Chapter Text
The quill scratched upon the paper as Hennessey finished the last few notes on the problem that hounded his steps for almost a year already, and not by his own making: the New Providence island and its pirate town Nassau.
James’s ship had landed yesterday in the late afternoon, and his report was sent to the Admiralty in a prompt and impeccable fashion as soon as HMS Willing Mind was secured in the dock and a runner could be found. Hennessey received his own copy, along with a more personal note from James, briefly assuring him of his well-being and asking for an urgent meeting between them when possible.
Quickly reading the concise report, Hennessey could see why a speedily arranged strategic session might be necessary – the news from Nassau was simply not good, and following that, the plan James supported for pardoning pirates might crumble from its already precarious position. Hennessey had sent a return note to James with the suggestion of a meeting for this afternoon, knowing he would be able to tell James more about the possible path the Board of Admiralty might take in the wake of those events.
As far as Hennessey was aware, the Board had not yet swung their decision one way or another, despite the dire news James brought that were already circulating the offices. After the morning meetings, the moods were understandably divided. The revulsion for transpired violent acts and cries for punishment warred with the need to bring the rebelling island to the heel, by the way of the least resistance.
Hennessey could see how Thomas Hamilton’s proposed plan that James so staunchly supported may yet prevail – but that would be a hard battle, full of treacherous snares, just waiting for an unassuming person to strangle themselves in them. The feasibility of pardons was undisputed – indeed, it would be the thing that would most likely work, but it would also require at least a little bended knee on the part of the Empire and the willingness to wipe the past sins in favour of a clean slate, which was naturally the thought that was currently causing the most ruckus, especially with regard to the latest happenings.
All things considered, Hennessey was fairly sure that the already dangerous waters would be soon filled with blood-thirsty sharks, and he was hesitant to encourage James into such a perilous swim. The possible triumph was far more easily overshadowed by the numerous possibilities of ruin, which especially James could not withstand.
Thus, Hennessey was inclined to tell James to leave well off when they would meet – the boy did a great job and nobody could complain about his work as the liaison of the Admiralty. He was sure that James would not accept that easily, seeing how determined he remained despite everything, but Hennessey intended to most firmly insist, by a direct order if necessary. The longer James stayed in this fight the more danger was reaching for him, the ugly politics snapping their jaws at the lieutenant of low birth. No, it would be much safer now for James to step back and lay low for a little while, focusing simply on his career.
Hennessey was completely sure that were James born in a wealthy or influential family, he would have been long since made a post-captain. If only were he able to start as a midshipman, as was common for noble-born lads whose families were able to buy them starting place leading straight to the officer’s path, instead of crawling his way from the lowest commoner jobs all around the ship.
Although it gave James the edge of knowing the workings of any ship better than the majority of other officers, his superb naval skills and strategical genius should have already been utilized better than his previous options of captaining sloop-of-wars, or serving as the First Lieutenant on the high rated ships-of-the-line.
When offering James the opportunity to serve as the liaison for the younger Lord Hamilton, he hoped that James would take the opportunity to learn to rub elbows with the nobles, and perhaps make some valuable connections and acquaintances what would do him well in the future.
And already, it seemed to be working; in an unprecedented move, Lieutenant James McGraw was granted the captaincy of the HMS Willing Mind on his reconnaissance mission to Bahamas islands, a 5th rate frigate of forty guns and three hundred men. And since James had managed to safely arrive to the port, with no damage to the ship except for the regular wear and tear along with the constant state of disrepair that existed on every ship, and the only loss to the crew stemming from unavoidable illnesses, there was nothing else James could have done to show his utmost competency as the captain and his worthiness of the post – thus this was the ideal time for James fade into to the background of this political conflict, instead of stepping back into it after his absence.
And for another thing, it made Hennessey quite troubled how entangled James became with the Hamilton family, quite possibly to his own detriment. Despite James’s insistence his judgement regarding his assignment remained clear despite his friendship with Thomas Hamilton and his wife, but the reality suggested otherwise.
The rumours about an illicit affair between Lady Hamilton and James had reached even Hennessey’s ears, despite the effort he gave to avoid sordid gossip. He had not tried to discuss it with James, since that was all it was – gossip without any proof. However, he had an opportunity to observe Lady Hamilton and James in each other’s company, and the way James was not rigidly adhering to manners and behaving as stiffly as he would with any other woman with whom he had only a passing acquaintance did imply some things. And he also had an opportunity to observe James defend the lady’s honour. Quite violently, in fact. Hennessey shuddered to think what would happen if somebody in a higher position than the idiotic lieutenant who took five tries to pass his exams would besmirch Lady Hamilton’s virtue. He had a strong suspicion that James would have cheerfully made a powerful enemy without a care in the world if it that was the price for defending his...friend.
Of course, it was possible to cover an affair entirely – but only when it was indeed an affair, with as little amount of feeling involved as possible. Whatever the Hamiltons and James had going on was decidedly not that, with the fondness for each other positively saturating their surroundings, if one knew what to look for. And if one had known James since he was a boy, well, the picture was quite clear.
Both Miranda and Thomas Hamilton treated James as a close family friend, and tended to gravitate toward James where he kept himself to the sidelines drawing him to their circles and conversations.
While those facts alone would have generally warmed Hennessey’s heart, seeing James treated as an equal by the members of the high society, he was well aware that these things could be easily twisted, and James would be the one who paid the price.
Hennessey really needed to do everything in his power to make sure James listened to him and realized it was time to tread very carefully, and perhaps let some things go.
A knock on the door disturbed him from his musings. Calling out to enter, Hennessey looked up at the young man, who was already speaking in an apparent hurry.
“Admiral, sir, there is Lord Alfred Hamilton to see you,” stammered the youth who stumbled into his office, Hennessey’s head snapped up.
“Indeed?” There was an immediate disquiet overflowing his stomach. Why was Alfred Hamilton coming to see him, and was it only a coincidence that he came just before Hennessey planned to meet James? Given his vested interest in opposing his son’s plans, the presence of the elder Hamilton could mean nothing good.
“Yes, sir, he insists-” The young man, Jefferson, if Hennessey remembered correctly, was forced to stumble away from the door as they opened again without knocking. Alfred Hamilton strode in with a conceited self-confidence of someone thinking themselves better and above such plebeian things as courtesies and pleasantries, and as someone who expected every door open to him at his will.
“Admiral,” Hamilton addressed him, and waved an impatient hand at Jefferson, who to his credit glanced at Hennessey first, before hastily leaving.
“I come straight from the meeting with Admiral Croft regarding the pirate town Nassau,” Hamilton continued seemingly without at all noticing Jefferson’s existence or exit, and Hennessey did not have much space to do anything else but rise from his seat and feel the spectre of incoming disaster, just as surely as a ship-killer storm on the horizon. Nothing good could have come from the meeting between Hamilton and the First Lord of the Admiralty.
“Admiral Croft had agreed that the idea of pardoning those monsters is firmly off the table, and there will be further considerations needed to determine how to deal with that godforsaken island.” And just like that any careful planning and considerations were dead in the water, the plan belaboured for almost half a year dismissed without any use.
Hennessey had no time to react, for Hamilton continued speaking.
“More importantly, the subsequent talks will not involve either my insubordinate son or that pesky Lieutenant,” Hamilton stated, and Hennessey felt as if ground disappeared under him. He was suddenly very aware that plans were not the only things that could be permanently disposed of, and felt sick.
“I will confine my son to the Bethlehem Royal Hospital,” continued Hamilton blithely, while Hennessey struggled to bring some air into his lungs.
“McGraw should ideally swing by his neck from the gallows.” Absently, Hamilton made a swinging motion with the glove he held in his hand, and despite his previous dawning realizations, Hennessey was unprepared for the horror that punched through his chest.
“We should be rid of him once and for all, no matter how Croft complains about the loss of the naval aptitude,” Hamilton seemed unaware or uncaring about the inhuman rage roaring behind Hennessey's ribs. “Scum that rises to the top of the pot should be disposed of as it does not present any usefulness. Killing him would prevent any-”
“No.” Hennessey heard himself make a strangled sound. He had not yet let go of the table as he had risen from his seat, and it was the only thing keeping him currently upright. “No,” He continued, his voice louder as Hamilton paused in apparent surprise at being interrupted. “Lieutenant McGraw cannot be simply killed!”
“He is a god-damned sodomite and a nuisance to the boot,” Hamilton proclaimed, eyes intent on Hennessey’s reaction.
Hennessey could only open and close his mouth. “What-”
“I have indisputable proof that McGraw and my son engaged in the unlawful acts of sodomy, with a signed witness statement from a high-ranking member of the Parliament,” Hamilton bowled over him, not leaving space for any protests. “As such, the law is clear and the punishment is death,” Hamilton stated with a loathsome relish.
Hennessey felt the words hit him like a physical blow. It was one thing to nurse quiet suspicions that Hennessey was determined to never bring up to the light of the day, it was quite another to hear them confirmed, and from one who was clearly their worst enemy. Oh fucking hell, James. Judgement intact indeed.
“He cannot be simply killed,” Hennessey could only repeat while desperately grappling for any argument. “Up to this moment he was an upstanding member of the Royal Navy! There will be questions and demands to be answered, which would be impossible to avoid!”
Hamilton opened his mouth but Hennesseyhastened onward before any more vile words about murdering James could be said. “If those accusations would come to light, the younger Lord Hamiltons’ part would come out sooner or later just as surely!”
The other man scoffed. “Thomas is right now suffering from a nervous breakdown upon learning his wife had an affair with his closest friend, and the orderlies from Bethlehem along with my men are already on their way to take him to a place where he can be helped,” Hamilton said with a sneer, and Hennessey had to fight off a shudder at such fate as that odious man continued: “But I allow the possibility of our family being implicated after hanging McGraw for such offence, so I understand you would rather not have it known and brought back to the Navy’s door.” He nodded, as if the Navy’s reputation was now the chief concern on Hennessey’s heart.
A second ticked by, followed by another, Hennessey’s tongue feeling too laden in his mouth to form words as he willed the God, the heaven, the universe to spare James’ life. His willpower was apparently too weak for either the Admiralty or the elder Lord Hamilton, but since Hamilton came straight from Croft to speak with Hennessey as he was James’ immediate supervisor, surely the balance on the knife edge had not yet decisively tipped over for the gallows!
He marshalled his thoughts, resolving yet again to stress that officer of the Navy embroiled in a scandal with a peer was hardly desirable, no matter when that truth would come out, but Hamilton spoke again.
“I can be persuaded to allow him to simply disappear, but the severance must be done completely, and at once, lest he harbours any inkling of the possibility of having any place or support in London,” Hamilton allowed with a put-upon air, as if decisions about James’s life and death were simply pitiable inconveniences.
It was not hate roaring in Hennessey’s ears, the word being too weak for that urge to rip and tear.
“I want him dead,” Hamilton said – simply, relentlessly, remorselessly. “If he continues breathing a little longer, it hardly matters to me.” Hamilton nodded with the air of great concession, the malicious glint never leaving his eyes, and that wrathful feeling was flooding Hennessey in unrelenting waves.
He could all too easily guess what was Hamilton imagining – James, penniless and destitute, in a short order dying somewhere in illness and poverty after being so dishonoured and summarily drummed out of the institution where he spent most of his life and all of his career.
But while James may never completely recover from such a blow, he was a good and hard-working man and Hennessey would at any given time rather see James fight his way through a rougher life than have him swing in the noose.
“It shall be done then,” Hennessey croaked then, clearing his throat. There was no relief to be found, because that was not a victory in any kind of sense. “Immediate discharge, and provided he disappears just as swiftly, no charges drawn.”
“Yes,” Hamilton drawled with sick satisfaction, knowing everything had settled in the way he wanted.
And just like that, Lieutenant McGraw was killed.
A life swept away, brushed off from the world with no thought for such a bright light extinguished.
And Hennessey himself was forced to do the sweeping.