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evened out into slumber.
Admiral Lenton received the dispatches and the verbal message with frowning
concern.  I do not like it in the least, not in the least, he said.  Working
inland, is he? Laurence, could he be building more boats on shore, planning to
add to his fleet without our knowing?
 Some awkward transports he might perhaps be able to make, sir, but never
ships-of-the-line, Laurence said at once, with perfect certainty on the
subject.  And he already has a great many transports, in every port along the
coastline; it is difficult to conceive that he might require more.
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 And all this is around Cherbourg, not Calais, though the distance is greater,
and our fleet is closer by. I
cannot account for it, but Gardner is quite right; I am damned sure he means
mischief, and he cannot very well do it until his fleet is here. Abruptly he
stood and walked straight from the office; unsure whether to take this as a
dismissal, Laurence followed him through the headquarters and outside, to the
clearing where Lily was lying in her recovery.
Captain Harcourt was sitting by Lily s head, stroking her foreleg, over and
over; Choiseul was with her and reading quietly to them both. Lily s eyes were
still dull with pain, but in a more encouraging sign, she had evidently just
eaten whole food at last, for there was a great heap of cracked bones still
being cleared away by the ground crew.
Choiseul put down his book and said a quiet word to Harcourt, then came to
them.  She is almost asleep;
I beg you not to stir her, he said, very softly.
Lenton nodded and beckoned him and Laurence both further away.  How does she
progress? he asked.
 Very well, sir, according to the surgeons; they say she heals as quickly as
could be hoped, Choiseul
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sty's%20Dragon.html said.  Catherine has not left her side.
 Good, good, Lenton said.  Three weeks, then, if their original estimate
holds true. Well, gentlemen, I
have changed my mind; I am going to send Temeraire out on patrol every day
during her recovery, rather than giving him and Praecursoris turn and turn
about. You do not need the experience, Choiseul, and Temeraire does; you will
have to keep Praecursoris exercised independently.
Choiseul bowed, with no hint of dissatisfaction, if he felt any.  I am happy
to serve in any way I can, sir;
you need merely direct me.
Lenton nodded.  Well, and for now, stay with Harcourt as much as ever you can;
I am sure you know what it is to have a wounded beast, he said. Choiseul
rejoined her by the now-sleeping Lily, and Lenton led Laurence away again,
scowling in private thought.  Laurence, he said,  while you patrol, I want
you to try and run formation maneuvers with Nitidus and Dulcia; I know you
have not been trained to small-formation work, but Warren and Chenery can help
you there. I want him able to lead a pair of light-combatants in a fight
independently, if need be.
 Very good, sir, Laurence said, a little startled; he wanted badly to ask for
some explanation, and repressed his curiosity with some difficulty.
They came to the clearing where Excidium was just falling asleep; Captain
Roland was speaking with her ground crewmen and inspecting a piece of the
harness. She nodded to them both and came away with them; they walked back
together towards the headquarters.
 Roland, can you do without Auctoritas and Crescendium? Lenton asked
abruptly.
She lifted an eyebrow at him.  If I have to, of course, she said.  What s
this about?
Lenton did not seem to object to being so directly queried.  We must begin to
think about sending
Excidium to Cadiz once Lily is flying well, he said.  I am not going to have
the kingdom lost for want of one dragon in the right place; we can hold out
against aerial raids a long time here, with the help of the Channel Fleet and
the shore batteries, and that fleet must not be allowed to escape.
If Lenton did choose to send Excidium and his formation away, their absence
would leave the Channel vulnerable to aerial attack; yet if the French and
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Spanish fleet escaped Cadiz and came north, to join with the ships in port at
Brest and Calais, perhaps even a single day of so overwhelming an advantage
would be enough for Napoleon to ferry over his invasion force.
Laurence did not envy Lenton the decision; without knowing whether Bonaparte s
aerial divisions were halfway to Cadiz overland or still along the Austrian
border, the choice could only be half guess. Yet it would have to be made, if
only through inaction, and Lenton was clearly prepared instead to take the
risk.
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Now Lenton s design with regard to Temeraire s orders was clear: the admiral
wanted the flexibility of having a second formation on hand, even if a small
and imperfectly trained one. Laurence thought that he recalled that Auctoritas
and Crescendium were middle-weight combat dragons, part of Excidium s
supporting forces; perhaps Lenton intended to match them with Temeraire, to
make a maneuverable strike force of the three of them.
 Trying to out-guess Bonaparte; the thought makes my blood run cold, Captain
Roland said, echoing
Laurence s sentiments.  But we will be ready to go whenever you want to send
us; I will fly maneuvers without Auctor and Cressy as time allows.
 Good, see to it, Lenton said, as they climbed the stairs to the foyer.  I
will leave you now; I have another ten dispatches to read yet, more s the
pity. Goodnight, gentlemen.
 Goodnight, Lenton, Roland said, and stretched out with a yawn when he was
gone.  Ah well, formation flying would be deadly boring without a change-about
every so often, any road. What do you say to some supper?
They had some soup and toasted bread, and a nice Stilton after, with port, and
once again settled in
Roland s room for some piquet. After a few hands, and some idle conversation,
she said, with the first note of diffidence he had ever heard from her,
 Laurence, may I make so bold 
The question made him stare, as she had never before hesitated to forge ahead
on any subject whatsoever.  Certainly, he said, trying to imagine what she
could possibly mean to ask him. Abruptly he was aware of his surroundings: the
large and rumpled bed, less than ten steps away; the open throat of her
dressing-gown, for which she had exchanged her coat and breeches, behind a
screen, when they first came into the room. He looked down at his cards, his
face heating; his hands trembled a little.
 If you have any reluctance, I beg you to tell me at once, she added. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]