(Long Overdue) Windfalls, Chapter 5
Thanks to the year's-end update here on this community, I decided that I needed to post more of the story I started over a year ago. I've managed to get two chapters done in the interim, but I'm probably going to officially put the posting on hiatus until I've finished the whole thing. I know where I want the story to go; I just need to get it down on paper. I'm sure my fellow writers understand that feeling...
Since it's been a horrendously long time since I posted for this story (October of 2010??? Good lord, I thought I'd been better), I'll link to the other parts first:
Prologue: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/93645.html
Chapter 1: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/93862.html
Chapter 2: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/96396.html
Chapter 3: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/99098.html
Chapter 4: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/119580.html
And now, moving on...
TITLE: Windfalls, Ch. 5
RATING: PG to be on the safe side.
WORD COUNT: 2,493
PAIRING, IF ANY: Eventual Horatio Hornblower/Captain Amelia
SPOILER WARNING: None
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here.
SUMMARY/NOTES: The dinner on the Legacy doesn’t go quite as Hornblower expected…
That evening, as the watch rang eight bells, Hornblower climbed into a boat, Bush at his side, and rowed over to the Legacy. Hornblower ran his fingers idly over the neck of the bottle he carried, hoping Drake would find it acceptable. It came from his private stock, and was the best he could afford, which, as he knew all too well, wasn’t much. Drake had probably tasted much finer wines from the spoils of privateers; he only hoped she had the tact not to say as much to his face.
Drake and Archie were there to greet him when he climbed over the side. Glancing at Archie as he shook Drake’s hand, Hornblower was pleased to see that Archie looked like his old self; his state this morning must have been due to being rudely awakened. Drake asked after his health, leading them towards her cabin as she did so. Glancing around the deck, Hornblower saw Drake’s men in various stages of relaxation; some were leaning against the railing, others were gathered together playing a sea shanty. Even the men who were working were talking and clearly enjoying themselves.
“A victory always puts them in good spirits,” Drake said, following his gaze, “and I can’t say I blame them. I enjoy the nights after a victory more than anything else. You can’t help but feel that all’s right with the world. Sometimes I even forget we’re in the middle of a war.”
“And what snaps you out of it?” Archie asked as she opened the door to her cabin.
“Generally the realization that I still have to write a report,” Drake answered, smiling a little, “But I took care of that this afternoon, in preparation for this dinner. After you, gentlemen. Just past the stateroom and through the bedroom, and we’ll be in the dining room.”
Hornblower glanced around the bedroom as he entered, noting with a touch of disdain that the place was decorated. Not that decoration was a problem, of course-his own cabin had a few personalized touches-but Drake had taken it too far. There were curtains over the windows, an elaborate trunk, a chair at the desk that was far too fancy for Naval work, and-good Lord-bows tied to the bedstead. Afraid that if he looked around too much, he’d burst out laughing, Hornblower focused on the desk, which was the most normal thing in the room. His eyes landed on a small, ornate box, which caused him to nod his head in approval; that was much more tasteful. The box was open, revealing a small, wooden ball. Hornblower was just puzzling over why such a beautiful box would have such a simple object when Drake darted forward, closing the box and taking it back to her trunk. “Go on forward, gentleman,” she said as she did so, “I won’t be a minute.”
Not wanting to disobey the host, the three men went forward, finding themselves in a much more nautical setting, which relieved Hornblower immensely. Drake appeared a moment later, all smiles. “Now then, the wine, if you please, Mr. Hornblower.”
Taking a deep breath, Hornblower handed over the wine, bracing himself for the cutting remark. Drake turned the bottle over in her hand, examining it. “Ah! I know this wine. It was my favorite, back in the day. Surprisingly good flavor, as I recall.”
Hornblower tried not to let his mouth fall open. Drake smiled as she went to uncork the bottle. “Come now, Hornblower, I haven’t always been used to drinking fine wines. I was a rising captain once too.”
Hornblower sat at the table, still not quite sure what to make of the response. Drake popped the cork and began to pour the wine. “I’m afraid, gentlemen, that it’s been a few months since our last rendezvous with a supply ship. So my ‘best’ cow is more like my fifth best cow. I hope you won’t be too put out by that.”
Assurances were quickly made, and Drake sat down with the others. Her steward brought out the meal, and Drake bid them all to eat. Hornblower was well aware that the meat was a bit tough, but on the whole, it was satisfactory. Everyone appeared to be drinking the wine with pleasure, which allowed him to relax a little; perhaps this wouldn’t be a hellish experience after all.
Conversation was limited to small talk, as if there was an unspoken agreement to not discuss business this night. Drake appeared to be on her best behavior; she didn’t boast about her past accomplishments, nor disparage Hornblower in anything she said. The worst of it was teasing Archie, but since Archie didn’t seem bothered by it, Hornblower tried not to be offended on his behalf.
Once everyone had set down their utensils, Drake clapped her hands. “Well, that was satisfying. Good food, excellent company…all that’s needed is a little entertainment.”
With that, she produced a deck of cards and shuffled them as the plates were cleared. “Whist, then, gentleman?”
“I’m not very good…” Bush protested, but Drake flashed him a smile. “Neither am I, Mr. Bush. Two against two’s a fair fight.”
Maybe it was the pleasure of losing himself in the cards, or maybe it was the wine, but Hornblower found that he was enjoying himself. Drake chattered on cheerfully, asking him questions and appearing to be genuinely interested in the responses. She was hardly a master whist player, but at least she could hold her own, which kept the game interesting.
After about five hands, Bush hesitated. “I’m afraid I’ve about reached my limit of money I’m willing to gamble away. I may have to drop out.”
“But we need four for whist!” Drake protested, “and I don’t think anyone else is ready to quit just yet!”
Hornblower was about to intervene on behalf of his friend when Drake shrugged. “No matter. To tell the truth, I’ve been losing heavily myself. Perhaps we should change the odds.”
“What on earth do you mean?” Hornblower said.
“I mean that perhaps we should bet with something other than money. Favors to each other, spare items of clothing, things like that.”
“Isn’t that rather…unorthodox?”
“This is an unorthodox ship, Mr. Hornblower. We love being different. Besides, Kennedy started it.”
Hornblower looked over at Archie in confusion. Archie laughed. “It’s true. I did.”
“I’m afraid you’ve left me completely in the dark.”
Drake started shuffling the cards. “It’s a long, and rather embarrassing, story. However, it is certainly worth the telling.”
Hornblower arched an eyebrow, wondering exactly what sort of debauchery Archie had instigated. Drake grinned at the memory and began.
“It was Kennedy’s first year as my first lieutenant. We were scheduled for an extended leave, and this would be the first time he’d seen his family since his recovery in Kingston. The leave happened to coincide with his birthday, so his ever-loving mama arranged for three balls in his honor-a welcome home ball, a birthday dinner, and a going-away ball. Kennedy here thought he should introduce me to his family, as I was, after all, his superior officer.
“I was supremely skeptical, since I didn’t want to let the entire world know about my position. I could always bring out the wig, but I was still wary; I’d been found out once, and I didn’t want it to happen again. Kennedy was convinced I could fool everybody, and so challenged me to a card game. The stakes; my presence at the welcome ball.”
Drake grinned and set down the deck. “I’m rubbish at cards in general, not just whist. I should have said no, but I guess I enjoyed the challenge. At any rate, I lost. I re-disguised myself and, with trepidation, went to the ball.”
“She was magnificent,” Archie said, picking up the story, “No one suspected a thing. She even asked a few girls to dance, and I saw at least one of them give her a coy smile afterwards. I’d say she was a great success.”
“I acquitted myself,” Drake said, adjusting her shirtsleeves, “And afterwards, I insisted I would never allow myself to do such a risky thing ever again.”
“And we all know how well that turned out.” Archie said, laughing. Drake shot him a look over her cuffs.
“At any rate, the matter seemed to be closed. Kennedy threatened to make his birthday dinner a masquerade ball instead, which would allow me to wander about with my ears exposed, but I dismissed the idea as foolhardy and ridiculous and threatened to keelhaul him if he actually went through with it…”
“The tongue-lashing was quite enough, thank you.” Archie added sotto voce, which caused Hornblower to hastily disguise his laugh as a clearing of his throat. Bush, meanwhile, had bit down on his lip, stifling the laughter entirely. Drake, oblivious to all this, continued her story, Archie making little editorial comments all the while.
“At any rate, he didn’t. I was invited to the dinner, but declined on the grounds of Admiralty business. But Kennedy was determined to make me regret my choice of first lieutenant…”
“You’d think having had dinner with me was bad enough....”
“…And thus suggested that I come to his farewell ball…this time in a gown. I passed the idea off as ludicrous, as I didn’t have any gowns and hadn’t acted like a female in years…”
“Except for the compulsive redecorating.” (Bush choked on his wine at that one).
“But Kennedy’s a clever little sod when he wants to be. He caught me at a moment when I was…shall we say, convalescing and in need of a distraction, and suggested a game of cards. I was too addled to fully understand what he was doing, and so said yes. We played for money first, then, subtly, he changed the stakes. First it was for a bottle of wine, then for who would supply the funds for our next dinner together. Before I knew it, I had lost another game…and I had just committed myself to attending the ball, in full skirts.”
Hornblower tried to picture Drake in a dress, and completely and utterly failed. Drake smirked. “Kennedy wanted to pay for the dress, but I would have none of it. If word got out that he had bought a dress for a young lady, everyone would assume he would soon be married to her. We didn’t need that sort of attention. Besides, I had the money for it.
“I went about it quite discreetly, sending in my requests and measurements by post. When the day of the fitting came, I put on my wig and the dress I’d been forced to wear at my court-martial, and went in to town. No one, thankfully, suspected a thing, and the fitting passed without incident. Kennedy, meanwhile, was kind enough to purchase a wig for me, one that would pass for a little more feminine. It was a complete surprise to me when he presented it, but since there was nothing suspicious in a man purchasing a wig, I saw nothing amiss.”
“I can only imagine what the shopkeeper thought I was using it for.” Archie murmured, fiddling with his hair. Hornblower put his wineglass to his lips to keep Drake from seeing him smile. Drake took a sip of her own wine, not bothering to hide her grin. “I honored my promise, and I went. I couldn’t breathe from that damn corset, I kept snagging the skirts with my heels, and that blasted fan kept smacking me in the face. I was announced as Amelia Cunningham, and Kennedy gave it out that he’d met me elsewhere.”
“My parent had their suspicions, but they were just happy I was finally looking to settle down.”
“Incredibly, I was asked to dance. Kennedy had given me a few pointers, and I was able to make it through the steps with only a minimum of stumbling. While I don’t think I did myself any favors when dancing, I was told later that I was a ‘charming conversationalist’.
“By the time the ball was over, my chest was bruised from the corset and I was in danger of passing out from lack of air. However, Kennedy told me that no one had suspected a thing, and thus, it had been a rousing success. ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ I told him, ‘but if you ever try anything like this again, I’ll stick you up in the rigging for a few hours in the pouring rain. Either that or I’ll make you wear the dress.’”
“And with my figure, that would be a disaster.” Hornblower couldn’t suppress a laugh at that, and Drake smiled at him. “I’m glad I amused you, Captain. It took me much longer to see the funny side of things. Now then, are you up for a non-monetary wager?”
“What are the stakes?”
Drake considered for a moment. “Mr. Bush, how many more games are you willing to play?”
“As long as the rest of you are interested in the game, I’ll play.”
“One more game, then,” Drake said, “Legacy officers vs. Sutherland officers. If we win, you have to give a dinner over at your ship once the new supply ship comes through. And if you win…” she thought for a moment, then smiled, “I’ll let your crew captain the next privateer we come across.”
“Very generous of you, Captain.”
Drake shrugged. “We had a head start on you. It seems only fair. Are the stakes satisfactory?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s play.”
Unfortunately, Hornblower had a rotten hand, and Drake and Archie played very guardedly. Hornblower calculated the next moves in his head as best as he was able, and managed to hold his own, but he knew from the start that he was going to lose. And sure enough, after about ten minutes Archie lay his cards down flat. “My trick.”
“Well done, Kennedy!” Drake said, clapping him on the back, “I knew you had it in you!”
Archie shrugged modestly. Drake turned to Bush and Hornblower. “You both played well. My compliments on an excellent game.”
Bush murmured his thanks, and Hornblower nodded curtly. Drake continued, “The supply ship is expected in about a week. How about planning for dinner on the Saturday after its arrival?”
“I’ll make the arrangements,” Hornblower said, rising to his feet, “Thank you for an entertaining evening, Captain Drake.”
“My pleasure, Captain Hornblower,” Drake said, holding out her hand, “It’s always nice to have a bit of conversation.”
Kennedy and Bush made their goodbyes, and then the two officers prepared to depart. As they were leaving, Drake called out to them. “And Hornblower? Your man can have the next ship. The game was close near the end; it’s only fair.”
Startled, Hornblower managed to thank her, before he left her cabin. And despite himself, he smiled a little. All in all, it had actually been a satisfying dinner.
Since it's been a horrendously long time since I posted for this story (October of 2010??? Good lord, I thought I'd been better), I'll link to the other parts first:
Prologue: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/93645.html
Chapter 1: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/93862.html
Chapter 2: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/96396.html
Chapter 3: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/99098.html
Chapter 4: http://following-sea.livejournal.com/119580.html
And now, moving on...
TITLE: Windfalls, Ch. 5
RATING: PG to be on the safe side.
WORD COUNT: 2,493
PAIRING, IF ANY: Eventual Horatio Hornblower/Captain Amelia
SPOILER WARNING: None
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here.
SUMMARY/NOTES: The dinner on the Legacy doesn’t go quite as Hornblower expected…
That evening, as the watch rang eight bells, Hornblower climbed into a boat, Bush at his side, and rowed over to the Legacy. Hornblower ran his fingers idly over the neck of the bottle he carried, hoping Drake would find it acceptable. It came from his private stock, and was the best he could afford, which, as he knew all too well, wasn’t much. Drake had probably tasted much finer wines from the spoils of privateers; he only hoped she had the tact not to say as much to his face.
Drake and Archie were there to greet him when he climbed over the side. Glancing at Archie as he shook Drake’s hand, Hornblower was pleased to see that Archie looked like his old self; his state this morning must have been due to being rudely awakened. Drake asked after his health, leading them towards her cabin as she did so. Glancing around the deck, Hornblower saw Drake’s men in various stages of relaxation; some were leaning against the railing, others were gathered together playing a sea shanty. Even the men who were working were talking and clearly enjoying themselves.
“A victory always puts them in good spirits,” Drake said, following his gaze, “and I can’t say I blame them. I enjoy the nights after a victory more than anything else. You can’t help but feel that all’s right with the world. Sometimes I even forget we’re in the middle of a war.”
“And what snaps you out of it?” Archie asked as she opened the door to her cabin.
“Generally the realization that I still have to write a report,” Drake answered, smiling a little, “But I took care of that this afternoon, in preparation for this dinner. After you, gentlemen. Just past the stateroom and through the bedroom, and we’ll be in the dining room.”
Hornblower glanced around the bedroom as he entered, noting with a touch of disdain that the place was decorated. Not that decoration was a problem, of course-his own cabin had a few personalized touches-but Drake had taken it too far. There were curtains over the windows, an elaborate trunk, a chair at the desk that was far too fancy for Naval work, and-good Lord-bows tied to the bedstead. Afraid that if he looked around too much, he’d burst out laughing, Hornblower focused on the desk, which was the most normal thing in the room. His eyes landed on a small, ornate box, which caused him to nod his head in approval; that was much more tasteful. The box was open, revealing a small, wooden ball. Hornblower was just puzzling over why such a beautiful box would have such a simple object when Drake darted forward, closing the box and taking it back to her trunk. “Go on forward, gentleman,” she said as she did so, “I won’t be a minute.”
Not wanting to disobey the host, the three men went forward, finding themselves in a much more nautical setting, which relieved Hornblower immensely. Drake appeared a moment later, all smiles. “Now then, the wine, if you please, Mr. Hornblower.”
Taking a deep breath, Hornblower handed over the wine, bracing himself for the cutting remark. Drake turned the bottle over in her hand, examining it. “Ah! I know this wine. It was my favorite, back in the day. Surprisingly good flavor, as I recall.”
Hornblower tried not to let his mouth fall open. Drake smiled as she went to uncork the bottle. “Come now, Hornblower, I haven’t always been used to drinking fine wines. I was a rising captain once too.”
Hornblower sat at the table, still not quite sure what to make of the response. Drake popped the cork and began to pour the wine. “I’m afraid, gentlemen, that it’s been a few months since our last rendezvous with a supply ship. So my ‘best’ cow is more like my fifth best cow. I hope you won’t be too put out by that.”
Assurances were quickly made, and Drake sat down with the others. Her steward brought out the meal, and Drake bid them all to eat. Hornblower was well aware that the meat was a bit tough, but on the whole, it was satisfactory. Everyone appeared to be drinking the wine with pleasure, which allowed him to relax a little; perhaps this wouldn’t be a hellish experience after all.
Conversation was limited to small talk, as if there was an unspoken agreement to not discuss business this night. Drake appeared to be on her best behavior; she didn’t boast about her past accomplishments, nor disparage Hornblower in anything she said. The worst of it was teasing Archie, but since Archie didn’t seem bothered by it, Hornblower tried not to be offended on his behalf.
Once everyone had set down their utensils, Drake clapped her hands. “Well, that was satisfying. Good food, excellent company…all that’s needed is a little entertainment.”
With that, she produced a deck of cards and shuffled them as the plates were cleared. “Whist, then, gentleman?”
“I’m not very good…” Bush protested, but Drake flashed him a smile. “Neither am I, Mr. Bush. Two against two’s a fair fight.”
Maybe it was the pleasure of losing himself in the cards, or maybe it was the wine, but Hornblower found that he was enjoying himself. Drake chattered on cheerfully, asking him questions and appearing to be genuinely interested in the responses. She was hardly a master whist player, but at least she could hold her own, which kept the game interesting.
After about five hands, Bush hesitated. “I’m afraid I’ve about reached my limit of money I’m willing to gamble away. I may have to drop out.”
“But we need four for whist!” Drake protested, “and I don’t think anyone else is ready to quit just yet!”
Hornblower was about to intervene on behalf of his friend when Drake shrugged. “No matter. To tell the truth, I’ve been losing heavily myself. Perhaps we should change the odds.”
“What on earth do you mean?” Hornblower said.
“I mean that perhaps we should bet with something other than money. Favors to each other, spare items of clothing, things like that.”
“Isn’t that rather…unorthodox?”
“This is an unorthodox ship, Mr. Hornblower. We love being different. Besides, Kennedy started it.”
Hornblower looked over at Archie in confusion. Archie laughed. “It’s true. I did.”
“I’m afraid you’ve left me completely in the dark.”
Drake started shuffling the cards. “It’s a long, and rather embarrassing, story. However, it is certainly worth the telling.”
Hornblower arched an eyebrow, wondering exactly what sort of debauchery Archie had instigated. Drake grinned at the memory and began.
“It was Kennedy’s first year as my first lieutenant. We were scheduled for an extended leave, and this would be the first time he’d seen his family since his recovery in Kingston. The leave happened to coincide with his birthday, so his ever-loving mama arranged for three balls in his honor-a welcome home ball, a birthday dinner, and a going-away ball. Kennedy here thought he should introduce me to his family, as I was, after all, his superior officer.
“I was supremely skeptical, since I didn’t want to let the entire world know about my position. I could always bring out the wig, but I was still wary; I’d been found out once, and I didn’t want it to happen again. Kennedy was convinced I could fool everybody, and so challenged me to a card game. The stakes; my presence at the welcome ball.”
Drake grinned and set down the deck. “I’m rubbish at cards in general, not just whist. I should have said no, but I guess I enjoyed the challenge. At any rate, I lost. I re-disguised myself and, with trepidation, went to the ball.”
“She was magnificent,” Archie said, picking up the story, “No one suspected a thing. She even asked a few girls to dance, and I saw at least one of them give her a coy smile afterwards. I’d say she was a great success.”
“I acquitted myself,” Drake said, adjusting her shirtsleeves, “And afterwards, I insisted I would never allow myself to do such a risky thing ever again.”
“And we all know how well that turned out.” Archie said, laughing. Drake shot him a look over her cuffs.
“At any rate, the matter seemed to be closed. Kennedy threatened to make his birthday dinner a masquerade ball instead, which would allow me to wander about with my ears exposed, but I dismissed the idea as foolhardy and ridiculous and threatened to keelhaul him if he actually went through with it…”
“The tongue-lashing was quite enough, thank you.” Archie added sotto voce, which caused Hornblower to hastily disguise his laugh as a clearing of his throat. Bush, meanwhile, had bit down on his lip, stifling the laughter entirely. Drake, oblivious to all this, continued her story, Archie making little editorial comments all the while.
“At any rate, he didn’t. I was invited to the dinner, but declined on the grounds of Admiralty business. But Kennedy was determined to make me regret my choice of first lieutenant…”
“You’d think having had dinner with me was bad enough....”
“…And thus suggested that I come to his farewell ball…this time in a gown. I passed the idea off as ludicrous, as I didn’t have any gowns and hadn’t acted like a female in years…”
“Except for the compulsive redecorating.” (Bush choked on his wine at that one).
“But Kennedy’s a clever little sod when he wants to be. He caught me at a moment when I was…shall we say, convalescing and in need of a distraction, and suggested a game of cards. I was too addled to fully understand what he was doing, and so said yes. We played for money first, then, subtly, he changed the stakes. First it was for a bottle of wine, then for who would supply the funds for our next dinner together. Before I knew it, I had lost another game…and I had just committed myself to attending the ball, in full skirts.”
Hornblower tried to picture Drake in a dress, and completely and utterly failed. Drake smirked. “Kennedy wanted to pay for the dress, but I would have none of it. If word got out that he had bought a dress for a young lady, everyone would assume he would soon be married to her. We didn’t need that sort of attention. Besides, I had the money for it.
“I went about it quite discreetly, sending in my requests and measurements by post. When the day of the fitting came, I put on my wig and the dress I’d been forced to wear at my court-martial, and went in to town. No one, thankfully, suspected a thing, and the fitting passed without incident. Kennedy, meanwhile, was kind enough to purchase a wig for me, one that would pass for a little more feminine. It was a complete surprise to me when he presented it, but since there was nothing suspicious in a man purchasing a wig, I saw nothing amiss.”
“I can only imagine what the shopkeeper thought I was using it for.” Archie murmured, fiddling with his hair. Hornblower put his wineglass to his lips to keep Drake from seeing him smile. Drake took a sip of her own wine, not bothering to hide her grin. “I honored my promise, and I went. I couldn’t breathe from that damn corset, I kept snagging the skirts with my heels, and that blasted fan kept smacking me in the face. I was announced as Amelia Cunningham, and Kennedy gave it out that he’d met me elsewhere.”
“My parent had their suspicions, but they were just happy I was finally looking to settle down.”
“Incredibly, I was asked to dance. Kennedy had given me a few pointers, and I was able to make it through the steps with only a minimum of stumbling. While I don’t think I did myself any favors when dancing, I was told later that I was a ‘charming conversationalist’.
“By the time the ball was over, my chest was bruised from the corset and I was in danger of passing out from lack of air. However, Kennedy told me that no one had suspected a thing, and thus, it had been a rousing success. ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ I told him, ‘but if you ever try anything like this again, I’ll stick you up in the rigging for a few hours in the pouring rain. Either that or I’ll make you wear the dress.’”
“And with my figure, that would be a disaster.” Hornblower couldn’t suppress a laugh at that, and Drake smiled at him. “I’m glad I amused you, Captain. It took me much longer to see the funny side of things. Now then, are you up for a non-monetary wager?”
“What are the stakes?”
Drake considered for a moment. “Mr. Bush, how many more games are you willing to play?”
“As long as the rest of you are interested in the game, I’ll play.”
“One more game, then,” Drake said, “Legacy officers vs. Sutherland officers. If we win, you have to give a dinner over at your ship once the new supply ship comes through. And if you win…” she thought for a moment, then smiled, “I’ll let your crew captain the next privateer we come across.”
“Very generous of you, Captain.”
Drake shrugged. “We had a head start on you. It seems only fair. Are the stakes satisfactory?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s play.”
Unfortunately, Hornblower had a rotten hand, and Drake and Archie played very guardedly. Hornblower calculated the next moves in his head as best as he was able, and managed to hold his own, but he knew from the start that he was going to lose. And sure enough, after about ten minutes Archie lay his cards down flat. “My trick.”
“Well done, Kennedy!” Drake said, clapping him on the back, “I knew you had it in you!”
Archie shrugged modestly. Drake turned to Bush and Hornblower. “You both played well. My compliments on an excellent game.”
Bush murmured his thanks, and Hornblower nodded curtly. Drake continued, “The supply ship is expected in about a week. How about planning for dinner on the Saturday after its arrival?”
“I’ll make the arrangements,” Hornblower said, rising to his feet, “Thank you for an entertaining evening, Captain Drake.”
“My pleasure, Captain Hornblower,” Drake said, holding out her hand, “It’s always nice to have a bit of conversation.”
Kennedy and Bush made their goodbyes, and then the two officers prepared to depart. As they were leaving, Drake called out to them. “And Hornblower? Your man can have the next ship. The game was close near the end; it’s only fair.”
Startled, Hornblower managed to thank her, before he left her cabin. And despite himself, he smiled a little. All in all, it had actually been a satisfying dinner.