"I've always been able to see the door." Wellard smiles wryly, glancing over to it. "Ever since I arrived here. Someone told me that that didn't matter, though- I didn't have to go through it until I was ready to do so."
And given various people at Milliways, and events, he had quite a lot to keep him there, during that time.
"I haven't tried to open it since I came back from Port Royale, however. I- I wasn't sure what would happen, and I figured it best to talk to you first, Mr Lyon." His lips twitch. "Or if anything, if I tried while you were there and something went wrong, you'd at least have a good idea as to what."
'You made a very sensible choice in waiting, I must say.' Merriman doesn't look exactly relieved to hear it, not in so many words, but he is nonetheless quite glad that they have the chance to start from scratch on these matters. 'I am not entirely certain what my successor as governor would make of you suddenly showing up in his office, for one thing. But I have a feeling that in these extenuating circumstances, you may well have been given the equivalent of a blank slate.'
He picks up his glass, swirling it gently. 'So I suppose the first question is whether you would prefer to live here, or would rather make a life for yourself out there.'
Considering the amount of time Wellard has spent with Jack, he more than likely could verbally confuse the new govenor of Port Royale long enough to make a quick exit, should he happen to show up in that office the first time he tried the Front Door.
"I'm needed here, by one person, at least." That is a simple and very easy answer from him. "Finn... apparently was upset when I disappeared. I've been doing my best to watch out for him, ever since he arrived here after events from his world. I can't leave him here."
"I certainly do want to be able to go back, of course. I- I don't really have anything in the time that I left, though. And I have from the time I was just at is people that I know there. Either or, its... Anything possible, isn't it?" Wellard blinks, then grins a bit.
"Though it probably wouldn't do to go and say anything about the colonies rebelling, or what's going to happen in France in a few years- or anything else in the world in the next few of decades after that."
A slow, thoughtful nod. 'There is something to be said for knowing the shape of things to come, though the day-to-day perspective often seems to have little to do with the larger picture at the time. But there are any number of places you might go if you wanted to be well out of the way of colonial rebellions and regicide. India, for instance. Or the Dutch East Indies, or the Cape Colony, or Patagonia -- though you might need to study a bit more French or Dutch, if your interests run in such directions.'
The light in his eyes seems to flicker back and forth between the sailor and the scholar.
"Moi can s'entretenir Français- just that I'm a little out of practice." Wryly. And his accent is unmistakably british, as well. Wellard shrugs, biting his lip, thinking.
"Considering events and other things, is Chinese very difficult to learn, then?"
Wellard's undeniably English pronunciation is only to be expected, though the attempt is at least a start.
'You could certainly learn Chinese, though you would be wisest to make a study of both the more formal speech and the Cantonese dialects. The Chinese grammar books of your day largely were written by and for missionaries, not tradesmen or soldiers, so asking the bar for study materials would be helpful. But you will need extensive speaking practice with it. English speakers often find Chinese difficult because the language is based on tones -- shi, shī, shĭ, and shì all mean quite different things.' Merriman is careful to emphasise the differences in the tones, but even the slight emphasis does little to distinguish them in the ears of a native English speaker. 'It would require a good deal of diligent study and practice to achieve a fair level of fluency.'
"Anything worth doing takes time and effort." Wellard nods.
He is the one building a ship with no previous carpentry or ship building experience- just a lot of time, patience, attention to care, and myrads of reference and how-to books. Wellard will more than likely approach learning Chinese the same way.
"And there are a few people here that speak it, so I could practice with them, after I've learned enough. Though hopefully learning to read it is a bit easier- I already have some things written in it."
'Then do let me know if there is aught I might be able to do to aid you in your endeavours...or if you would simply wish to talk matters over, if you think another perspective might be welcome.'
A delicately phrased offer -- but an offer nonetheless.
Hopefully he is not interrupting anything too important- Wellard rather has a long list of things to discuss with him.
Reply
And given various people at Milliways, and events, he had quite a lot to keep him there, during that time.
"I haven't tried to open it since I came back from Port Royale, however. I- I wasn't sure what would happen, and I figured it best to talk to you first, Mr Lyon." His lips twitch. "Or if anything, if I tried while you were there and something went wrong, you'd at least have a good idea as to what."
Reply
He picks up his glass, swirling it gently. 'So I suppose the first question is whether you would prefer to live here, or would rather make a life for yourself out there.'
Reply
"I'm needed here, by one person, at least." That is a simple and very easy answer from him. "Finn... apparently was upset when I disappeared. I've been doing my best to watch out for him, ever since he arrived here after events from his world. I can't leave him here."
"I certainly do want to be able to go back, of course. I- I don't really have anything in the time that I left, though. And I have from the time I was just at is people that I know there. Either or, its... Anything possible, isn't it?" Wellard blinks, then grins a bit.
"Though it probably wouldn't do to go and say anything about the colonies rebelling, or what's going to happen in France in a few years- or anything else in the world in the next few of decades after that."
Reply
The light in his eyes seems to flicker back and forth between the sailor and the scholar.
Reply
"Considering events and other things, is Chinese very difficult to learn, then?"
Reply
'You could certainly learn Chinese, though you would be wisest to make a study of both the more formal speech and the Cantonese dialects. The Chinese grammar books of your day largely were written by and for missionaries, not tradesmen or soldiers, so asking the bar for study materials would be helpful. But you will need extensive speaking practice with it. English speakers often find Chinese difficult because the language is based on tones -- shi, shī, shĭ, and shì all mean quite different things.' Merriman is careful to emphasise the differences in the tones, but even the slight emphasis does little to distinguish them in the ears of a native English speaker. 'It would require a good deal of diligent study and practice to achieve a fair level of fluency.'
Reply
He is the one building a ship with no previous carpentry or ship building experience- just a lot of time, patience, attention to care, and myrads of reference and how-to books. Wellard will more than likely approach learning Chinese the same way.
"And there are a few people here that speak it, so I could practice with them, after I've learned enough. Though hopefully learning to read it is a bit easier- I already have some things written in it."
Reply
A delicately phrased offer -- but an offer nonetheless.
Reply
Leave a comment