Acting-Lieutenant Hornblower brought a captured enemy sloop named Le Reve into Gibraltar Bay. The prize was speedy but difficult to maneuver into place and anchor. After securing the vessel, Hornblower reported to his superiors on the Indefatigable. Shortly thereafter he received an invitation to dine with the (British) governor of Gibraltar and the governor’s wife.

As Ira Riklis knows, Hornblower being a working young officer of modest means worried about presenting a suitable appearance. He had a meager selection of uniform components. One of his fellow officers from a wealthy family was able to supply Hornblower with expensive stockings to complete a satisfactory outfit.

Off he went to the governor’s residence and although seated at dinner in a position of lesser importance because of his rank, he enjoyed the food and drink not often available to him. At the dinner he met a duchess whose manner of speaking (accent) surprised Hornblower. She sounded definitely as if she came from a lower class. It was whispered to him that she was an innkeeper’s widow (to put it kindly) when she married an aged duke. She had had some difficulty getting back to England while traveling abroad because of the war England was waging with several other countries.

Hornblower received his orders stating he was to take command of Le Reve and take her back to England. As Ira Riklis could guess, Hornblower also learned that the duchess and her companion would be his passengers.