The Southern sun's brightness made the shade all the deeper in the lush Portuguese gardens attached to the handsome home of Ambassador Praiswater and his family. His daughter Molly, nearly an old maid at twenty, stood flustered with one her guests. She had organized her father's dinner party, so the officer had come to her for assistance.

"I'll see what I can do, Major Dundee. I'll try to find someone willing to change tables," the plump young woman said, smiling apologetically at the kilted officer leaning against the palm, fanning himself with his place card.



"May I be of assistance, m'um?" asked a young naval officer who walked confidently toward them across the marble flagstones that surrounded the splashing fountain.

He was tall and slender, his body supple as a willow wand as he bowed to the lady. When he swept off his bicorne hat, a cascade of shining dark brown curls fell onto his wide brow. His eyes twinkled. His generous mouth curved in a bright smile that promised rescue to the young woman.

The Scotsman frowned. "I don't believe we've met, laddie."

"Horatio Hornblower, sir, lieutenant on His Britannic Majesty's Frigate Indefatigable. Captain Pellew's ship.

"Aye, Sir Edward Pellew. A fine man. So, you're one of his?"

"It is my honor, sir, to be newly commissioned one of his lieutenants. Since the French began their bloody rebellion, I've served on the Indy. Most recently, we saw action near Gibraltar. But, enough of such talk. How may I assist you, Miss Molly?"

"It is a problem concerning the seating arrangements, sir." Molly said, at a loss to explain more without embarrassment.

Major Dundee interrupted, "My wife, you see sir, and I have been seated next to someone with a reputation for violence. He is somewhat new to the officer class and lacks your obvious education.. The newly gazetted Captain Richard Sharpe was raised from the ranks while serving in India. Now, he has just returned from that catastrophe in Almeida and I'm afraid he will behave poorly at a genteel function such as this. I wish to spare my dear wife any embarrassment."

The young naval officer listened intently to all the Scotsman had to say. He scratched his smooth, strong jaw and tilted his head a bit to the side, considering his answer. Then he smiled broadly again at the young lady.

"I would think that violence is a necessary part of a soldier's life," he began, frowning a little in a disarming way. Then nodding, he went on. "Still, you are right to shield your wife from such things. I will happily change places with you. Anything to make this lady's tasks less of a burden and your wife more comfortable. She will adore my Captain Pellew. And, I'm sure Sharpe has manners no worse than some of my shipboard companions."

"Done, then. Thank you, sir." Major Dundee slapped Horatio's back as if he'd just purchased a prize steer at the market.

The naval officer nodded his head, his dark curls dripping into his deep brown eyes. The young lady's sapphire pair rested intently upon her rescuer.



After Major Dundee reentered the home no doubt to rejoin his delicate wife, the young woman smiled adoringly at the naval officer. "You have rescued me, sir. You have my undying gratitude."

"Then I beg a favor from you, m'um," Horatio whispered. "a place to relieve myself... That was my original intent for visiting your lush gardens."

Her eyes widened like the azure sky above them. "Oh! Of course sir. This way."

The girl blushed prettily and led the young officer down the deeply shaded path into the wild undergrowth of the garden's edge. Horatio felt himself near bursting. He hurried with his trousers. At the moment the stream hit the base of the tree, he did not worry about the young woman who stood with her back to him only a few feet away. He sighed. Then he turned back to his little hostess, completely embarrassed by his bodily needs.

"I must beg your pardon, m'um," he said, his face feeling even warmer than he expected in the heat of the summer day.

"Oh you needn't worry, sir. I have four brothers. Two younger, Two older. I'm used to their ways. This is one of their favorite places. For more practices than watering the trees, I'm afraid to say. You see, it is quite sheltered from eyes peering from the house."

Horatio wondered if the girl hinted at an invitation. He had already noticed her bosom rising and falling with her quick breaths, nearly spilling over the lace at the upper edge of her tight bodice as they walked the woodland path. Her light brown curls fell about her strong shoulders. Her little hands swept it back from time to time, giving him a rare view of the nape of her long neck.

"I'll not pry to discover how you know of these things," Horatio said smiling brightly trying to remember to act like the gentleman his Captain Pellew expected him to be.

"My mother lost her last baby and from that day on kept to her bed until her death. My brother George, the oldest, ordered me to watch our little brothers Ross and Oliver. I often spied them down here and when I threatened to tell Father, they told me all they'd seen of George and James. Really, sir, nothing embarrasses me anymore."

"I'm glad," Horatio said, deciding to turn the conversation to topics less warm. "It took me a long while to feel comfortable on our ship. Cramped for space, we sleep like a pile of puppies most times, our hammocks bumping our neighbors. In fact, once my friend Archie had a fit in the night. He tumbled onto me luckily, rather than the floor. Privacy, you see, is only for the captain in his cabin."

Molly looked him in the eye. Her head tilted to the side just a little. She pressed closely and whispered, "Do you enjoy the company of men, sir?"

Horatio stepped a pace back as if startled by her question, unsure of its real intent. "Of course, m'um. One must learn to like it in the navy."

"So, your friend Archie, is he here with you?"

"No, m'um." I'm here with Captain Pellew."

"I see."

They walked in silence a few more minutes, breathing the moist warm perfume of the Ambassador's tropical plants. Then it was time to return to the house for dinner and the meeting with Richard Sharpe.

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