Thank you RoseyMirror for joining us and reading the entire story that has been posted thus far in a couple of days, and your kind review. Thank you also, DimmDimms. I am getting emails of reviews, even if they aren't showing up on the website/app right now. I've seen other writers comment on the fact that they are not getting alerts, so if you don't see this and review it for a while, I understand.
53.
On the Hibernia, Mrs. Croft had dinner as usual with her husband and the officers. The conversation was lively, in part fueled by Admiral Croft's good humor in having his wife returned to him and in part from her lively conversation as she told them of her trip and getting the Wentworths married. Mrs. Croft gave the account with humorous asides, describing Tim's follies and how the Wentworths kissed too early in the ceremony. Later, she might tell poor Tim's tale, but this was not the night to do it. Sophia was in high spirits in anticipating an awaited conversation with her dear husband John once they were finally alone for the night, and the renewal of their bond through the physical embrace.
As Admiral Croft had diligently attended to all he could while his wife was away, there were no matters to be resolved and rather than socializing further with the other officers, they took themselves off to bed without delay. Admiral Croft, well practiced in stripping the clothes of his beloved wife, used his nimble fingers well and almost before she knew it, they were both bare and able to enjoy a romp in their shared bed. The time apart had fueled their hunger and they set about satisfying it forthwith. In the lull afterwards, before her husband could drift off in a satisfied sleep, Sophia snuggled close to him and said, "John, there is something I wish to tell you."
Admiral Croft wrapped his arms about his wife and asked, "Is it that you love me and missed me?" He kissed her brow. "I certainly missed you, my dear Sophy. The Hibernia might be the finest ship I have ever captained or at least the largest, but it is not the same without you on its decks, managing a million little things with such grace, and most importantly being by my side. But if this is the kind of delight we shall gain from a few days apart, perhaps it is not all bad."
"Of course I love you and did miss you," replied she, "but that is a given of course. There is something else I wish to tell you."
"Perhaps you wish to tell me that you desire more loving. I would certainly indulge you again immediately if I could. The heart and head are willing, but as I am not as young as I once was, I shall need to rest some more. Perhaps we might wake up a little early in the morning."
"My silly admiral," Sophia admonished, using a cupped hand to pull his face towards hers, so that she could kiss him soundly, "as much as you know I enjoy being with you, that hardly requires me to say anything, for I could just kiss you and touch you to show you what I want. I have no objection to more joy, but that is not what this is about."
"It is nothing bad, I hope? Will you tell me what it is?" He asked her more earnestly then, his eyes studying hers.
Suddenly reticent, Sophia lay her head back down on his chest, "John, I hesitate to raise your hopes, after what has happened before."
"Hopes?" John had an intuition as to what his wife wanted to tell him. "Do you mean . . . ? Can it be now, at the eleventh hour, when many of our age are now grandparents?"
"Yes, I believe so, the signs are there." Sophia confessed. "My courses have not come, and in the last few days I have felt disordered, even cast up my accounts while on the Song in port. Yet, I am almost afraid to hope."
"My darling," Admiral Croft crooned as he stroked down his wife's hair and back, "it will be wonderful if we become parents, but never forget that you alone are enough for me."
"You are too good," she replied, "but that just makes me wish all the more to make you a father."
"Well let us hope that this time it comes to pass. Now do you suppose anyone else suspects?"
Sophia pondered the matter. "I made a good show on blaming it on a meal we ate, and then once I believe I knew what was the matter, made sure to suck on ginger candies and keep a little something on my stomach. Mirabella, I am sure is familiar with the regular symptoms by experience, and Anne by her training, but neither has said anything. I suspect that Anne was too distracted by her wedding to reflect overly much on anything going to having to do with me. I do not want them to know, not now."
"Because you do not wish to have to tell them if in the end it is not born out?"
"No, because Mirabella might feel obligated to come with us, rather than with Anne. I think Anne shall need her much more than I do."
"And do you think that perhaps you might be better off on dry land for the duration?" He asked.
"Perish the thought. I cannot go without you nearly so long, and the best way to raise a sailor I suspect is to have one learn to crawl and walk upon a shifting deck."
Admiral Croft kissed his wife's forehead again. "I think I secretly am hoping for a daughter, a girl who is much like her mother."
"Well then, such early training shall make her ready to be a captain's wife" Sophia replied. "I do not see why we could not raise a daughter aboard."
They spoke for a long time, imagining what it would be like to be parents and when they fell asleep their dreams were sweet.
Meanwhile, Captain Wentworth's patience was tried in resolving all the matters which Lieutenant Benwick did not feel empowered to decide, and there were rather more of those than he would have expected. He wondered if Benwick was indeed ready for his own captaincy, or merely hesitated in making such decisions because he was not the captain. But shortly before midnight, Frederick finally determined that enough was enough, and that anything else could certainly wait to the morning.
Frederick entered his dark cabin quiet as a stalking cat, putting aside his duties as captain and becoming just a husband who was eager to return to his wife. He did not wish to disturb the women's sleep, but banged his foot on something that skittered away, which his dim lamp revealed was fortunately not one of the ship's mice or rats, but was instead the detritus of the dinner he had sent to the women, which they had stacked on a spot on the floor to the side of the floor. He felt a measure of frustration that telling someone to deliver their meal had not resulted in the dishes later being picked up. Why must he explain obvious details to his crew? He also noted that no one had thought to bring the ladies a table and chairs.
"Are you well, Frederick?" Anne asked quietly as she sat up in his bed, a hand holding the bedcovers in place. He noticed to his astonishment and delight that he could see her creamy shoulders, unencumbered by any nightgown, peeking out from the counterpane.
Hoping that Mrs. Holmes in her adjoining chamber was undisturbed by his entrance, he answered in a low voice, "Yes, quite, for my boot protected my foot quite well. I hope I did not wake you."
Anne yawned and confessed, "You did, but all is well, for I had hoped to remain awake until you returned, but I have likely benefited from a nap."
Frederick crossed to a spot near the foot of the bed, sat down on the bed and pulled off his boots, peeled off his stockings, and proceeded to divest himself of the rest of his clothing. He planned to begin as he planned to continue, and recalling how this morning, Was it only this morning? they had no shame in being bare before one another, and that from what he could see she had gone to bed sans bedclothing, well why should he not go to bed al naturale?
He put away the clothing he could wear again, but decided the shirt and stockings which he had worn the whole trip ought certainly to be laundered while they remained in port, and so put them in a bag for such a purpose. Once he was done with that, he doused the lamp and hung it from a hook by his bed which was designed for just such a purpose.
Frederick slid under the covers and found himself to immediately be embraced by his dear own wife, who was indeed as bare as the day she had been born. His reaction and the readying of his anatomy was of course most natural. Frederick prided himself on his good sense and not being ruled by his animal nature. Therefore, given what he had gleaned of women, he had the wherewithal to say, "My darling, I cannot help but want to be with you again, but perhaps you need a day or two to recover from all our activities."
Anne replied, "I believe I am well enough," and punctuated her statement by planting a searing kiss upon his lips. With a glad cry, Frederick proceeded to delight her and was thereby delighted himself, each trying to muffle their cries of pleasure knowing that Mrs. Holmes was so near.
The following day, Captain Wentworth was up and gone before Mrs. Wentworth stirred. A personal servant, the same one who had brought their meal the evening before, brought the women breakfast and at Mrs. Holmes's request, water for washing up and the smallest tub Anne had ever seen. At first she thought it was a joke, for it was scarcely bigger than a basin. Mrs. Holmes suggested that Anne should wash first, but given what she knew she had been doing, she insisted Mrs. Holmes go first.
The women could not help but laugh when they saw how Mrs. Holmes was obliged to use the tub. She could sit in the foot deep water if her legs were bent and her legs jutted out, or she could kneel outside of it, lean over, and dip her head inside. But she understood the advantage of bathing in as little water as possible, as fresh water was supplied from casks rather than from a stream or a well.
As was the practice of the time, each lady bathed in her shift, although Anne refrained from washing her bandaged feet. They helped each other to wash their hair, and to dry off with the flannels.
The women helped each other dress in the dresses that were better suited for land as it did not matter what they wore in the Captain's cabin. Mirabella did not want to leave Anne alone, and furthermore felt uneasy about venturing about the ship unaccompanied, so she remained with Anne. They got all their possessions stowed away, and fortunately Mirabella's possessions all fit in the storage under her bed.
The only thing they did not unpack was Anne's trunk which was filled with the supplies for her trade. Anne would not presume that Mr. Dash would want them in sickbay, or would even have the room to store them all, but she resolved to have someone bring the trunk with her the next day, for Anne was determined to not remain off her feet for more than the day Mr. Dash had specified.
The women were surprised that evening to hear a firm rap upon the cabin door that was unlike that of the servant and Anne did not think it belonged to her husband, either. It turned out to be Mr. Dash, accompanied by a boy who Anne was glad to recall was named Benny.
Mr. Dash examined Anne's feet and applied more salve, explaining to Benny and Mirabella what he was doing and why. He noted to Mirabella, "Doubtless you had occasions to tend to your soon in like manner," he turned to Anne and gently scolded, "if he was careless enough to let his feet get sorely blistered."
Mrs. Holmes replied, "No my son never blistered his feet so, but on more than one occasion I was obliged to remove splinters from my husband's fingers. When he was on leave he would set to making me furniture but the wood we had was often of poorer quality and his poor hands paid the price." She gave a little sigh.
If Mr. Dash did not like that the woman he was trying to court was sighing over her memories of her lost husband, he did his best not to reveal it. Instead he gently replied, "Splinters are often a problem on board, for all is made of wood and not all of it is in good repair. But in a battle, the cannons may shatter sections of the ship and send deadly splinters at any and all."
Mr. Dash of course did not know that Purser Perry had perished from just such an assault, and was perplexed when Mrs. Holmes teared up. It was left to Anne to explain, "Mrs. Holmes just lost her second husband weeks ago in just such a manner."
"Truly, I am sorry," he said to Mirabella, but if she heard him, she gave no sign of it. Feeling awkward and out of sorts by his error, he changed the topic and confirmed that Anne was indeed fit to be on her feet on the morrow, so long as she kept them wrapped and wore her softest slippers.
He would have left then, but Anne asked, "Mr. Dash, do you have time to tarry for a few minutes? I should like to talk to you about where I should store my medicinal supplies."
Intrigued, they examined her trunk together. Anne had many stoppered bottles which were carefully labeled. They contain dried ingredients, common salves and tinctures which stored well, her journals which contained her notes from training with the Robertsons', and published texts of medical knowledge. Mr. Dash kept up a running commentary as he took out items one-by-one, returning each after examining it. Both Mrs. Holmes and Benny were sadly lost for most of it, for he did not take the time to explain to them their significance, for he was focused on discussing things with Mrs. Wentworth as a colleague.
Captain Wentworth returned in the middle of this and was not particularly pleased. There was nothing improper, of course, for they were not alone, but he could not like how easy they seemed with one another upon such a brief acquaintance, Anne with her feet bare but for the bandages.
Earlier, Mr. Dash had most properly informed Captain Wentworth that he planned to see to Mrs. Wentworth in their cabin to see how Mrs. Wentworth's feet fared, and of course he had given his permission, but what in theory seemed only appropriate and right, well it bothered him more in the seeing of it. If Mr. Dash wished to court and marry Mrs. Holmes, well it could not come quickly enough to please Frederick.
Of course Anne leapt up and welcomed her husband and Mr. Dash and Mrs. Holmes greeted him as well (Benny did not, he was too in awe of the captain to say anything). That put an end to their discussion but for Mr. Dash saying, "Have a servant bring the trunk to me on the morrow, and we will determine then what we have room for in sickbay."
When he left, Frederick told them, "I thought it might be pleasant to dine with the two of you tonight. Even now, a table and chairs are being fetched and dinner will soon follow."
Soon the women found themselves seated at a very small folding table upon folding chairs which had no backs. Anne was observing a theme that everything aboard ship was as small as it could be and still serve its function. She had thought things were small on the Hibernia, but they were relatively larger there, as the ship was, too.
As had happened on the night before, there were no serving plates (not that they could have fit upon such a small table), and an assortment of food was already on each plate. The table was so small, that Frederick was obliged to sit a little separately from them with his own plate upon his lap, although his wine glass was perched on the table.
As they ate, Frederick regaled them with the latest news of all that was taking place upon the ship. He explained that the tasked men who were sent to the shore earlier had all returned with ample food and drink, and even now the sailors were probably toasting to their good health as they made merry. "And should you not be there, too, to celebrate with your men?" Anne inquired.
"And leave my new bride on her own? Certainly not. Perish the thought."
Frederick also revealed that he had seen Admiral Croft that afternoon and learned that he had the Weevelforth men attend him on his ship two days prior, to tour the ship. "Naturally the younger Mr. Weevelforth had asked after you, Anne, but Admiral Croft put him off, explaining that you were indisposed."
"Indisposed, indisposed?" Anne replied, laughing.
She leaned over to Mirabella and whispered in her ear, shy about discussing such things freely with her husband "He probably thought I was having my courses." Mirabella smiled in amusement and Frederick smiled too, having an inkling of what they were probably discussing.
Anne sat straight again and said to the both of them, "I suppose, though, traveling elsewhere on a little merchant ship to marry you might qualify as indisposed. And we were certainly 'indisposed' on our wedding night." The Wentworths exchanged a heated look.
Frederick explained, "Admiral Croft was determined to keep your secret and what else could he say? By and by, all of us are to dine with the Weevelforths on the morrow. Although how I am to pretend that you are not my wife, well that shall be a challenge indeed."
"Yes," said Anne, holding up her ring that was lately Mrs. Holmes's ring.
"I suppose I shall have to borrow it back," Mrs. Holmes suggested.
"Yes, indeed," Anne agreed. "Do not let me forget to return it to you for the evening."
The next morning, the women visited sickbay and Mr. Dash did his best to incorporate any ingredients and remedies that he did not have on hand into the spare space he had for his stores which he could lock away, but less than half of Anne's supplies fit there. As for the books, they traded so that he might read one of her and she one of his. Anne was obliged to keep the rest of her supplies in the captain's cabin.
Fortunately, Frederick had a cabinet that locked, which was just large enough to contain the ingredients, and he had some shelves with webbing across them to accommodate her books. Their trunks had been taken elsewhere on the ship to be stored for when they might next need them.
A/N: Up next, dinner with the Weevelforths. How do you suppose that will go, and could any of the Wentworths' new friends help?