*”A fair breeze and 38 guns, who could ask for more?”*
*INTERVIEW WITH LIEUTENANT DANIEL LEIGH (RN)*
*You are an only son, Daniel. Highly unusual that you’re pursuing a
career in the Royal Navy. Shouldn’t you be looking after the family
estate?*
I should, yes. And you may believe me that my parents have tried every
trick in the book to dissuade me from my plans to go to sea. Oddly
enough, my mother more than my father! She would read to me all news
about our losses at sea, adding gruesome details she made up in the
process. My dear mother has developed a rather morbid affection for
sharks.
*Interesting strategy, though highly questionable from a modern point of view. Weren’t you afraid?*
Not at all! When I was eight years old, I ran away from home and
chartered as a ship’s boy aboard the “Sweet Louise”, a merchantman. It
wasn’t before Sicily that my father caught up with me.
*I suppose Admiral Leigh wasn’t too pleased.*
Mildly put! I received a truly good hiding, I couldn’t sit for days!
Just because he liked to call me “powdermonkey” he obviously didn’t
want me to be one! But in the end he accepted that I couldn’t envision
a career in politics or spend my days looking after our estate. I leave
poachers and grumpy tenants to my cousin, Francis. He’s a pedantic
bean-counter; can you imagine that he’s writing all his business
letters ink-over-pencil? The man is thirty-five years old, for crying
out loud! And still not married, if I may add. Not that this surprises
me.
*You are not married, either. Not that this fact would surprise /me/.*
I have John and serve on a fine ship. A fair breeze and 38 guns, who could ask for more?
*Captain John Meadows is a very quiet man, withdrawn into himself. You are the opposite; how comes you’re so captivated by him?*
Do you desire me to sort the list in alphabetical order? There is his
sarcasm and dry wit. John is a man of honour, always putting his duty
first. I wish there were more men in the Royal Navy like him. All
through his suffering, he has never complaint, and was willing to
sacrifice his own life for me. It is good to see him freed now from
this creature which has haunted and almost murdered him. All that
aside, I really enjoy kissing him. Not that I’d admit to that in
public, of course.
*Aren’t you worried about the consequences of this love? If you and
Captain Meadows were found out, you’d face a court martial and possible
death.*
That is very true. But we would have to be caught in the act first,
with two eyewitnesses present. As we’re careful, that’s not very likely
to happen. No coupling in the captain’s cabin, that’s Article of War #
99.
*Don’t you find it difficult to adhere to that rule? Being at sea for
weeks, if not months, with no privacy but your lover right in front of
your nose?*
Pardon me if I should be too forward in answering this question, Miss
Collingwood, but that’s one of the reasons why the front flaps on our
breeches are so convenient. In the cable tier-
*-it is very dark, I’m aware of that, and now it’s time for a /very/
quick change of subject: how would you describe “Lieutenant Samuel
Blackwood (deceased)” to our readers?*
It’s a Georgian ghost story, featuring a cursed ship, a vengeful ghost,
a haunted captain and a very daring lieutenant. Extraordinary events! I
thought I was doomed to spend the rest of my days in that stuffy office
at the Admiralty, and before I could think twice, I was right in the
middle of an adventure I’d have never dreamt of! A ghost! A ship with a
mind of her own! And Captain John Meadows. I would also like to add
that I find cover and illustrations by Mlle Amandine de Villeneuve most
charming.
*What is the next mission of HMS /Privet/?*
We will return to Spithead next month. John will then take the waters
in Bath, and we both hope that you will write us into a less dangerous
adventure next time.
~*~*~*~
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[…] PLEASE GO HERE AND READ AN INTERVIEW WITH LT. DANIEL LEIGH (RN) […]
::squee::
Squee !
This interview is so good that it could be considered a standalone piece in the HMS Privet series, should the excellent M.lle Villeneuve ever consider the possibility to make an illustration ad hoc.
Too much asking for the cable tier and infamous front flaps, is not it ? *g* Well, ok, it was just a suggestion…let me think… Daniel’s sweet and loving mother telling gruesome bedtales about sharks to her only little son might do as well. 😉
I hope the next mission means we’ll see another book of them…