Empire of Ivory (11 page)

of the Chinese to the suggestion; he had been made to feel

an unlettered savage more than once, among them.

He had not expected to dance; society was perennially

uncertain whether aviators were entirely respectable, and

he did not mean to blight some girl's chances, nor open

himself to the unpleasant experience of being fended off by

a chaperone. But before the first dance, his hostess

presented him deliberately to one of her guests, as an

eligible partner; so even though much surprised he of

course had to ask. Miss Lucas was perhaps in her second

season, or her third; a plump attractive girl, still very

ready to be delighted with a ball, and full of easy,

cheerful conversation.

"How well you dance!" she said, after they had gone down

the line together, with rather more surprise than would

have made the remark perfectly complimentary, and asked a

great many questions about the Chinese court which he could

not answer: the ladies had been kept thoroughly sequestered

from their view. He entertained her a little instead with

the description of a theatrical performance, but as he had

been stabbed at the end of it, his memory was imperfect;

and in any case it had been carried on in Chinese.

She in turn told him a great deal of her family in

Hertfordshire, and her tribulations with the harp, so he

might express the hope of one day hearing her play, and

mentioned her next younger sister coming out next season.

So she was nineteen, he surmised; and was struck abruptly

to realize that Catherine Harcourt at this age had been

already Lily's captain, and had flown that year in the

battle of Dover. He looked at the smiling muslin-clad girl

with a strange hollow feeling of astonishment, as if she

were not entirely real; and then looked away. He had

written already two letters each to Harcourt and to

Berkley, on Temeraire's behalf and his own; but no answer

had come. He knew nothing of how they did, or their

dragons.

He said something polite afterwards, returning her to her

mother, and, having displayed himself in public a

satisfactory partner, was forced to submit with rigid good

manners to filling out one set after another; until at last

near eleven o'clock Grenville came in, with a small party

of gentlemen.

"I am expected in Dover tomorrow, sir, or would not trouble

you here," Laurence said grimly, having approached him; he

loathed the necessity of anything like encroachment, and if

he had not been introduced to Grenville at least the once,

many years before, did not know he could have steeled

himself to it.

"Laurence, yes," Grenville said vaguely, looking as though

he would have liked to move away. He was no great

politician: his brother was Prime Minister, and he had been

made First Lord for loyalty, not for brilliance or

ambition. He listened without enthusiasm to the carefully

couched proposals, which Laurence was forced to make

general for the benefit of the interested audience, who

were not to know of the epidemic: there would be no

concealing such information from the enemy, once the

general public was in possession of it.

"There is provision made," Laurence said, "for the relics

of the slain, and for the sick and wounded; not least

because that care may preserve them or their offspring for

future service, and give encouragement to the healthy. The

plan which has been advanced is for nothing more than such

practical attentions, sir, which have been proven

beneficial by the example of the Chinese, whom all the

world acknowledge as first in the world, so far as an

understanding of dragonkind."

"Of course, of course," Grenville said. "The comfort and

welfare of our brave sailors or aviators, and even our good

beasts, is always foremost in the considerations of the

admiralty," a meaningless platitude, to one who had ever

visited in a hospital; or had, as Laurence, been forced to

subsist from time to time upon such provisions as were

considered suitable for the consumption of those brave

sailors: rotting meat, biscuit-and-weevil, the vinegarwater beverage which passed for wine. He had been applied

to for support by veterans of his own crews or their

widows, denied their pensions on scurrilous grounds, on too

many occasions to find such a claim other than absurd.

"May I hope, then, sir," Laurence said, "that you approve

our proceeding in this course?" An open avowal, which could

not be easily retracted without embarrassment, was what he

hoped for; but Grenville was too slippery, and without

openly refusing, evaded any commitment.

"We must consider the particulars of these proposals,

Captain, more extensively; before anything can be done," he

said. "The opinions of our best medical men must be

consulted," and so on and so forth, continuing without a

pause in this vein until he was able to turn to another

gentleman of his acquaintance, who had come up, and address

him on another subject: a clear dismissal, and Laurence

knew very well that nothing would be done.

He limped back into the covert in the early hours of the

morning, a faint lightness just beginning to show.

Temeraire lay fast asleep and dreaming with his slitpupiled eyes half-lidded, his tail twitching idly back and

forth, while the crew had disposed of themselves in the

barracks or tucked against his sides: likely the warmer

sleeping place, if less dignified. Laurence went into the

small cottage provided for his use and gladly sank upon the

bed to work off, wincing, the tight buckled shoes, still

new and stiff, which had cut sadly into his feet.

The morning was a silent one; besides the failure of the

attempt, which had somehow been communicated generally

throughout the covert, although Laurence had told no one

directly but Temeraire, he had given a general furlough the

previous night. Judging by the evidence of their bloodshot

eyes and wan faces, the crew had made good use of their

leave. There was a certain degree of clumsiness and fatigue

apparent, and Laurence watched anxiously as the large pots

of oat-porridge were maneuvered off the fire, to break

their fast.

Temeraire meanwhile finished picking his teeth with a large

leg bone, the remnant of his own breakfast of tender veal

stewed with onions, and set it down. "Laurence, do you

still mean to build the one pavilion, even if the Admiralty

will give us no funds?"

"I do," Laurence answered. Most aviators acquired only a

little prize-money, as the Admiralty paid but little for

the capture of a dragon compared to that of a ship, the

former being less easily put to use than the latter, and

requiring substantial expense in the upkeep, but Laurence

had established a handsome capital while still a naval

officer, upon which he had little charge, his pay being

ordinarily sufficient to his needs. "I must consult with

the tradesmen, but I hope that by economizing upon the

materials and reducing the pavilion in size, I may afford

to construct one for you."

"Then," Temeraire said, with a determined and heroic air,

"I have been thinking: pray let us build in the quarantinegrounds instead. I do not much mind my clearing at Dover,

and I had rather Maximus and Lily were more comfortable."

Laurence was surprised; generosity was not a trait common

amongst dragons, who were rather jealous of anything which

they considered their own property, and a mark of status.

"If you are quite certain, my dear; it is a noble thought."

Temeraire toyed with the leg-bone and did not look entirely

certain, but eventually made his assent final. "And in any

case," he added, "once we have built it, perhaps the

Admiralty will see the benefit, and then I may have a

handsomer one: it would not be very pleasant to have a

small poky one, when everyone else has a nicer." This

thought cheered him considerably, and he crunched up the

bone with satisfaction.

Revived with strong tea and breakfast, the crew began to

get Temeraire under harness for the return to Dover, only a

little slowly; Ferris taking especial pains to see that the

buckles were all secure after Laurence dropped a quiet word

in his ear. "Sir," Dyer said, as he and Emily came in from

the covert gates with the post for Dover, which they would

carry with them, "there are some gentlemen coming," and

Temeraire raised his head from the ground as Lord Allendale

came into the covert with a small, slight, and plainly

dressed gentleman at his side.

Their progress was arrested at once, while they stared up

at the great inquisitive head peering back at them,

Laurence very glad for the delay in which he could gather

his own wits: he would scarcely have been more shocked to

receive a visit from the King, and a good deal better

pleased. He could imagine only one cause for it: more than

one person of his parents' acquaintance had been at the

ball, and the news of the foreign adoption must have

traveled to his father's ears. Laurence knew very well he

had given his father just cause to reproach him by having

submitted to the adoption, whatever its political

expedience; but he was by no means satisfied to endure

those reproaches in front of his officers and his crew,

aside from any practical consideration of what Temeraire's

reaction might be to seeing him abused.

He handed away his cup to Emily and gave his clothing a

surreptitious look, devoutly grateful the morning was cold

enough he had not been tempted to forgo coat or neckcloth.

"I am honored to see you, sir; will you take tea?" he

asked, crossing the clearing to shake his father's hand.

"No, we have breakfasted," Lord Allendale said abruptly,

his eyes still fixed on Temeraire, and only with a jerk of

effort turned away to present to Laurence his companion,

Mr. Wilberforce: one of the great movers of the cause of

abolition.

Laurence had only met the gentleman once, long before.

Wilberforce's face had settled into graver lines in the

intervening decades, and now he looked anxiously up at

Temeraire; but there was still something warm and good-humored about the mouth, a gentleness to his eyes,

confirming that early generous impression which Laurence

had carried away, if indeed his public works had not been

testament enough. Twenty years of city air and incessant

fighting had ruined his health, but not his character;

parliamentary intrigue and the West Indies interests had

undermined his work, but he had persevered; and besides his

tireless labor against slavery, he had stood a resolute

reformer all the while.

There was scarcely a man whose advice Laurence would more

have desired, in furthering Temeraire's cause; and if the

circumstances had been other, and he had reached that

rapprochement with his father, which he had hoped for, he

would certainly have sought an introduction. The reverse,

however, he could not understand; there was no reason his

father should bring Wilberforce hence, unless perhaps he

had some curiosity to encounter a dragon.

But the gentleman's expression, looking on Temeraire, did

not seem enthusiastic. "I myself would be very happy for a

cup of tea, in quiet, perhaps?" he said, and after a

certain hesitation yielded to the further question, "Is the

beast quite tame?"

"I am not tame," Temeraire said very indignantly, his

hearing perfectly adequate to the task of overhearing this

unwhispered exchange, "but I am certainly not going to hurt

you, if that is what you are asking; you had much better be

afraid of being stepped upon by a horse." He knocked his

tail against his side in irritation, nearly sweeping off a

couple of the topmen engaged in pitching the traveling-tent

upon his back, and so gave himself the lie even as he

spoke. His audience was sufficiently distracted by his

remarks not to notice this nice point, however.

"It is most wonderful," Mr. Wilberforce said, after

conversing with him a little longer, "to discover such

excellent understanding in a creature so far removed from

ourselves; one might call it even miraculous. But I see

that you are making ready to depart; so I will beg your

pardon," he bowed to Temeraire, "and yours, Captain, for so

indelicately moving to the subject which has brought us

here, to seek your assistance."

"I hope you will speak as frankly as you like, sir,"

Laurence said, and begged them to sit down, with many

apologies for the situation: Emily and Dyer had dragged

chairs out of the cabin for their use, as that building was

hardly fit for receiving guests, and arranged them near the

embers of the cooking-fire for warmth.

"I wish to be clear," Wilberforce began, "that no-one could

be insensible of the service which his Grace has rendered

his country, or begrudge him the just rewards of that