no ambiguity."
Laurence had a sheaf of papers in his hands, packets each sealed separately and inscribed with the other captains' names; he handed the orders to Sipho to carry around.
"Damned paperwork, with Bonaparte in our parlor," Berkley muttered. "Trust the Army for this sort of thing - "
"You will oblige me greatly, Berkley, by putting those orders by safe, somewhere they cannot come to harm," Laurence said, when Berkley would have crumpled the parchment. "I would be glad to know the chain of command quite clear, to anyone who should inquire, in future." All the other captains paused and looked at him, and Temeraire wondered puzzled why it should matter; the red wax seals affixed to the parchment were attractive, but they might be made anytime one wished; and Laurence had not kept one himself.
But Laurence did not explain further. Instead he went on, "The French are harassing our farmers with raiding bands, and so supplying the wants of their army. Our duty is to stop this predation, and so far as is practicable without undue risk to the dragons, to reduce the forces available to Napoleon."
There was a pause, and then Granby said, " - you mean - his irregulars?"
"I do," Laurence said.
"What does he expect us to do with the prisoners, cart them about with us in the belly-rigging?" Berkley said.
"There will be no quarter given," Laurence said. There was a heavy finality to his tone, which somehow warned off any other questions; the captains did not say anything even to one another. "We will begin in Northumberland, tomorrow, and work our way south. We leave at dawn, gentlemen; that is all."
They stood a moment longer looking at their orders and at Laurence, with oddly uncertain expressions; in the end they all drifted away back to their tents without another word said. Temeraire himself was at a standstill. He could not understand why Laurence should have taken the command. He was already in command, and it was important, was it not, for a dragon to have the post - Laurence himself had said as much. Temeraire did not mean to be selfish anymore, at all, now that he knew he had been selfish; if Laurence wished the command, of course he should have it, and yet, if it mattered for politics - for all the dragons -
He struggled over it; ventured at last timidly to ask, and added hurriedly, "I do not mind at all, for myself, personally, I am very happy that you are restored, and a captain now again. Only, if it is important - "
He was yet mostly coiled up with the others, but everyone else was asleep; the other men were gone into their tents. Laurence had told Roland and Demane and Sipho to go and sleep in his tent, and had stayed out, wrapped in his coat and cloak and looking over maps, which he had laid out on a small camp-table; he was marking them with a small wax pencil, here and there.
"In the present case, it is the more important you should not be in command, or anyone but myself," Laurence said.
There was something odd in his voice: queerly flat, as if he did not much care what he was saying, and he did not look up from his work. Temeraire wished very much it were not so dark, and he could see Laurence's face. "In any case," Laurence added, "whether the courts will believe you truly the commander is a proposition yet untried; and I hope you would not risk the lives and the careers of the other captains, unconsenting, for the sake of your precedence."
"But," Temeraire said, "are they not risking their lives anyway?"
"In battle," Laurence said, "not afterwards."
Temeraire did not much want to pursue; however dreadful to think Laurence was angry with him, it would be all the worse to know, to hear it from Laurence himself. "Laurence," Temeraire said anyway, bravely, "pray explain to me; I know - I know I have let you be hurt, because I did not try to understand well enough, and I do not mean to let it happen again, only I cannot help it, if I do not know."
Laurence did look up at that, his eyes briefly catching a reflection from the castle upon the hill. "There is nothing to help; I am in no danger."
"If they should be, so should you," Temeraire said.
"I cannot be condemned twice," Laurence said. "Pray get some rest: we have a hundred miles to