“I said, do you understand, Lieutenant? You have enemies, sir. One of them is this Colonel Grosland, who can do you damage on this island. But as long as you continue to fight against the damned Confederates as you have, I’ll not participate in the cheap assaults of parade ground puppets upon you. Now get out there and do your duty, and God speed to you.”
There was only one answer Wake could make to that kind of statement. “Aye aye, sir.”
Loethen slapped Wake on the arm and turned to his chief of staff.
“Morris, I am off to meet with the U.S. Attorney on that seizure the Spanish are acting so vexed about. Makes you wonder what the deuce they are really all about too. Damned Spanish grandees. As if we don’t have enough to worry about with the Rebels.”
Without waiting for a reply he swept out of the room, leaving Morris sitting at the chart table with a bemused look on his face and Wake standing in the middle of the room with thoughts swirling in his mind.
“Not what you were prepared for, I’m guessing, Mr. Wake. Am I correct?”
“Quite correct, Commander. I am a bit dazed, sir. Pleased but dazed.”
“Don’t be too pleased, Wake. The subject of your lady friend is well known to Colonel Grosland. He hates you, and she and her Rebel family are tools for him to use against you. There is blood in the water and he is a shark on the prowl. You are the prey. The admiral knows about Linda Donahue. He can only do so much, and he can’t protect you against yourself. Understood?”
“Yes, sir. But I am still confused about Admiral Bluefield and the disturbance and all of that.”
“Admiral Loethen heard about your exploits when the prizes came in from Deadman’s Bay last week. Was impressed by your initiative. Later he read the letters from Grosland and Bluefield. They arrived after he learned of your victory. A matter of timing, Wake. Pure luck, which this time was on your side. Next time you might not be so lucky. Think about that.”
“The prizes, sir. Did a bosun named—”
Nodding his head in agreement, Morris interrupted Wake.
“Rork was his name. Came in and made quite a report about your leadership. Admiral Loethen was not only impressed by what you did, he was impressed about the way the bosun spoke so highly of you. The admiral is an admirer of loyalty and those that inspire it. Remember that.”
“Thank you, sir. I will do just that.”
“All right then, you will receive your orders tomorrow noon. Reprovision, supply and water your ship. You will have three days personal liberty here, with permission to stay ashore, and then go back to the coast again. Possibly up to where you just were. I don’t know yet exactly where.”
“Aye, sir.”
“And Wake . . .”
“Sir?”
“I know what you probably thought of Admiral Bluefield. And me, for that matter. Just know this. Someday, since you have decided to make this a career, you will change from a volunteer to a regular officer and may very well rise to the position where you direct and are responsible for the lives of hundreds or thousands of men.”
Morris stood a few feet from Wake, fixing his eyes upon him with a sadness that was disarming. His tone echoed the look in his eyes.
“Loyalty to one’s commander can be trying, but it is the honorable thing to do. You spoke of honor this morning in regard to that drunken brawl you engaged in. I can assure you it is much harder when you’re sober and have to do it day in and day out for a man whose company you might not personally enjoy.”
Morris put his hand out and Wake clasped it, bowing his head gently toward the commander.
“Yes, sir, I understand that. I understand it even more now. Thank you, Commander Morris, and I am sorry for any problems I may have inadvertently caused.”
“Onward and upward, Lieutenant Wake. You have things to do. Remember what was said here—there are men, and not just army officers, who view you as an enemy or an obstruction. Don’t forget to keep a keen lookout astern. Now go, son.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
Wake made his way out of the admiral’s office, through the anteroom, and into the outer waiting room of the building. His ears were ringing and his head aching from the multitude of worries and hopes racing through it. The sun was blinding when he stepped outside, the heat radiating off the whitewashed stucco walls with ovenlike intensity. He moved over to the shade of a coconut tree and leaned one hand against it, pausing to think out what he had just heard and seen.
Bluefield, his obvious antagonist, was gone from the scene. Gone in a very odd way, too, suddenly, without recourse or delay. To Washington, where he would be among his own kind, secure in some staff position of rank and respect but without the command consequences of life and death decisions. A parlor admiral, Wake had heard someone say one night over a drink of rum at the Rum and Randy. The kind that can tell a good story to the ladies.
Morris, the man he had thought a lackey to Bluefield, was still here and not the person Wake had previously gauged him to be. Evidently not an antagonist, but maybe not a proponent either. Still, a man to be reckoned with.
Grosland was the one constant. His minor annoyance with Wake had escalated into a serious dislike, based on the perceived infraction of his ego. The fact that his opinion of Wake had gotten to Washington and been circulated enough that Loethen over in the Navy
