Love and War: Chapter 8

"Was lunch with the boffins as bad as I imagined it?" Newkirk asked Deryn as they ascended the ratlines.

"It was terrible," Deryn responded, "they just sat around and talked." Newkirk rolled his eyes, and a broad smile crept across Deryn's face, "Aye, you would have hated it."

Newkirk stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, while you were having tea with hoity and toity, I had real work to do!"

"But you really wouldn't have liked it anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

Deryn stopped climbing, and hung on to the ropes, "Well…" she hesitated, "I probably shouldn't tell you."

"Well now you must tell me," Newkirk prodded her.

Deryn smiled slyly, "Have you noticed the way Dr. Gartner and Dr. Barlow treat each other?" Newkirk shook his head slowly. Of course, he hadn't. "Well, at the restaurant they seemed really affectionate."

"Affectionate?"

"Newkirk, I think there is something going on between them. You know, like romantically."

Dr. Barlow might not have wanted anybody to know about her and Volger, but she said nothing about Dr. Gartner. Even if Deryn may have stretched the truth just a wee bit.

Newkirk's eyes widened, "Barking spiders, really?"

"Aye, I thought they were going to start kissing right in front of me."

"Sharp, Newkirk!" Mr. Rigby called from above, "Are you climbing or playing patty-cake?"

The middies quickly climbed up to the topside, and it didn't take Newkirk long to announce, "Dr. Barlow has a lover!"

"Oh," Mr. Rigby said coolly. "You're a little slow, mate. Only everybody is talking about it. You know how rumors spread."

"Well, since everyone is talking about it," Deryn chimed in, "it must be true." Newkirk nodded in agreement.

"Not necessarily," Mr. Rigby said. "I'm not sure if I believe that. Why would anyone get involved with her?"

"She's barking smart."

"She annoying, and never shuts up." Mr. Rigby said, "But, to each his own I suppose."

---

"That should do it," Dr. Busk said as he wrapped a piece of gauze around Mr. Rigby's hand. Rigby was a gifted soldier, but his trips to the infirmary were oddly frequent. He was always coming in with broken limbs, and slashes in the flesh, and currently, blisters on his palm.

"Thanks a lot," Mr. Rigby said examining his wrapped left hand. "Hey did you hear about Dr. Barlow and her new boffin friend, Dr. Gartner? Apparently they're a couple. Can you believe that?"

"Well if this Dr. Gartner hadn't picked her up, then I sure would have…eventually."

"Um sure," Mr. Rigby frowned.

---

Dr. Busk was in no way a gossip. He simply enjoyed talking about the personal matters of his fellow crewmen. Whether or not those personal matters were fact or fiction remained in question. But he was not a gossip.

"Did you hear about Dr. Barlow?" Dr. Busk asked Dr. Erasmus who was sitting across from him.

Dr. Erasmus took a sip of his coffee and then placed it next to a recently dead message lizard that sat on the coffee table. It was a rather annoying habit, leaving dead lizards around. Dr. Busk, like any Darwinist, liked beasties just as much as the boffins. But even he wouldn't want a dead beastie lying lifelessly on a table where he happened to be eating.

"What about her?" Dr. Erasmus asked as his adjusted his round glasses.

"Well, you know I am not one to gossip, but apparently the woman has a male friend that she is romantically linked to and his name is Dr. Gartner."

"That sounds familiar," Dr. Erasmus said. "But wait a minute, last time I checked, he was married."

"We are men! Are you telling me, you never look elsewhere for female companionship?"

"I love my wife very much!" Dr. Erasmus said defensively.

"That doesn't answer the question," Busk quickly pointed out. Dr. Erasmus glared at him.

"Excuse me, please," Dr. Erasmus said getting up with his coffee and lizard in hand. He then walked off furiously.

"It was just a question!" Dr. Busk called after him.

---

Dr. Erasmus squeezed his hand through the message tube, trying to wiggle a lizard free. Daft beastie curled up into a ball and got caught in the message tube.

"How's it going there?" Dr. Erasmus felt Captain Hobbes say before the captain's heavy hand slapped him on the back—hard. Dr. Erasmus winced and fell forward a little before regaining his balance.

"It's really jammed in there, sir," Dr. Erasmus said.

"You can fix it," the captain said frivolously.

"Yeah well, we will see. Say, did you hear about Dr. Barlow?"

Captain Hobbes sighed, "What did that woman do this time?"

"Well, I do not know the details, but she is romantically involved with another boffin, Dr. Gartner, who may or may not be married."

Hobbes' eyes widened, "You can't be serious."

"No, it's true. Everybody is talking about it. Apparently they are very close and very much in love."

The captain let out a small laugh, "Oh my, that poor guy. I always said that I'd feel sorry for the unfortunate bloke who ended up with her. It wouldn't have surprised me if her first husband decided to jump off the London Bridge to get away."

"That's a terrible thing to say," Dr. Erasmus said.

Captain Hobbes shrugged. "Trust me; I have seen my fair share of beautiful and deadly women. Barlow is no different; reminds me of my ex-wife, lost a fortune thanks to her, and a pair of well-tailored pants."

"What if the man is truly in love with her?" Hobbes laughed and walked off. "Nevermind."

---

"Water?" Captain Hobbes asked Mr. Hurst. He motioned for the engineer to take a seat in front of his desk.

"No thank you," Hurst shook his head.

"Scotch?"

Hurst stared at the captain, his face spotted with engine grease, "Yes, sir," he nodded.

"Alright, good on you mate," Captain Hobbes laughed, and opened a brown box full of cigars after he poured two small glasses of scotch. "Have a cigar while you are at it."

"I don't smoke," Hurst objected. Hobbes looked at him skeptically, and then the engineer sighed. "Fine," he said.

Hobbes smiled, "How are the Clankers working out?" Captain Hobbes asked as he lit a cigar and handed it to Hurst, and then he lit his own.

"They are good, but I don't trust them. Especially that count, he always seems to have a hidden agenda."

Captain Hobbes laughed, "Yeah, well, say…did you hear about Dr. Barlow and her male companion." Hurst shook his head. "Apparently, she is always spending time with this Dr. Gartner, a boffin, and they are somehow involved romantically."

"Oh wow. Is it serious?"

"As far as I know." Captain Hobbes let out a chuckle and shook his head. "You have to wonder how desperate this guy is," Hobbes said taking a drag of his cigar. "But really, I do wish them luck. Lord knows they'll need it."

---

Alek stared at Mr. Hurst through his piloting goggles. The man stared back blankly; he always seemed to have a scowl on his face. "What?" Hurst said harshly.

"Nothing," Alek said, "It's a beautiful night. Nice and clear." It was a stark contrast to the loud noise and smoke that the engines gave off.

Mr. Hurst blinked. "Get back to work," he frowned.

"Told you," Hoffman whispered to Alek in German. "You can't get him to smile."

"Tomorrow then," Alek shrugged, "Did you hear about Dr. Barlow?" Alek asked Hoffman.

"No, what about her?"

"Dr. Barlow is romantically involved with another boffin named Dr. Gartner. They are crazy in love with one another."

"What are you two gabbing about?" Hurst interrupted.

"About Dr. Barlow and Dr. Gartner," Alek answered eagerly.

"Oh, I heard what's going on with them."

"Exactly," Alek pointed at the man, "everyone is talking about it, so it must be true."

"Makes sense," Hurst stroked his chin and smiled for what could have been the first time. But the smile quickly disappeared, "Get back to work!"

---

"Did you two hear about Dr. Barlow?" Hoffman said as he sat down next to Otto Klopp and Corporal Bauer.

"I rarely hear anything about her," Klopp said as he filled his mouth with green tea.

"She's very secretive," Bauer said.

"Well I don't know how long that will last," Hoffman said, "because the news around the ship is that the woman is romantically involved with some other fabricator, like herself, his name is Dr. Gartner. They're madly in love."

"Doesn't surprise me," Klopp shrugged, "she is pretty woman, and it was only a matter of time before some Darwinist man snatched her up. If only she didn't create these awful beasts."

"Yeah, but we don't even know if it is true." Bauer said, "I don't think she would tell anyone even if it were; you know since she is so secretive. I bet she wouldn't appreciate people talking about her private life."

"That ship has sailed, my friend," Hoffman said. "Everybody is talking about it, so it really isn't 'private' anymore. But if it bothers you, then you didn't hear anything about Dr. Barlow."

---

"You never listen to me, you know," Otto sighed and rubbed his head, frustrated after arguing for the past twenty minutes. Sometimes it was just hard to get through to the stubborn count. "The plan will work," Klopp said slowly after he calmed himself down. "It's the perfect plan for escape."

Volger looked thoughtfully at the mechanic, "Very well." Satisfied, Klopp smiled and stood up straight. He knew his plan would work. It had to, because if it failed, Volger would never let him live it down.

"We're done here," Volger said dismissively, and shooed him away with his hand, or so he tried. Klopp rolled his eyes. He didn't move, and instead sat down in front of the count's desk, just to annoy Volger. Klopp made himself comfortable, and crossed his legs. Volger looked up from a rather dusty old book, clearly extremely irritated that Klopp was still there.

"Lovely weather," Klopp said casually. Volger looked at the man, no doubt wondering why the mechanic hadn't left as of yet.

"It's too hot," Volger said brusquely, and then looked back down at his book, obviously trying to ignore Klopp.

But the mechanic didn't plan on moving anytime soon. "Did you hear about Dr. Barlow?"

Volger suddenly closed the book and raised one of his dark eyebrows, "What about her?" He said looking intensely at Klopp.

"Actually, this probably won't interest you. But the woman is apparently in a romantic relationship with some other fabricator."

Volger sat back in his chair, "Dr. Gartner?"

Klopp's mouth widened a little from the shock; he hadn't expected the count to know that. And here he thought Volger was unsociable, taciturn and well...Volger "That's right," Klopp smiled, and Volger stared at him silently with a vague expression on his face. "I didn't know you paid attention to the social interactions on the ship. Well, I guess everyone knows. How did you hear?" Klopp asked curiously, but Volger didn't seem to respond, and his countenance didn't change. This lasted a respectable minute before Klopp finally said, "Volger?"

"What else did you hear?" The count said abruptly.

"So now you want to listen to me?" Klopp said cynically.

"Just tell me," Volger said calmly, nevertheless Klopp could sense the anger in his voice. But Otto shrugged it off.

"Nothing else, that's it," Volger seemed a lot more interested in this subject than Klopp had thought he would be. He didn't seem like the type of person who would take an interest in the lives of other people. "You are always talking to her, why don't you ask her in person?"

Volger frowned. Naturally, Klopp didn't seriously expect him to ask her about it. "Yes, maybe I will."