Ms. Midshipman Horatia Hornblower

Chapter One – A Mermaid

Horatia Hornblower smiled, as she walked down the stairs in Greenfield Manor. It was a beautiful day outside, the sun had been shining for more than three days in a row and the flowers were blooming. It was the prettiest season of the year, and she was here at her parents' manor to see it. How lucky could a young woman be?

She looked around in the hall, immediately noticing that the doors leading out to the garden had been opened. She shrugged her shoulders. Her father and mother, Horatio and Maria Hornblower, had always been very fond of their garden, and Horatia had inherited the same passion.

But she knew that she had not inherited her mother's feminine beauty. As she walked across the hall to the tall mirror on the wall, she bit her lips and told herself; "You should learn to acknowledge yourself, Horatia." She feared the sight of herself. She knew what she would see, wide shoulders, long legs, brown hard-to-comb curled hair and dark-brown eyes. And she loathed that look. She would never make a fine wife, she had told herself several times.

She was startled when she heard footsteps in the hall. She turned around and spotted a man the same age as her father, but who looked much older. He had a firm, but gentle face with blue eyes and dark hair. Horatia immediately knew that it was one of her father's friends from his naval days on the brown oilskin coat and the naval hat under his arm.

He had too noticed her, and he bowed. "You must be Horatia. I have heard a lot about you from your father." He said as he finished his bow. Horatia noticed that he had a grave, yet not unfriendly voice. He had a familiarity to her grave yet still warm and open father. She smiled and nodded. "You must be one of my father's acquaintances." She replied and tried to remember some of the names her father had told her. But they seemed to have disappeared at the moment.

"Indeed I am, though I have not seen your father for years. The last time I saw him was in Portsmouth at Admiral Pellew's retirement celebration. But he told me a lot about you at that time. I am William Bush. Honoured to be at service." The man introduced himself, and Horatia laughed.

How could she have forgotten Mr. Bush, her father's best friend whom she had been told so much about? She had expected him to be a little more handsomely made, but he had the manners her father had been praising.

Mr. Bush laughed too after a while, and Horatia started to like him. "My father is outside in our garden. He will be overjoyed when I tell him you have returned, Mr. Bush."

And as Horatia had foreseen, her father was very happy to see his friend again. "William! I am very glad to see you here again!" he had said and smiled. Horatia looked at them. They seemed to have a deep understanding of each other; they spoke seldom, but greeted each other cheerfully. Her mother, Maria, was occupied with a book and did not speak until her husband was done exchanging civil greetings, and then she formally curtsied for Bush.

And now they had gathered around a round white table, where their servant, Harvey, had placed some tea, biscuits, bread and coffee. Horatia sat beside Bush, whilst her father sat beside her mother. "How is it being a commander, William?" Horatio asked whilst passing him a cup of coffee.

William smiled and accepted the cup. "I must say it is harder than I ever imagined it to be, but the Cucumber is as fine a vessel as you could ever imagine for a new commander."

Curious as she was, Horatia interrupted: "Are you newly promoted, Mr. Bush?" Her mother passed her a sharp look, but her father smiled at her. "Yes, Mr. Bush got promoted shortly after mine and Edward Pellew's retirement." Horatio replied, and William just smiled at her before he continued: "But I must say it is not the same without Admiral Pellew. Admiral Sterling is commanding us to be seven places at one time and at the same time he expects us not to touch our topgallants. I cannot see where we are heading." He said and took a sip of the coffee.

Horatia had been raised with the Navy and she wanted to make sure that Bush got the impression that Horatio Hornblower's daughter was not a landlubber. "Your Cucumber must surely be one of the new corvettes taken as prizes from the Spanish governor? I read about that encounter in the Gazette." She said, and she saw that Bush was impressed. His eyes had changed colour and he smiled. "I see you have a worthy heir to your title, Horatio."

Now Maria had to interrupt. "Our daughter is not going to be a mermaid, Mr. Bush." Horatia shook her head and helped herself to a cookie. She hated when her mother spoke like that. Horatio did neither seem too fond of the situation, and he asked: "Now, William, why do you not accompany Horatia for a walk? I am sure she has a lot of questions to ask you."

"I should be honoured, Mr. Hornblower." William replied.

They walked in the shade of the orange trees, Horatia asking a lot about her companion's past and Mr. Bush replying. "How long have you known my father, Mr. Bush?" she asked and looked at him. He looked back at her with a smile. "I have had the joy of knowing him for quite a while, Ms. Hornblower. We met at the HMS Renown, I serving as 2nd Lieutenant and he as 3rd Lieutenant.
I have always counted myself fortunate to have served beside him. He saved my life the very day I came aboard, not knowing who I was." He said and continued: "I had warmly welcomed the possibility of serving aboard the Renown. But it turned out I should not have rejoiced. We met with many troubles. But when I compare the troubles with the fact that I met two good men, I say they equalled each other."

Horatia nodded. "I believe that one of the men was my father. But who was the other one?" she asked. She sat down on a bench and offered Mr. Bush to do the same.

As he did so, he answered her question: "Archie Kennedy. Has Horatio not told you about him?" Horatia shook her head. "He has not. Though the name rings some kind of bell…" She knew that she was supposed to know who this Mr. Kennedy was, but at this moment she just could not come up with any idea to who he was.

Bush smiled at her. "Archie was your father's best friend for many years, Horatia. Even before I met them, they had this strong bond with each other. I could sense it right away; I felt that this was one friendship I would never penetrate. And I never wanted it that way.

Horatio once told me he treasured Archie so dearly because he had been there for him at the HMS Justinian, the very first ship he served on. Your father had a hard time adjusting to the naval life, and as I heard it, Archie helped him find his feet and learn his ways." He told her, talking in a clear warm voice and smiling. Horatia lightened up and spoke eagerly: "I would love to meet him, Mr. Bush! Where does he reside? Aboard the Cucumber, perhaps?"

The officer looked at her, his heart feeling two pounds heavier. "Alas, no, my dear Horatia, he does not. Archie died due to a severe wound he had tried to conceal from Horatio's and my eyes. I imagine you know about unattended wounds, having a father who has grown up with medicine." He gravely said. Horatia looked at him, nodding to herself. "I am very sorry on yours, his and my father's behalf. I am sure it must have been painful."

Bush smiled kindly. "I am sure Archie would have loved to see you. There is so much of Horatio in you, though I may now be in grave danger of being scolded by your mother." He said and laughed merrily.

She looked at her, not able to conceal her surprise. This man knew much about her beloved father, much more than he himself had ever told her. She was taken by all those new angles she had to view the man she held dearest to her heart in, and she was puzzled by all those things she had never imagined or thought of.

Bush sensed what she was thinking of, and he spoke up again: "Your father is a very modest man, Horatia. He is not fond of admitting either failure or success. But he has a determined good heart, and he has served his purpose in our Navy very well." She replied: "I know, Mr. Bush. He is not praising himself in any higher tone than he deserves. But I wished I had known these sides of him before you told me about them."

An hour had already passed. Time passes so quickly in good company, Horatia thought whilst looking at Bush. She felt like she had known him for so many years and she trusted him fully. Though it was probably only because of the fact that his father had trusted him, and therefore she should do so too. "Are there ever a chance for me to sail the seas, Mr. Bush?"

She spoke, already convincing herself of the possible outcome of this question. It was possibly a no. But being the honest friend of her father's, she knew that he would be the only person in the world whom you could confide in, and not having him telling your mother. "I should feel more comfortable with you staying here, Horatia." He answered gravely and looked away.

Horatia's temper caught fire at those words, and she looked at him with other eyes now. "So you are precisely like my mother! Seeing the entire world as a possession! How my father ever has seen something in you, I cannot imagine!" she furiously let out at him. Bush turned at her, unaffected by her explosion. Then he smiled; honestly and freely. "As one of the two godparents your father chose for you, I would never want you to set out on such adventures that could cost you your life, and me and your parents a terrible ache."

She almost forgot to be angry when she heard what he said. "So… You are my godfather, Mr. Bush?!" she said, not able to completely understand her own words. He nodded and placed one arm around her shoulders. "With no children of my own, I would never forgive myself if I gave you permission to go on such risky trip and you failed." He said.

She understood him. For him, she was all that he had. And now she just wanted to take off and risk everything. But did he really understand her? She had nothing here either. She felt like she had to go out and sail the seas to find out what her real purpose was.

"You mentioned another godparent," she mumbled after a few seconds. Bush nodded at her. "Indeed. Your father had originally planned that the other godparent would have been the only one you should have, but he changed his mind when he saw how very fond I were of you. It is Sir Edward Pellew." He told her, as if he expected her to know who he was.

But surprisingly enough, she did know about him. "I know his reputation. Mentioned as a fine man when he served in the Navy. But how come my father chose him?"

"I think it is time to ask your father for advice, Horatia." Bush closed the topic and guided her back to the manor.