"Were I your father I'd have tanned your bottom, sir!" Mrs. Chiswick declared, swooning with laughter with the rest. "No wonder a career at sea, where you could indulge your passion for explosives, resulted. Oh, what a scamp you were, sir!"

"And still is, I'll be bound," Caroline added fondly. "I can see where your sense of adventure comes from, Alan."

"And where is your father, now, Alan?" Governour asked. "In London as well?"

"Last I heard from him," Alan lied smoothly, "he went to Portugal. Something about the wine trade, I believe."

Such as getting closer to the source of his sherry, Alan told himself, hoping they wouldn't pursue the topic any further. By the time he'd brought Shrike back to pay her and her crew off at Deptford Hard, his solicitor, Mr. Matthew Mountjoy, who had been pursuing a suit against Sir Hugo, had told him he'd fled to the Continent, leaving a host of creditors behind, and was rumored to be living in Lisbon where even the impoverished could scrape by, as long as one did not upset the church authorities and the Inquisition by one's behavior.

"Even so, he must indeed be proud of you, sir," Mrs. Chiswick continued. "To become a Sea Officer in only three years."

"Well, there was the war, ma'am. They were pretty desperate, you know." Alan chuckled in mock deprecation.

"Yes, tell us what you did after we lost track of you, Alan," Caroline urged, totally ignoring her portion of Dover sole and wine.

"Urn, Battle of St. Kitts under Hood. And then our ship Desperate fought a French twenty-eight-gunned frigate and took her as prize the same day," Alan said, sounding as if it was nothing much to take note of, but secretly glad to have a chance to boast. He'd had few enough in the last months-half of London had tales of battle and bravery and the populace was heartily sick of hearing them by then. "Passed the examination board right after, and was made first lieutenant into the Shrike brig. Made a nuisance of ourselves along the Cuban coasts… took a fair amount of prizes. Ran guns to the Creek and Seminolee Indians. Ended up anhissi to the White Clan…"