by Scott Cook
Dorsett slowly lowered himself back into his chair, his coloring just as slowly returning to its usual floridity. He stared at Kate without expression for a long moment and then cast a glance at Pellew.
“You were right, Sir Edward,” Dorsett suddenly stated in a voice so even and even with a hint of amusement in it that it took Kate some time before it registered. “A firebrand ain’t in it! Flaming Goddamned sodomite! Ha ha ha HAAA! I’ve never heard the like!”
“I warned you, sir,” Pellew said, his own grave expression now becoming amused. “She’s not one to trifle with.”
The Admiral rose again, moved out from behind his desk and approached Kate, his hand extended, “I beg your pardon, Miss… Captain Cook. Yet for reasons of my own, I felt it necessary to test your resolve for myself. You’ve certainly got it in bulk! I do so love a woman with dash.”
It was only her surprise that saved Dorsett from another tongue lashing. This time for presuming to test her so. However, all things considered, Kate gathered her wits and took the offered hand, “I see. I suppose I should be grateful to have passed your examination, then?”
“I beg your pardon again,” The Admiral said, beaming. His tone, indeed his entire bearing, was so open and amiable that Kate was utterly non-plussed. “You’re a Cook, however. That much is certain. Knew your grandfather, you know. Was one of his master’s mates in the old Resolution. Me and Breadfruit Bly, if you can imagine. Your own father served under me as one of my mids in the Nymph as well during the war…”
He trailed off, sensing that he was encroaching on what could be importunity. It was while serving on that particular vessel that James Cook had met Kate’s mother and had begun a relationship that had resulted in her coming into the world.
“But however,” The Admiral proposed. Nothing further came of it unfortunately, and he went and took his place behind his desk once more. “While the question of the frigate and corvette still must be resolved… ha ha, ha… stumbled into that one, eh? Never even smoked it myself! Ahem… While they must be adjudicated somehow, the brig and schooner are certainly yours. What plans have you for them?”
Kate once again took her seat and caught a brief flash of a grin from Pellew. She cleared her throat, “Well, sir… that’s yet to be decided. If I’m to be honest in the matter… I really don’t want the brig. She’s a cranky old slab-sided tub fit only to haul passengers and cargo. One of my passengers, a Mr. Bentley, has business concerns in Charleston. He has already assured me that he could find a buyer for her, if not purchase her outright himself. The schooner, however…”
“A lovely vessel to be sure,” Captain Kellogg spoke. “Yankee built, no doubt? The hull design and the rake of her masts is telling in that regard.”
“Aye, sir,” Kate replied. “She’s a fine sailor. A real flyer given her head… yet small and not well armed for much more than snapping up light prizes… I suppose I’ll keep her, seeing as that’s my only option if I’m to command anything worthwhile… I believe I could find a buyer for her here, should I wish.”
“That brig should fetch a few thousand anyway,” Dorsett stated. “As for the frigate… a jackass frigate to be sure… and the sloop… she’d be a sloop in the Navy… I’d certainly love to add them to my own squadron. But the issue is manpower… There just aren’t enough men to man either one without we leave both Thunderer and Indi shorthanded… Three hundred men between them at least. I regret the frigate immensely.”
“She’s a fine ship,” The flag lieutenant stated. “A bit small by today’s standards but French built… possibly even American built. I can see from here that she’s fast, weatherly and stiff. Likely a real gem on a bowline.”
“Indeed,” Pellew added. “She’s armed with twenty-four twelve pounders on her gun deck as well as six thirty-two pounder carronades on her focs’l and quarterdeck. She’s already possessed of a beautiful pair of brass long nines for bow chasers. All she’s lacking is another pair of long nines for stern chasers… if she’d bear them. Yet even as she stands, she throws a broadside weight of metal of two hundred and forty pounds per side. Combined with her fine sailing qualities, she could be quite formidable.”
The Admiral sighed, “We could possibly get them to the Bahamas… or better yet to Kingston. There at least we could man them properly. Give some favored Lieutenants their step to commander into the sloop and some worthy commander his post captaincy into the frigate… but however…"
“No doubt the Jonathans would like the frigate for themselves,” the secretary said in a slightly nasally and high-bred tone. Somewhat effected. “With their unofficial war against the French, they’d no doubt appreciate the opportunity to put such a weapon to use. Wipe Jean Crappaud’s eye.”
Dorsett chuckled, “No doubt! Hoist the frogs on their own petard, eh? Perhaps that’s a possibility. Well… all this speculation is getting us nowhere. Let’s see what the envoy has to say as well as the Charleston dockyard and chandlery. All five of you need a bit of spit and polish, eh, Sir Edward?”
“Certainly the Indi, Resoundre and Étalon were mauled something cruel,” Pellew observed. “No doubt the brig and schooner could use a touching up as well.”
“Very good,” The Admiral said, coming to a close. “Then let’s see to the immediate needs of the vessels and then determine what is to be done with them after consulting with Mr. Fortescue. Sir Edward, Captain Cook, you’ll dine with me, of course…? Excellent!”
“Well, you’ve certainly got options now, Katie girl,” Peter Albury said as he and Kate sat under an awning at a small café overlooking the harbor.
The long quay was now occupied by Indefatigable, Resoundre and Étalion. The three ships were swarming with men. The Indi’s people along with hordes of American dock workers removing damaged planking, repairing bulwarks, re-roving miles of cut and damaged cordage, replacing spars and bringing the three vessels back up to sparkling perfection so that they could be put back into harm’s way once more.
“Oh, as to that, Peter…” Kate mused, sipping her coffee and enjoying watching the sun rise over the harbor. “The pervading question now is… what do I do?”
“How is it with your two vessels?” Albury asked, blowing into his own large ceramic mug.
“I’ve agreed to sell the Whitby Castle,” Kate replied. “She’s made for the merchant service and… well… I’m not. Bentley said that he and his business partner will give me four thousand for her. I suppose that’s a fine price, I’m no judge.”
Albury chuckled, “Considering that as sole owner of the vessel, you receive it all, but for what you intend to share out with her crew.”
Kate chuffed, “What crew there is left. Between the brig’s original hands and those of the schooner who came over… it’s thirty men in all. Not counting the master, carpenter, purser, boatswain and surgeon. Customarily, the captain receives three-eighhts when not under an admiral’s flag, the officers and petty officers two-eighths and the crew three-eights, is that right?”
Albury nodded, “More or less. Then there’s head money, in course… should we share in that, our French prisoners should bring in something like fifteen-hundred pounds.”
Kate pondered, “I have no officers, so I believe I’ll share out a bit with the standing officers and the men, perhaps keeping half of the sale price for myself. May amount to a hundred and fifty pounds for what amounts to the warrants and a hundred or so to each man… it’s still only thirty-four men in total.”
“Enough to man the schooner should you choose,” Albury noted.
“Aye…” Kate said with a sigh. “Still in all, Peter… I don’t know. She’s a damned fine clipper for certain sure. I’m considering of her, certainly. With the sale price from the brig, I can fit her out handsomely. All of the men have expressed a desire to sail with me in whatever command I choose next.”
Peter’s brows rose, “A very handsome compliment, considering…”
Kate grinned, “Considering I’m just a jumped-up puppy
of a girl playing at sailor, eh, Peter?”
He returned her grin.
“None of them wish to stay with the brig. With the possible exception of Palander, Gray, Vaggers… and maybe old Wiggins as well. Especially under Bentley’s purview,” Kate went on. “None were very impressed by his or his fellow passenger’s lack of zeal during our escape.”
Peter harrumphed, “Not everyone is a warrior at heart, Kate.”
“No indeed… yet you’d think a person would fight for their freedom, would you not?” She heaved a sigh. “At any rate there we are.”
Peter considered her and the three ships tied up only a few dozen yards away, “If you had your druthers Kate… all things considered and with no barriers… what would you desire most out of this situation?”
She chuckled, “A commission and an appointment to the Resoundre… or Resolve as she’ll no doubt be known now. Upon my word and honor, Peter! Such a ship! She is American built, you know. Based on a French design but with American improvements. Live oak which makes her scantlings seem as though they were fourteen inches thick rather than nine. And see the rake of her masts? Much further back than is usual in our… in your… service. I’ll bet she could do fifteen knots in a good blow. Eat the wind out of anything in old Dorsett’s squadron I’d wager.”
“And her armament is nothing to sneer at neither,” Peter observed. “For a jackass frigate of her class… about six hundred and fifty tons, I’d estimate… she’d make a damned fine privateer or skirmisher for that matter.”
“She went right up against the Indi. Daring if a bit foolhardy. Still… she could be put to good use against enemy trade.”
“I suppose we’ll hear from the courts sooner rather than later, I’m sure,” Peter replied with a sigh of his own. “The representative in conjunction with the American naval representative were in conference all yesterday afternoon. I’m sure we’ll know the verdict presently. An unusual situation to be sure. If we were in Nassau or Kingston, I believe the outcome would be made clearer… or at least decided upon more quickly.”
From the wide sidewalk in front of their café, a teenage boy strolled up, mounted the steps to the covered veranda, looked about and then settled on the two of them. He smiled and moved to their table. He was dressed in simple trousers and shirt with a short black coat and small round hat perched atop his head.
“I beg your pardon, sir, ma’am,” he said in the odd twang of the southern United States. “Would you be Lieutenant Albury and Catherine Cook by chance?”
“By chance,” Albury said with a grin.
The boy handed Albury a folded and sealed note, “I’ve just come from the British gentleman’s office, sir. He asked me to deliver this chit to you right away.”
“Much obliged,” Peter replied, handing him a shilling. “Here’s for your trouble, my lad.”
The boy, who couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen, eyed the shining gold coin with wide eyes and a broad grin, “I thank you most kindly, sir. However… I’m to wait for your reply.”
“Ah,” Albury said, opening the note and reading it aloud. “From His Majesty King George’s representative to the state of South Carolina, Montecomb Fortescue esquire etcetera… Dear sir … would be obliged to see Lieutenant Albury and Mistress Cook in his office no later than eight a.m. to discuss the disposition of prizes, etcetera… very well, lad, please inform the representative that we shall be along presently.”
The boy tipped his hat and then darted off. Kate eyed Albury for a long moment.
“We’ve been summoned,” Albury said and then frowned. “I don’t know why I’ve been asked… but when the King’s man summoneth, we must goeth.”
They finished their coffee and a light breakfast and then walked along the waterfront and turned inland after a quarter mile or so. There they came to the city’s high street, a broad thoroughfare that must’ve been a hundred feet in breadth. It looked to be necessary as well. A dizzying variety of carts, pedestrians, coaches and dray wagons plied to and fro with such frequency that both Peter and Kate were pleased to find that they weren’t required to wade through the morning’s traffic.
The British consulate was located not far from the side street they’d walked up and within minutes, they were met by a black porter in white livery who showed them into an expansive office that in some ways reminded Kate of the great poop cabin of the Thunderer.
“Good morning, Lieutenant, Miss Cook,” Said Fortescue, a tallish thin man in his forties. He was dressed in fine black broadcloth over which a snowy crevette peeked from beneath his stock. “Won’t you please sit down?”
In addition to Fortescue, a broad shouldered and beefy man in an American Naval uniform stood to one side of a large desk. Sir Edward Pellew and Admiral Dorsett stood on the other. Everyone exchanged pleasantries and sat.
Fortescue folded his hands on his desk, “After much deliberation and the most appreciated consultation of Commodore Burbank of the United States navy, a decision has been reached regarding the disposition of the two French prizes. Commodore?”
This man spoke in a somewhat different accent. Although not dissimilar to that heard most often in Charleston, his was more that commonly found in the New England region, “Thank you, Mr. Fortescue. To begin, on behalf of the U.S. Navy and President Adams, let me extend our heartfelt congratulations and thanks for removing these two French marauders from our coastal waters. The actions of both Sir Edward’s people and of yours, Miss Cook, are highly lauded by all of us. Second, the United States Navy would like to purchase the schooner. In truth, we’d like to purchase the frigate as well… but I’m afraid that’s not in the budget. However, such a well-balanced vessel as that clipper would be put to good effect outside Charleston.”
“That’s entirely up to Miss Cook,” Fortescue observed. “As for the corvette, the Royal Navy wishes to purchase her into the service. As such, because of the unusual circumstances, I propose that the total value of eight thousand pounds… repair and outfitting costs already subtracted… be split. Half being shared out as prize money to Sir Edward and his crew, and the other half going to Miss Cook as a private citizen. Does that sound agreeable, young lady?”
Kate was stunned. With the price of the brig and half the value of the corvette, that would place eight thousand pounds into her hands, and this was to say nothing of what the Americans would offer for the clipper nor even what head money might be paid. minus what she shared with her crew. She cleared her throat, “Most generous, Mr. Fortescue. I would certainly agree to that.”
“Excellent!” Dorsett exclaimed in his quarterdeck voice. “Then that means that I’ve got a well found twenty gun sloop attached to my squadron. A sloop that needs a commander sent into her, of course. How we’ll man her, on the other hand…”
“That brings us to you, Peter,” Pellew said with a broad grin. “Would you be terribly upset to leave my command and go into the Stallion as her master and commander?”
Kate saw Peter’s face flush with pleasure, “While it would sadden me to leave your command, sir… I certainly would be happy for such a posting, indeed! You honor me too much by half!”
“Poppycock!” The Admiral declared. “Well deserved, Commander, well deserved. That just leaves the Resolve, of course.”
“A bit of a conundrum that, what?” Fortescue observed in his well-bred manner. “Even should the Navy buy her in, where would a crew be found? As it is, Captain Albury will have barely a skeleton crew aboard until he reaches the nearest British port… the Americans can’t afford her… with that being said, the only person who could lay any sort of claim would be Miss Cook here. Should you like to take possession of her, young woman?”
Kate blinked in surprise. Her heart thundered in her chest and it was some time before she found enough of her voice to reply: “I… I should like it of all things, sir… but I can neither afford her nor man her. And who would follow a seventeen year-old girl captain at any rate?”
Several laug
hs greeted that statement. The heartiest of which came from Albury and Pellew. The American Commodore shrugged and Dorsett roared out in his course but good-natured way.
“From what I’ve heard, Miss,” Commodore Burbank stated. “You’ve certainly earned the respect due any fighting man. Certainly it’s a bit… well, more than a bit in truth… unusual, but if your reputation is even half as heroic as the rumors already flying about the city then you might be surprised.”
“You have your men from the brig,” Pelew offered. “That’s at least a start.”
“Yes, but I can’t afford a thirty gun frigate,” Kate said. “Even with every last farthing of my prize money I couldn’t purchase her as my own private property let alone man her and fit her out.”
“We’ve come to some conclusions on that score, Captain,” Fortescue addressed her. It was the first time he’d used that honorific title. “Seeing as how you captured her, and seeing as how we’d split the proceeds of the sale with you, I believe we could arrange to release her to you as a privately owned ship at no charge. The accounting making it a wash, as our American cousins are fond of stating.”
“As for fitting out and repairs,” Burbank said. “My government has already agreed to foot the bill for all that work in appreciation for your country’s services on our behalf should you see to accepting this as payment for the schooner in lieu of coin?”
Kate felt slightly dizzy. Was this really happening? Was she actually being offered a sixth rate frigate?
“I…” She began but could find no words for a moment. She squared her shoulders and cleared her throat, “I believe those terms are quite acceptable, Commodore.”
“Now,” Fortescue went on, a twinkle in his eye. “As King George is being rather generous in this matter, there will be a few strings attached. We would expect you to operate the frigate, at least for the time being, as a hired vessel. His Majesty’s Hired Ship Resolve. As such, you’d be called upon to perform hydrographical studies, escort merchant convoys and even attach yourself to an active squadron on occasion. For the here and now, of course, you would be secondered to this station and the general assistance with the French situation here.””
