An Introduction To The Eternal Collection Jubilee Edition by Cartland Barbara Page A

Rodney would have been hard put to it to afford such luxury. He was glad, however, that the Sea Hawk was well fitted up. It was an important part of the Captain’s dignity. Drake had insisted on both pomp and finery, and aboard his flagship trumpets announced his dinner and supper hour. He carried fiddlers to make him music and the vessels of his table, and even of his kitchen, were pure silver.
    All those who served with Drake boasted, when they were ashore, of the silver service which their Captain used when he dined, and of the fine linen on which he wiped his hands after he had dipped them in the perfumed water which he said the Queen herself had given him. It was all a show of strength, Rodney knew.
    He could not attempt to emulate the magnificence of his former Captain, but he gave a sigh of satisfaction as he sat down in the big armchair at the end of the table and rang the small hand-bell which lay on the polished surface. The man Hapley, whom he had appointed to be his personal servant, came running.
    He was a tall, good-tempered-looking Cornishman who had been aboard the Golden Hind but who, when the voyage was ended, had offered himself to Rodney with an eagerness that he could not help but find flattering. Hapley had a big, muscular body and fists which would make anybody think twice before challenging him to a fight. Those same hands could, on occasions, be, as Rodney knew, as gentle as a woman’s and his skill at sewing alone would have made him sought after by any gentleman who liked his things kept neat and tidy.
    Hapley was grinning from ear to ear as he entered the cabin. He had been as excited as Rodney himself about the purchase of the Sea Hawk and he took as much pride in her as her master. Rodney was, however, determined to have no undue familiarity from Hapley. It was bad for discipline on a ship if any man was assumed to have more influence than another.
    “Ask the officers to attend me here immediately,” he said sharply, “and ... Master Gillingham, too.”
    He included Francis as an afterthought, feeling that it was best that the boy should get into the ways of a ship at the beginning. If Sir Harry wanted him made a man, then he must work with the others.
    Rodney was already resigned to the fact that he would be worse than useless, but in spite of that he would not fail in duty to teach the boy to the best of his knowledge; if it failed, it should not, at any rate, be his fault.
    “Aye, aye, sir.”
    Hapley pulled up the heavy oak chairs to the table, expecting a conference. For a moment Rodney was inclined to tell him to obey orders without further delay, then he remembered that the ceiling of the cabin was very low, far lower than that of the Golden Hind and if he must speak with his officers, they must sit or else stand bowed in an unnatural position for fear of knocking their heads against the wooden beams. What was more the ship was rolling quite considerably now. There was the slap and splash of the waves against the port-holes. Once again Rodney felt thankful that he had grown out of being seasick, though doubtless Francis would be confined to his cabin. He was the sort of weakling, Rodney thought scornfully, who would make no effort to overcome his disability.
    There was the sound of footsteps outside; Rodney sat back in his chair with a careful assumption of ease. He was young enough to feel that he must act the part of Captain, holding his dignity, yet at the same time gaining the officers’ confidence by his friendliness.
    He felt suddenly shy and even a little apprehensive. He felt almost as if his officers were enemies rather than his confederates, and then he forced himself to smile at his own fears. Why, he had double the experience of all of them with the exception of Barlow, who was seven years older and had been to sea since he was eleven.
    They were coming in now, Barlow leading the way, then Hales, the Master, Gadstone and Walters the two Lieutenants, and Dobson the