Commodore Kilburnie: A Novel

by MacK, William P.

• ISBN13: 9781557504807
• ISBN10: 1557504806
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
New Beginnings	1	(5)
Moving to London	6	(11)
Dinner at White's	17	(9)
The Daring and the Dashing	26	(12)
Under Way	38	(9)
The First Battle of Copenhagen	47	(16)
Secret Plans	63	(8)
Espionage	71	(9)
Capture of the Mystere	80	(8)
Promotion	88	(8)
Rendezvous with the Diligent	96	(7)
Sneak Attacks	103	(9)
The Battle Goes On	112	(6)
Farewell to Lord Satterfield	118	(9)
Essex's Retirement	127	(5)
Dinner with the King	132	(9)
Deserters	141	(8)
Interrogation	149	(7)
A New Captain	156	(8)
Nelson's Return	164	(11)
Carlita	175	(5)
On Patrol	180	(6)
The Battle of Trafalgar	186	(6)
Future Plans	192	(7)
Retirement	199	(4)
The Funeral	203	(5)
Family Life	208

Excerpts

New Beginnings

Captain Fergus Kilburnie, Royal Navy, pushed back in his chair and stretched carefully. He had been napping on his front porch, catching the full sun of a cool Scottish fall. He noticed that the creel of salmon he had caught that morning, which had been at his feet when he fell asleep, was gone. The cook must have picked them up to prepare for lunch.

A handsome Scottish naval officer, Fergus was accustomed to much more activity than he was presently enjoying. But he had suffered serious injury months before as captain of the Imperious . When his ship was wrecked in a violent storm in Donegal Bay, Ireland, Fergus was nearly given up for dead. Although now nearly recovered, and ready to return to Navy service, he still followed his doctor's prescription of exercise and an evening tot of rum for the lingering stiffness.

Finally Fergus awakened fully and stretched his six-foot frame again. He heard footsteps and saw Shannon coming up the stone terrace. She was still the beautiful young woman he had met so many years ago in Ireland, then lost, found, and wed. Her long, red hair glowed in the sunshine, and her full figure strained against her expensive London frock.

When she realized he was awake, Shannon grinned warmly, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "Well, my sailor, I see you are ready for lunch. While you have been sleeping, the cook has poached your salmon. I just came out to call you and the girls."

"Where are they?"

"Down in the stream. You know, they're quite disappointed you didn't take them fishing this morning. Mary says they are too old to keep using pins and string. And you know Margaret echoes whatever Mary says."

"Yes, I was fishing by their age. And soon they'll be in school and we'll have no time for fun."

"And you'll have a command again. Have you heard from the Admiralty since you wrote to tell them you were physically fit for duty and wanted a command as soon as possible?"

Fergus stirred lazily and stretched again. "Not yet. But I'm ready for deeper water than the salmon stream."

"You'll hear soon enough. Let's go get the girls and have lunch, my dear."

The noontime meal was interrupted by a shout from the kitchen. The cook, always with an eye on the approach road, called out, "Ma'am! Three men are heading this way. They're riding horses and leading several others. I've never seen them before."

Shannon leaped up excitedly. "It must be Liam Shaughnessy with my horses from Ireland!" Dessert was forgotten as Shannon dashed outdoors, Fergus and the girls following.

Even before the riders reached the little family, Shannon cried out, "Liam!"

The handsome young Irish lad smiled, his dark eyes shining. He quickly dismounted, took off his cap, and nodded at Shannon's greeting. "How do you like the horses, ma'am?"

"They look wonderful, Liam. They made the trip just fine. And how are you?"

"Thank you, ma'am. The horses were better sailors than we were, but we've all recovered."

Shannon looked behind Liam at the other two riders, now gathering the horses and tying their lead ropes to nearby trees. "Who are your helpers?"

Liam laughed. "I guess you don't recognize them. You know them both."

The two took off their caps as they walked toward Shannon, and she could see that they weren't men, as the cook had said, but a very young man and a woman.

Shannon gasped. "Is that Ellen? Wasn't she in training to be a housemaid? She's as pretty as ever, though last time I saw her she was just a stick of a girl."

"Aye, she was," Liam said, "and only twelve when you left. She came out to the barn whenever she could, and your father kept chasing her back. Now that he's gone, God rest his soul, she's out there with me all the time. First she said it was just to see the horses ..." He smiled shyly and bowed his head.

"Will you be sending her back?"

Liam answered quickly, "Oh, no, we both want to stay here, get married, and work for you, if that's all right."

Shannon laughed. "Yes, that's fine. Don't worry, I'll make sure everything is arranged."

Fergus cleared his throat. "That's fine with me, too. We'll be leaving for London soon, so you can stay in the big house. I'm going to have to get a crew from town to build a horse barn and paddock for the new horses anyway; I'll just have them build a small cottage, too." He motioned toward the younger riders. "Now, tell me, who is that boy?"

"That's Patrick Egan. He was even younger than I was when you left, and just a sprout around the place. He's a good carriage driver and would be happy to work for you, too. You can see he's only about the size of a jockey now, but strong enough to handle four horses and a large carriage, and he's growing fast."

Fergus looked at Patrick and liked him instantly. "How about London?" he said to the boy with a smile.

Patrick grinned back. "Aye, sir, I'd like that."

Shannon laughed. "Well, that takes care of all of us. Now stake the horses out well so they can get some good Scottish grass. When you've finished, come into the house and ask the cook to give you some poached salmon and a place to sleep upstairs tonight."

Liam's eyes widened. "You mean the farm hands get to eat poached salmon?"

"Yes. We have it almost every day."

Patrick beamed. "I might change my mind and ask to stay here."

"Don't worry. I'll see that you eat well in London, too," Shannon replied.

At supper that night, Shannon asked Liam for a report on her family's business in Ireland, She had inherited estates from both her father; Lord Inver, and her first husband, Lord Malin, but hadn't been back to Ireland for a while.

Liam shrugged. "Since your father died, his estate has been under the care of an old Irish farmer who does his best, but he is far too old to keep up with the young workers. He needs lots of help."

Fergus thought a moment. He said to Shannon, "You know, I met a young Scot in the village yesterday. He was graduated recently from Edinburgh University in agriculture. He was telling me that he has six older brothers so there is no place for him on the family farm. I will try to arrange to bring him out tomorrow so you can meet him. Maybe we can send him over to Ireland to take over the estate."

Liam, still busy eating a large piece of salmon, nodded eagerly without opening his mouth. When he could talk, he said, "That sounds good. There aren't any overseers in Ireland near us. Can you tell me why so many Scots leave their country to go to Ireland to run estates?"

Fergus sighed at the question. "Scots are cash short and have plenty of skilled manpower. They go to Ireland to earn money to pay the taxes and other expenses so they won't have to sell their estates at home."

Shannon nodded in agreement. "Now tell me how the Malin estate is doing, Liam."

"Well, your late husband kept it in excellent shape. It still supports a large string of racehorses he put together. Sometime soon you'll need an overseer to run it."

"Thank you, Liam, I'll think about that," Shannon said and passed him the plate of salmon.

Ellen, who had been carefully putting away a second helping of salmon, spoke up. "Ma'am, I don't feel comfortable calling you `Shannon.' Shouldn't I call you `Lady Shannon'? Your late husband was Lord Malin, and before that your father was Lord Inver."

Shannon nodded. "You are right. They were both English and liked those titles. But my mother was Irish and was never called `Lady' Justine. Titles aren't of much importance to the Irish, or the Scots, for that matter."

Ellen chewed thoughtfully. "But what happens when you go to London?"

Shannon laughed. "Even more so. English women who are entitled to be called `Lady' because of their husband's status call each other `Lady So-and-so,' but when I am present they carefully avoid addressing me as `Lady Shannon,' although technically I am as English as they are. But my mother was Irish and that seems to set the English ladies off."

Ellen frowned. "Well, I don't like that." She put down her fork and pushed the plate away. "But I like the Scots." Her face broke into a big smile. "I hope to stay here for the rest of my life."

Liam laughed. "After you marry me you'll have to stay because I'm never leaving."

Ellen looked back at Shannon. "I don't see how you can leave either, particularly to go to London."

Shannon patted her hand. "Don't worry, my dear. I rather like London. I've learned to get along with the English."

"Don't you have a house there?"

"Yes. Lord Malin had business interests in both Belfast and London. He bought what is now Malin House from a bankrupt English nobleman." She sighed heavily. "But it's too big. It takes six maids to keep it up. I have taken a large flat and I'll sell Malin House when I can."

Ellen shuddered. "I wouldn't want to help with all that housework. I want to stay here, with the horses." She looked at Liam.

Shannon laughed. "Don't worry. You won't be going with us. I know you'll enjoy being here, with the horses."

Liam nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes. She will. We love Scotland. We're going to grow old here."

Chapter Two

Moving to London

A week later, Fergus was sitting on the terrace, drinking coffee and watching the work crew install a fenced paddock and the foundations for a large horse barn. Liam sat beside him, studying a design plan of the new barn.

"This barn is far bigger than we'll need for the horses we have," Liam said.

Fergus smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure Shannon will fill it up."

Shannon came out of the house behind them and looked out over the fields. "Why don't you boys go out for a ride like I'm going to do?"

Fergus put down his coffee cup and looked at her. "I'll be taking Liam out later to see the whole place."

Liam said, "I hear it's half again as big as the Inver estate."

"It is." Shannon said. "I'm going to take the stallion out for half an hour." She bent over Fergus's shoulder and took a handful of lumps out of the sugar bowl next to the coffeepot.

Half a dozen horses milled about in a temporary paddock made of lines of rope strung around a succession of small saplings and trees. Liam and Fergus watched Shannon walk gracefully down the gentle slope, stepping carefully to avoid small depressions in the sod.

Liam whistled. "What a graceful woman, even from the rear. That riding habit doesn't hide much."

Fergus's eyebrows firmed. He was about to make a reproving remark but changed his mind and said only, "Liam, watch your whistles in Scotland."

"But in Ireland ..."

"This isn't Ireland, Liam, and the Scottish men are different. If you do that for the wrong woman, some Scot might deck you."

Liam reddened. "Thanks for the warning. Most of them are bigger than I am."

Fergus said, "At the rate you are eating salmon you will soon be as big as any of them."

Shannon opened the paddock gate and called the stallion. The beautiful

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Commodore Kilburnie by WILLIAM P. MACK Copyright © 2002 by William P. Mack
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.