Allison allowed his bent leg to drop from the wall. The sole of his shoe swung down to scrape the ground in the manner of a frustrated child. It was likely Suggs already knew the answer and it shouldn’t even be necessary to broach that subject again. He had ample time during their layover in the dockyard to tell him everything he and Caldwell had discussed on their way back to the island. His arms remained crossed as he leaned against the wall while looking upward thoughtfully at the darkened outlines of the hillocks and headlands that cradled the harbor.“Yes, it’s the concerns about Gambles again,” he admitted with a sigh. “Everything is circumstantial, it’s true, but I’ve said it before, a man in his position stands to do a colossal amount of harm if he is in fact compromised. His wealth and influence give him a very long reach which means that our being here essentially puts us on his very doorstep – and yet we haven’t heard a thing from him. Indeed, it makes any precaution of li

The following morning, Allison sat alone in his cabin. Alex had just cleared away the remains of his half-eaten breakfast which he hadn’t had the appetite to completely finish. The events and revelations of the previous night had not only filled him with enough consternation and dismay to affect his stomach, but had also caused him a nearly sleepless night. Bleary-eyed, he leaned on his elbows, bent over his desk while staring, somewhat vacantly, at both the French signboard Gambles gave him and the brass bell he had retrieved from the remains of LaTour’s floating ruse.Sounds of ongoing work on the decks above could still be heard as the last of the repairs his vessel required were being finished by the crew. Midshipman Hardin had been sent below a short time ago to let him know that Gallant was making preparations to get underway and begin her transit to Kingston. Having nothing further to report to his commanding officer, Allison was more than happy to see the hopelessly disagre

Talbot, who smiled triumphantly at Stanton’s discomfiture, was a distant relation of a noble English family of the same name, with ancestors who fought in France alongside Henry the Fifth and went on to become the Earls of Shrewsbury. Aspiring to a knighthood and proud of his smattering of noble blood, he let it show in his appearance. Shining gold buttons on his coats and waistcoats displayed the lions rampant and lions passant recognizable from his family arms. He had a full head of curly hair, cut short, that he saw no need to cover with any wigs and which only betrayed the slightest hints of gray at his temples. One could tell that when he stood he would have been of a height with Scott.“You do all realize,” Talbot now said, “that His Excellency will not allow the charges you make to be brought before the court, nor will he conscience the reparations you seek to be taken from Mr. Thorpe’s estate.”“We’ve given you evidence!” stated Mr. Hargrove, an assemblyman, and by far the old

“And if they don’t?” Talbot asked him. “For all we know one of our own peers on the council could have had a hand in what transpired. We’d be foolish to deny that certain individuals were extremely jealous of the favor Thorpe enjoyed with His Excellency, you know that.”“And you already know the inherent difficulties that course of investigation would entail,” Peele reminded him.Talbot grunted in frustration. “Perhaps old Hargrove was right when he suggested that Anne wanted her own husband dead. For all we know, it’s as good a theory as any,” he said.“Let’s not allow our vexations to get the better of us, shall we, Gilbert?” Peele interjected.“Perhaps this talk of traitors and plots has us ‘hunting witches’ after all,” Fenwick commented.After a short pause, Talbot spoke up.“Your contacts in the Royal Navy, what of them?” he asked Peele.“I’ve had no communication since they left, though I imagine there’s no real reason for me to expect anything at the moment. Let’s not allow the

Allison knew the quality of his volunteer crew and that such lines of questioning for warrant officers like the master-at-arms were perhaps wholly unneeded. Still, it was a way of showing concern for his men that conveyed his good will while not betraying any undue sense of acquaintance or familiarity that could be seen as inappropriate for an officer in his position. Given his sympathetic leaning toward the plight of the common sailor, it was only logical and fitting. Yet, something in Allison ’s mind caused him to wonder if doing small things like that weren’t actually in fact selfish actions – token gestures meant only to ease his own conscience when it came to the harsh realities of the men’s lives. Perhaps something in his nature did find a form of reassurance in showing due regard for the hands entrusted to his command; but this was no different from his respectful treatment of the officers or his engagement in the education and seasoning of the midshipmen. Commanders of lesser