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ourselves upon your generosity.
He spoke with an easy, pleasant manner, but there were deep lines around his
eyes, and they were unhappy; Laurence looked at him with sympathy. He had
known French officers of his sort before, naval men who had fled France after
the Revolution, eating their hearts out on England s shores; their position
was a sad and bitter one: worse, he felt, than the merely dispossessed
noblemen who had fled to save their lives, for they felt all the pain of
sitting idle while their nation was at war, and every victory celebrated in
England was a wrenching loss for their own service.
Oh yes, it is uncommon generous of us, taking in a Chanson-de-Guerre like
this, Sutton said, with heavy but well-meant raillery. After all, we have so
very many heavyweights we can hardly squeeze in another, particularly so fine
and well-trained a veteran.
Choiseul bowed slightly in acknowledgment and looked down at his dragon with
affection. I gladly accept the compliment for Praecursoris, but you have
already many fine beasts here; that Regal Copper looks prodigious, and I see
from his horns he is not yet at his full growth. And your dragon, Captain
Laurence, surely he is some new breed? I have not seen his like.
No, nor are you likely to again, Sutton said, unless you go halfway round
the world.
He is an Imperial, sir, a Chinese breed, Laurence said, torn between not
wishing to show off and an
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sty's%20Dragon.html undeniable pleasure in doing just so. Choiseul s
astonished reaction, though decently restrained, was highly satisfying, but
then Laurence was obliged to explain the circumstances of Temeraire s
acquisition, and he could not help but feel somewhat awkward when relating the
triumphant capture of a
French ship and a French egg to a Frenchman.
But Choiseul was clearly used to the situation and heard the story with at
least the appearance of complaisance, though he offered no remark. Though
Sutton was inclined to dwell on the French loss a little smugly, Laurence
hurried on to ask what Choiseul would be doing in the covert.
I understand there is a formation in training, and that Praecursoris and I
are to join in the maneuvers:
some notion I believe of our serving as a relief, when circumstances allow,
Choiseul said. Celeritas hopes also that Praecursoris may be of some
assistance in the training of your heaviest beasts for formation flying: we
have always flown in formation, for close on fourteen years now.
A thundering rush of wings interrupted their conversation as the other dragons
were called to the hunting grounds, the first four having finished their meal,
and Temeraire and Praecursoris both made an attempt to land at the same
convenient outcropping nearby: Laurence was startled to see Temeraire bare his
teeth and flare his ruff at the older dragon. I beg you to excuse me, he
said hastily, and hurried to find another place, calling Temeraire, and with
relief saw him wheel away and follow.
I would have come to you, Temeraire said, a little reproachfully, casting a
narrowed eye at
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Praecursoris, who was now occupying the contested perch and speaking quietly
with Choiseul.
They are guests here; it is only courteous to give way, Laurence said. I
had no notion that you were so fierce in matters of precedence, my dear.
Temeraire furrowed the ground before him with his claws. He is not any bigger
than I am, he said.
And he is not a Longwing, so he does not spit poison, and there are no
fire-breathing dragons in
Britain; I do not see why he is any better than I am.
He is not one jot better, not at all, Laurence said, stroking the tensed
foreleg. Precedence is merely a matter of formality, and you are perfectly
within your rights to eat with the others. Pray do not be quarrelsome,
however; they have fled the Continent, to be away from Bonaparte.
Oh? Temeraire s ruff smoothed out gradually against his neck, and he looked
at the strange dragon with more interest. But they are speaking French; if
they are French, why are they afraid of
Bonaparte?
They are royalists, loyal to the Bourbon kings, Laurence said. I dare say
they left after the Jacobins put the King to death; it was very dreadful in
France for a while, I am afraid, and though Bonaparte is at least not chopping
people s heads off anymore, he is scarcely much better in their eyes; I assure
you they despise him worse than we do.
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Well, I am sorry if I was rude, Temeraire murmured, and straightened up to
address Praecursoris.
Veuillez m excuser, si je vous ai dérangé,
he said, to Laurence s astonishment.
Praecursoris turned around.
Mais non, pas du tout,
he answered mildly, and inclined his head.
Permettez que je vous présente Choiseul, mon capitaine,
he added.
Et voici Laurence, le mien,
Temeraire said. Laurence, pray bow, he added, in an undertone, when
Laurence only stood staring.
Laurence at once made his leg; he of course could not interrupt the formal
exchange, but he was bursting with curiosity, and as soon as they were winging
their way down to the lake for Temeraire s bath, he demanded, But how on
earth do you come to speak French?
Temeraire turned his head about. What do you mean? Is it very unusual to
speak French? It was not at all difficult.
Well, it is prodigious strange; so far as I know you have never heard a word
of it: certainly not from me, for I am lucky if I can say my bonjours without
embarrassing myself, Laurence said.
I am not surprised that he can speak French, Celeritas said, when Laurence
asked him later that afternoon, at the training grounds, but only that you
should not have heard him do so before; do you mean to say Temeraire did not
speak French when he first cracked the shell? He spoke English directly?
Why, yes, Laurence said. I confess we were surprised, but only to hear him
speak at all so soon. Is it unusual?
That he spoke, no; we learn language through the shell, Celeritas said. And
as he was aboard a
French vessel in the months before his hatching, I am not surprised at all
that he should know that tongue. I am far more surprised that he was able to
speak English after only a week aboard. Fluently?
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From the first moment, Laurence said, pleased at this fresh evidence of
Temeraire s unique gifts.
You have been forever surprising me, my dear, he added, patting Temeraire s
neck, making him preen with satisfaction.
But Temeraire continued somewhat more prickly, particularly where Praecursoris [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
