Kingston Blackmail 2 or Nearly Enough - Portsmouth?
Thank you for the ask, Nonny!
"Kingston Blackmail 2" is the continuation of Fogbound, the Caudebec story in which Bush is not dead, just amnesiac. It was always meant to have more than the one chapter. Maybe someday it will.
Here's a bit I particularly I like, when Bush and Hornblower go down to meet the merchant vessel Bush has been crewing on for the last several years...
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"Watch yourself!" a man scolded Bush, then looked again. He grinned and turned to look over his shoulder. "Oi! Jumper!" he bellowed. "Someone here to see you!" There was an eddy on the deck as a tall, lanky sailor came to the rail. "Jacky!" came his glad cry, then again, "Jacky!" With an eager skip, he pushed his way through his crewmates to the gangplank. "Oi, what do you think you're doing, Short?" the mate roared after him as the lanky sailor ran barefoot down the gangplank. "Jumper's been that worried about you, he has," the first sailor said with a grin, and then Jumper, or perhaps Short, enveloped Bush in an enthusiastic hug. Bush awkwardly returned the embrace. "Jacky!" Jumper said, cupping Bush's face in his hands as he drew back to look at him. "We filled your place in the last crossing, but the new man's no good. I'll talk to cap'n, he'll make a place for you, you'll see…" But whatever he saw in Bush's face made his own face fall. He looked, and looked again. "Not Jacky," he said, low with disappointment. "William," Bush agreed, stiff with awkwardness and regret. The crewman who had summoned Jumper cursed to himself. "Aye, so it is," Jumper said, his voice tinged with sorrow, even as he tried to smile for Bush. He moved his hands from Bush's face to his shoulders, as if he even now was reluctant to release him. "D'ye find your admiral, then?"
~
"Nearly Enough - Portsmouth" is the sequel to Nearly Enough, in which Hornblower has talked himself into believing he can have the captaincy of the Retribution or William Bush in his bed -- but not both. He chooses the Retribution.
But those of us who have read Lieutenant Hornblower know how that choice went...
~
Hornblower had never thought to see Bush again. He had made his bargain with the universe, chosen command of the Retribution over his un-captain-like desire for men, and sailed away from the Renown with the knowledge that he and Bush would never meet again. He had not regretted it. Or hardly regretted it -- a man was not responsible for what he felt, alone in his cot, in the darkness of the middle watch. He had been given the Retribution, and any loneliness was worth it for that. But now the Retribution was gone, reclaimed by the Admiralty and laid up in ordinary. His commander's epaulette was gone also, residing at the pawnbroker's with his great coat. And here was William Bush, delighted at their chance meeting and clasping Hornblower's hand in both of his. "What infernal luck!" Bush exclaimed, commiserating on the peace and the loss of Hornblower's appointment. "Yes," Hornblower agreed. He did not believe in fate, but he could distinctly hear Fate's laughter.
