The Great Cabin

Bolitho stood near his desk, tapping his fingers on the top in an anxious manner. Though he was feeling quite disappointed, in truth he was not surprised to have heard the distressing news he had just been given.

He had had some reservations about bringing Capitaine des Sablières aboard, yet the man had not seemed to be a troublesome sort. And even after hearing of this "incident," Bolitho still believed him to be a decent man. As had been the case before, his main concern was the crew, and now it seemed his fears had been justified. Apparently, there had been some altercation between the Capitaine and one of the Marines down in the hold. Any moment now he was expecting the arrival of the Capitaine, Sergeant Quinn, and Captain Padstowe to explain the incident further.

Raoul waited outside with Captain Padstowe and the Marine Sergeant. It was worrying, and he was still angry with himself for taking the risk, and for failing to control the situation. No matter how much Padstowe said that the Captain was a reasonable man... The word of an Englishman would count for more than the word of a Frog, even an officer. And the doctor could not be here - he had his patient, and was not openly responsible in any way for his patient's prisoner.

Quinn headed up to the gundeck before turning aft to the Great Cabin. He had been sent for, along with Captain Padstowe and the French passenger. He paused by one of the guns to pull his jacket straight and wipe at his crossbelt plate with a rag. It wouldn't do to arrive there before the two officers, after all.

He was still debating with himself about what he should do with the Marine concerned. He couldn't believe someone of the Frenchman's height could fell a man as solidly built as Private Shriver, and had no doubt that Shriver had not told him the whole truth of the matter. He was going to be in for a long afternoon of field punishment, if nothing else.

He thought he saw movement and straightened as Captain Padstowe and the French officer came up to him, shoving his rag back into his pocket.

Padstowe nodded to Quinn and the Marine sentry at the door of the cabin announced them. He gave a thin smile to Raoul as they went through into the presence of Bolitho, bowing their heads under the beam of the door.

"Good day, captain. I must first of all apologise for this unfortunate incident. It was neither my nor Capitaine des Sablières' wish to bring disruption to your ship."

Raoul stood beside Captain Padstowe, his hands relaxed at his side, not quite to attention, and allowed the Army Captain to speak for him. Prisoners should not speak unless spoken to.

It was a very nice cabin - windows at the stern let in daylight - something not seen at all in the confines of the wardroom or the cabins. Polished furniture on a chequered floor, including the desk behind which the Captain stood, looking at them all with a worried frown. Raoul tried a slight smile of sympathy.

Padstowe caught the smile out of the corner of his eyes. For somne reason he remembered the advice he had given the Capitaine at Santana's in Lisbon - 'suffer nobly', or something like that. 'noble reluctance' it might have been. Whichever it was, it seemed that des Sablières was having a lot of practice at it. That damned Marine...

The sense of anxiety from both Captains began to affect Raoul, who had been confident if annoyed. What could the Captain do to him? Probably the worst would be to order him confined, either to the cabin or in a less desirable space. If he were going to be locked up, it would not be so bad in this room.

Behind the Captain at the desk the wake reeled away from them, turning like thick cream.

As they proceeded into the cabin and approached the desk, Bolitho nodded to each of the men in turn. When his eyes passed over the Capitaine, his gaze lingered a bit longer, as if trying to ascertain the Frenchman's guilt or innocence simply by observation. Of course, that was impossible, but he did notice that the Capitaine gave him a small smile. Whether it was a smile of remorse, or a smile to hide his true feelings, Bolitho could not tell. At last, he shifted his gaze back to Padstowe.

"I appreciate the apology, Captain, but this is no fault of yours," he said, "And, so far, I am inclined to think that it is no fault of yours either, Capitaine."

He glanced at Raoul again. "Please do explain the specifics of what occurred down in the hold. I would like to hear the entire story."

Quinn stood to one side, his hat under his arm, wishing Shriver were anywhere else but aboard Terpsy. He was the only one among the Marines who would do something like this. He could not imagine any of the others sinking to those depths, whatever their personal feelings on the matter of having a French soldier aboard, prisoner or not.

The others might grumble as they chose among themselves, but they were too professional to allow their feelings to dictate their actions, Quinn was sure of it.

Meanwhile, he stood and waited patiently, watching the wake through the stern windows. He would be asked his opinion once they had finished their own discussion, after all.

It seemed Bolitho was included to be in des Sablières' favour at the outset - which was, indeed, good news. Padstowe turned to Raoul, his eyes containing an encouraging smile which did not extend down to his mouth.

Raoul inclined his head. "Thank you, Captain. It was simple. I went to the hold to see that our horses were ... safe. After the events of the morning, you understand." He smiled. "I took them apples, and was about to share one between them when a Marine ... He had followed me, I think. He demanded to know what I was doing." He looked at the Captain. "I think he wanted to make trouble. I do not answer to 'Frog'"

No more than I'd answer to Rosbif, Padstowe thought. No more than Bolitho would in such circumstances, or any man with a sense of dignity.

Bolitho listened as the Capitaine gave his account of the event. It sounded more than believable; he would not have been shocked to learn that one of the Marines would try to goad the Frenchman into fighting. He was saddened to think that any of his crew would behave in such a way, but it was not suprising.

"Nor should you," he said, shaking his head, "That remark was completely out of line. Prisoner or not, no man should be treated in such a manner. I am deeply sorry, Capitaine."

He sighed, then inquired, "Who was the Marine? Sergeant Quinn, do you know?"

"Oh, that is not the end. I was annoyed, but not enough to hit the man. That would have been - excessive. But when he tried to punch me, then I pushed him back, with the apple in my hand... I hoped it would sting his eyes enoguh to allow me to get past him." Raoul said, wondering if the Captain really thought he would hit a man over such a childish insult.

Quinn stiffened to attention as the Captain turned to him.

"Yes, sir. It was Private Shriver, sir, and I am inclined to believe the... Capitaine's version of events over his, sir."

He did not like admitting to distrusting one of his Marines, especially in front of outsiders, but it had to be said, if the Frenchman were to have any sort of justice.

"Forgive me, Capitaine. I was not trying to imply that you would hit a man merely for an insult. I thought there had to be more provocation involved, and obviously there was."

Bolitho turned to Quinn. If the sergeant actually believed the Capitaine over one of his own Marines, then it seemed the Frenchman was telling the truth.

"There will be consequences for this, sergeant. See to it that Shriver is punished for his actions."

He wanted to ensure justice was carried out, but it would not do to let the Capitaine off completely. Otherwise it would look as though Bolitho was catering too much to him.

"Though I am sure you merely acted in self-defence, in all fairness Capitaine, I will have to request that you confine yourself to your cabin for the time being. I hope you understand the necessity of that."

Raoul felt his face stiffen. He took a moment before he said: "I understand, of course, and will do so..." He straightened up and unnecessarily adjusted the hang of his pelisse before adding "Thank you, Captain."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Two hours of marching around the deck in full kit should do it, hopefully. Though with Shriver being as big and stupid as he was, he doubted it. There was always the alternative, of course: making him report, in full kit, to the officer of the watch every hour for 24 hours. The stupid lummox.

"Captain," Padstowe decided now was the right point to make his suggestion. "I understand that this incident was undesirable, yet as the Capitaine seems only to have struck Private Shriver in self-defence, and even then not to cause lasting damage, I would judge that he has not broken the conditions of his parole. Confining may seem a necessity, but might I make a proposal?"

Bolitho was more than willing to hear what Padstowe would suggest. He did not want to unjustly punish the Capitaine, but neither did he want to look as though he was being soft on a man that his crew considered an enemy.

"What proposal might that be, Captain?"

"Instead of confining the capitaine, which seeing as he has not breached his parole may be considered unjust, I propose that a guard be set on him and his cabin."

Padstowe looked gravely at Bolitho.

"I am aware that this would be an imposition upon your crew, yet a trustworthy Marine to accompany the capitaine when he wishes to take the air or exercise can only be beneficial to his personal safety and the safety of your crew."

[OOC: Bedtime. Ta-ta.]

Raoul glanced at Padstowe. It would be better than being confined to his cabin, but he had not yet seen a Marine that did not scowl at him. The safety of the crew was not an issue - at least, they did not stand in any danger from him. He turned back to face the Captain, and to look steadily at him.

"I would not object, of course, to whatever restrictions you wish to place on me while I am on your ship. You must of course balance the risk to your crew ..."

Quinn nodded thoughtfully. The thing was, who could he detail to looking after their French passenger? Thompson was on crutches until Monday at the earliest, so he was out of the question. There were several other candidates for the task, so they could share the duty between them, so that it would be too onerous a duty. There was Branning, of course. Solid and dependable. Or Allen. Or, well, almost anyone. Personal feelings aside, they could be trusted not to intimidate the Frenchman they were watching. That might rule Branning out, of course, due to his size.

And having a Marine nearby would certainly deter any of the sailors from trying to do what Shriver had.

Bolitho thought it over for a moment. Padstowe's suggestion was reasonable. It would allow for the Capitaine to have some measure of freedom, and to not be punished too fiercely, yet it would not make Bolitho appear to be too lenient either.

"A fair proposition, Captain. I suppose it could work for now, at least. If any other unfortunate incidents occur, the arrangement would have to be reassessed, of course. But I see no reason not to employ such measures now."

To Raoul he said, "Thank you for understanding, Capitaine."

Turning back to Quinn, he added, "Sergeant, can I trust you to choose a Marine who will be up to the task of escorting the Capitaine?"

[OOC: *whispers* Pick Allen!

Good night! I'm off for dinner now myself, so I'll say my farewell too.]

(OOC - )

"Yes, sir. I think Private Allen would be happy to do it." He turned to des Sablières. "I think you'd get on with him, sir." Well, he hoped so, anyway.