A Continuing War_At Home and at Sea, 1803-1804

by John G. Cragg

  The officials conferred together in lowered tones, so that Giles could not make out what exactly they were saying. It seemed to consist of guessing which parts of the overall schedule of the dockyard could be put back without too much loss in broken promises. They finally agreed with each other, and the Superintendent turned back to Giles. They had been able to rearrange the schedule so that repairs on Impetuous would only take seven weeks. The Dockyard officials could only hope that this rearrangement would not have serious consequences for England’s safety. Giles decided he had probably got all he could hope for in concessions from the Superintendent, especially as he had already used all the names that he thought might have an effect and in the case of the last two names it was all a sham: He would not be seeing his father and even if he were to talk with the Earl Marquis , discussing Impetuous’s repair schedule would not be on the agenda.

  He returned to Impetuous to explain to Mr. Milton what would be happening. There was no point in keeping the crew on the ship or in barracks while she was in the dockyard. Most of them could be given leave for the next six weeks. Mr. Milton must just make sure that enough petty officers and experienced hands were on hand for any necessary work not done by the dockyard. That part of the crew too should be given leave, but on a rotation basis. Mr. Correll would have to stay with the ship until a lieutenant’s exam was held. Mr. Milton and Mr. Miller could divide the responsibilities of staying with the ship and taking leave. The same would be true of the two midshipmen. Oh, and there was a new midshipman who would be joining in the next two weeks or so, a Mr. MacIver, as green as grass. Help the lad get his bearings. And, of course, if there was an emergency, send post-haste to Dipton Hall.

  Carstairs had been investigating the ways to get to London quickly. With a rising tide and a steady east wind, the best way would be by water. Carstairs had already found the boatmen and packed Giles’s sea chest so that he could head to the entry port as soon as he had finished giving his orders. Just before he got to where the marines were lined up to mark his departure from the ship, he saw Midshipman Stewart.

  “You must be looking forward to seeing your family again, Mr. Stewart.”

  “Yes, sir, but I switched with Mr. Dunsmuir as to which of us would go first.”

  “You are going second? Why?”

  “I want to see as much as I can of the dockyard before going, sir. My father will have any number of questions when I get to Butler’s Hard.”

  “I suppose he will. I had forgotten your origins, Mr. Stewart. Keep an eye on the dockyard men while you are here, and mention anything that might be amiss to Mr. Milton. And my respects to your father when you see him.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  Giles’s boat made good time up the river and he reached London Bridge just after sunset. It was too late to take the coach to Ameschester that night, so he and Carstairs went to the inn near Charing Cross at which they had previously stayed. There Giles ran into two other naval captains that he had known slightly when the three of them had been lieutenants in Jamaica. The evening was spent with good food, much wine and talk of the naval doings. Giles’s head was none too clear and Carstairs also seemed the worse for wear when they caught the coach to Ameschester. Both demonstrated the ability of naval personnel to sleep anywhere even before the coach clattered through the outskirts of London.

  They reached Ameschester as night was falling and the rain became harder, quite unaware of the trio of riders who had passed through the town on their way to Dipton just before their arrival. Giles was able to hire a coach to take him to his estate, and soon set off on the last leg of his journey. As the coach neared Dipton, he started to recognize things and his anticipation became acute as the conveyance turned into the drive leading to Dipton Hall. The rumble of the arriving coach produced a footman who dashed to open the door of the coach. Giles was out of the vehicle just as soon as the door swung wide and rushed to the entrance. There he found Steves, surprisingly somewhat flustered by the unexpected arrival of the master of the house, and was about to ask where Lady Giles might be when a large brown object, seeming more like a bear than a woman, came surging down the stairs and ran right into him.

  Daphne had just dragged her sodden figure around the bend in the stairs after arriving from her visit to Salton Masham when she heard noise from the entryway and Steves saying “Sir Richard.” She spun around and started to race down the stairs. Unfortunately, the speed of her descent and the soaked nature of her clothes made her trip over the hem of her riding clothes and rush totally unbalanced into Giles’s chest just as he turned to see what the commotion was all about. That collision in turn toppled Giles into Steves who, as a result of the impact, sat down on his backside. Had there been an uncommitted bystander to witness this collision, they would have noted that it is possible to sit down with a thump on the floor with dignity. Steves accomplished the feat as part of the comedy act.

  Giles had often wondered what his first moments at Dipton Hall might be like; indeed, it had been one of his favorite last thoughts before he would fall asleep at night. Never had he imagined the welcome he had just received. Even as Daphne started to wail, “Oh, no! What have I done?” Giles began to chuckle. Daphne started to see the humor in their tangle and began to giggle. Soon the chuckle and the giggle turned into hearty laughs. Elsie, who had come to the bend of the stairs to see what was causing the ruckus, was smiling broadly even before she spied Carstairs entering with the Captain’s sea chest on his shoulder. Steves gave up his attempt to look solemn The footman was having a hard time keeping a straight face as he rushed to help extricate his three superiors from their tangle. He knew, however, that if he joined in the merriment, his position might disappear when Steves recovered his dignity.

  The first person to speak was Elsie, who cried out, “Lady Giles, you must get out of those wet things or you will catch your death.” Daphne turned to again ascend the staircase in her sodden riding habit, but that was interrupted immediately by Giles. He picked her up, seemingly without effort, and started up the stairs. He had never had the chance to carry his new bride over the threshold of Dipton Hall, but he made up for it by carrying her all the way up the stairs and into their bedroom. Daphne found that being carried by her husband, with her arms wrapped around his neck, was an unusual pleasure that she would be glad to have repeated, though preferably when not wearing heavy clothes and being soaked to the skin. Unfortunately, the pleasure did not last long. All too soon, Giles had carried her to her room and set her down for Elsie’s attention, while he himself went to change.

  Dinner was delayed while the master and mistress of the house were getting dressed. Their good manners were restored by the time they were seated in the dining room and the conversation was general. The girls and even Lady Marianne showed solid interest in Giles’s naval adventures, which he did make less graphic than he had in his letters to Daphne. The young ladies, in turn, recounted much of the gossip of the neighborhood, and Giles was good enough not to tell them that he knew most of it as a result of Daphne’s letters or that her accounts included the more salacious tales that his nieces were omitting.

  The girls left the subject in which they were most interested to the end of the meal when a spotted-dick* pudding was served as dessert.

  “Uncle Richard,” ventured Lydia, who, as the younger sister, had been chosen to ask the delicate question in the belief that she would be less likely to cause offense, “Aunt Daphne told us that you would provide us with marriage portions.”

  “Not marriage portions, Lydia,” Lady Marianne interrupted. “You have no claim on your uncle’s estate. It will be a dowry, or a wedding present, if your uncle is kind enough to make you such a gift on marriage.”

  “Yes, Mama. But Uncle, will there be a gift?”

  “Yes, Lydia, there will be. I haven’t decided on the sum, yet. But I am sure that it will smooth the way for your suitor to make the commitment. However, I will have to make sure that the amount is not so large that you w
ill need protection from fortune hunters.”

  “Oh, thank you, Uncle Ricard,” burst in Catherine. “I don’t think we are in danger of being snapped up by fortune hunters, but you are right. A lot of wonderful men cannot afford to marry without some contribution from the bride’s family. I don’t know if we will ever attract men. So far no one has really been interested in me.”

  “It is early days, yet, Catherine,” said Daphne. “I didn’t have any offers of marriage until I was much older than you.”

  Giles had to hide a grin at this statement. He knew perfectly well that Daphne had not had any earlier offers of marriage because she had actively discouraged them. He was still amazed that he had won her hand.

  Giles did not stay in the dining room when Daphne rose to lead the ladies into the drawing room. He had no need of port wine, especially not when Daphne would not be with him as he drank it. He rose at the same time as the ladies to accompany them into the drawing room. Only Steves was disappointed with this development. He had specially chosen an excellent bottle to decant, and had hoped for Giles’s approval. Not that this set-back would prevent him from taking the long established prerogative of butlers to make sure that the wine had not deteriorated in the decanter before sealing it away.

  Giles and Daphne found excuses to leave the drawing room almost immediately after entering it, pleading tiredness and the strenuous nature of their activities that day. Daphne dismissed Elsie as soon as possible, only making sure that the bedroom fire was blazing warmly. Giles was equally efficient in sending away Ralph, the first footman. Steves had designated him to serve as valet since Captain Giles’s had no yet appointed someone to fill that position. Steves had finally realized that Carstairs was not a valet. Strangely, given the urgency of the couple to get to rest, Elsie found in the morning that the candles in Daphne’s room had burned down completely and must have guttered out.

  Chapter XIV

  Elsie waited an extra half hour beyond the usual time before going into Daphne’s bedroom the following morning. Even then she did not throw open the curtains as was her usual practice. Instead, making enough noise so that her mistress could not possibly sleep through the racket, she turned and left the room for half an hour. On her return, she found that her intention of sparing Captain Giles – or her mistress – any embarrassment had been for naught. She was greeted by Captain Giles sitting up in bed wearing a red flannel nightgown and night cap. He asked her in a friendly tone what sort of a day it was.

  Elsie replied that the rain had passed away and that it promised to be a sunny day, a bit warmer than the previous one.

  If Captain Giles was supposed to be embarrassed by being found in his wife’s bed, he certainly didn’t show it. Instead he turned to Daphne and said, “Come along, sleepy head. There are too many important things to do for us to spend more time in bed.”

  With that he bounced out of bed, looking more like an oversized elf than a post-captain in the Royal Navy.

  “Ralph is waiting for you in your dressing room, sir.” Elsie told him demurely.

  “Thank you, Elsie,” he replied. And then in a voice that easily reached the topmast in a gale, he cried, “Out of bed, Lady Giles.”

  Giles left and Daphne emerged from the bed still sleepy eyed. “Good morning, Elsie. Riding clothes again today.”

  “The warm ones are not yet fully dry, my lady.”

  “Well, the next warmest. You said it will be a warmer day.”

  “Yes, my lady.” Elsie knew enough not to contradict her mistress when she was in her ‘get things done’ mood. Daphne washed in the rapidly cooling water Elsie had brought and started to get dressed. “Did you see Carstairs yesterday evening?”

  “Oh, yes, my lady.”

  “And everything is still fine between you?”

  “Oh, yes, my lady!”

  “Good. Let’s hurry. I know Captain Giles does not take long dressing.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  When Daphne entered the breakfast room, she was surprised to see that her nieces were there ahead of her. Giles was just completing his plate at the sideboard. The two girls revealed why they had risen early as soon as Giles sat down.

  “Uncle Richard, did you know that the Hunt is meeting tomorrow?” asked Catherine.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to ride in it?”

  “Yes, your Aunt Daphne and I are intending to do so.”

  “Can we go too?” broke in Lydia.

  “Just going with those who take the easy way, not following the hounds directly.” Catherine elaborated.

  “What do you think, Lady Giles?” asked Giles, in an attempt to avoid a responsibility he had never considered being his own.

  “I think you should ask your mother,” Daphne prevaricated.

  “But she has no interest in hunting,” wailed Lydia.

  “That doesn’t mean that she will not let you go,” said Giles, hoping that this would end the discussion. It did, since Daphne and Giles immediately rose to leave the table. Daphne took Giles’s arm.

  “This is getting to be more complicated than I expected,” remarked Daphne.

  “In what way?”

  “I hadn’t thought that inviting potential suitors based on meeting them at a Hunt meeting would, of course, get the girls interested in hunting.”

  Giles laughed. “Maybe Lady Marianne will also develop a sudden passion for hunting. Didn’t you say she was getting on very well with Major Stoner from the Hunt?”

  The two spent the morning examining some of the many projects that Daphne had been telling Giles about in her letters. He was enthusiastic about the progress that had been made, being amazed at how much she had accomplished in a few short weeks despite there having been frequently unfavorable autumn weather. As they were riding back to luncheon, Giles stated, “I think we should spend the afternoon on the hunting horses.”

  “Why do you think that?” queried Daphne.

  Giles was not used to having his suggestions questioned. He was about to react negatively, when he recalled that one of the reasons he had chosen Daphne was because she was so independent and not afraid to let her ideas be known. He decided that it would do no harm to explain his thoughts.

  “Your mare, Serene Masham, looks like a splendid animal, but you haven’t had much experience on her back.”

  Daphne was about to protest that she had thoroughly tested her mount before buying the animal, but her protest died as Giles continued, “I’ll be riding Dark Paul and I have had no real familiarity with him. We were too busy for that when I was last here. He has already thrown two riders who have had him jumping, and if I am going to ride him, I’d rather be thrown today than in front of everybody tomorrow.”

  Daphne held her tongue. Giles was right that the horse had thrown her, even if she had described the incident as her slipping off the horse. Her husband should get some familiarity with his horse and she certainly would not mind getting to know Serene’s habits better. After luncheon they mounted the hunters and set off. Their route started over the ground where Daphne had tried to ride Dark Paul with unfortunate consequences. In fact, Giles, who was in the lead, tried to make the same jump where the stallion had unseated Daphne. Dark Paul shied on landing in exactly the same way in which he had got Daphne off his back. He almost succeeded with Giles, even though this time his rider was astride. Unphased by this failure, the horse allowed Giles to put him to a gallop towards the next hedge. Just before he should jump, he dug his forelegs into the ground in an attempt to throw Giles. It almost succeeded; Giles had to loosen the reins to grab the pommel of the saddle to catch himself. Dark Paul took the opportunity to get the bit between his teeth.

  Even before Giles thumped back into the saddle, Dark Paul took off at a wild gallop. He headed towards a large oak with low branches on the other side of the field. Giles saw that the horse intended to scrape him off by going under a branch with not enough room beneath it for the rider as well as the horse. He swung himself to on
e side of the horse, quite out of the saddle, using only his left foot in the stirrup and a hand on the pommel to keep connected to the horse. He ducked low and the branch passed harmlessly over him.

  As soon as they were beyond the limb, Giles pulled himself back into saddle. Dark Paul reared in frustration; Giles stayed with him, indeed he used the horse’s annoyed whiney to pull the bit back behind the horse’s teeth. Now he was in charge again.

  Dark Paul set off, still at a full gallop, towards a hedge row marking the edge of the field. He sailed over it and continued at full speed for the next hedge and the next. Giles was now guiding the horse over the jumps and when Dark Paul started to try to slacken his pace Giles used his crop to keep him going full out. Before long, Giles was setting the pace completely, and the direction, and the jumps, with a tiring Dark Paul forced to do his master’s bidding.

  Giles directed them back towards the field where the horse had first taken control. He kept him at the gallop and forced Dark Paul to make all the jumps again, though coming from the opposite direction. When they reached the starting field, Giles let the horse slow to a canter and then a trot. He looked ahead to where the horse had first tried to throw him expecting to see Daphne. She was not in sight, he looked to each side and out of the corner of his eye spotted her beside him just one or two steps behind.

  “How did you get there?” he asked.

  “Serene is a remarkably fast horse, and we took the inside of your circle,” came the reply.

  The next day, the party from Dipton caused quite a stir at the meet. There were seven of them because Lord David and Mr. Moorhouse joined the riders from Dipton Hall, including Lady Marianne. Any number of people came over to greet Captain Giles, even though most of them had not met him earlier. Mr. Summers was particularly welcoming, repeatedly asking Giles to come to the Hunt Dinner that night. Giles, after a glance at Daphne, gave his regrets, stating that with only a short stay at Dipton being possible, he preferred to dine with his wife. Major Stoner was notable for moving over to Lady Marianne after the briefest of introductions to Giles.