After careful consideration, you decide that each watch will get a night ashore. You'll have a representative from each draw lots to see who gets to go when, you should think. You summon the purser to your cabin and inform him to be ready to pay out the prize money this afternoon. For most of the sailors, it is more money then they will make in a couple of months, at least. Probably more, considering how much a stavrata buys. Most of them are paid out in aspron anyway, since it's easier to spend. That settled, you also start writing out a letter to an attorney you know--he works a lot with the funds from naval men and can be relied on to invest the money wisely. You immediately decide to send off one hundred stavrata to him to be invested, another twenty to be sent to your parents (your younger sister will be able to buy some lovely fabric to use for a wedding dress, you hope) and the rest you'll keep to buy those new shoes and have cash at hand when needed.
That afternoon, you call all hands aft, congratulate them all on their excellent work this past month, thank them for their attention to their duties, and then order the purser to pay them out their prize money before you announce that each watch is to have a night ashore before the ship sails again and you trust that everyone will work hard when their mates are ashore because the ship does need to be ready for sea again as quickly as can be managed. There is a great deal of cheering (mostly, you think, for the prospect of money) and then chattering and laughter as they line up to see the purser. That done, you descend back to your cabin to dress for evening. Mister Thabo is on hand immediately, having cleaned and pressed your best coat as best he could. He buckles your sword belt on around your waist, adjusting the fall just so, then takes up the uniform coat.
"You mustn't fold it so when you put it in your chest, myx," he says to you as he helps you into the coat. "It was a devil of a time getting those creases out of it with the iron. I thought I'd burned it once or twice." You can't help but smile at the way he seems to fuss--and how easily he seems to have fallen into the domestic role.
"Auxentius, I appreciate your hard work, truly. You seem to take quite well to it."
"Well, yes captain! Like I said, I helped my brother run an inn down the coast and I had been in service as a valet for a time before that. It was just my bad luck to be caught in the press when I was up here to see a young man of my fancy, you know? Of course I got sent up into this cutter and it was a hard time for me, but I'm very happy to be able to do what I'm good at again. That is cooking and so forth. It suits me, I think--just as that coat suits you now that I've taken it in a little to be more fashionable. I'm certain your Mister De Soto will be positively thrilled to see you in it." Your face flushes a little pink. Thabo is older than you by a few years and so it sometimes seems strange to give orders to older men who probably know more--but that's been your experience of command since you were rated midshipman.
"Auxentius, he's not my Mister De Soto. He is merely being polite."
"Of course, myx. I'm just supposing that all merchant gentlemen send letters dabbed with cologne when they want to be polite... but perhaps I overstepped." It's odd, isn't it, how in this intimate moment you can have a conversation with him as if you were equals, though socially that's not the case and no doubt had you stayed in your village and he in his inn, he would be much better off than you in social class and monetary fortunes.
"No, it's alright-- It's rather nice to be treated like a person rather than a marble edifice by someone on this ship," you reply with a small laugh. "Though I think it's best you keep these thoughts between us, don't you?"
"Of course, myx. Discretion is always important. Would you like the glass? It's a pity we don't have a proper one but you can get some idea of how well you look." Thabo proffers the small looking glass that you keep aboard and angles it a few times to try and give you impression of how the coat fits with the new modifications. It's very nice, you must admit, and does flattering things to help you cut a dashing figure, sun-browned skin and dark hair pulled back into a small tail at the base of your neck. You nod.
"Well done, Auxentius. I think I look perfectly presentable for my dinner with ah, Mister De Soto." Auxentius beams and walks around your back, brushing fervently with a clothes brush to remove any lingering bits of detritus.
"Your best hat. And your sword, of course." He offers your dress sword and you clip it into your sword belt with a smooth motion, then take up your hat to tuck under one arm.
"There, you're sure to charm him like that, myx." Auxentius smiles, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "Though I dare say the young ladies and gentlemen ashore will all want a look."
"That's enough of that, Auxentius." You say with a laugh. "Let Mister Piteras know that I'll be on deck shortly and to prepare the boat to take me ashore."
Auxentius touches his knuckle to his forehead, combining the gesture with a slight bow. "Of course, myx." With that he's gone, leaving you to bend over your desk and contemplate a few last sums before you follow after. The boat is already swung out and the oarsmen are all dressed to the nines in their best jackets and clean hats. Word must have gotten around that you were going somewhere fancy and they'd decided to put on their OWN best rigs so as not to disgrace the ship. The boatswain's mate manning the tiller knuckles his forehead as you clamber down and settle into the boat.
"We'll get you ashore, no worries, captain." He grins at you and you nod in response.
"Carry on, then." With that, the boat shoves off, oars cutting easily through the water as you're sped onwards towards the jetty. In no time at all, you are safely ashore and leave the crew to wait with the boat until you return. Finding the sign of the Fox and Hen proves simple enough and you feel privately glad that Auxentius took extra care with your uniform as you step into the foyer of the elegant inn. It's more like an exceedingly expensive lodging house, you think, then a proper inn but it is favored by the wealthy and noble of which Mister De Soto is obviously both. You stand about awkwardly for a moment, hat under your arm, until you finally approach the young person behind the desk. They look up at you as you approach and deep their head.
"Welcome to the Fox and Hen. Were you looking for a room..." Their eyes flit to your cuffs, then your shoulder to try and determine how to address you. "...lieutenant?"
"Ah, no. I have a dinner appointment with a friend. Mister De Soto? A Floricene gentleman?"
"Oh, of course. I believe he's taken up the private dining room for tonight. If you'll come this way..." You're led across the foyer to a public dining area where there is a murmur of conversation and clatter of silverware, then through another door and down a short hallway to a quieter room. The attendant opens the door, bows slightly, and then closes the door after you. The whole thing makes you feel awkwardly conspicuous. As do the eyes on you as you enter. Mister De Soto is there, of course, sitting at the head of the table, the chair to his right still empty. There are also a variety of men and women at the table with him, all in Foricene fashions. You suppose they are the officers or others of his other two ships. As you enter, Emmanuel gets to his feet and gestures.
"Ladies and gentleman, our guest of honor. May I introduce to you, ah... Myx Marran Marinos, lieutenant of the Byzernonian Crown Navy." He stumbles a little over the gender-neutral form of address but he is making quite the effort for a foreigner. You feel your cheeks burning and sketch as good a bow as you can manage in the circumstances.
"Honored, truly," you manage to murmur. "I hope I'm not late."
"Not at all!" Emmanuel has walked over now to clasp your hand, then guides you towards the chair obviously meant for you with his hand resting gently at the small of your back, which doesn't help your blush. You sink down into the chair and tug your napkin into your lap by way of distraction as he begins to talk to the others at the table in rapid-fire Floricene. You know a few words of it, but not enough to keep up with the conversation. Perhaps he's explaining the whole thing, though you feel he must have already. He switches back to your native tongue after a moment and raises his glass.
"To Myx Marinos, without whom I would surely have perished." There's a rousing chorus of 'Hear, hear!' from the others and you find a glass of wine shoved into your hand from somewhere as you drink to your own health. It is strong stuff, the heavy sweet wine that Floricenes prefer, not the dryer wine you were so used to growing up. It's heady stuff though and you take another mouthful to fortify yourself.
"You are too kind, Mister De Soto," you say after the commotion has died down and the first course is being brought in. "I merely did my duty."
"Listen to them. So modest," Says your neighbor, a craggy looking older gentleman. De Soto smiles.
"You save the lives of me and my sailors. That is no small thing. The loss of the ship is a blow, yes, but thanks to you I am alive and we can still stand to make a profit on this journey, even with only the two ships. You have done my family a great service and one we won't forget."
The conversation begins to move on after a few more minutes of you feeling uncomfortable under the weighty praise of the others at the table. At some point, introductions are made and you do your best to remember everyone's name but it's hard to focus once you've had a glass or two of the strong, sweet wine. Dinner proceeds apace, moving through various courses as you attempt to make conversation without sticking your foot in your mouth.
Lieutenant Marran Marinos rolls Diplomacy: 6 + 5 + 4 + 9 Diplomacy = 24; success!
You manage to make a good showing of yourself, though you are forced to recount the story of the storm and the rescue at least three times throughout the night you manage to stir the conversation towards other matters and speak of sailing and fishing and voyages to the South Spice Islands which leads to others to chime in and you somehow survive without having to talk about yourself the whole evening. Slowly, the night begins to wind down as coffee and dessert are brought and consumed along with several glasses of even sweeter dessert wine (how do the Floricenes do it) that leave you feeling very happy indeed. One by one, members of the party make their excuses and singly or in pairs or even threes in one case wander off to bed or cards or some other late night pursuit until only you are left, picking at the remains of your dessert with Emmanuel. He reaches over to pour you another glass of wine and smiles, raising his own.
"Marran, if I can call you that, I really must thank you again. It has been my absolute honor to host you and I owe you much more than I can hope to repay." You blink and raise your glass to him, feeling a little slow and leaden.
"You're far too kind, my dear Emmanuel," you protest with your usual modesty. "I only... I only did my duty, as I said."
"Is it also your duty to be charming? And to look so... handsome? Pretty? Well? I can't quite find the right word for you," he admits and your cheeks are burning again though with all the wine it's hopefully not terribly noticeable.
"I... You speak too highly of me, truly," you protest again. "Besides you match all of those yourself. You are... you are a very ship-shape fellow, you know?" Your words slur a little and you wonder if that was the right term to use when you're complimenting someone, whether man or woman. You haven't had much time for this sort of thing, unless you count a few temporary dalliances now and then when you were actually ashore. As you set your wine glass down, you feel a warm hand cover your own and you look at Emmanuel with a heavy blink. Your blush must be obvious now.
"No, I do not think I do, Marran." He takes a breath, then smiles in that easy confident way that seems natural to every Floricene you've ever met.
"I don't suppose you would like to go upstairs and have a last glass of wine before we call it an evening?" Oh. Well.
[ ] Hello, sailor!: Yes, yes you think you would. He is such a charming gentleman and really very handsome in his looks, why shouldn't you have a last little bit of the evening with him and make the most of it. Whether it turns into something more complicated isn't really up to you anyway, you have your duty that will be taking you away and he, no doubt, will go back to his home soon enough. So yes. If your sailors are going to have fun, so should you. Technically you're not allowed to sleep out of your ship as a captain but if you're not going to sleep does it really count?
[ ] Reef sail: Yes. You do rather badly want to but you don't have permission to spend the night out of your ship as a commanding officer, so you can't really stay the night. But there's nothing wrong with spending time with him before you finally make your way back aboard, is there? You also need to burn off some of this wine so that you don't seem drunk when you get back to the boat. So it works perfectly.
[ ] My love is the sea: As lovely as Emmanuel is, you consider him a friend and nothing more intimate than that. Besides, you have your ship to look after and your duty to consider. You can let him know you'd rather part as friends and you're certain he won't take offense. He really is a capital fellow in all things (well not all but at least in as far as you know him).
Lieutenant Marran Marinos gains +1 diplomacy!
