HMS Aurora: A Charles Mullins Novel (Sea Command Book 3) (14 page)

It had become Doris’ task every day to meet the post and collect any mail for the house. She had few duties about the house these days, since she had given birth to a healthy and vigorous little boy several months before. In addition, in Mrs. Cooper’s eyes, Doris had progressed from being a servant to a family member, since a marriage was expected just as soon as Aurora made port again. Letters from Charles were infrequent, but often came in batches, whenever a ship from the Baltic made port with several weeks’ worth of mail. She was not really expecting anything today, since she had received a dozen letters just last week.

Surprisingly, a single letter was given her, today. This was unusual. It showed signs of being written hurriedly and consisted of a single page with an enclosed note of hand for a surprisingly large sum folded inside. Doris gasped as she read it and had to sit down. Her recent labor had been a difficult one and she had not fully recovered yet.

Mrs. Cooper saw her and reached the wrong conclusion when she saw the white face. Wordlessly, Doris handed the letter to the housekeeper. Unused to reading private letters between lovers, she first noticed the note-of-hand and exclaimed when she saw the amount. Then, reading the letter itself, she saw Master Charles was not expected home again, for another year, at the least.

The housekeeper was silent as she read the letter over and over again. She came to a conclusion. Firmly, she told Doris, “Well, if Master Charles cannot come to you, then you must go to him!”

“But how can I do that with a new baby?”

Mrs. Cooper assured her, “I will go with you of course. We will take passage together to the Madeira’s of which Charles tells us. Failing that, we shall continue on to Southern Africa, where ever that is. My cousin is in service with an official of the East India Company. Surely she can find the proper procedure we must follow.”

A call on the cousin resulted in a meeting with the East India Company official at his home. Mister Simmons agreed passage to either Funchal on Madeira or to Cape Colony itself could certainly be arranged. But he must really advise against two unescorted females and an infant making the trip.

After vainly attempting to deal with their intransigence however, the official penned a brief note and told them to take it to the East India Company office in the morning.

It was necessary for the women to wait for passage to become available on one of the big East India ships. A large troop shipment to the Orient took up much of the available capacity and then it was necessary to wait for escort. Enemy privateers were becoming a nuisance and the capture of one of the big Indiamen could bring wealth to a privateer captain and crew.

Finally, after much delay, Mrs. Cooper and Doris, with her infant son, were able to board the City of Bombay, a big Indiaman, for passage to the island of Madeira. There had been controversy over that with officialdom. In the end, it had been necessary to purchase passage to Cape Colony. At Funchal, it would be possible for the women to leave the ship, or they could continue on to Cape Colony.

The housekeeper had always been the dominant personality, in the household. As soon as the ship met the chops of the Channel though, Mrs. Cooper found herself reduced to the status of a helpless invalid. She had never been to sea before, or experienced seasickness and found she was unable to rise from her berth. Doris now assumed all responsibility for the party. In addition to her baby, she had to care for a helpless, adult woman. Her infant was a happy baby though; always ready to greet an admiring stranger with a smile. The infant became an especial pet of the seamen, who were forever bringing the baby little toys they had fabricated. Doris was able to spend much of her time caring for Mrs. Cooper, knowing many of her fellow travelers were tending to the infant.

Mrs. Cooper had engaged a cabin for herself and Doris. There had been a discussion about the expense; Doris had been willing to travel in the cheapest possible accommodations. Mrs. Cooper assured her that she was much too old to submit herself to such privations, and the argument had ended. The fare took much of the funds Charles had sent Doris, but Mrs. Cooper convinced her that she would not be penniless should they not meet with Captain Mullins. She had reserved funds to return them to England, if necessary, and once reaching home, they could subsist on the household money until Charles could replenish their finances.

Mrs. Cooper gradually recovered from her sickness and was soon able to spend time on deck with Doris and the baby. There was always a constant crowd around, attracted by the infant. Doris had to be warned to keep the child covered and avoid exposing the infant to the subtropical sun, after he began to turn brown from the sun.

The Indiaman sailed in company with several other ships bound to the Orient and an old third rate accompanied them as escort, assisted by a twenty-two-gun post ship. The convoy was visited a week out port by an inquisitive enemy privateer that left after determining the escort’s force.

It was almost with regret when the Indiaman entered the Funchal harbor on Madeira. The women queried various officers of the ship regarding HMS Aurora. The port authorities were questioned but no news was available concerning the ship-sloop. She had not come into this port.

The Indiaman had to remain in port for a week, to take on stores, cargo, and make a few repairs. The women were forced to make a hard decision. If Aurora did not arrive, should they continue on to Cape Colony or remain here on the island in hopes that Aurora would eventually arrive?

As Mrs. Cooper advised, there was no guarantee that Aurora would make port here. All they knew was what they had gleaned from the letter. One of the ship’s officers, asked for advice, said nothing was certain. Perhaps Aurora had gone into Gibraltar to re-provision, or maybe that had not been necessary, after all.

Then too, possibly the ship-sloop had suffered some misfortune and had to turn back. Captain Mullins might never take his ship to Cape Colony. Mrs. Cooper had found she was a poor sailor and had lost her resolve to endure a long voyage to Cape Colony and beyond.

In the end, the women decided to gamble that Aurora was simply delayed and took an inexpensive room in a house up in the heights above Funchal, watching City of Bombay sail out of the harbor, bearing their letters to Captain Mullins for possible delivery in Cape Colony.

With careful husbanding of their funds, Mrs. Cooper thought they could live another month or six weeks here, but then it would be necessary to take inexpensive passage back to England.

Two weeks later, Doris was at the market near the docks when she heard a commotion in the crowd. She was unable to understand the Portuguese of the woman she tried to ask what was happening, but an English seaman in the crowd told her a Royal Navy ship was coming into harbor. This was an opportunity for merchants to sell their goods at inflated prices. Some of them hurriedly loaded their goods into small boats and put out to greet the new ship.

Doris was able to get out on the pier where she had a better view. It was Aurora, her canvas coming off, and the anchor dropping.

There had been discontent when the crew of HMS Aurora learned they were bound directly for Cape Colony without any opportunity to touch land. Those men with families were especially upset that they were unable to send mail to their loved ones.

Mister Hardinger came into the captain’s quarters one evening to warn of this situation. Mullins remembered the mutiny in this same ship when hands thought they were being unfairly treated.

Deciding to take action rather than ignore it, Mullins went on deck and called the hands aft. He told them the reason for the voyage south was to insure word of Mister Dooley’s survival did not reach the wrong ears. He said that by the time the ship returned to European waters, that would be old news and no longer important, but for now, it was vital the news did not leak out.

Mullins, listening to the background murmuring, thought his words had not been especially effective. As he thought over his options, he saw one of the mizzen topmen whispering forcefully to one of the younger mids.

Trying to gather his thoughts, he called for that mid to come forward. Mister Whitbread stepped forward cautiously and reported. “Sir, Seaman Draymen is concerned because he has not seen his wife in two years and has not been able to send her a recent letter.”

Mullins nodded, then asked Drayman to come forward. “Drayman, I want you to know I regard you as a credit to the ship. I am sorry for your not being able to communicate with your wife. I want you and all others to understand I have been given orders forbidding us to speak any other ship or go into port before we reach Cape Colony.”

“However, I believe it will be necessary to touch at Funchal in Madeira. Some of that beef we took aboard in the Baltic is truly foul. I doubt if we can reach our destination with that food. Our prohibition against communicating with the shore still stands, but I will attempt to order provisions from a chandler in Funchal I have dealt with before.”

“I will attempt to avoid allowing any of our rumors to escape, and I hope you will assist me with this by not speaking of our past activities to any workman or bumboat person.”

“If you will do this for me, I will send the mail bag ashore on Funchal for shipment home. I regret to inform you that all letters will be read by myself or one of my officers to make certain forbidden subjects are not touched upon.”

As the ship proceeded southerly, they left the cold behind. Increasing numbers of ships were seen, but Mullins avoided all they met. Some might have been possible prey, from the French sugar islands, but he was in no position to take any prizes on this leg of his voyage. At length, the island of Madeira was sighted and next morning they stood into the harbor. Mister Hardinger was familiar with the harbor and they did not take on a pilot for reasons of secrecy. The ship came to anchor well out in the harbor to prevent as much communication with the shore as possible.

As soon as the anchor splashed down, the bumboats from shore began approaching the ship. Mullins ordered Marines into the launch and had it row around the ship, forcing the unwanted craft away from the ship. One persistent merchant, who after being repeatedly warned away and still closed the ship, was boarded and his merchandise thrown in the harbor.

The only boat permitted to approach the ship carried the port doctor who had come to insure no sickness was aboard. The officers went about the ship warning crewmen ahead of time not to speak about past activities. Mullins had previously had the mailbag inspected and sealed for its transit to England, and asked the doctor to inform the chandler of their need for salt beef and biscuit, if possible.

Later that day, the brightly painted boat of the chandler approached and took their order. When the business was complete, the merchant handed a sealed letter to Mister Hardinger. The first officer, presuming it to be an offer of a bribe of some sort, absently put it in his pocket to amuse the others in the wardroom at supper.

Midway through the meal, after drinking a bottle of wine, he decided to read the note, to see what the chandler was offering. It was with shock that he read the inscription, in a feminine hand, addressing the letter to Captain Mullins.

Hardinger, in a panic, left the table, and ran up to the cabin. Mullins and Hudson were both sitting at the desk, immersed in a pile of paperwork, some of which must be sent back to the Admiralty. Mullins answered the sentry’s call with impatience.

Mullins, who immediately recognized Doris’ handwriting, tore the letter open. He was shocked to find she, their infant and the housekeeper were in Funchal, desperate to see him. The letter stated they were waiting on the pier and would remain there until nightfall.

It was dusk now, with visibility rapidly fading. Mullins roared out orders summoning his boat crew. The men got the gig in the water, but found it leaked, from having been kept out of the water so long. No matter, Mullins promised the men another grog ration tonight, never mind a little water in the boat.

The men had already just finished their normal issue of grog, and several were clumsier than usual. More than a few caught crabs rowing toward shore. A dollop of water from the oar of a slightly inebriated crewman struck Captain Mullin’s best broadcloth coat.

As the boat approached the pier, one slim figure was seen leaping to her feet. Doris had seen the boat leave the ship and waved at Charles as soon as she recognized him. Mrs. Cooper, exhausted from the day-long vigil, lay on the filthy stonework, wrapped in her coat.

The boat crew helped the women into the boat, while Mullins took custody of the fretting baby. Doris began sobbing, almost hysterically, while Mrs. Cooper was barely able to remain erect on her thwart.

No words were said on the way to the ship. As soon as the women were hoisted aboard in a bosun’s chair, Mullins ordered his servant to get the women something to eat.

As he had had no inkling two women and an infant would be joining them, he was at first at a loss as to where they would sleep. That problem was easily solved. His own swinging bed was extra-large, hanging from the overhead. He assigned that to the women and his son, while he had Hudson sling a hammock in his office for him that night.