Laura Fielding

From WikiPOBia

Laura Fielding was the Sicilian-born wife of Lieutenant Charles Fielding. She is described as beautiful with red hair. Jack Aubrey takes Italian lessons from her while in Malta at the start of Treason's Harbour. Despite his attempts to seduce her, she gently and tactfully rebuffs him, saying that she wants to tell her husband that she does not "ply the oar". However, public opinion is that he has been successful due to the affection her dog, Ponto, has for Aubrey.

SPOILER WARNING:  Plot or ending details for "Treason's Harbour, and subsequent books"  follow.

Her husband is a prisoner of the French and their agents make her spy on Stephen Maturin who is known to be an intelligence agent by seducing him. Maturin realises this is unlikely behaviour and discovers the truth and proceeds to feed false information back to the French.

The appearance of Charles Fielding, later in the book puts Laura's life in danger from the French agents who no longer have any hold over her. Maturin persuades Aubrey to carry her to safety in Gibraltar aboard HMS Surprise, in the process Stephen gives the impression he really is her lover which causes him problems with his wife Diana in future books.

Her jealous husband is ready to fight a duel with Aubrey over her supposed seduction, but she persuades him of her virtue and no overt challenge is made.