'He took ship and boldly sailed away'. Creep? Not necessarily. The strongest likelihood is that his ship got its orders and he had no choice in the matter. To not turn up for duty was desertion and the very least he'd have got would have been a flogging, but more likely hung from the yardarm. 'boldly' simply refers to his duty to protect his King and country. Different times, different outlooks! She didn't blame him when he returned simply because it was a common occurrence, the accepted thing! Whether we today like it or not.