The wedding was planned for May.
“I’d like to be a June bride, but that is too long. So May it’ll be,” Deborah had commented. It would take that long to get announcements and letters to the respective families. Anthony was torn about what to do in regards to his invitations. He didn’t want to offend Gabe or his mother by not extending an invitation. However, Maria would not want to be embarrassed by being present if Anthony’s mother were there. Knowing his mother, Anthony was sure she’d say something to insult Maria for being his father’s mistress. Another thought came to mind. Did Mother even know about Gabe? Anthony didn’t think so but wasn’t sure. How would he handle that situation? He intended to ask Gabe to be his best man and if mother came how did he introduce the two? “Mother, this is one of my lieutenants.” No, he’d not dishonor Gabe or his father in such a manner. One look and mother would know the truth. Father could never deny Gabe, Anthony thought. Well, I’ll warn Gabe and we’ll cross that bridge when we have to. However, in regards to Maria, what should I do?
I’ll leave it up to Becky, Anthony decided finally. Mother has been “ill” lately and it was possible she wouldn’t be able to make the voyage. If mother weren’t able to come, Becky would extend an invitation to Maria, encouraging her to make the voyage with Becky’s family.
Deborah and Anthony invited Gabe, Bart, and Dagan to dine with them the following evening. They wanted them to be the first to know of their plans. Deborah was apprehensive, but Anthony hushed her fears by kissing her lips.
“They all love you and will be happy for us,” Anthony said. “Just wait and see.”
Dinner had been served, and the men poked fun over Anthony’s getting fat on such fare. After a full meal and a succulent pudding for dessert, the men gathered on the porch to enjoy their pipes. One of the servants brought out a decanter of claret and fresh glasses. As the glasses were filled, Deborah walked out on the porch as if on cue. When the men stood up, Anthony looked at them…his friends…his family.
He cleared his throat and said, “Men, this is a special occasion for which you all were invited. I look on each of you as a very special part of my life. Some would say family. We in the Navy know it goes beyond family. Ties that bind us by both blood and battle have formed a union no landsman could fully understand. I have asked for another union, and Lady Deborah has graciously accepted my humble proposal. I…we…have invited you three here tonight to share in our joy before it is publicly announced.” Anthony looked at the men who stood before him, their mouths agape. Concerned about their acceptance he continued, “It’s been no secret how I feel about Lady Deborah.”
Before Anthony could finish, the men’s shouts and cries of congratulations interrupted him. “We have been wondering when you’d get enough wind in ya sails to ask,” Bart stated in his strong accent. All it took were those few seconds for Anthony’s words to sink in before the then reacted, as he knew they would.
Anthony pulled Lady Deborah near, enjoying the good-natured bantering to which the three men were subjecting their commanding officer.
“I knew you was smitten, Cap’n. Told Mr. Buck I did. I jes’ know’d it,” Bart continued.
Gabe turned to Lady Deborah and japed, “Are you sure, Madam? You don’t know him same as we do.”
Dagan surprised everyone. He used the end of his pipe to tap on his wine glass and get everyone’s attention. “Gentlemen,” he said, “A toast! To the commodore and his beautiful lady. May you always have fair winds and following seas.”
“Here, here,” they all said in unison as they drained their glasses.
Anthony was taken aback by Dagan’s manner, and his elegance. This was another side of this mysterious man he’d neither seen nor imagined.
Anthony then placed his hand on Gabe’s shoulders, surprising him. “Gabe, would you do me the honor of being my best man?”
That Gabe was moved was obvious to all. “Of course,” he muttered. “But what about Mr. Buck?”
Anthony looked directly into Gabe’s eyes as he responded. “Rupert is my first lieutenant and a dear friend. But you, Gabe, are my brother.” Then they all hugged, and Anthony suffered through Bart’s telling and re-telling of the incident where he’d had the cocked pistol in his pants pointed at his “wedding tackle.”
Later, after retiring for the evening, Anthony asked Deborah, “If the gun had gone off and I was ah…ere… crippled, would you still have agreed to marry me?”
“Huh,” was all she said.
A few days later, after the engagement had been made public, the bosun questioned, “Where you headed this time, Bart?”
“To help Lady Deborah pick out a wedding gift for the Cap’n, ‘iffen it’s anything to ya.”
The bosun snorted, “The commodore, you idget. Yew’s the cox’n and still calls him cap’n.’’
“That’s cause he’s still me cap’n-me and the lady’s cap’n, that is.”
“You and the lady’s? Yewed think ya was blood, family.”
“Oh, I is,” quipped Bart. “Jus’ ask the cap’n iffen ya don’t believes me. He’ll tell ya!”
Chapter Fourteen
The mail packet,
It was rumored that a senior admiral had held up sailing orders for an entire fleet until a mail packet commander could finish a particular juicy tale about a Member of Parliament coming home and almost catching his wife having sex with a young frigate captain. The lady in question heard her husband, who was much older, come puffing in the house and start up the stairs to their bedroom. The lady jumped out of bed and quickly put on a very revealing gown that left nothing to the imagination. She then stood in the doorway blocking her husband’s view of the room. During this time, the frigate captain hastily gathered up his clothes that thankfully were piled next to the bed. Scooping everything together he slid under the bed. As quietly as he could, he began to dress, paying particular care so he wouldn’t make any noise and thus be discovered. The lady made a valiant attempt to entice her husband to partake of her favors. After some coaxing, she was able to arouse the man to activity. The captain had to lie under the bed, which groaned under the weight of the lady and her husband. A great sag in the mattress gave the captain cause for concern, and he had to work his way to one side of the bed to keep from being pinned down between the bed and the floor. After a while the sounds from the two having sex and the constant groan and squeak of the bed lulled the captain’s senses and he dozed off. He was not sure how long he’d slept when a sudden loud sound awakened him. At first he wasn’t sure if it had been a loud snore or if one of the two above had expelled a resounding burst of flatulence. However, a certain foul odor started to permeate the air. The smell had been bad enough with the husband’s shoes not a foot away from the captain’s face. Now this new odor, combined with the shoes, was overwhelming. The captain, who had always suffered from a weak stomach, found himself gagging and couldn’t crawl from beneath the bed quick enough, spewing his gastric contents from the side of the bed, through the door and down the stairs. As the captain made his urgent departure, he woke up his lady friend who immediately set about cleaning up the mess. Her husband slept through the entire process. The lady thought she’d removed all signs of her lover having been present and therefore went back to bed.
“Did the old man ever become the wiser?” the admiral asked the lieutenant.
“Aye, sir. In the morning when he put on his shoes.”
Mail call had been passed, and men were gathering in little groups before the mail packet was out of sight.
