Winds of Folly (12 page)

‘I assure you, that is quite unnecessary.'

‘Perhaps they ply for 'im.'

‘I beg your pardon?'

‘They ply upon the 'arp for 'im.'

‘The what?'

‘The 'arp. They ply the 'arp. They ply for 'im, they sing for 'im.' She smiled fondly.

Nathan considered her carefully. ‘They want to sing for me?'

‘And ply the 'arp.'

‘You mean, all together?'

The Signora lowered her eyes demurely. ‘As the
Capitano
'e like it.'

‘No, no, I mean … That is not what I … No. One at a time is perfectly in …' He began again. ‘When you say the 'arp – the
harp
– I presume you mean the virginal, that you brought out of Leghorn?'

‘The 'arp, the virginal,
sí
.'

Nathan thought about it. A succession of young women tripping into his tent might be taken amiss by the other officers. And it would encourage some merriment among the crew at his expense, which might be very bad for discipline. Certainly Mr Duncan would consider it so. But a succession of young
ladies tripping into his tent with a harp – or even a virginal – that was surely a different matter. It might give Nathan a mild reputation for eccentricity but this in itself was no bad thing. Fremantle would be beside himself with envy.

‘There is a Handel Larghetto for flute and harpsichord which is a particular favourite of mine,' he mused, ‘but which I have not had the opportunity of playing in tandem, as it were.'

Strangely, and a little to Nathan's chagrin, the appearance of a tent at the tail end of the
Unicorn
and the succession of personable females who were to be observed entering and leaving it did not cause the stir he had anticipated. He detected a degree of awkwardness, or embarrassment, among his fellow officers, but as if by tacit agreement no reference was made to the evening ritual – which began at the commencement of the first watch of the night and ended about an hour later. Naturally he would not have expected a direct reference to the visits themselves – that would have bordered on vulgarity – but he had imagined there might be some comments about the music. Something along the lines of, ‘Was that Bach's Sonata in C major I heard last night – or something else?' Possibly delivered with the trace of an ironic smile. But there was nothing of the sort. Even the Angel Gabriel appeared indifferent to the arrangement, providing such refreshments as were required without question or quarrel.

As for the wider world, it either failed entirely to notice the proceedings or turned its back upon them. Even when anchored in the commodious bay of San Fiorenzo, each vessel close enough to its neighbour to permit conversation, there was no immediate indication that the diversions of the
Unicorn
's Captain had attracted the slightest interest, let alone censure, beyond the decks of his own ship.

Admittedly, there were other distractions. As Signora Correglia had predicted, there was a great rush to claim the available accommodation ashore, but once lodgings had been secured, the new tenants showed no inclination to remain there. Having staked their claim they returned with alacrity to their shipboard quarters. There were probably several reasons for this. One was the cool sea breeze, for the wind continued to blow mildly from the north and made shipboard life vastly preferable to the suffocating squalor of San Fiorenzo. Another was the company of their fellow Englishmen – and women. And then there was the entertainment.

Captain Fremantle had somehow acquired a seven-piece orchestra, which was to be seen and heard playing upon the fore castle of
Inconstant
most evenings, while the officers and their guests danced the night away in the waist, as gaily as at any Assembly Rooms in England. It was not unusual to see upward of a hundred couples engaged upon this exertion beneath the starry sky, with a multitude of coloured lanterns suspended from the frigate's yards.

Nathan felt that Fremantle had once again stolen his thunder. His performances upon the flute, even with the pleasurable accompaniment available to him, appeared paltry in compar ison. It was not until the fourth day of their stay in the port that the first signs of interest became apparent.

It was a Thursday – washday aboard ship – and the
Unicorn
was transformed into something more closely resembling a prison hulk in the Medway than a crack frigate. Great tubs of soapy water steamed upon the decks, each surrounded by a companionable crew of washermen, scrubbing and sloshing and wringing, while clothes lines were rigged fore and aft to accommodate the several hundred pair of duck trousers, shirts, handkerchiefs and smalls that constituted the normal slops of the crew of a sixth-rate. But this mundane picture of domestic
content was considerably altered by the appearance of items not normally associated with a ship-of-war, not at least in the service of His Britannic Majesty.

Given the nature of the convoy, articles of female apparel were to be observed on many of the vessels in the anchorage – washday being a universally observed phenomenon – but they were largely functional in their purpose and appearance, and those undergarments that were exposed to public view did not deviate substantially from the male variety.

They were nothing to the articles displayed aboard the
Unicorn
. Items of silk and satin and of the flimsiest lace that illustrated the true purpose of their manufacture. Items that would, as the Angel Gabriel put it, stir a eunuch to lust.

It certainly stirred something. On the two frigates and several of the larger transports, a number of officers could be observed training their telescopes on the objects in question before roving the
Unicorn
's decks in search of their former occupants. In the next hour or so, several ships' boats arrived at the
Unicorn
's larboard quarter upon one frivolous pretext after another, and towards the end of the forenoon watch Nathan was alerted by the cry of ‘
Inconstant
!' to the arrival of Captain Fremantle himself.

‘Well, I'll be damned,' he murmured as he gazed about Nathan's new quarters. His speculative eye took in the Oriental carpets, the embroidered cushions, the Benares brass tray with its selection of refreshment, the gilded virginal in the corner … ‘The Grand Turk ain't in it.'

‘Hardly up to his standards, Thomas. But unlike the Grand Turk we do serve hard liquor, unless you would prefer sherbet.'

‘Be damned to your sherbet. I will take a glass of Madeira with you, to assure myself you have not turned Musselman.' He settled his stout frame among the cushions, resting his
hands across his abdomen and viewing Nathan through narrowed eyes. ‘You know what they are calling you – the ship, that is? The
Seraglio
. What do you think of that? It means Harem, you know. The place the Musselmans keep their concubines.'

‘Thank you, Thomas, I know the meaning of the word.'

‘The
Seraglio
. Captain Nathaniel Peake of the frigate
Seraglio
.' He rolled about a little on his cushions.

Nathan shrugged. ‘I am glad it amuses you, but I think I prefer the
Unicorn
. Who are “they”, by the by?'

‘Too many for you to fight, Nat, so don't come the boyo with me. Besides, it seems damned appropriate, if you ask me, from where I am sitting.'

‘Whereas you consider the
Inconstant
is not?'

‘As to that, I have had my share of banter on that account. I take no heed of it. The ship was named long before I took charge of her. Though I have always thought it a damned silly name for a ship-of-war, now you mention it. Thank you kindly.' He took the proffered glass and looked about him again. ‘So this is where you entertain the charmers.'

‘I beg your pardon, this is where I
live
. This is where I sleep and eat and command my ship. Since you saw fit to impose “the charmers” upon me and deprive me of my proper quarters.'

‘I did not instruct you to surrender your cabin to them.'

‘And where else was I to put them?'

‘I would have thought the orlop deck would do, my dear, or even the chainlocker. They are only whores.'

Nathan choked back an angry retort. For all his familiarity, Fremantle and he were not the closest of friends. Nathan entertained strong doubts about him and not only for his attitude to women. ‘You did not call them that when you sent them to me,' he pointed out. ‘At least not according to the
arsewipe of a snottie you sent with them. You said they were the wives of serving officers, as near as damn it.'

‘Never in life, sir, never in life. You must have misheard the brat. Or he mistook my instruction.'

‘“They had formed so strong an attachment to certain officers that they deserved the same consideration as officers' wives.”' Nathan mimicked the piping tones of the midshipman. ‘That's what he said you said.'

‘Nonsense. I said nothing of the kind.'

‘And that is why I made my cabin available to them.'

‘Well, I am sorry for that, but you appear to have made the best of it. I wondered that you did not attend any of our evening revelries. Now I know.' He dropped his voice for fear of being heard by the Marine sentry at the flap. ‘So what's the score?'

‘I beg your pardon?'

‘How many have you had so far? I am told it is a different one every night.'

‘You must not listen to tittle-tattle, Thomas. It is invariably ill-informed. My commerce has been more with Bach than Eros.'

‘The Devil, you say!'

‘No, Bach, and some Handel. You must not suppose that we are all of your inclination when it comes to that sort of thing.'

Fremantle frowned. ‘What do you mean?'

‘Thomas. The whole fleet knows of your reputation for lechery. It was you who told me who to go to in Leghorn if I ever fancied a dolly.'

Fremantle had paled a little under his tan. He looked quickly round to check that they were private. ‘For God's sake, Peake, do not be saying that.'

‘Why not? Thomas, we all know you are led by the prick, you have boasted of it oft enough. I am sorry if I have offended
you,' he added, for Fremantle had turned from wan to scarlet and Nathan began to think he had gone too far. ‘But I had no idea you were sensitive on the issue.'

‘No, but – I have been a very rake in my time, I'll not deny it – but I have changed, Nat. I have put it all behind me.' His voice was hoarse, his skin sweating. He leaned forward and dropped his voice even lower. ‘I have found love.'

‘Bugger me,' said Nathan. ‘Where?'

‘Aboard
Inconstant
. Now there's a thing I never thought of.' His eyes became dreamy. ‘ 'Twas on
Inconstant
I became constant. There is a verse in that somewhere, Nat.'

‘Thomas, what are you talking about?'

‘I am telling you. I have cast aside the tawdry trappings of licentiousness. I have sown my wild oats and walk in fields of barley.'

‘Who with?'

‘Miss Elizabeth Wynne.' He pronounced it as if it were a saint. ‘Betsey. One of the Misses Wynne that we brought out of Leghorn. They are on the
Achilles
now, but we still contrive to see as much of each other as is possible in the circumstance.'

He gave a look around his present surroundings as if another possibility had just occurred to him.

‘I see.'

‘I don't think you do, Nat, not when you say it in that tone of voice. There has been nothing like that. Not the least impropriety. She has her father and mother with her, for heaven's sake, and her three sisters. Where was I to do it?'

‘There is always the orlop deck. Where you would have me put my whores, as you are pleased to call them.'

‘I will treat that with the contempt it deserves. You are speaking of the future Mrs Fremantle.'

‘You never mean to marry her?'

‘I do indeed, sir. I do indeed. For all that she's a Papist.'

‘A Papist? Is she Irish then?'

‘Don't be a fool, man. Irish, indeed. I may be 'sotted but one must draw the line somewhere. Her mother is Venetian. 'Tis where she gets her looks from, I suppose, for the old man is an ugly bugger. English, though, and a thorough gentleman. Turned Papist when he married which I'll not do, even for Betsey Wynne, for it would mean leaving the service. But I would burn for her, Nat, I'd burn in Hell for her. And she says I will – if I stay in the Church of England.'

‘A beauty, is she?'

‘Well, I would not say that. Not a beauty,' he replied thoughtfully. ‘It was not her looks that captivated me. Not but that she is not handsome.'

‘Handsome?' Nathan frowned. It was not a word he would have used of Sara, or anyone he might consider marrying, he hoped, though he supposed it might come to it if you were pushed. Fremantle was not being pushed, however.

‘But that is by the by. She has a wonderful heart, Nat, a wonderful heart. And such eyes.'

‘You have always been one for the eyes. And the heart.'

‘Now that is low, sir, very low.'

‘You have fallen for an honest woman then, at last.'

‘Honest as the day, Nat. And innocent as the dawn. You never saw such innocence, Nat. Eighteen years of age. And the light of love in her eyes.'

‘She returns your affection, then?'

‘The way she looks on me, Nat. The trusting, gentle …
adoration
in her eyes. You would have to see it to believe it. It makes me humble, Nat. I say, you're a bit stingy with the wine, you know, my glass has been empty these past five minutes or more. Much more of this and I will think you have turned Musselman. Thankee. Your very good health.'

‘To Miss Elizabeth Wynne. And your future happiness.'

‘Thank you, Nat. I can see you don't believe me, of course. But you always were a cynical sod. You never saw the romantic in me. Don't you ever think of marriage? What happened to that wench you brought out of France? Came swimming out to the ship with you? That was romantic. It was the talk of the squadron for a day or two. Did you pack her off again, or is she stowed aboard with your other charmers?'