do,” she said, finishing her chart and throwing down her 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.
Although they kept a wary eye on the Channel skies, the first weeks after Excidium’s departure were quiet. No raids came, and Lenton was of the opinion that the French still thought Excidium was in residence, and were correspondingly reluctant to make any venture. “The longer we can keep them thinking it, the better,” he said to the assembled captains after another uneventful patrol. “Aside from the benefit to us, just as well if they don’t realize another formation is nearing their precious fleet at Cadiz.”
They all took a great measure of comfort from the news of Excidium’s safe arrival, which Volly brought almost two weeks to the day from his departure. “They’d already begun when I left,” Captain James told the other captains the next day, taking a hurried breakfast before setting out on his return journey. “You could hear the Spaniards howling for miles: their merchantmen are as quick to fall apart under dragon-spray as any ship-of-the-line, and their shops and houses as well. I expect they’ll fire on the Frenchmen themselves if Villeneuve doesn’t come out soon, alliance or not.”
The atmosphere grew lighter after this encouraging news, and Lenton cut their patrol a little short and granted them all liberty for celebration, a welcome respite to men who had been working at a frenetic pace. The more energetic went into town; most seized a little sleep, as did the weary dragons.
Laurence took the opportunity to enjoy a quiet evening’s reading with Temeraire; they stayed together late into the night, reading by the light of the lanterns. Laurence woke out of a light doze some time after the moon had risen: Temeraire’s head was dark against the illuminated sky, and he was looking searchingly to the north of their clearing. “Is something the matter?” Laurence asked him. Sitting