Jenni Fletcher - An Unconventional Countess

‘Sebastian loves the navy, too, but I wish he might come home for a while. The last we heard his ship was somewhere off the coast of South America, but I’m afraid of another big sea battle.’

‘It’s extremely unlikely. Napoleon doesn’t have enough ships left to risk another naval assault and it’s doubtful he’d want to anyway. Trafalgar was the longest day of my life, but at least the victory was decisive.’

‘You were there?’ Her head spun towards him so quickly he almost jumped. ‘Is that where you were injured?’

‘Yes.’

‘You called it a skirmish !’

‘A big skirmish.’

‘A big...’ She stared at him with an expression of bewilderment mixed with curiosity. ‘I read that you were outnumbered. Thirty-three French and Spanish ships to twenty-seven British.’

‘That’s right. More than forty thousand men, all told.’

‘What was the name of your ship?’

‘The Colossus .’

‘But I’ve heard of that!’ Bewilderment turned to outright amazement. ‘It was in the middle of the action.’

‘Yes, unfortunately. Our yardarm locked with that of the Argonaute . We were trapped together for ten minutes before the sea swell drove us apart.’

‘And then the Swiftsure surrendered to you?’

‘Eventually, after we gave her a full broadside.’

‘ And the Bahama . You destroyed her mainmast.’

He lifted an eyebrow. ‘You know your sea battles, Miss Fortini.’

‘I don’t see why a woman shouldn’t read about such things as well as a man.’

‘Neither do I, especially when that woman has a brother in the navy. Ask me anything you like.’

‘All right.’ She paused as if to gather her thoughts. ‘What was the battle really like? The reports all make it sound so well ordered, but how do you stay in formation?’

‘With many hours of practice, although what Nelson did at Trafalgar hasn’t been done often before. Instead of the fleets facing each other, he divided ours into two columns. We cut through the enemy line instead of confronting them head on. It took them by surprise and gained us the advantage.’

‘Did you know you were winning?’

He shook his head. ‘At close quarters, it’s hard to see anything that’s happening beyond your own ship. There are shards of timber and metal flying all around and you can’t hear because the boom of so many cannons drowns out everything except the ringing inside your own head. You’re aware of men shouting and screaming, but you can’t make out the words. Meanwhile, the smoke burns your lungs so that you can’t answer back, either. Most of the time, you’re just fighting to stay alive.’ He stopped, afraid that he might have said too much, but she seemed to be hanging on every word.

‘It must have been terrifying.’

‘It was. A few other words come to mind, but in essence they mean the same thing. Being responsible for so many lives is frightening enough, but I believe that every man is terrified going into battle. There’s always the chance that you won’t make it out again, but there’s no use in showing it or giving in to the fear, either. And being with your crew and part of the fleet gives you courage.’

‘Sebastian said something similar in one of his letters. He said it was like having a second family.’

‘That’s true. At sea, we all depend on each other for survival. You have to rely on your men to do what they’ve been trained for.’

‘Did the fighting really last three hours?’

‘It did, then the weather that night nearly finished us off. We were in a poor enough state after the battle, but the storm was even worse. Many of us spent the night on deck, waiting to see if we’d be scuppered on the rocks. A number of ships didn’t make it to morning.’

‘And you’d lost your commander.’

‘Yes.’ He clenched his jaw at the memory. ‘During the battle, Nelson refused to go below deck for safety. He wanted to fight alongside us and he said the men needed to see him. Unfortunately a French sharpshooter in the rigging of the Redoubtable saw him, too. The musket ball entered his left shoulder.’

‘It was a great loss.’

‘It was. I remember when we got word of what had happened. The whole fleet fell silent. We’d won, but it felt like defeat.’

‘Maybe all battles feel like that in the end.’ She sounded pensive as they emerged out of the trees and on to a wide pathway leading up to a stone pavilion. ‘It all seems like such a terrible waste.’

‘It was. Thousands of men died that day. The waves were red with...’ He stopped mid-sentence. ‘My apologies. I shouldn’t have said that.’

‘Why not? Because I’m a woman?’ She gave him a pointed look. ‘There’s no need to apologise, Captain Delaney. I like to be told the truth, not be sheltered from it. I appreciate your honesty and...’ she hesitated and then stopped walking again, folding her hands tightly in front of her ‘...if you were to hear any news of my brother’s ship, good or bad, I would appreciate hearing about that, too.’

‘Very well. If I hear anything, I’ll be sure to inform you.’

‘Thank you.’ She cleared her throat, turning her head to watch a squirrel as it ran about on the lawn beside them. ‘I believe I owe you an apology, Captain.’

‘I don’t think—’

‘But I do,’ she interrupted him firmly. ‘I behaved rudely towards you earlier. I made certain assumptions about your character, but I was mistaken. I had no idea what kind of a man you really were.’

What kind of a man...? Samuel froze, struck with a fresh pang of guilt. ‘I’m not sure I understand you, Miss Fortini.’

She made an apologetic face. ‘When you came into my shop earlier I assumed that you were just another bored, indolent member of the aristocracy with too much time on his hands. I didn’t believe that you were really there to buy biscuits for your grandmother. I thought that you had an ulterior motive. Now I know I misjudged you. You’re a gentleman who also works for his living, a man of purpose and honour and bravery.’

‘Ah.’ Samuel rubbed a hand around the back of his neck. Under other circumstances he might have been pleased by such a heroic portrait, but it was hard to swallow when she’d been right the first time. His earlier behaviour had been decidedly un heroic.

‘You don’t like the aristocracy, Miss Fortini?’ He decided to focus on a different part of her speech.

Black lashes fanned over her cheeks as she dipped her gaze evasively. ‘I’m sure there are some perfectly fine examples of gentlemen among the upper classes, but in my experience not many. Take your friend.’ Her lip curled with distaste as she glanced towards Ralph. ‘His sole purpose in life at the moment seems to be the pursuit of my friend.’

‘I thought she was your employee?’

‘Can’t she be both?’ Her gaze shot back to his. ‘Sir, you accused me of being direct earlier so I won’t mince words. I believe that we both know what he wants from her, and that when— if —he gets it, he’ll abandon her as he already has countless others, I’m sure. I’ve lived in Bath my whole life and I’ve seen it happen more times than I can remember. Gentlemen may visit for the Pump Rooms, but they find other ways to pass their time and they see women like us as fair game. That’s the reason your friend feels entitled to call into my shop whenever he feels like it without buying anything, why he thinks it acceptable to ask Henrietta to walk without a chaperon, too. He would never behave in such a way with a lady.

‘Well, she is not fair game, Captain. She’s eighteen years old and far too sweet-natured to understand what he really wants and, if you’re truly a man of honour as I believe you to be, I beg you to dissuade him from pursuing her.’ She took a step forward and placed a hand on his arm, her tone entreating as her fingers curled gently around his wrist. ‘No good can come of it.’