Temeraire felt quite staggered, and ill. Laurence had not said anything; he had not said that all his treasure should be taken away, or so Temeraire tried to argue to himself. But it felt a very flimsy and weak excuse when he opened his mouth to make it, and he stopped without giving it voice. He had not troubled to find out. Here was he, a commodore, showing away with jewels and two epaulets, while Laurence had nothing but a plain coat growing shabbier every day.

‘Ten thousand pounds,’ Gentius said again, censoriously, wagging his head from side to side. ‘You have certainly made a good mull of it,’ and Temeraire huddled himself down further, feeling he thoroughly deserved the condemnation.

‘But, if we had not taken over the cure,’ he said, rather weakly, ‘a great many dragons might have died, even those who had nothing at all to do with the war, or France. It cannot have been all wrong.’

‘If you ask me,’ Perscitia said, after a moment, ‘the French ought to have given you some treasure to make up for it, seeing as you went on their account; or at least, not entirely on their account.’ she amended, ‘But they did well out of it, so I don't think much of them letting you come out the worse for it, when you needn't have done it at all.’

‘Well,’ Temeraire said, and was forced to admit that such an offer had been made, and a most handsome one. ‘Only Laurence said no, because that would have been more treasonous,’ he finished.

‘I myself don't see how getting treasure after you have already done treason, could make it any worse,’ Chalcedony said. ‘After all, they are the enemy, and if they gave you treasure, they would have less of it, and that would be worse for them. So if you ask me, it would have made up for the treason, to take it, really,’ which struck Temeraire as a very just point, and one he rather wished he had thought of at the time.

‘Only, I did not realize Laurence would lose his capital,’ Temeraire said unhappily, ‘so I did not think the offer would be so important.’

‘Well, well, you are a young fellow yet,’ Gentius said, relenting a little, ‘and you have time to make it up. Win battles, take some prizes while you are at it, and it will all come right in the end. The Government will see you right, if you are only heroic enough.’

‘But I have been very heroic,’ Temeraire protested, ‘and they have not been fair at all. They have even tried to take Laurence away from me.’