The Duke's Predicament (The Reluctant Duke Book 3)

by Fenella J Miller

  Everything she saw was new to her and she wasn’t quite sure if she was excited or terrified by this adventure. Neither John nor Ellie were apprehensive so it behove her to remain outwardly calm at least. One thing she’d learned from being employed as both governess and companion was that as long as one appeared calm, everyone around would believe that was actually the case.

  Somehow she’d expected the vessel they were to travel in to be considerably larger. She looked at the small ship with some trepidation but neither of her companions appeared worried so she hid her concerns.

  ‘I’ll be bunking in the hold with the other male passengers, but you and Ellie have got a cabin. It won’t be luxurious or spacious but you’ll have your privacy.’

  ‘Will we be aboard for very long? If my geography and mathematics are correct it will take quite a few days to get there even if the winds are favourable.’

  ‘I reckon that’s right, miss, anything from six to eight depending on the weather and the wind. Have you thought what we’ll do when we arrive?’

  ‘I’m assuming that knowledge of the whereabouts of Wellington’s army will be easy to obtain. I’m not sure that hiring or buying a vehicle to transport us will be as simple.’

  ‘I’ll do my best to find us something suitable. We’ll need an English-speaking guide as well. I can drive a carriage and take care of the horses so that’s one less thing to worry about.’

  ‘Actually I’m able to speak sufficient Spanish to make myself understood. My papa believed that all young ladies should have a knowledge of more than one foreign language. I also speak good French – but I hope that won’t be needed.’

  Ellie didn’t know why John laughed and Hannah thought it best not to enlighten her. The only reason her French would be needed was if they were taken prisoner by Bonaparte’s army.

  The cabin proved to be even smaller than anticipated, barely room for the two of them to stand up at the same time. There were bunks against one wall and Ellie was happy to take the top and leave the lower one for her.

  ‘My, miss, this is ever so small but it’s put together in a clever way. As long as one of us sits with our feet out of the way on the bottom bunk there’s room enough to move about.’ She opened the door to a small cupboard. ‘Look, a chamber pot and under this lid there’s a basin. I suppose having them made out of tin is to save them getting broken in a storm.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right, Ellie. There’s space for the trunk to be pushed in neatly but it will have to be pulled out each time you wish to open the lid so please get out what we need for the next day or two to make things easier.’

  ‘Do I have to fetch hot water or will someone bring it to us? What about the po?’

  There was no time for an answer to these pertinent questions as the conversation was interrupted by a sharp tap on the cabin door. Hannah drew her legs up and Ellie scuttled past.

  ‘Good afternoon, Miss Westley. I’m the purser and will be taking care of you. This here is Eli, cabin boy, and he’ll fetch and carry for you. He’s got hot water so you can freshen up. We ain’t in a position to do any laundry so best make things last until we dock again.’

  He stepped to one side and Eli, who looked no more than ten years of age, sidled in and placed a brightly painted metal jug on the only other surface available, a shelf that ran above the space for the trunk. There was a jug-sized indentation ready to receive it.

  ‘You and your maid will dine with the captain, miss, Eli here will fetch you when it’s time.’

  ‘Is it permissible for us to be on deck or must we remain below? Also, can we open the porthole or must it remain closed at all times?’

  ‘Stay below until we sail, miss, if you don’t mind. A lot of toing and froing going on and there ain’t much room for ladies. Portholes remain closed in case the weather changes unexpectedly. The weather’s set fair for the next few days so I reckon we’ll make good time.’ He touched his forehead in a gesture of respect and closed the door.

  ‘I just hope that neither of us are seasick, Ellie. I’ve no idea if I will find being on the water makes me cast up my accounts as I’ve never set foot on a boat before.’

  ‘It’s bobbing up and down a bit already, miss, but I like it, I don’t think it’ll upset me.’

  Until her maid had pointed it out she’d not been aware of the movement beneath her feet, somehow she’d been adjusting to it without thought.

  ‘We can’t see much through this tiny window but it gives us some light. Without it this would be like being shut in a store cupboard. It’s surely no bigger than that.’

  The hot water was redundant but Ellie positioned the jug in a second hollowed-out circle next to the washstand which had obviously been made to hold it steady when the ship was in motion. John had told her this was a packet, a fast mail ship, that took a few passengers but no other cargo.

  They clambered into their surprisingly comfortable berths and the rocking sent them both to sleep. They were roused by Eli banging on the door saying he’d come to take them to dinner.

  She sat up and cracked her head on the upper bunk which made her feel quite sick for a moment. Ellie scrambled out of her bunk and called out to the cabin boy that they would be ready in ten minutes.

  ‘Things are moving about a bit more now, miss, I reckon we’re under way.’

  Within the allotted time they were ready to be escorted the short distance to the captain’s accommodation which Eli told her was in the forecastle – not the front end of the vessel as she’d referred to it.

  The cabin they entered was surprisingly spacious and had a table laid up for dinner under an expanse of windows. These couldn’t be called portholes as they weren’t round. John was there and he moved at once to her side protectively. There were three men in naval uniform, presumably the captain and his officers, plus two other smartly dressed gentlemen of middle years.

  They all seemed inordinately pleased to see that they were to be joined by ladies. She was introduced but promptly forgot the names. Dinner was three palatable courses but no removes, wine was served for the gentlemen and freshly squeezed lemonade for herself and Ellie. There was even coffee after the plates and debris had been cleared.

  It was now quite dark outside and the interior was lit by oil lamps. Apart from the constant swaying underfoot one might have thought one was at a dinner party.

  ‘Thank you for a delightful evening, captain, but if you’ll excuse me, my maid and I are going to retire.’

  John had drunk only two glasses of wine whereas the other gentlemen present had imbibed considerably more. One of them, a dark-visaged person wearing a violently striped waistcoat, was eyeing her in a way she wasn’t comfortable with.

  ‘I’ll escort you to your cabin, miss. Good night, sirs.’ John nodded politely and then placed himself at her back so that the leering man was no longer able to see her.

  Despite pushing the flimsy bolt across the door Hannah didn’t feel entirely safe in her small cabin.

  *

  Patrick was horrified at the ignorance of the young men supposedly in command of their company. At no time did they check that the men had food and access to fresh water. When eventually he found Wellington the first thing he would do was make a formal complaint against the three of them. He’d arranged with the quartermaster for the necessary vittles to be loaded onto a cart for the journey. The man had been happy to reimburse him for what he’d spent from his own pocket.

  ‘Good thing there’s men like you returning to serve, those three nincompoops would have let the men starve without your intervention.’

  ‘Have they applied for the necessary funds to replenish our food stocks?’

  ‘No, I reckon I’ll give it to you. From what I’ve seen and heard the three of them would drink it away before you’d even set off. Shocking bad example to the men.’

  ‘There are good officers and then there are the ones we’ve got here. Hopefully, whoever the brigade commander is will soon put things right.’ />
  God knows why they’d chosen a career in the military as they obviously had no interest in their duties. The following two nights they not only got drunk they also brought in prostitutes from the local brothel to the officers’ accommodation. If there’d been anyone more senior present this would have been stopped but unfortunately they were the only ones there.

  He routed out the men at dawn and drilled them for two hours whilst it was still cool. Not only would it improve their ability to fight it should also help their new boots to soften and make it easier to walk the two hundred and fifty miles. An experienced column of men could cover more than twenty miles in a day and still be fit enough to fight. He thought it highly unlikely these would be able to do more than fifteen. This meant it was going to take more than two weeks to complete the journey and that’s if there were no disasters or interruptions.

  He wrote two letters to Hannah and one to Richard just to occupy his time. As they were waiting for the mail packet to turn up it made sense to add his letters to the bags being returned to England. He’d become better acquainted with Corporal Bevan and spent his evenings in his company.

  During their enforced delay Patrick discovered that Bevan collected and delivered the mail with a diligence pulled by two heavy horses. He also had two soldiers to guard the contents.

  ‘It was a stroke of good fortune to find you waiting here. It will speed up our march considerably as any of the men unable to continue can not only travel on our diligence but also with you.’ He didn’t ask for permission – after all he outranked this young man. ‘I’m expecting there to be some that suffer from heat exhaustion or bloody feet and I don’t want them to slow us down or fall by the wayside.’

  ‘It’s devilish hot by mid-morning and remains so until five o’clock.’

  ‘I was aware of that, young man. My intention is to get the men up before dawn to breakfast and then to march them until around eleven o’clock. I’ll send my officer ahead to find somewhere in the shade they can rest.’

  ‘Useless lot of buggers they’ve sent us this time, pardon me for saying so, Sarge. It’s more like to be them that collapse than any of the men. It’s a bleedin’ disgrace, that’s what it is.’

  Patrick agreed with every word but could hardly say so. ‘I’ll forget you said that, Bevan. I’m going to check on Bruno and then get some shut-eye.’

  He also wished to make sure that all the men were settled, that none of them had wandered off to the brothel or imbibed an excessive amount of alcohol. Walking for hours in hot sunshine after a night of heavy drinking would make things worse for them.

  He’d set sentries to watch the perimeter of the camp and they did their job efficiently and demanded his name and rank. He walked around the three camps stopping to talk, knowing most of their names by now so he was able to address them personally. Satisfied all sixty soldiers were accounted for and all were content he headed to the stables.

  He’d forgotten how much he’d enjoyed the rapport he’d once had with the men, the comraderie of communal living, the way strangers could meld into a tight-knit unit just by drilling and living together. Perhaps he’d been too quick to dismiss a return to his career as a soldier. Civilian life was pleasant but held no excitement and he would always be beholden to Richard; whereas now he was his own man. Then an image of Hannah filled his head. If he re-enlisted he would lose her and he wasn’t prepared to do that.

  He pushed these thoughts aside as he had a job to do and his personal life must come second to his responsibilities to those under him.

  He had the men lined up at dawn, Corporal Bevan and his two companions were ready to depart, the wagon with the belongings of the officers, as well as the necessary rations and barrels of water, was also waiting. He’d sent one of the corporals to wake the three lieutenants an hour ago so where the hell were they? The lieutenants’s luggage was already loaded and all they had to do was put the few personal items they had in their bedchamber into saddlebags and even those three could manage that.

  He dropped the reins in front of Bruno knowing he would remain where he was and marched into the inn where they were living. Being so early there were no maids or potboys cleaning up the wreckage from the previous night – but more worryingly, the place was silent.

  He had two sensible choices. The first was to go up and tip the three of them in turn from their beds and risk a court martial. The second, to knock politely on the door and then hang about waiting for them to appear in their own good time. Neither of these appealed to him.

  There was a third option. He would set out without them, leave them a note giving them the direction they should take when they eventually got up. With any other young officers he would hesitate to jeopardise their position with the men by doing this. These three treated him as if he was their superior and not the reverse, so he was confident he’d get away with it.

  He wrote the note and then shoved it under the door. He banged on it for good measure but didn’t risk telling them what he intended in case one of them was sufficiently awake to remember that he was an officer and insist that the companies remained where they were.

  Predawn was perfect for marching and Patrick thought they could complete more than ten miles before they needed to find shelter from the sun. All the men had a water flask at their hip and could refresh themselves as they walked. They’d arrived with the hated leather stocks but he’d given them permission to remove these and stow them carefully in their knapsacks to be replaced when they arrived. They chafed the neck and some commanding officers were old-fashioned and would insist their men wore the leather regardless of the discomfort it gave them.

  He positioned the mail wagon at the front of the column and the other at the rear. They were making good progress and so far no one was flagging but all keeping in reasonable step. They weren’t expected to march as they would in a drill but it helped to have them all walking at the same pace.

  He cantered up to the guide who was riding a remarkably handsome Arab – his must be a lucrative profession nowadays.

  ‘I’m going to need somewhere in the shade in a couple of hours where the men can cook and rest until dusk. We’ll then continue for a further couple of hours before bivouacking. Do you know of anywhere suitable?’

  ‘There is, Señor, other troops have used it. We should arrive before the sun’s too hot.’

  There was still no sign of the young gentlemen and it was a good two hours since they’d set out. Surely the lazy devils would be out by now and on their way? If they didn’t arrive before the march was halted there would be ample opportunity for them to catch up whilst they rested for several hours.

  It wasn’t until late afternoon, the sun at its zenith, that the missing officers joined them. ‘I say, Sergeant Major, what a lark. Can’t believe how far you’ve come. Well done.’ Lieutenant Digby dismounted looking none the worse for having ridden in the heat for several miles. The horses, however, were sweat-stained and thirsty.

  He was about to issue orders to the nearest soldiers to walk the beasts until they were cool, but for all their disregard of the needs of their men, these three immediately took care of their own mounts. He was happy to share his tasty stew and tea with them when they eventually joined him.

  ‘We remain here until it’s cooler, sir, then march for another two hours before setting up camp. The horses will be rested and fed by then as well.’

  ‘Is it usual, Sergeant Major, to abandon your officers as you did?’

  ‘It isn’t, sir, but I believed you would prefer us to set off as soon as we could. These troops are needed and any delay will be frowned upon. As you are mounted I knew you’d catch us up easily.’

  ‘That’s what we thought. Thinking of the men’s welfare as usual. We have full confidence in you.’

  Chapter Eleven

  Hannah was woken by a loud thud as something heavy crashed into the cabin door. She hadn’t undressed completely, was in her undergarments, and rolled out of her narrow bunk, staring at
the door apprehensively.

  ‘There’s somebody out there, miss, what shall we do?’

  ‘I’m not sure, I think it might be that man who was leering at me over dinner. I don’t think the bolt will hold.’

  There were several further thumps and then to her astonishment John called out cheerfully. ‘Nothing to worry about, miss, the unwanted visitor has been dealt with.’

  She rushed to the door and spoke through it. ‘Is it that man?’

  ‘It is. I remained out here just in case he tried his luck. Two of the sailors have taken him away and he’ll not bother you again. Good night, Miss Westley, good night, Ellie.’

  Hannah remained where she was until his footsteps faded. ‘Thank goodness he stood guard. I’m glad he didn’t have to shoot him as that might have been difficult to explain to the captain.’

  They returned to their berths and she found the rocking motion soothing and was soon deeply asleep and didn’t wake again until Eli banged on the door.

  ‘I’ve got your hot water, miss, and I’m to take your po and empty it. I’ll leave the water and come back in a minute for the other.’

  She remained where she was whilst her maid dealt with the unpleasant task of conveying the full receptacle to the door and then placing it outside.

  ‘It’s ever so noisy out there now. I reckon they’re putting sails up and down and such. Can we go up and look?’

  ‘I think it better if we wash and dress first, Ellie. The motion of the ship seems more violent now. I do hope we’re not in for a storm.’

  ‘If you look out of the window it’s ever so sunny and nice and there’s no big waves at all.’

  So the pattern of her days was established. They took their meals with the other passengers but only saw the captain and his officers at dinner. Fortunately, nobody enquired after the absent gentleman and she found everybody else respectful and charming.