Laurence put down his glass, half-amused to discover in himself so much inclination towards this peculiar sort of domesticity, when he thought how eagerly he had fled from any such work as a boy and spurned with contempt the management of estates, or anything so quiet and unadventurous as a comfortable living; in the face of his father’s impatience and punishment both. He had never seen any honor to be won on fields such as these; now it seemed to him the cleanest place which he had seen in life.

“The trail continues westward,” Tharkay told him, when they had returned to the valley floor, “and I am left none the wiser as to its source. It must meet the coast, somewhere, to be taking on goods from the ships; but I expected to find the path curving, or doubling back upon itself, sooner than this.”

“Now that you are certain the goods have come this way,” Laurence said, “might your search not be more fruitful if you sailed along the coast to examine what nearby harbors, not so distant from the trailhead, should suffice to host a merchant vessel? Or,” he added, “you might leave a sentinel over the trail, and see who will appear.”

“No-one will appear,” Tharkay said, “now that we have come to occupy the valley with three dragons; we might as well be knights on errantry, blowing horns as we go. I expect you will be staying,” he added, half a question.

Laurence paused. “It is certainly an ideal situation for a covert,” he said slowly, and looked at Temeraire. “Could you be happy with such a home?” he asked. “I know it can offer none of the advantages of a more improved location.”

“Oh! as for improvements, we may make our own,” Temeraire said, “and I dare say, once the eggs are hatched, we will make a great deal of progress; particularly as these trees and stones are not anyone’s property, and we do not need to buy them before we make use of them. I must say,” he added, “while it is strange there are no dragons here, it is very convenient not to always be wondering if something you happen to look at is already someone else’s territory, and they will be upset that you have taken one of their cows.”

He seemed as delighted with the prospect as ever he had with privateering; and later, as the sun dipped below the escarpments, and they settled to sleep, Temeraire expounded drowsily on his thoughts, adding, “We will certainly put up a splendid pavilion out of this fragrant wood, and some of this yellow rock; and Laurence, when we have done so, and increased the herd, why, I would put this territory against any in the world.

“And perhaps Maximus or Lily might yet come and visit, or we might have an artist come and work up a painting of it, which we might send to them to look at; and another to send to my mother, also. I am sure she would be curious to see it, and it cannot fail to please. I do not think we have seen a valley like this in China: there are very many interesting places there, of course; and the city cannot be compared, but one might be very well content here, I think.”

Laurence could not encourage him to hope for dragon visitors, but he was glad nevertheless to see Temeraire so contented. The men had built a small fire for the comfort of its light; the temperature had fallen in the dark to a milder degree, and, settled on Temeraire’s forearm, Laurence was conscious himself of a great weight lifted from his shoulders: if politics should deny them the chance to be of use in any material way in the war, there was at least work here to be done which he could not disdain, and the hope of building something rather than tearing away, to no purpose.

The steady rush of Temeraire’s measured breathing made a constant like the ocean lapping the side of a ship; the wind breathed through the trees. Laurence slept, as solidly as he ever had in life, and roused to Temeraire snorting with displeasure and raising his head: Iskierka had nipped him on the back of the neck.

“Whatever is the matter?” Temeraire said irritably. “I was having a very pleasant dream; you need not have interrupted me.”

“There is no time to be sleeping!” Iskierka said. “—The egg is gone.”

Part II

Chapter 7

“MY DEAR,” Laurence said, keeping his hand on Temeraire’s forearm by way of both comfort and urging restraint, “we cannot be haring into the countryside unguided: aloft you cannot follow a trail, and with the quantity of timber in this country even the most unhandy thief can evade you for the price of hiding concealed the day, and traveling at night.”

“We cannot be sitting here while they are carrying the egg off to who knows what fate,” Temeraire said, his tail lashing so rapidly that Laurence feared he might do someone an injury; he was certainly wreaking destruction wholesale upon the vegetation in its path.

The stunted little egg sat lonesome on its nest of dry leaves and branches, the empty space beside it mutely reproachful: evidently forced to choose amongst prizes, the thieves had taken the larger Yellow Reaper egg, and left the runt behind.

Laurence had rarely seen Temeraire so roused, or Iskierka: a threat to himself or Granby offered the nearest comparison, and Laurence thought this might exceed even that passion: the greatest effort was visibly required to restrain them from immediate action, however purposeless; and Iskierka had already burnt up three trees by way of venting her feelings.

“Pray keep in mind,” Granby said urgently, “that the thieves will take the very best care of the egg: they haven’t stolen it to do it harm, they want a dragon of their own, plainly; although,” he added more quietly to Laurence, as they went to consult with Tharkay, who had already set about examining the trail, “I don’t know whatever for: I have never heard of men, ordinary men that is, wanting anything to do with a dragon.”

“If Tharkay’s supposition is right,” Laurence said, “these may not be ordinary smugglers; if Napoleon has gone to such lengths to undermine our trade, they may as likely be French soldiers as mere profiteers.”

“Even so, what would they want with an egg, here?” Granby said. “They can’t mean to set up a covert of their own; it isn’t as though the French have any prayer of holding a colony here, their navy being what it is, and ours being what it is.”

“Why do pirates steal ships?” Tharkay said, without looking up from the ground. “They hardly need to establish a covert to make use of a dragon; they need only to evade you, and hunt enough game to feed it. A good, reliable, middle-weight beast would suit them admirably, I imagine: a transport for their goods better than a mule-train, and which leaves no trail on the ground to be followed.”

What few traces he had found of the smugglers led onward to the north-west; little to give them hope, but all the intelligence Temeraire required to cast off all restraint. “Let us go at once, then; what if they are taking the egg back to the coast, to a ship? Or they might drop it, or cause it some hurt; they are certainly not properly trained aviators, and they do not have a dragon with them. What if they do not feed it when it has hatched, and only try and chain it? Oh! There are a thousand dreadful things which might be happening to it even now.”

“And we are certainly not going to find it sitting here,” Iskierka put in, which was true, but a species of logic which put an end to any rational design of the pursuit: the two of them would be off, at once, and when Caesar, evidently not yet inclined to so protective a view of his hypothetical year-mate, began to complain, Iskierka caught him by the ruff of his neck, shook him, and none too gently dragged him squalling and protesting up onto Temeraire’s back: they refused point-blank to be constrained by his slower pace.