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he added belatedly, as he realized she had not yet asked.
You are very kind, she said, and a wide flash of a smile crossed her face,
lopsidedly, the right side of her mouth turning up more than the scarred left.
Then she went on, And I would be very grateful if you would tell me, with
real honesty, what you think of Emily s work, and of her inclination for the
life.
He was hard-pressed not to turn crimson at his mistaken assumption, even as
she added, I know it is a wretched thing to ask you to speak ill of her to
me, but I have seen what comes of relying too heavily upon the line of
succession, without good training. If you have any cause to doubt her
suitability, I beg you to tell me now, while there still may be time to repair
the fault.
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Her anxiety was very plain now, and thinking of Rankin and his disgraceful
treatment of Levitas, Laurence could well understand it; sympathy enabled him
to recover from his self-inflicted embarrassment. I have seen the
consequences of what you describe as well, he said, quick to reassure her. I
promise you I would speak frankly if I saw any such signs; indeed, I should
never have taken her on as a runner if I were not entirely convinced of her
reliability, and her dedication to her duty. She is too young for certainty,
of course, but I think her very promising.
Roland blew out a breath gustily and sat back in her chair, letting her hand
of cards drop as she stopped even pretending to be paying them attention.
Lord, how you relieve me, she said. I hoped, of course, but I find I cannot
trust myself on the subject. She laughed with relief, and went to her bureau
for a new bottle of wine.
Laurence held out his glass for her to fill. To Emily s success, he
proposed, and they drank; then she reached out, took the glass from his hand,
and kissed him. He had indeed been wholly mistaken; on this matter, she proved
not at all tentative.
Chapter 11
L
AURENCE COULD NOT
help wincing at the haphazard way in which Jane threw her things out of the
wardrobe and into heaps upon the bed. May I help you? he asked finally, out
of desperation, and took possession of her baggage. No, I beg you, permit me
the liberty; you may consider your flight path as I
do this, he said.
Thank you, Laurence, that is very kind of you. She sat down with her maps
instead. It will be a straightforward flight, I hope, she went on,
scribbling calculations and moving the small bits of wood which she was using
to represent the scattered dragon transport ships that would provide Excidium
and his formation with resting places on their way to Cadiz. So long as the
weather holds, less than two weeks should see us there. With so much urgent
need, the dragons would not be going by a single transport, but rather would
fly from one transport to another, attempting to predict their locations based
on the current and the wind.
Laurence nodded, though a little grimly; they were only a day shy of October,
and there was every likelihood at this time of year that the weather would not
hold. Then she would be faced with the dangerous choice of trying to find a
transport that might easily have been blown off-course, or seeking shelter
inland in the face of Spanish artillery. Presuming, of course, that the
formation was not itself brought down by a storm: dragons were from time to
time cast down by lightning or heavy winds, and if flung into a heavy ocean,
they could easily drown with all their crew.
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But there was no choice. Lily had recovered with great speed over the
intervening weeks; she had led the formation through a full patrol only
yesterday, and landed without pain or stiffness. Lenton had looked her over,
spoken a few words with her and Captain Harcourt, and gone straightaway to
give Jane her orders for Cadiz. Laurence had been expecting as much, of
course, but he could not help feeling concern, both for the dragons going and
for those remaining behind.
There, that will do, she said, finishing her chart and throwing down her
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pen; he looked up from the baggage in surprise: he had fallen into a brown
study and packed mechanically, without marking what he did; now he realized
that he had been silent for nearly twenty minutes together, and that he had
one of her stays in his hands. He hastily dropped it atop the neatly packed
things in her small case, and closed the lid.
The sunlight was beginning to come in at the window; their time was gone.
There, Laurence, do not look so glum; I have made the flight to Gibraltar a
dozen times, she said, coming to kiss him soundly.
You will have a worse time of it here, I am afraid; they will undoubtedly try
some mischief once they know we are gone.
I have every confidence in you, Laurence said, ringing the bell for the
servants. I only hope we have not misjudged. It was as much as he would say
critical of Lenton, particularly on a subject where he could not be unbiased.
Yet he felt that even if he had not had a personal objection to make to
placing
Excidium and his formation in danger, he would still have been concerned by
the lack of further intelligence.
Volly had arrived three days before with a report full of fresh negatives. A
handful of French dragons had arrived in Cadiz: enough to keep Mortiferus from
forcing out the fleet, but not a tenth of the dragons which had been stationed
along the Rhine. And in cause for more concern, even though nearly every light
and quick dragon not wholly involved in dispatch service had been pressed into
scouting and spying, they still knew nothing more of Bonaparte s work across
the Channel.
He walked with her to Excidium s clearing and saw her aboard; it was strange,
for he felt as though he ought to feel more. He would have put a bullet in his
brains sooner than let Edith go to face danger while he remained behind
himself, yet he could say his adieus to Roland without much more of a pang
than in bidding farewell to any other comrade. She blew him a friendly kiss
from atop Excidium s back, once her crew were all aboard. I will see you in a
few months, I am sure, or sooner if we can chase the Frogs out of harbor, she
called down. Fair winds, and mind you don t let Emily run wild.
He raised a hand to her. Godspeed, he called, and stood watching as the
enormous wings carried
Excidium up, the other dragons of his formation rising to join him, until they
had all dwindled out of sight to the south.
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