THE SULKIEST NAVAL OFFICER.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

Good Mundane,

Glad though I am to be held in your high esteem, I am... concerned about your intentions for me.

Do not forget that I am first and foremost, an officer of His Majesties Royal Navy. I have a duty to my country and to my captain, and I cannot have you pursuing some alternate commission for me beyond the navigations of the heavens! Not any more than I could stand idle while you linger upon your indecision of my fate.

Will all due respect, you could offer me no landscape so wondrous as the sand and sea of the Indies, no adventure so great as the war on France, and no duty more honorable than my service to my country! I must insist that you allow me to return to it at once!

Now please, let's have no more of this talk. I wish to return at once to my ship.

Yours
Lt. Horatio Hornblower

Comments

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[Horatio stiffens and colours a little, because he didn't mean to come off as completely hysterical, but now he fears that must be what he's done.]

You're right, of course. I will contain myself.

[Then a pause, because he can tell you are some kind of... land faring mammal, but you are not a Marine.]

You are... with the infantry, Sir?

[dehorse]

[ That's the most obliging reaction he's ever had from a grown man not under his command, which is mostly amusing and maybe slightly suspicious. ]

Major Sharpe of the 95th Regiment.

[ That's said offhand, and not pointedly so either, not unlike Edrington. The verbal prod is saved for the next comment. ]

Been seeing the action in Spain, where the looting's pretty poor.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[Major. Major. Horatio is pretty sure that a Major outranks him. But technically he's in the Navy, so does an Army Major outrank him? Probably best to salute either way, and he does.]

Excuse me, Major. I wasn't aware that I was addressing a fellow officer.

[Because your voice sounds like regular people.]

Ah... [Oh god, and now he has to backpedal over that looting comment. Maybe he can just slip away from this topic without having to really say anything...] Very good, Sir.

[dehorse]

[ Sharpe observes Horatio without comment for a full, uncomfortable two seconds, then assumes an expression of indifference, their exchange up until this point apparently swept under a mental rug. ]

If you were swept away by a storm, I'd hope your captain wouldn't blame you for it. This isn't much different, is it? Just because you can yell at this storm doesn't mean it'll listen.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[Hornblower nods, his expression remaining solemn and attentive, even as his hands are fidgeting idly with the edges of his coat. He's clearly not content just... calmly weathering any storms.]

No Sir. But, if separated from your Regiment for any other reason, surely you would seek reunion with them tirelessly?

[dehorse]

So I would. But it's not like that, and that's not your fault, nor mine.

You've seen much action, Lieutenant?

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

I have seen some, Sir. Captured some ships, fled from others.

And you?

[dehorse]

Similar exploits, I'd imagine. [ Dry, but not unfriendly. ] I've not paid much mind to what happens at sea, other than what it takes to get to Spain. But if they're all as dutiful as you, I suppose there's no cause for concern.

[sssiiiiirrrrr]

[A brief, but telling pause.]

Most are, Major Sharpe. I am glad to say that I have served with a great many good men.

[And some real stinkers, but that's the armed forces for you...]

[dehorse]

[ His mouth quirks an unspoken understanding of the pause, but he decides against trying to get more details out of Hornblower. They don't know each other well enough for that.

Only very mild mockery is appropriate, obviously. ]

Well, that is a comfort in these troubling times.