“Not when you see it,” Wesley answered. Harold realized that they were about to break up a fight among the lower ranks just before they were upon it. It seemed nearly every man on the ship had picked a side and was throwing punches at each other. This was not the first time this had happened on this ship.
The Swift Sunrise was the newest flagship in His Majesty's Navy, and the men had thought themselves lucky to be assigned to it, a heroic award after their bravery in the past few years. For most of them, it was a symbolic trip before their lives were changing forever.
Harold was on the fact track to Admiral, and would be given a desk position at Navy headquarters in London. When this tour was over, he'd marry his sweetheart, Lady Annabelle Bamber, and be able to come home to her every night as well.
Annabelle's twin brother, Aaron, was his best friend, and his 2nd in command. Aaron had been through a lot in the past few years, including a medical condition that was rendering him unfit for service. With frequent seizures, it was good timing that Aaron was finally able to marry his childhood peasant sweetheart and claim his illegitimate daughter. He would settle into his title of Lord and make Bamber Manor his home, after sailing for nearly 20 years with Harold. They had started as boys in the Spithead and were now practically in charge of ships.
Wesley, however, was the one who was actually going to be in charge on a ship. One of the most brilliant minds in the Navy, and engaged to Aaron's best friend, the famed actress Lola, he was being promoted to Captain as soon as this tour was over, skipping the rank of lieutenant in an unheard of advancement.
Things looked good for the three of them. That was, if they could get the men to stop fighting.
“SILENCE!” Harold yelled, his booming voice carrying through the ship. He had the strongest lungs, the roughest voice, and everyone fell quiet, looking at their officer. “That's better. No one say a word now!”
The men on Swift Sunrise had been fighting since the moment they came aboard. Their Captain, Willcock, was a decorated war hero, and a brilliant mind himself, but that was years ago. Now, it appeared all he did was play favorites, punishing those who annoyed him while uplifting others. It had created two camps on the ship, and they were always at war.
“I tried that,” Aaron was at his side, grinning as always. Despite his physical shortcomings, Aaron was always in a ridiculously good mood. “And then Matheson wouldn't let me get in the middle and break it up.”
“Good for Matheson,” Harold said, dryly, giving the older man a nod across the room. Matheson was the father figure of the ship, and had sailed with them since the beginning He was the ship's bosun and his assistant was the burly Corrigan. Who, at this moment, was in the center of the fight.
“Now,” Harold looked up from his personal moment. “If I see another fist thrown tonight, it will be half rations and 24 hour watch. And that goes for anyone who tries. Is that clear?”
No one dared to say anything. Some men were bleeding, and others were bruising, but they still stayed completely silent. Harold raised an eyebrow, daring them to contradict him, but it appeared his rank as first lieutenant finally came with privileges he could enjoy.
“Good,” he said. “Carry on, then.”
The men dispersed and he let out a loud sigh, turning to Aaron, who was leaning against a post. Once upon a time, the younger lieutenant might have jumped in, with no regards to his health. However, ever since he found out he had a child, he was a lot more cautious. It was as if he realized that life carried on beyond himself.
“Let no one say that sailing on the flagship is boring,” Aaron said, as he pushed himself off the beam he was leaning on. “Sorry to wake you.”
“It wouldn't have mattered who was on watch,” Harold replied. “A fight like that will always take all the officers presence on the ship.”
“Except, I note, for Captain Willcock, who still sleeps soundly in his bed.”
“Aaron,” Harold gave him a warning glance as Wesley approached. Once nervous and shy, the young midshipman was coming into his own ever since he became engaged to Lola. The actress had taught him strength and confidence, enough to put aside his past and reclaim his title as Earl Rippon of Ireland. None of them were the same people they had been two years ago. “Earl Rippon, you got awoken too, hmm?”
“I was up, sir,” Wesley replied. “Never quite asleep by this time of night, with the mid-afternoon watch schedule.”
“At least there is that,” Aaron said. “We do all have the watches we enjoy here.”
“How you enjoy working in the dead of night confuses me,” Harold replied, with a smile. “But it does mean the wardroom is a bit quieter.”
“For you to dream of my sister?” Aaron teased. “I bet by the time we land, she will have gotten the grandest wedding the country has ever seen planned.”
“I don't know why,” Harold said. “I offered to just get married in Navy Headquarters, but she...”
Aaron snorted.
“Have you not known Annabelle half your life? Navy Headquarters will not suit Lady Bamber.”
“Maybe Lola wants to get married in Navy Headquarters,” Wesley mused. “It would be a quick stop, and then we could both continue our work.”
“Perhaps you should suggest that to Annabelle as a practical reason,” Harold said, although in truth, he was thrilled to be finally planning his wedding.
There was one other thing he was looking forward to, and his mind turned to it as he returned to the wardroom. Tomorrow, they were due to dock for a very special mission. In celebration of the new flagship, they were to pick up some very important guests for a special passenger sail around the bay. They weren't venturing far into the ocean, but they would be showing off their flagship, which was understaffed, to Lords, Ladies, actors, and high priced merchants. It meant that Annabelle and Lola could board for the week, and see how their lovers lived. Only Aaron's wife, Shauna, would stay behind, with their daughter. After the scare that they had in the recruitment camps, with Gwendolyn being kidnapped, Shauna had vowed that one of them would be with her at all times. Besides, it was only a week before her husband would be home for good.
It was rarely done in the navy to ever have civilian passengers, let alone women. Nevertheless, Swift Sunrise was a grand ship, and it had been built as much for war as it had been for decoration.
Tomorrow, Annabelle would be at his side, and all would be right with the world. Harold dreamed about staring into her eyes rather than listening to the captain screaming constantly.
Willcock was once sharp, and proficient. However, the captain now rambled, handed out more beatings than a drunken peasant, and rampaged. Harold wasn't even sure the captain understood his own reality at times. He seemed confused often, and yet refused to delegate any power. He liked to be told of every decision, even about shortening sail in the middle of the night for changing weather. It was nearly intolerable.
Harold tried to distract himself during the day with his duties and his friends. The captain often slept until late and so he didn't have to see him as much as the others, getting off watch just past noon. There were the officers meetings, of course, but at least the others could fortify him. Harold was just glad that their tour here would soon come to end.
His body automatically awoke with the watch bell. Five bells meant he had an hour to get up, dressed, eat, and be on deck.
He liked the hour, normally, to move slowly. He often read for a bit, swinging quietly in his hammock as his mind began to catch up to him.
Today, however, he was consumed with thoughts of last night. No other ship he had been on had taken sides such as in a war zone No other ship had the crew been so divided, over loyalty to a Captain who was a shadow of his former self. It was not a good situation.
He rose, thinking being on deck early wouldn't be bad in light of all this.
Aaron was in the wardroom common room, which surprised him. Aaron was on watch at the moment, and Harold normally relieved him. Today, he was splashing wate
r on his face, his jacket already off.
“Aaron?” Harold questioned. “Did I over sleep?”
“No,” Aaron said, turning towards Harold. Having watched his best friend have seizures for almost 20 years, Harold had learned to automatically do a quick assessment every time he saw Aaron. More than once, these assessments had thrown him into action fast enough to catch Aaron before he cracked his skull on the deck. It was a terrible condition to have in the Navy, and an even harder condition to conceal. The fact that Aaron was retiring before he was found out as unfit was a miracle
His blue eyes were bright, there was color in his cheeks and his hands were steady, showing no signs of the telltale tremors.
“Wesley offered to relieve me, and I thought I'd take him up on it. Docking is always chaotic; I figured a few hours of sleep would help that.”
“Of course,” Harold said. “Wesley is up early.”
“Love,” Aaron winked at him. “He's been plastered to the side looking for shore since dawn. He wants to see Lola as much as I want to see Shauna.”
“Ah,” Harold replied. “I think I shall...”
“Join him?” Aaron asked. “I'm sure my sister will be pushed to the front of the crowd, waiting for you.”
“No doubt,” Harold replied. “You really are alright?”
“Yes, fine, thank you,” Aaron said. “And when we are brothers on land, will you ask that question only half a million times a day?”
“I'm sorry,” Harold shook his head. “Force of habit.”
“Go upstairs to spot Annabelle,” Aaron said. “Today is a good day, a new day. And no one has punched each other yet.”
“Well, thank goodness for small mercies,” Harold replied. Aaron laughed, and headed into his own wardroom.
Harold went by the mess hall to eat a quick breakfast. He was trying to resist the urge to inhale his food and join Wesley, squinting for the shore. He didn't want to seem like a young, overeager, love sick fool. Harold was known for being level headed, and for his calm, controlled words.
Except, he was also a young, overeager, love sick fool.
He couldn't wait any longer. Two bites before finishing his meal, he pushed it aside and bounded upstairs. Finally, Annabelle was no longer an ocean away. She was just moments away, waiting, and he would be in her arms before he knew it. This was the first day of the rest of his life.
CHAPTER TWO
LANDING
“Is that them? Is that them? Is that them?” Gwendolyn was practically bouncing off her seat in the carriage. As Aaron's daughter, she shared many of his traits. One of them was his boundless energy. If Shauna wasn't holding onto her, she would have no doubt that Gwendolyn would try to skip across the ocean to the incoming ship.
“That is,” Shauna said. “But we have to wait in the carriage until they dock.”
“Why?” Gwendolyn whined.
“I understand you want to see him,” Shauna replied. “But you won't actually see him until the ship docks, anyways.”
“Why can't we go out?” she turned to Lola, who was sitting on her other side “We can all wait together.”
Lola smiled, glancing at Shauna. Despite the fact that Aaron was like a brother to her, she never made the mistake of parenting his child.
“Gwendolyn,” Shauna said, trying to be patient. “You know we can't go out because people recognize Lola all the time. You remember last time, how they swarmed us?”
“I thought it was rather fun,” Annabelle put in, with a smile. “All those people, suddenly waving flowers. Where do they keep the flowers, Lola?”
“Oh, in their jackets,” Lola replied. “Waiting for the moment I randomly turn up, I suppose.” She leaned against the wall of the carriage. It was quite early in the day, given that she had worked the night before. However, Lola was used to traveling on little sleep, and today was no different.
“Will you see Mr. Harper?” Gwendolyn asked Annabelle, who smiled.
“Indeed I will,” she replied. “He will be on board with the rest of us. But we will be back before you know it, Gwendolyn. A quick trip around the bay, nothing else.”
“Besides, you'll have fun with the house all to yourself, just you and I,” Shauna said. “All the servants will attend to you. You will be able to do almost anything that you want.”
“Anything?” Gwendolyn's eyes lit up. Annabelle chuckled at her niece.
“On the condition that nothing is broken and the house is still standing when we return. Promise?”
“Promise,” Gwendolyn said. “Please, can we wait outside?”
“Here,” Annabelle held out her arms. “I can take her outside, if you want. You can have a momentary break.”
“Thank you,” although they had gotten off on the wrong foot, Shauna was quick to realize that having Aaron's family help with Gwendolyn was a godsend. In addition, they never had to worry about food, money, or a roof over their head again.
Annabelle was simply happy to have someone carry out the family name for another generation. Aaron had always been sickly, and she was worried that he would never produce an heir. However, with the appearance of Gwendolyn, and a wife that he loved so dearly, she had high hopes that the Bamber line would continue.
“Come on then, Gwendolyn,” Annabelle took her out of the carriage, making sure that they stayed with their backs against it. The dock was busy, and although she knew they were safe, she still took precautions. They were still nobles, with money dripping from their clothes, from their necks, and the workers from the dock eyed it as they passed by. “Isn't it a lovely ship?”
“So big.”
“That's because it's the flagship,” Annabelle said. “Your father is considered a hero for what he did in the camps.”
“I know that,” Gwendolyn replied “I tell everyone that.”
“Do you now?” Annabelle smiled. “Well, I suppose it's a fact to be proud of.”
The ship was rather close, and it wasn't long before the dock workers sprung into action, preparing the dock for such a large ship. Gwendolyn was remarkably well behaved, and when the plank hit the dock, she waited patiently. Her eyes, however, were searching the deck.
“Lola,” Annabelle called over her shoulder. “I see Wesley.”
Wesley was hanging by the ropes, his back to the dock. He had used it for height, pointing, and waiving to order his men. To her delight, Harold was standing on the deck just beside him, watching and occasionally helping. She knew Wesley was being trained for direct command, so it made sense that he was giving orders. She smirked, because it looked like they had forgotten how to dock. However, the truth was that it was a much bigger ship than they were used to. It was harder to make sure everything was tied up and orderly when there was just more men, more space, more ropes.
Despite the fact that she detected they were a little out of sorts, everything looked orderly when the officers finally gathered to disembark.
The captain came off first, to the cheering crowd. He was due to give a short speech to welcome everyone and commemorate the ship, and then the passengers would board.
In an orderly fashion, the officers disembarked. Some of their wives were waiting eagerly, and Annabelle watched as they embraced them. She wanted to run up to Harold in the same way, be embraced by his strong arms and never let go. However, she raised her chin and stayed dignified, smiling when she caught his eye.
Aaron and Wesley flanked him on either side, looking tired but happy. She waited until Harold was just a foot from her, before she moved forward.
“Hello,” he took her hand and kissed it, so formal. She smiled wide, letting go of Gwendolyn only when she saw that Aaron had a grip on her. Then, she turned her full attention to Harold. They had spent so much time apart that it seemed almost surreal that they were together again. Yet, here he was, touching her, gazing into her eyes, smiling. She couldn't believe it.
“Well, hello, sir,” she played along. “Did you have a good journey?”
She fully expe
cted him to reply with an equally playful answer. However, his face changed for a moment and she felt something dark.
“What? What was it?”
“It's nothing,” he placed a hand on her waist. “We'll speak about it later.”
To be continued…
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ALSO BY JASMINE ASHFORD
The Regency Renegades Series
1. LINK: Book 1 - The Earl’s New Identity
2. LINK: Book 2 - The Lord’s Secret
3. LINK: Book 3 - Saving The Lord’s Title (Coming)
Acknowledgement
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Jasmine
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The Lord’s Secret (The Regency Renegades - Beauty and Titles) (A Regency Romance Story) Page 17
