Admiral Roland nodded and said, ‘Now we have got the guns out of the way, I meant to send some of us back anyway, to cover the infantry when they come out of Weedon. It is too close to London, and Bonaparte has too many dragons by half. I think I have worked out where he is getting them from,’ she added. ‘He is using unharnessed beasts, too, pulled out of his own breeding grounds. I dare say that Celestial of his can talk them out of their caves as well as Temeraire can ours.’

‘I do not imagine she needed go to any special effort,’ Temeraire said, with feeling, ‘when Napoleon is doing everything nice, and giving his dragons pavilions and treasure, too, I expect: I am sure no one is complaining to her.’

Admiral Roland snorted. ‘Well, whether she has had much work or not, I am confident that this is how he has laid hands on a hundred spare dragons in so little time; he hasn't taken a single beast off his eastern borders at all. And that means he can afford to spend a few dozen of them to harry our foot, on the march.’

Laurence nodded, and Temeraire saw the danger plainly: with the infantry walking to Scotland, they would be an easy target on the road for aerial assault; and going at their creeping pace of twenty miles a day they would be in striking range of dragons headquartered at London for at least a week.

‘The unharnessed beasts are less easily taken by boarding, if Bonaparte should manage to put together some clever little strike,’ she went on, ‘so it would be just as well to make Temeraire's regiment the guard, and let him hash this out with Wellesley before we have a mutiny on our hands. I haven't the right to promise them anything, and you may be sure that even if I did their Lordships wouldn't abide by it. And if you do secure them any pay,’ she added dryly, ‘pray be sure it comes to the harnessed dragons, too. I am sure Excidium would not refuse a little treasure of his own.’

‘It seems a great bother to me, to be flying back,’ Armatius grumbled, when Temeraire had brought back the news. The big Chequered Nettle did not much like carrying Gentius around, but he was the least manoeuvrable of the heavyweights, bar Requiescat, so it fell to him nearly all the time.

‘At least you do not need to carry a gun in this direction’ Temeraire said, ‘and flying slower we will be able to find more food. Anyway, we are going to go arrange for our pay, which is like treasure that is given to you every month without your having to work for it, so you cannot complain.’