Thunder On the Sea: A Tim Phillips novel (War at Sea Book 11) Read Online Free PDF Page A

very small girl.
    She had gone into service as her only means to earn a living when a young rascal had impregnated her after promising her the moon with a cherry on top.
    Leaving matters in her hands, the exhausted Phillips decided to call it a day and go to bed. Little was done around the estate for the next week, while the retired ship captain got his bearings. But then he started meeting with locals getting different viewpoints and developing some of his own. Hearing from some of the local farmers that food prices were likely to remain high for the immediate future, in view of the turmoil likely to ensue when all of Napoleon’s troops were dismissed and sent home, he decided to invest in a herd of red cattle that was offered to him.
    As the demands of paperwork took up more of his time, he found that Mary Ferguson could be of great assistance. When he found she could actually make sense of some of the multitudinous bills that arrived weekly, he sent her to see a friend of his nearby. Charlotte Norris was an old friend of his family who was an astute (and wealthy) businesswoman.
    While there were men who attempted to take advantage of a perceived ignorant and helpless woman, few tried it a second time. Norris could buy or sell almost any of the fools that thought they might take advantage of her. Mary Ferguson remained with Charlotte for a week, where she was able to quickly pick up much of what she needed to know to run an estate. As a personal favor to Captain Phillips, whom Norris had known since he was a small boy, Mary was encouraged to bring any of her more difficult problems for her to scrutinize.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
 
    For months, Phillips watched closely over the workings of his estate, but soon the duty began to pall. By now his child’s nurse had taken over the day-to-day operation of the property and had it operating like clockwork. There was now very little for him to do about the place. It was then, the post arrived, delivering a summons to appear at the Admiralty in London. The hired coach that had brought him back had long since been returned to its livery, but he had ordered his own carriage brought down from the London townhouse earlier.
    This carriage had been maintained well and was in remarkably good condition. With his own coachman upon the box, they set out for London early the next morning. Phillips was not concerned about the summons. He thought perhaps an inspection of one of his former ship’s paperwork had revealed a shortage or perhaps even an overage of Crown property. He was well prepared to offer necessary payment to recoup any expenses.
    It was very late that night when the carriage clattered into London, and Phillips slept late next morning in his townhouse.
    As a result, he did not walk into the Admiralty waiting room until late in the day. The place was not nearly as busy as it had been during most of the war and he was called in to one of the Lords’ offices early on.
    As it happened, there were no misdeeds of his that must be explained. A post ship was being prepared for a voyage of exploration into waters west of Chile and South America. Phillips was to be given first refusal of its captaincy. Phillips had to think about the offer a bit. The war with America was still continuing, although he had heard progress was being made in the peace talks. At any rate, he had no desire to become involved in the war with the United States.
    The Admiralty official assured him this was to be a voyage of discovery that had been instigated by the scientific community. He would find no references in his orders that required him to engage in any military or naval action, and in any case, he would be operating well away from the continental United States.
    Accordingly, Phillips accepted the assignment. The command of a post ship would not ordinarily be counted a plum to an officer of his experience, but there were few plums being passed about these days with the war