‘Oh,’ said Temeraire, and roared loudly, over their heads; Maximus and Requiescat both jerked violently and turned to look at him instead, blinking. ‘There, now do not start that behaviour again, we have a battle tomorrow,’ Temeraire said, ‘and you had better stop Berkley from running so fast, or he will have an apoplexy,’ he added.

Maximus turned his head and said, ‘You do not have to run, what is there to be running for?’ as Berkley came staggering into the clearing. Laurence went to lend him an arm over to the fallen tree that Temeraire had pulled down for him to sit on.

Berkley stared from Maximus to Requiescat and back again, very suspiciously, while he gulped for breath. ‘Pray do not worry, I will not let them fight,’ Temeraire said. ‘I would have thought you had more sense,’ he added to the dragons severely.

‘I was not going to fight,’ Maximus said unconvincingly. ‘Only I have never seen anyone big as me before, except when I was still growing.’

‘The girls are bigger,’ Requiescat said, with a reminiscent tone. ‘But that is different.’

‘I do not see why,’ Temeraire said, ‘and it is not as though Grand Chevalier are much smaller.’ He did not think himself much smaller, either, but thought that perhaps to say so would be rather puffing himself up.

‘Don't much like them either,’ Requiescat said.

Maximus nodded vigorously in agreement. “I knew you must be back, as soon as they brought us this mess for dinner.' He nudged Temeraire's shoulder with his head, in a friendly way. Temeraire wobbled, but managed with some effort to keep his balance.

‘Tomorrow there will be plenty, and anyway, even if there were not, I dare say you could fly in opposite directions and find something, without having to quarrel over it,’ Temeraire said. ‘But where is Lily?’

‘She is in Scotland,’ Maximus said. ‘Catherine has had her egg, so she cannot fly to the fight.’

‘I suppose I did not tell you before: it was a boy,’ Berkley said to Laurence, gloomily, ‘so no use to us; and ten pounds, damn him. Nearly killed her.’

‘The egg is very noisy,’ Maximus added.

‘I hope they both do well now?’ Laurence said.

‘She can write and say so, which I expect means that she is only half-dead,’ Berkley said, heaving himself to his feet. ‘Have you finished your damned card-calling?’ he said to Maximus. ‘If this fine scheme of Roland's is going to do any good, you cannot be hopping all over the camp now it is getting dark. And you may carry me this time, instead of taking yourself off without a word.’

‘I only wanted to come see Temeraire a moment,’ Maximus said, putting out one great curved claw for Berkley to climb onto. ‘And now we have, we may go.’