24th May Afternoon - The Great Cabin

The statement roused Leat's curiosity, though he was not sure that now was the best moment to raise further questions.

"Tell me," he said instead. "Are you opposed to drink at all - in moderate quantities and in it's proper time and place? If not there's a decent inn I know of in the town which you might like to visit if you have no other plans this evening."

Dwerry tugged at the sleeve of his good coat thoughtfully. He wasn't at all opposed to some drink, even the miserable piss they called ale around here. And his uniform - he'd worn his best coat, though not his dress breeches - was starting to get a little uncomfortable. And Leat did seem rather sincere about the offer - it didn't seem to be stilted or forced. Not to Dwerry's ears.

"Not at all!" He replied cheerfully. "And I've no plans beyond getting into something a tad more comfortable. So if you'll give me a minute's time...!"

Dwerry grinned at Leat as he spoke; an inner tension he hadn't known was there leaving him. Truly, he found the invitation - though for certain more of a politeness and courtesy than anything - a pleasant thing.

Leat returned one of his customary small smiles.

"I'll leave you in peace then. If I'm not in my cabin or the wardroom ask someone and to point you in my direction. Oh-" he said, pausing just as he was going out of the door. "And if you come across a grey tabby don't worry, she is meant to be here; only she has no notion of personal privacy. Just to warn you."

Dwerry chuckled. "A cat, eh? Thank-you for the warning, and I shall see you soon." He turned to head further into his new cabin, then thought of something and spun back around. "Oh! And Mr. Leat... thank you."

He felt a touch awkward saying so, but well... it really did need being said. No reason for his new shipmates to think him some rude blighter.

((OOC: Should Dwerry have said 'Mr Leat'? x.x;; *is unsure* *edits!*))

Leat smiled again.

"Think nothing of it. I will see you later."

And with a nod he ducked out of the door back into the wardroom.

(OOC: I would suggest Mr. Leat, as it is too soon after their first meeting for surnames only to be used.)

((*hits the magic edit button* xD))

Dwerry shut the door after Leat, feeling rather pleased with how events had unfolded. Then he turned to survey his quarters once more with a pleased sigh. Shucking his dress coat, he promptly began rooting around for his other coat.

((Erm yes... shall we finish this thread off and hop over to... whenever?))

[OOC: Yes, the lieutenants can go and debauch themselves elsewhere. ]

Having had coffee and seen Peter march away with the army Fletcher, with no money and with no idea what else to do with this sudden free time he'd been given, decided that to return to the ship and ask the captain if he might be granted his allowance a couple of days early. What good was shoreleave after all, Chandos had said before, if you don't have anything to spend during it?

It was thus that the small midshipman stretched up on his toes to knock halting at the door of the Great Cabin, hoping that Bolitho would not be cross on being disturbed.

Hearing the sound of a rather soft knocking coming from outside, Bolitho glanced towards the door.

"Enter," he called out.

The door opened and Fletcher entered, pattered up to the captain's desk and saluted.

"Good day, sir."

Considering that he and Leat had just been conversing about Fletcher before Dwerry had arrived, it was a bit surprising to have the midshipman come into his cabin almost immediately thereafter.

"Yes Mr. Fletcher, what is it?" Bolitho inquired, wondering what the midshipman wanted to discuss.

Having got thus far without incident the captain's serious expression and grave tone very nearly undid Fletcher where he stood. He managed to rally though, thankfully, and although he still looked like something of a frightened rabbit he spoke.

"Sir. I do not know if you were informed, sir, but this morning Mister Leat said that I had leave, and I was wondering... if I might be permitted my allowance for next month a little early? Sir?"

That was not an unreasonable request, Bolitho thought. Obviously Fletcher wanted to have some money on hand while he went ashore, which was not out of the question. And he had to admit he admired the boy's courage in coming to him to make the request in the first place.

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in that," Bolitho said, then fixed the boy with a knowing look as he added, "And I'm sure I can trust you to be sensible with your allowance and not squander all of it while on leave."

Fletcher flushed bright pink, not perceiving in the gravity of the situation that Bolitho was in fact jesting. How did the captain know already of the morning's extravaganses?

"Oh, sir," He cried in dismay. "It was only the one pot of coffee between us!"

Bolitho raised his eyebrows at the boy's outburst. He had not expected Fletcher to react so vehemently. Clearly he should not have made such a poor attempt at a joke.

"Pot of coffee? What are you on about, Mr. Fletcher?" He had no idea what the boy was talking about. Fletcher was acting as though he had committed some great crime.

"I... That is, sir," Fletcher turned a deeper shade of crimson. "I did not think it such a great luxury, sir, it being just the one, and I menat no harm in asking for it..."

He stuttered to a halt, his eyes round in fear of having exposed himself as not only extravagent but also foolish. All those incidents where he had been caught out by his grandfather, of the dressing-downs in his study and the hiding that would come afterwards. And he had thought out here that he would be safe from those...

Reason, of course, did not enter into the Midshipman's troubled mind. The fact that Captain Bolitho had never yet raised a finger against this particular one of his Midshipmen, and until now he had been comparatively kind to Fletcher, did not seem to matter when it came to being caught out for anything.

He had no knowledge of this incident, but to Bolitho it did not sound like Fletcher had done something seriously wrong. There was no harm in asking for a pot of coffee, after all.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Fletcher," he said, in as gentle a tone as he could manage, "While I don't know exactly what you're discussing, I see nothing wrong with asking to have a pot of coffee. I certainly would not punish you for such a thing, if that is what's concerning you."

It was Fletcher's tuirn top seem confused.

"But, sir, you said I was not to squander my money." To which, he added, in a quieter tone, to aid the captain's comprehension. "Grandfather calls wanting such things a wasteful luxury, sir."

Bolitho had to resist the urge to chuckle at this.

"Well, that was not exactly the sort of extravagance to which I was referring," he said, "I would simply ask that you be mindful of your allowance while ashore. I would not want you to refrain from merriment, merely to keep any truly wasteful spending to a minimum." He gave Fletcher a small smile as he added, "And you may feel free to have another pot of coffee if you wish, Mr. Fletcher."

The look in Fletcher's wide eyes could only be described as hopeful disbelief. Who would have thought anyone could be so grateful to hear that they could freely buy coffee as they chose to?

"Thank you, sir!" he replied. "That is most kind of you, but... what would you call 'wasteful' spending? I have never been a-spending on my own, sir, and I do not know what within decency others consider to be wasteful or not."

Bolitho smiled slightly. Fletcher really was quite an innocent.

"Wasteful spending, Mr. Fletcher, would be more along the lines of buying too many strong drinks, or indulging in too much--" He searched for a delicate way of putting it, being as Fletcher was too young to understand the need for female companionship, "--entertaining company. On the other hand, buying yourself some new clothes or perhaps a book or two does not constitute wasteful spending, and neither does buying coffee."

The Midshipman nodded earnestly, though not really understanding why anyone would need to buy company - or was it something to do with women again? He never could understand what the fascination was, except the men seemed to enjoy kisses too much every time they went ashore.

"Now then, I trust you have a better handle on being wise with your money, so you had best get going , Mr. Fletcher," Bolitho said, taking the boy's nod to mean that he understood. Then he added with a smile, "After all, you're not going to be spending any money if you remain on ship."

[Ack! I just noticed that I hadn't posted a reply here in ages! *facepalm* Once again, the captain's player fails at being observant...]