Portland Place,” Pitt said with a polite bow. And with that, Granger and Daventry left Pitt’s residence, hiding their smiles as they did.