The Odd-Job Man (The Duty and Destiny Series, Book 7)

by Andrew Wareham

  "Four full companies, Sir Frederick, under a Major with a captain and four lieutenants and as many ensigns as they can dig up, I would expect. In excess of three hundred men."

  "One can do much with so many, sir. They will be well able of attempting the largest of shore batteries and possibly even a small harbour. That will of course depend on the garrison and the numbers of invasion troops in the vicinity, but I would expect to make a nuisance of myself with so many of red coats available. One request, if I may make so bold, sir. I will be hard pressed to gather my captains together in the little cabin of Acheron. Would it be possible to bring them to hand in the dockyard, sir?"

  Admiral Girton could and would find a room for them; he would indeed be pleased to.

  "Tomorrow, perhaps, sir?"

  "At nine o'clock, landsmen's time, Sir Frederick. I shall send my own messenger to inform them, sir. Your first lieutenant and Mr Luscombe will report aboard today, Sir Frederick. The politicians are loud in their demands for action, sir, and I must be seen to do my possible!"

  Luscombe arrived first; he had probably run all the way from his lodgings down in Southsea, Frederick thought, to have arrived so quickly. He had watched as a porter had deposited Luscombe's sea chest in Acheron's boat, had seen Luscombe's hand dip into his pocket and come out with coins for him. Captain Warren had made prize money in his last command, and it seemed that Luscombe was of frugal habits, still had some money left. Importantly it said that he had not thrown his substance away in high, or low, living.

  "Welcome aboard, Mr Luscombe. I am glad you are to serve with me again, sir. You will wish to speak to Lieutenant Andrews before coming to my cabin, I believe."

  They would produce their commissions, show each other the all-important dates upon them, thus to determine seniority and who would be Second, who Third. The appointment would also make a few pennies a day difference to their pay, another reason for its importance.

  The marine sentry announced Luscombe just ten minutes later, dressed in working rig rather than his reporting uniform.

  "The Second Lieutenant, sir."

  Andrews should have stood before his board at least a year prior to Luscombe being made in Bombay; there had to be a reason.

  "Foremast, chasers and carronades, Mr Luscombe?"

  "Unless the premier shall decide otherwise, yes, sir."

  The 'sir' came out more as 'zur', Frederick noted, a distinct West Country burr in the voice. The vocabulary was correct, but the accent was of the old Jacobite English rather than the new, Germanic King's English.

  "I know you are a seaman through and through, Mr Luscombe, which is why I asked for you and will hope to take you with me on my next command, sir. But you must make the effort with your speech - there will be those who will mock your accent. I know what you will say about those who do, and I might say the same, but we should avoid conflict in the wardroom if at all possible. Therefore, Mr Luscombe, I shall require the extra of you. I will say, of course, that we are to go on hazardous service and there will be deaths among the squadron, which will offer opportunities for promotion... If at all possible, I shall make quite certain that men who I know to be reliable are those who are advanced,"

  "Thank you, sir. I shall do my best to please in this matter."

  "Of that, I had and have, no doubt." Frederick smiled, trying to take the sting out of the social condescension.

  "Now, we are short-handed and must work up the boats as an immediate need, as well as the guns. We need a taut discipline, but not a brutal regime, sir. No starting on this ship and I wish to keep flogging to the least possible. Pass that message very forcibly to your juniors, if you please."

  Luscombe left and Frederick made a start on the paperwork; Dunnett would join him from Kent within the next couple of days and take the burden off his shoulders, but he must show willing.

  An hour of swearing over obscurely worded forms and he was glad to be interrupted by the sound of Lieutenant Andrews calling for their boat to answer a signal from the shore; he listened with interest as Andrews explained to the midshipman the finer details of his moral and mental decrepitude. It seemed that the officer on shore had been calling for attention for at least thirty seconds before he had been noticed, and this was not good enough, particularly when the gentleman in question was probably the first lieutenant.

  Twenty minutes and the knock came at the door, the premier entering in full reporting uniform.

  "Gentry, sir, reporting for duty."

  A young man, possibly not yet one-and-twenty, his cheeks still pink rather than wind-battered brown. All of his teeth; fair hair and keen blue eyes; Frederick rather felt he might be described as a handsome young gentleman - he hoped it had not gone to his head, that he did not spend his days seeking female attention! He was tall as well, always a source of irritation.

  He rebuked himself - he must not take the man in aversion because of his appearance.

  "Welcome aboard, Mr Gentry. Were you long as first on your previous vessel? A sloop, was it not?"

  "Six months, sir. Rochdale, 12, old and much battered by storm immediately before I was posted to her to replace a drowned predecessor. Almost all of our days were spent at anchor in Portsmouth, sir, slowly making good, and I am glad indeed to be posted to a more active ship. As well, of course, sir, a frigate is much more attractive than any sloop!"

  "Even the old Acheron, Mr Gentry?"

  "Much may be made of her, sir. She has just come out of the yard, after all."

  "Well said, sir! She is old, and this particular service may well be hazardous, but we shall do our best. Boat work will be a commonplace, I believe, and we must train the men thoroughly in making silent landings. As well, we must not neglect the guns, of course. I know nothing of her handling, but suspect that she may be persuaded to a turn of speed. As I am Commodore and there will be eight other vessels demanding my attention, I shall expect you to handle the ship more often than not, sir. It will be good experience for you."

  "Thank you, sir."

  "We are, as always, short-handed, and will keep an eye out for in-bound merchantmen. I have one or two other ideas as well."

  It was lawful to press crewmen from merchantmen returning from foreign, leaving the master just sufficient hands to work his ship into port. It was bitterly resented by the men and they would run at any opportunity and many captains avoided the expedient. Frederick would not do it, if he could get his men elsewhere.

  "I am to call all of my captains together in the morning, Mr Gentry. I will wish you to accompany me, to meet them and to take their measure. As my second, you will need to know them."

  Gentry saw this as a mark of trust in him, was pleased indeed. He was, as he had honestly said, happy to be aboard a frigate, but he had had doubts about serving with the renowned Fearless Fred, a risk-taker who had survived many hazardous encounters but who had left a trail of dead subordinates in his wake. He had met seamen who had served under Sir Frederick, and they had generally won prize-money, but they had referred to far too many old friends who had lost the number of their mess. If Sir Frederick was willing to bring him on in the service, however, he would more happily risk his neck; promotion did not come for free, after all.

  "The master is yet to come aboard, Mr Gentry. I discovered a number of drunken commissioned and warrants this morning when I came to read myself in; hence, sir, your arrival and that of Mr Luscombe, the Second. Mr Luscombe has served one commission as an officer aboard Nantes frigate, Captain Warren; he sailed several years as an AB prior to that. He is a clever young man, and is by way of being a follower. You will, I think, be able to teach him little of seamanship, but Captain Warren was never one to value the social graces and Mr Luscombe will still have an amount to learn in that field. I would be most obliged for your tactful assistance in this respect, sir."

  Impossible to refuse and difficult to do; Gentry muttered acceptance of the task.

  "We must bring the squadron together as quickly as we may, Mr G
entry. An action would be far the best way of making us as one and you may be assured that I will seek the earliest opportunity to bring us into contact with the French. Please to send the master to me as soon as he comes aboard. There will be a midshipman, a squeaker, to join within a few days, the Admiral assured me; I was, of course, only too pleased to give him a berth, though I do not so much as know his name!"

  "One must show willing, sir!"

  "While I think of it, you will find the three existing mids to be more than a little stiff and sore today. They also were drunk this morning and paid for their fun with a visit to the boatswain. Please send them to me at your convenience, Mr Gentry, so that I may tell them their fortunes."

  The midshipmen came to the cabin and remained ten minutes, leaving in a state of shock, white-faced and close to tears, convinced that the least divagation from the paths of virtue would see them on the beach, their careers destroyed, unless they were instead pressed to serve on the lower-deck. They had little doubt that the Commodore would swat them like flies, and with less compunction. They sat that evening over their journals, hurriedly bringing them up to date, the previous captain having had small interest in such matters.

  Frederick surveyed his commanding officers, a mixed group.

  Three Masters and Commanders, two in their twenties and ambitious; one far too old, forty at least and reconciled to his lot, never to be made post. Blackbird, the old man's ship, and likely to be unadventurous and smugly content to do exactly as she was told and never a thing more; he must make allowance for that.

  Five lieutenants-in-command, 'captains' by courtesy, and again a mixture of ambitious and resigned, young and old. Two of the brigs were the commands of men in their thirties, already veterans of the Transport Service; good enough seamen, no doubt, but had not smelt powder since boyhood. One was commanded by a man in his mid-twenties, vaguely familiar, Frederick was sure he had sailed with him; it would come back. The fourth brig was in the hands of a gentleman who had been two years ashore in Portsmouth, existing on his half-pay and almost broken by the experience by the looks of him, prematurely aged; either he would bring himself round or he would find himself back in his lodgings again. The cutter was in the hands of the youngest of them all, lately the fourth lieutenant of a seventy-four and 'in need of a more exciting occupation', so his captain had said. He would do the job or take his leave for the merchant service.

  "Gentlemen, I am glad to see you all here, the squadron finally assembled and eager to go into action, no doubt."

  He spent ten minutes explaining all that he intended to do and what the Admiralty was to demand of them. It was much as rumour around the port had suggested and they did not look surprised, nor happy either. It was a set of orders that held out no prospect of prize-money and small likelihood of single-ship action and promotions; it offered every chance of making assaults on well dug-in batteries and alert harbour barracks. It was not the way most of them wished to spend their next few months; it was, however, far preferable to half-pay.

  "I shall inspect every one of you, of course, gentlemen, and it would be convenient was you to have a defects list to hand; you might wish to have a full Statement of Condition as well. I offer little prospect of persuading the yard to take action, of course, but I shall try. Our first concern, no doubt, is to be manning. After that, I presume we shall be forced to discuss provisions for the Marines aboard the brigs."

  There was a nodding of heads from three of the four lieutenants-in-command; the vaguely familiar face seemed wholly uninterested in the question. He was in fact staring at Frederick, a degree of hostility in his expression. His cheeks and chin were cratered with the pocks of old eruptions - common enough among youngsters fed a diet high on meat and almost devoid of green vegetables, most mids were spotty objects - this one seemed to have been somewhat above average in the infestation. His uniform was ill-cared for as well, as if his servant was careless or hostile.

  "Spotty and scruffy", he mused. "What say you, Mr Gentry?"

  "Young to have been pushed across to the Transport Service, sir. Not so bad as to be dismissed his ship; poor enough that his captain got rid of him."

  It seemed a reasonable summary; he was certain he had sailed with him.

  "Have you any questions for me, gentlemen?"

  "Captain Ross, sir, of the Robin sloop. Will we be based on Portsmouth, sir?"

  "No. We will sail within days, west to Lyme Bay in the first instance, thereafter to take ourselves east along the channel coast to one of the small harbours - possibly on Romney Marsh or thereabouts. I shall wait for instructions on that point from the Admiralty. We will victual out of Portsmouth, and use the yard as becomes necessary for repairs."

  "Webb, sir, of Señora. Landing parties, sir. Will the landings be carried out exclusively by the Marines, sir?"

  "Landings, in the sense of taking a harbour or wharf for long enough to burn-out stores or destroy the slip in a yard, will be very much in the hands of the Marines. Cuttings-out or boarding of ships will be the province more of the seamen, and you should train your men for them."

  "Does that mean us as well, sir?" The scowling lieutenant neglected to give his name until he was prodded in the back by the man next in line. "Oh! Horrocks, sir, lieutenant-in-command of Pride of Lyme, sir."

  Horrocks - got him! 'Mr Bollocks' of the Magpie; a nasty ill-conditioned youth who had grown up to be an unpleasant man by the looks of him.

  "Ah! I did not recognise you, Mr Horrocks. You are changed from the midshipman I remember."

  But not by enough, he suspected.

  "In answer to your question, sir, I suspect your crew will be too small to allow you more than to man your guns. You should ensure that all can load and fire musket and pistol."

  The three other lieutenants from the brigs nodded in satisfaction. They did not see themselves as being in the fighting line these days.

  "Dench, sir, Bluenose schooner. Can I have a chaser, sir? Even a little one?"

  There was a general chuckle - he sounded much like a little boy asking for a doggie for Christmas.

  "I shall discuss that with you when I inspect you, Mr Dench. You will have to persuade me that you can mount a piece sensibly, and then trim your schooner, all without losing speed or handling."

  Frederick suspected that Dench had not thought that far ahead.

  "I would like to think that we might be ready to sail four days from now, gentlemen. You may offer shore-leave to your men, provided you are sure they will return."

  There was a general shaking of heads; a very dubious proposition, he gathered.

  The Port-Admiral begged the honour of Frederick's presence later in the day, personally handed him a sealed note.

  "From London, Sir Frederick, all to be very unobtrusive."

  Frederick broke the seal, grunted in satisfaction.

  "Information on movements across the Channel, sir."

  Frederick permitted the Admiral to believe that he was referring to the French invasion barges; Captain Murray would not thank him for allowing it to be known that he had sources among the smuggling fraternity.

  "There will be a number of such communications over the next weeks, sir. Would it be possible to send them quietly aboard Acheron, rather than draw attention by calling me to your office?"

  "Of course, Sir Frederick! What do you think of your captains, sir?"

  "Ross and Webb of the sloops make a good first impression, sir, but Burford of the Blackbird is a complacent old fellow, I believe."

  "He is, I fear, Sir Frederick. Very safe with a convoy and will take a despatch across half the world with great aplomb. But not a man to seek glory in the powder smoke."

  "He will spend the bulk of his days shepherding the brigs, I suspect."

  "Perfectly happily too, Sir Frederick - he has no ambitions left other than to retire to half-pay just as soon as he has saved a specific sum - I forget how much, but he needs no more than another year in command, he assures me."


  "Not soon enough, sir. What of Lieutenant Horrocks of the Pride of Lyme? I know him of old and am amazed he has survived in the service, let alone to have even this least of commands."

  Admiral Girton scowled then raised his eyes to Heaven.

  "He possesses a father. I am aware that is not an uncommon attribute in itself; most of us share it, but we do not have fathers whose younger brother is a functionary in the Admiralty. Mr Horrocks is able to insist that his boy shall remain in employment, though he has not succeeded in achieving promotion for him as yet. That will come, eventually, there can be no doubt of that. He will at some time be sent off to an obscure location where he will perform certain unspecific but noble deeds which will result in his rapid translation to post-captaincy. He will then be given a command of an unthreatening nature, a Fourth Rate or a sixty-four, and will return to Old England and the occupation of a remote enough dockyard as Port Captain and eventually fly his flag as Admiral Horrocks. A knighthood is very probable, and he may well achieve hereditary honours, to the applause of all beholders."

  "While he never goes to sea any more as a captain, then it will do the Navy small enough harm, sir. God help us all if he is given a fleet!"

  "Amen, sir!"

  "Enough of that depressing topic, sir. What of our Marines?"

  "In barracks, Sir Frederick, and performing such antics as seem appropriate to them, no doubt. They are to board tomorrow, I believe, and my Port Captain is in the way of making the arrangements to bring the brigs to dockside rather than use small boats - so much quicker a process!"

  "Very good, sir. I will take the opportunity to make my inspections, which must be brief, the brigs being only quasi-warlike in nature. I must devote a little more time to Bluenose schooner, I gather."

  "Young Mr Dench, of course. He, too, possesses a father."

  "It seems to be an increasingly common habit, sir!"

  "I agree, not to be commended but one must live with it."

  That smacked of a word of warning.

  "Who is the father, sir?"