Victory of Eagles Page 0,69

room can be found - "

No-one immediately answered her, and then Jane had to say, "We do very well here, ma'am, although I thank you for the hospitality; we sleep with our dragons, when we are on the march. Frette, can you manage a chair," she added, and Lady Allendale looked at her, and at Laurence, with a bewildered expression.

There was no help for it, of course, and he said, "Mother, may I present Admiral Roland, of Excidium; Lady Allendale."

Jane bowed, and offered a hand to shake; Lady Allendale had recovered herself enough to accept it with cordiality, and also the folding camp chair which Frette brought from out of Jane's tent and set near the fire, with another for Jane herself. Captain St. Germain was walking up and down the camp, stretching her legs, and had not noticed the visitor yet. "Thankee, Frette, I had rather stand; we will be sitting all day tomorrow," she said, when he offered her one; and then pulled up short seeing Lady Allendale. There was a little awkward silence. Lady Allendale gazed with fascination at Jane, and at St. Germain, and around all the camp, with more attention than she had paid before to the other aviators. She was no fool; Laurence saw her marking out, quickly, the handful of other female officers: another on Jane's crew, a lieutenant on Berkley's, and a few midshipmen and ensigns, scattered about.

No-one offered any explanation, and of course she did not ask, but only said to Jane, "You are bound for Scotland, then," politely.

"Aye, ma'am," Jane said, "I hope we do not put you out," an admirable beginning to a brief exchange of wine and small conversation, which might be quickly brought to a close with no rudeness on either side.

But Temeraire was now unoccupied, waiting for his dinner to be cooked, and he put in, anxiously, "Perhaps you had better come with us, and not stay here; I have just thought of it. Perhaps Napoleon may come here, before we have had a chance to beat him properly."

"You cannot be carrying about civilians where you like," Jane said to him, repressively. "A nice job we would do of keeping anyone safe, when it is our duty to go look him out. He may come marching through here by bad luck, or not; but we are sure to meet him sooner or late."

"Yes, but when we meet him, we can fight him," Temeraire said, "and be sure of keeping our friends safe."

"I am very grateful for the concern," Lady Allendale said gently, "but we will not go, I think; it would be quite unforgivable to leave our servants and the tenants alone to manage, in such circumstances: that is our duty."

But this quite changed the conversation; she then inquired of Jane, whether her own family was somewhere safe. "I haven't any to worry for, but my Emily, and of course I am lucky enough to have her in eye-shot, at present," Jane said, nodding at where Emily was helping to put up the camp, and naturally then Emily had come over to be introduced, and having made her bow added earnestly, "And thank you very much, my lady, for the present; I am much obliged to you."

Laurence knew his mother well enough to see, as most strangers would not have, that she was puzzled; and then understanding dawned. "Do you like the garnets, then?" she said, and leaned forward to look searchingly into Emily's face, with a very different sort of interest; while Laurence felt his heart sink.

In London, the past year, his father had drawn entirely the wrong conclusion, from Emily's presence among Temeraire's crew and Laurence's evident responsibilities towards her; and he had passed that conclusion along to Lady Allendale in terms not sufficiently guarded as to prevent her becoming very interested in Emily's welfare.

"Oh, yes," Emily said, "and I have been able to wear them, twice, to the theater in Dover."

"Are you, are you in service, then?" Lady Allendale asked, willing to be inquisitor of a young girl, and where she felt she had a right, as she had not been of Jane herself. Emily unconcernedly nodded, unaware of any undercurrent, and said, proudly, "I am lately made ensign, my lady."

"There, enough puffery; Dorset is looking for you," Jane said, more discreet, and Emily bobbed once more and dashed away.

Lady Allendale watched her run back to her duties. The surgeon was working over the dragons: Temeraire was not the only one of the