Miss Anna's Frigate

by Jens Kuhn

  Finally the decision was made to attend a popular English play at the new theater at Makalös, an old palace converted into a theater by Gustavus, of course. Eric af Klint had never been there, but Charlotte had and liked it very much indeed.

  “It is a very pretty little theater,” she said. “Quite unrivaled actually”.

  “You are so witty, my dear,” a voice suddenly could be heard from the hallway.

  “Johan, look who is here!”

  With the commander finally at home and all formalities concluded, it was soon time for dinner.

  Captain Baker ate his dinner alone at the fashionable inn overlooking the old town and the harbor. The food was quite good, he thought, considering Sweden not being a very rich country and at war as well. But apparently there was no lack of provisions, if you could pay for it. Which he could. Having been a post captain for ten years he had made a small fortune of prize money, which he mostly kept tucked away in the bank. He was unmarried – feeling that he could not lay the hardships required of a wife to a navy captain in active service on any woman he loved. Not that there hadn’t been a few who would have been prepared to endure the loneliness and fear for him never to return, but he was a man of principles – and then again he hadn’t really been sure if it was him or his prize money that had attracted the prey so to speak. Or if it was him who had been the prey.

  He pushed the thought away and tried to concentrate on the port and cheese that concluded his meal. Suddenly his eyes caught a poster on the wall. It was for a theater play and although it was in Swedish he did recognize the name of the playwright. It was English.

  “Oh, this is beautiful!” Anna gasped. And indeed it was. There was nothing of the glum feeling of war and doom in the theater during that evening. The play was no classic, but it was entertaining and made people laugh and yelp with surprise at the final scene before the intermission.

  They had gotten seats on the balcony, providing them not only with a good view of the stage, but also a good peek at the people seated below. The theater was quite full and there was an even mixture of uniforms and civilian clothes. The ladies wore their finest dresses, many of them for the first time in months, just like Anna. In fact, the dress had been chosen by Eric especially for this event. It was fashionable, low cut in front and emphasizing her impressive cleavage. Charlotte wore a little less intriguing gown, but becoming her very well and stating her position as an officer’s wife. Johan Kuhlin and af Klint wore their best uniforms, glittering away in the reflection of the hundreds of candles lining the walls.

  Eric af Klint rose. “Shall I get you something to drink? I think we will have at least a quarter of an hour.”

  Anna put her hand on his arm. “I think I’d like to take a stroll. Have a peek at people?” She smiled, looking at Charlotte. “What do you think, dear?”

  “I would very much like it. Let’s all go,” Charlotte suggested.

  Having descended down the stairs to the great hall where waiters scurried around with trays, offering wine and brandy, they stopped and looked around, soaking up the atmosphere and reveling in the beauty and gaiety of the evening. Suddenly, Kuhlin gasped. “I cannot believe this! What on earth is he doing here?”

  “Who?” Eric af Klint and Anna asked simultaneously.

  “The gentleman over there, he is a British captain. I met him at sea last summer.”

  Eric af Klint remembered. “The frigate we met just before we took the Russian brig?”

  “The very one. I have to go and talk to him.” Kuhlin took his wife’s arm and started to walk, Anna and Eric following in his wake.

  ”Captain Baker, sir!” Kuhlin cried.

  “Ah, lieutenant, I am sorry to say, I do not recall your name...”

  “Kuhlin, sir. And it’s commander now.”

  “Ah, right, congratulations.”

  “Thank you, sir. May I introduce my wife, Charlotte. And this is lieutenant Eric af Klint, my artillery officer...or so he used to be. And Miss Anna Wetterstrand.”

  “I am enchanted, madam, miss. Lieutenant.” Baker’s eyes returned to Anna. “Um, yes, very enchanted indeed.”

  Eric af Klint started to say something, but Anna squeezed his arm and smiled at the captain. “So what are you doing here in the middle of the winter? You are not trapped in the ice with your ship, are you?”

  The captain looked at her questioningly. Then he returned her smile. “But yes, exactly so, miss. My ship is in the ice, at Dalarö and cannot move at all. I am positively trapped here.”

  “Oh.” Anna’s eyes widened. “Won’t your men all freeze to death?”

  “Not at all, miss, not at all. There is a fire in the galley do you see and we have pots of glowing coal. No there is a much higher risk of the ship catching fire than the men freezing to death, I think.”

  “You are almost being funny, captain.” Anna winked at him.

  “Sir,” Kuhlin interrupted. “If you do not have to return to your ship immediately I would be honored if you would join us for dinner some time?”

  Baker considered this. “I might stay here a few more days. And would be glad to accept your invitation, commander.”

  The bell rung then, calling them back to their seats.

  Chapter 6 – Plans and Plots

  The two men were already halfway through their dinner when the third one finally arrived. They sat at a window table in the dining room of Beckens inn, the very same where Miss Anna and Eric af Klint had taken their lodgings the day before. Both men had the stiff appearances of officers, although they wore civilian clothes on this occasion. They were young, in their twenties, and had not yet climbed very high in rank. The first, whose name was Dillquist, was an army ensign and had arrived recently from the front on Åland, carrying despatches. His friend was a sub-lieutenant with the Royal guards regiment and his name was Winther.

  Both men were nervous. When the third man arrived, they waved him towards their table and looked at him apprehensively. He was older than they were and looked a trifle shabby in his old thick woolen coat and tricorne hat. He called himself Gray, but they were certain this wasn’t his real name. He probably just got inspired by his coat. Now he took off his hat and sat down at their table.

  “Do I get something to drink here, pray?” He said.

  Dillquist smiled warily. “Of course.” He beckoned the waiter who came with another mug of beer. Gray took a sip and sighed. “Well, I don’t think he’ll do it.”

  “Why?” Winther asked.

  “He thinks it’s too dangerous.”

  “But it isn’t dangerous at all! We have been watching the road for weeks, and there are almost never more than two or three servants and the groom. No escort, nothing.”

  “It’s not that,” Gray replied. “I agree, capturing him would be easy and so does he. The concern is what’s to happen afterwards.”

  “Most of the troops will do nothing.” Dillquist was certain.

  “Perhaps. But there needs to be someone in charge. A council of men or one important man. Someone.”

  “And why can’t he be this man?” Winther frowned.

  “He thinks he isn’t high ranking enough. There needs to be order, do you see. And order cannot be kept by a council of low ranking officers, lieutenants or even captains.”

  “But he isn’t low ranking.”

  “No. But he isn’t famous or trusted enough. We need someone who has the support of most of the troops and the people. Someone like general Döbeln.”

  Winther gasped. “But Döbeln is loyal.”

  “Yes, unfortunately he is.”

  They were silent for a moment. Then Dillquist leaned forward and almost whispered. “What if we do it by ourselves. Today?”

  Gray looked at him seriously. “Then you will get yourselves hanged. And start a civil war in the process.”

  “Ah, captain Baker, good day to you, sir,” ambassador Merry said. “So good of you to come so quickly.”

  “Of course, sir”. Baker replied aw
kwardly. He wasn’t quite sure if the ambassador had objections to him still being in the city. Perhaps he should have gone back to his ship directly. But how was he supposed to gather information if he had to stay on his frigate, miles away from the capital?

  The ambassador opened his desk and produced a written note. He read it through, like it was the first time he saw it. Which couldn’t be true. He is groping for time, Baker thought.

  Finally the ambassador coughed. “Well, captain, I am glad you are still here.”

  Baker relaxed as Merry continued. “Yes. Now I do not need to send a messenger out to that wilderness where your ship is.”

  “Bad news, sir?” Baker started to become impatient.

  “Indeed. Well. The Swedish king has decided to seize all English ships in harbors on his west coast.”

  Baker gasped. “But...?”

  “There still being no ice yet, do you see. Unlike here, where you have been seized by the forces of nature, so to speak.” He made a chuckling sound.

  “But why?”

  “As to be used in negotiation, of course. He wants more subsidies.”

  “Ah yes, you mentioned something of the sort.” Baker remembered his last visit at the embassy. There had been talk of closing the ports. But seizing British ships?

  “But isn’t that an act of war? Seizing our ships?”

  The ambassador looked at him gravely. “Technically yes.”

  “And what are we going to do about it?”

  The ambassador frowned. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?” Baker started to get angry. “But those are British ships!”

  “Yes, yes. But they will not sail until spring anyway. And by then...”

  Baker widened his eyes.

  “By then there will be another king?”

  Merry smiled. “I do believe so.”

  “What do you want me to do, sir?”

  The sleigh was gliding effortlessly over the brownish white surface of the road. Snow, days old and packed by sleighs, carriages, feet and hooves, turned into sleet and then into ice by the cold of the next night, made for a good ride. Anna cuddled closely to af Klint under the warm furs. His right arm was around her waist, hugging her close into the warmth of his body. Only their faces were peering out of the furs into the dark of the evening. They had dropped off the Kuhlins at their home and were now on their way towards their lodgings.

  Eric af Klint turned his face towards hers and looked into her glittering eyes. She smiled at him in return. “Thank you for taking me here, darling,” she whispered, her mouth close to his.

  Eric kissed her softly, savoring the warm moistness of her lips. Anna moaned and opened her mouth to him and the kiss grew deeper, hotter, their mouths melting together. Anna’s arms slid around him, dragging him down under the furs.

  Suddenly the sleigh lurched violently. Anna gasped as their heads shot up out of the furs. Another sleigh had appeared out of the dark, almost colliding with theirs as it tore past and disappeared ahead.

  “What was that?” Anna growled.

  Eric looked at her face and started to laugh. “That, my dearest, was the king.”

  Anna’s jaw dropped. “The king?”

  “I believe so. He usually takes this route on his way to the palace at Haga where he lives.”

  “But doesn’t he have an escort?”

  “No, I don’t think he ever has. Perhaps he thinks his sleigh is so fast, nobody could catch him.”

  “That’s not funny Eric!” Anna’s eyes were still wide in astonishment. “You know there are people who would want him dead.”

  “I know, darling.”

  “So shouldn’t he have some protection?”

  “Probably yes. But it is his decision. He is the king.”

  Anna frowned.

  The two young officers were still sitting at their table when the king’s sleigh sped past outside the window.

  “There he is,” Dillquist said, his voice low.

  “Only he and the groom,” Winther added.

  Simultaneously they took another sip at their beers. A short while later, Anna and af Klint entered through the front door and strolled past them towards the stairs to their rooms on the first floor.

  Chapter 7 – Suspicions

  Captain Baker was freezing. About an hour after he started his journey back to Dalarö and his ship it had started to snow. Thick white snowflakes danced everywhere around him. In fact, everything was white, it felt like he sailed in dense fog. And it was so quiet. Aboard ship, there were always noises, even in a calm. And there were always people. But here was only cold white nothingness. Except for him and the horse he was riding. And some peculiar horse it was. Some Nordic breed, well accustomed to the cold weather it was small, not much bigger as a pony. Trotting along well enough, it sometimes started to pace in a most uncommon way, making him almost seasick before he got the animal to walk decently again.

  He smiled for himself at the thought of a Royal Navy captain being seasick on horseback. Then he became serious again, wondering how long he could go on like this. Could he even be sure he was on the right road? He couldn’t see much more than fifty yards ahead in this snow and there might be any number of junctions he could have missed. Finally he saw a small cottage next to the road. Baker halted his horse and jumped into the snow and walked up to the door. He knocked.

  The door was opened by a young woman in a simple dress. She did not have any English and very little French, but she admitted him into the kitchen and beckoned him to sit at the fire.

  “Thank you very much,” Baker tried. But the girl only gave him a shy smile and disappeared through another door.

  “Ah, now what business does an officer have out in this weather?” An older man entered through the same door the girl had vanished. He held out his hand. “And a foreign one as well.”

  “Ah, yes, captain Baker of the British navy.” Baker shook the man’s hand.

  “Are you a sailor yourself?”

  The man nodded. “I used to be. But I am too old now. A bosun I was, on the Camilla.”

  “That’s a frigate, isn’t it?”

  “Aye. And one of our best. Almost got to battle your ships in 1801 we did.”

  Baker smiled warily. “I heard about that. Off your west coast. Well we weren’t allies then.”

  “Aye. Now, do you care for something hot to drink, sir?”

  “Yes, thank you very much. I have to admit I am frozen quite solid.”

  The old man laughed. “My daughter will make us some soup.”

  “Eric?” Anna lifted her face and looked at the man next to her in the bed. The small room was warm, with a fire blazing in the iron stove and they were naked. “Did you notice the two men sitting at the window table when we came in?”

  “Hmm.” Eric looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “What about them?”

  “They were here yesterday as well.”

  “So?”

  ”And I think I have seen one of them before. The younger one? He wore a uniform then, just before we left Åland last autumn.”

  Eric considered this. “So he is on leave, perhaps?”

  Anna frowned. “The army isn’t on leave. They aren’t hindered by the ice like your boats.”

  “Yes, but he might be here temporarily, perhaps carrying despatches.”

  “Then he should be wearing his uniform, should he not? And he shouldn’t sit here and watch the king’s sleigh pass every night.”

  Eric smiled. He put his right arm around her and his hand started to trace the delicate lines of her body, from the neck downwards. He stopped in the small of her back.

  “You know what I think?” He said softly.

  Anna raised an eyebrow questioningly.

  “I think, my little spy is coming awake again.”

  Anna frowned at him and opened her mouth to speak, but he gave her no chance. He slid his other arm under her waist and, tightening his grip, lifted her on top of him. Anna yelped in surprise as she felt him
ready and eager between her thighs. Propped up on her arms on either side of his body she looked into his eyes and the raw passion she saw there made her almost blush.

  She lowered her face and kissed him then, tasting his desire for her. Her breasts were just touching his chest and the sensation made her shiver. Pulling away from his mouth at last, she pushed her body lower towards him. His hands were on her buttocks now, guiding her onto him as he entered her slowly. Anna moaned and pressed herself against his body as hard as she could, letting him fill her completely.

  Captain Baker stayed at the cottage over night, sleeping on a narrow bench in the kitchen. But it was warm and his belly was full. It had been interesting to chat with the old bosun as well. Baker learned a few things about the Swedish frigates and how they were handled. He was astonished that their hulls still were not copper coated against the ship worm and marine growth. But the bosun had told him that the water in the Baltic did not hold the worm due to its low salinity.

  “Still, there must be other growth that slows the ships down?”

  “Aye, ‘tis true. But I reckon it’s a question of money in the end.”

  To that, the captain could say nothing. It was the same in his navy after all. Even if the copper coating was standard now, there still were lots of other things to save money on. Like paint, or powder and shot.

  While they had been talking, the daughter had been sitting quietly, repairing a piece of clothing. She was a pretty enough girl, Baker had thought and something must have shown in his eyes, because the bosun had told him that she was married then.