The Great Cabin

"Thank you. I am sure it will work out well," Raoul said, wondering if this Allen was one of those who had been at supper the night before.

[Uh-oh, Raoul probably won't be too happy when he sees his new guard. Then again, Allen probably won't be too happy about this arrangement either...]

"Good, then it's settled. Sergeant, inform Private Allen of his new duty and have him report to Capitaine des Sablières' cabin," Bolitho said to Quinn, "But for now, I would appreciate it if you could escort the Capitaine back to his cabin."

Then he turned to Padstowe.

"Thank you again for your suggestion, Captain. I do hope this measure will help deter any further trouble."

Finally, he looked at Raoul.

"I am sorry that this has happened, but I pray you will not let this one foolish act reflect on the entire crew. They are good men, and I would hate for all of them to appear less so in your eyes simply because of the faults of one."

"Aye, aye, sir," Quinn said. He replaced his hat on his head and saluted, waiting for the Frenchman to indicate that he was ready to leave. Allen might not be too pleased to hear of his new duties, but he was sensible enough, and would hopefully be able to hold an intelligent conversation with the officer. At the very least, he wouldn't be so stupid as to try to goad him into doing something regrettable, unlike Shriver.

"I feel the same way about some of the things my own people have done," Raoul said drily, and nodded again. "I look forward to meeting your Private Allen...." He glanced towards Padstowe, and gave as much of a salute as was proper under the cirumstances, before turning to go.

Quinn followed him out, nodding to the sentry by the door as he passed him. It was Jimmy the Greek, he saw

"I think you'll get on with Private Allen, sir, if you don't mind me saying so. He was one of them serving at supper yesterday. Though, if you'd prefer someone else, I'll do me best to find someone."

"Ah!" Which one of the scowlers, Raoul wondered, but tried smiling at the Sergeant anyway. "That would not give him a reason to dislike me - unless like Dr Maturin he is bored by cricket talk. We will see how we get on. He may object to the duty himself, if it is to keep me safe."

The man sounded cheerful enough about it, but it had a slightly false ring to it, to Quinn's mind.

"He... Well, sir, none of the lads much liked getting pressed into waiting table, so if he did or said somethin' that wasn't to your liking, it was probably that. But I can find someone else, if you'd prefer, like I said. I don't know what he thinks of cricket, though, sir."

He knew what the men thought of waiting table; he'd thought much the same himself when he was an enlisted man.

Raoul tilted his head: "Let us see - the guard will change, after all, and if I have problems I will assuredly tell you or Captain Padstowe of my concerns. I do not wish to cause trouble for the ship, or for the Captains," he said earnestly.

Quinn nodded. "The Captain knows that, sir. And I'm sorry it was one of my Marines that pushed you into doing what you did. He will be dealt with, you can be sure of that, sir."

Raoul studied the Sergeant's face. Would punishing Shriver solve anything, or would it just increase his anger, and the chance of a further confrontation, or simply the spreading of his malicious lies. No, he could not expect them to be believed, surely. But whatever the Marines decided to do to one of their own, he had neither the right nor the inclination to interfere.

"I will take more care not to expose myself to such behaviour," he murmured. "And Private Allen, or whoever it is, will be there to remind me."

"You wasn't to know, sir," Quinn said. "And Private Allen will look after you all right." He shrugged. It had to be better than spending the rest of the voyage in his cabin, didn't it? "Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

"No, thank you. You have been most honest about this, and I appreciate it. I will not judge your men by the actions of one. I have had men like that - worse than that - under my command." Raoul looked around as they emerged onto the deck. "If I return to my cabin now, Private Allen can come and find me, once you have broken the news to him. But I will probably not go far, even once he is there to guard me."

"Aye, I'll do that, sir. Only, forgive me sayin' so, but you might get to findin' a bit boring staying in your cabin the whole time. If you want to come on deck..." he trailed off, a little uncertain suddenly. "Well, what I mean is, sir, you're a guest of the Captain's, not a prisoner to stay locked up the whole voyage, sir."

Raoul grinned suddenly. "Sergeant, I am a cavalryman. This whole ship is 'not far'. And I do not intend to stay in my cabin, if the weather is fair. Tomorrow, I believe we will have to wait off shore while Dr Maturin operates on your surgeon. I will possibly sit on deck and read. If your Private Allen reads, I suggest he bring a book with him."

Quinn nodded, smiling. "I'll make sure he brings something to do, then, sir. If there's nothing else, I'll go and find him for you. And let's hope the weather stays fair, sir."

"I hope so," Raoul said fervently. He had grown accustomed to the movement, but he did not welcome the idea of spending the night in his cabin if it was rough. Nor would he venture on deck in such conditions. It would take only one aggrieved marine or seaman... "And thank you. Do you wish to escort me, or leave me to return below with Captain Padstowe?"

Quinn smiled. "I don't think you need me to escort you, if Captain Padstowe is happy to accompany you to the wardroom. I'll send Private Allen to you there, if that's all right with you, sir?"

Raoul glanced across at Padstowe, wondering if he was ready to return to the wardroom and his cabin. "That will be perfectly all right," he said.

Richard Bolitho wrote:"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."

"As do I, sir," Padstowe said, inclining his head slightly to the captain, before he and Raoul took their leave. The Marine sergeant followed, and stayed silent as he half-listened to their conversation. He had thought Bolitho to be a reasonable man, yet his agreement not to keep Raoul unduly confined had given him the evidence he needed to believe it was true. Any other outcome, he suspected, would have only led to further upset all round.

He became aware that Raoul was looking at him, a question in his eyes, and that they had reached the aft companionway. He recalled something about the sergeant letting himself accompany his charge back down to the wardroom, and he nodded in the affirmative.

"I will see he comes to no further harm from here to his cabin, sergeant," he said lightly, a smile on his lips. "Never you fear."

"Very well, sir," Quinn said, offering a salute before turning to Capitaine des Sablières. "I shall send Private Allen along to your cabin in a few minutes, sir, if that's agreeable with you?"

Raoul smiled back at Padstowe. He was getting better quite quickly now, but he was still not fit - if any trouble needed fending off, it would probably fall to Raoul. But that was unlikely, in the presence of an officer of the British Army. He turned back to the Sergeant. "I shall look forward to making his acquaintance," he said.

"Shall we go down now?" he asked Padstowe, pausing at the top of the companionway.

Padstowe bowed with a smile and indicated the companionway with his outstretched arm.

"After you, capitaine."

Raoul returned the bow and went down the companionway to the entrance to the wardroom, waiting at the bottom for Padstowe.

Padstowe followed, not perhaps so gracefully as Raoul, but at a fairly decent pace. He reached the bottom of the stairs, wobbled a bit, steadied himself against the beam, then smiled again.

"I was convinced Captain Bolitho was a reasonable man; I am glad that I was not mistaken."

"I was sure of it, although I have not met many naval men - our paths do not usually cross. Thank you for speaking up for me: or I would have found myself confined to the cabin. Reasonable man or not, he would not take chances with the safety of his ship." Although why Bolitho would think that one cavalry captain could endanger the ship, Raoul did not know. "Will you sit out here, and drink coffee until the Marine arrives?"