Free Any Approaching Enemy: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars by Jay Worrall

“Hearts of Oak” with similar results, but the effects of both were marginal, and he didn’t see how it would serve in the chaotic din of battle in any case. In the afternoon he had the crew practice in the rigging and on the falls for a change of pace. Significantly, no new sails were sighted on the horizon—no sign of Nelson, the other seventy-fours, or Pigott. Since it seemed unlikely that all of the larger ships would have vanished in the storm, he thought Bedford’s theory that they had gone on to Toulon increasingly likely.
    That evening, after his supper, he decided that it was past time for him to write to his wife. The two letters he had received from her at Gibraltar were as yet unanswered in the flurry of last-minute preparations to leave the port. He retrieved the envelopes from his desk, removed their contents, and carefully smoothed the papers out on his table. For a long moment he looked at her neat, precise handwriting. He could hear her voice in his mind and almost see her face before him, her soft, fawn-colored hair, her expressions and smiles and laughter. His heart ached as he picked up the first, which he had read many times before. It began:
    17th Day, first Month
Tattenall
    My Dearest Husband,
    It is less than one week since thou left for the sea and how I miss thee already.
    There was a lengthy paragraph in this vein that he read and reread, then read carefully once more. She went on that the weather had turned very cold, with much snow, and the land was a beautiful white as far as the eye could see.
How about that,
Charles thought.
    I have conversed with thy brother, John Edgemont, about purchasing a quantity of fodder, as some of thy crofters’ chattel can obtain little succor in the deep cover.
    That was considerate, if somewhat extravagant. It was like her to be concerned about the welfare of others. His brother would probably reluctantly approve, moderating the expense as much as possible. It would cost him, but little harm would result so long as his tenants didn’t come to expect it every winter.
    Toward the end of the letter, she mentioned, apparently as an afterthought,
    I have found no schooling for the children of thy crofters. From my inquiries, many lack even an elementary knowledge of their letters or sums. I am troubled about their advancement.
    What advancement?
Charles wondered. They were the offspring of the tenants on his estates and would replace their elders in time. That was their advancement, as it had been for countless generations and would be for generations to come. He decided not to worry unduly about it. His brother would see to it that she was restrained in her adventures and did nothing so extravagant as to build a schoolhouse or hire a tutor.
    The final paragraph returned to her affection for him and how she wished he were near, even referring to waking beside him and feeling his warmth. Charles read this over repeatedly. He sat staring at the words for some minutes. She had signed it:
    Thy loving and affectionate
Penny
    It almost made Charles’s heart break.
    The second letter was a little more difficult to fully fathom. Dated “14th Day, Second Month” (but without referring anywhere to Saint Valentine), it began with the familiar endearments and expressions of tenderness. He read these carefully. She went on about her plans for a school and the hiring of a schoolmistress to see to the crofters’ children’s betterment. Charles guessed that she had not yet spoken to his brother. He felt badly that she would be disappointed. She had evidently had discussions with her parents (her father owned a large water mill near Gatesheath), because she wrote of the need for a new mill located near his estates, to more conveniently attend the requirements of his tenants and the Tattenall community, and to ensure that all received fair profit for their produce.
    Charles shook his head in amazement. He didn’t know exactly, but he thought that constructing a mill would