Cold All the Way Through, But Warming

Yet Another Inquiry

Will found that the Unicorn was far less warm than his home, especially after he had watched Ana walk away. She had looked back over her shoulder once or twice, and he fancied that he could see tears on her cheeks. It had been so wonderful to see her on his ship, hearing her pester the men about things they had never thought a woman would be interested in. Will had thought it rather funny to see them react to her trousers, which she had worn for purely practical reasons.

Of course, now she was gone and he fell back into the shipboard routine.

Inspections, drill, cleaning, it seemed so boring now. Dinner with his officers was the highlight of his day, for at least then there was some kind of entertaining discussion. Will was preparing for one at the moment, in fact, intent on changing his shirt for a fresh one. Sharpe was dusting down his desk, nodding to him as he stepped through into his cabin.

Will paused for a moment, then turned back around. "Mr. Sharpe, why is there a cat on my bed?"

Sharpe straightened up quickly, "A cat?"

"Yes, right on my pillow." Will turned back, viewing the scene before him. His bed was perfectly made, a fresh shirt had been laid out, and a small black cat curled in a perfect ball on his pillow, its tail covering its face. Will gestured to him, "See?"

Sharpe pursed his lips, looking down. "I'm sorry, sir. I've heard talk that a cat was seen around the galleys, but I didn't think much of it." Will watched as the man's hands shook slightly. "I can dispose of it, sir, if you like."

Will took a step back, bewildered. "Dispose of it? It's a cat, Sharpe, not a piece of trash." Will stepped closer to the bed, watching the thing flick its tail slightly and examine him with a green eye opened to the barest slit. Apparently, he met with some approval, for the tail went back down. Will snorted, "It's quite alright if it wants to enjoy my bed, just hang my shirts up so they don't get hair on them."

"Of course, sir." Sharpe sounded relieved, and Will watched as his steward brought a finger over to gently scratch at the thing's chin. "Cute little bugger, isn't he?"

"He?" Will glanced over his shoulder as he drew on his new shirt. "You sound awfully sure."

"Everyone else onboard is a man, I doubt a female cat would be much interested in us." Sharpe chuckled, and the cat began to purr as he continued scratching. "We'll be needing a name for him, though."

Will sighed, rubbing his face. "Well, he's not the first ship's cat I've dealt with. My father had one on his ship, and my brother and I quite enjoyed playing with him."

"What was that cat's name?"

"God, I can't remember." Will chuckled, "So we'll call him Sam, for my brother."

"It's a good name." Sharpe smiled, and Sam seemed to purr all the louder. "I'll make sure the cook sets aside some scraps for him as needed, but I'm quite sure he has enough rats to enjoy."

Will nodded, leaving his steward to finish things as he made his way to dinner. A few of the officers had already arrived, standing and saluting as he came in. Will gave them a nod, letting them resume their seats. He took his own seat, sitting back to listen as more of the men came in and the discussion grew as dinner was served.

His wife was actually the subject of the current discussion, and he couldn't help but grin as he listened. Ives was retelling Ana climbing up a turret at the moment, "Bold as brass she was, and I've never seen a Marine turn that red. Thought the poor boy was about to faint."

"She's certainly a character." Tyne chuckled, looking to Will. "And beautiful, of course, sir. Absolutely stunning."

"Ana does have her quirks." Will shrugged, "Although I must confess that I may have started her on wearing trousers, it was far safer for her to wear them when we went hiking one time. She fell in love with the pockets."