The Great Cabin

Stephen mumbled that the trephinne needed to be sharpened and that eating when he was not hungry was a waste of time.

"But think how much less worried you will be later, to know that you have already eaten, and that all you need do is check on your patient and sleep." Raoul could not suppress the smile, and added, while he and Padstowe appeared to have the upper hand: "You will need to eat a good breakfast tomorrow - it is possible that you will miss dinner, after all. There will be time to disturb the armourer tomorrow morning, if the trephinne needs more attention."

[OOC: It being the second dog watch already, I shall be going for my dinner now. I will return probably between one and two bells in the first watch.]

"I suppose so," said Stephen uncertainly as they walked away from the sickbay. "I need the armourer to make the cap."

Raoul laid a hand on his arm, distressed to hear the uncertainty in Dr Maturin's voice. "It will be for the best," he said gently. "You said yourself that you had to rest - you had the headache and need to recruit your strength before tomorrow."

Stephen looked at the hand on his arm, and then up into Raoul's face. His expression softened; he was quite touched. "I will rest, Capitaine, do not fear. Bridgens, M'Clure and I will take four hour watches; I will hopefully be abed by midnight."

Raoul glanced at Padstowe, and, as they climbed the companionway, said: "I hope that they will not have to wake you - or even interrupt you while you eat. It seemed to me earlier..."

"I doubt there will be many cases; of course, I will tell them to wake me with anything urgent, or if there is the slightest change with Mister Crozier." Stephen looked at des Sablières as he reached the top of the companionway. "What did it seem to you?"

Raoul looked at him. "As if they were going to let you do everything. To take over Mr Crozier's workload, and care for him as well. Perhaps they were merely afraid that they would be... not up to the standard you would expect, and were frightened to do anything."

"What? No, I am sure they would not do that; in any case, we have had very few cases today, very few at all. Am I frightening?"

"Terrifying!" Raoul said lightly, and remembered how afraid he had been, facing the doctor's anger. "Do you not have that effect on your own assistants - I assume you would have had assistant surgeons when you sailed. I can imagine their nervousness..."

Stephen frowned a little. "I think never considered myself to be a particularly frightening specimen," he said, looking up and down himself. "Hmm. My assistants - of course, they do what I tell them too, but that is only because of my rank above them, and for their own good."

"Merely over-awed, perhaps," said Raoul, and paused at a point where it was possible to stand by the rail and look out to sea, without getting caught up in ropes and pulleys. Fresh air would surely be good for the doctor, and for him. He did not want to go back down immediately, and he and the Captain had been far more successful in winkling Dr Maturin out of the sick bay than they had anticipated.

"I doubt I could awe anybody; hurry along, Capitaine - Jonathan, take my arm."

"What for?" Padstowe asked, reaching the top of the companionway, his good hand steadying himself on the railing for balance. "And you do yourself quite an injustice, Stephen; there are many who I have found to be in awe of you."

"We should hurry," said Stephen, going a little pink. "Often quite without cause, it must be said," he said, thinking of Jack with an affectionate smile. "There is very little even the most educated physician can do in a lot of cases, alas."

"But how well that physician can do it is what matters," Padstowe said. "I know Sir Arthur is impressed. And we do not need to hurry - supper is near, but we have a little time yet."

"It is not on the table yet?" Stephen said. He had intended to eat and return to the sick-bay as soon as possible. He looked down at the water, mainly to hide the expression of surprise on his face. "He is? My word."

"We thought you would give us more trouble, so we started out early," said Raoul, with a slight smile, as the doctor blushed a faint pink. "The sailors I met spoke of you with awe, and it is no wonder if the same stories have reached the surgeon's assistants. Your general is probably going on more official sources, but would not employ any one who did not have a good reputation."

Padstowe smiled, seeing Stephen's face colour.

"And considering the General usually loathes doctors of any sort with a passion, you seem to be one a very select band that he likes."

Sir Arthur had not said it in exactly those words, but any officer working close to Wellesley for any length of time soon learnt how to read him.

"Is that so?" said Stephen, extremely embarrassed, looking calmly out to sea but twisting the fabric of his sleeve. He wished to ask Padstowe what made him think that Wellesley liked him, but it was an eighteen year old's reaction, and quite unforgivably insecure in front of des Sablières. "I hope there will be fish."

"For supper?"

Padstowe was a little surprised by the cahnge of subject. Then he recalled that it was Friday.

"Oh, I'm sure there will be," he said casually, hoping to God that there would be. He had slept through dinner, it seemed, and therefore was not sure whether fish was a naval food.

"There are Irishmen on board," Raoul said. "The midshipman who showed me where the horses are... But they must be familiar with the practice, even the English." Raoul hoped they had: he had not thought to request a fish dish, and neither it seemed had the doctor.

Stephen had far more experience of the British navy than either Padstowe or des Sablières had. "Bread and cheese will suit me fine. I wish to return quickly to the sick-bay in any case."

"But do not skimp or your bread and cheese in order to do so," Padstowe said quietly.

"I am not hungry, Captain, I told you."