In a side note related to this piece of devastation, Horatio’s stance on Andre Cotard is perhaps especially notable. Like Archie, Horatio perceives Cotard as someone who has witnessed his weakness ( namely, bias and suspicion ) and is also in the rather unusual position of being someone Horatio feels he has badly wronged in a direct fashion.

Horatio has never held himself in enough esteem to believe that anyone should have to prove themselves to him – and it was jarring to recognize that was precisely the position he forced Cotard into.

Cotard – a nobleman with a decorated military history, albeit for France – should never have had anything to prove to Horatio at any point. The fact that he had the gall to treat Cotard as he did when the man came with the recommendation, support and trust of Pellew has caused Horatio to question himself in a whole new fashion.

All promotions aside, Horatio has not forgotten his roots. He is no gentleman, and the distance between himself and nobility of any country will always be an infinite chasm. Yet for a time – however brief – he judged Cotard with the same brushstrokes as Moncoutant for no other reason than the fact that he was nobility of France. He chose to judge a man by his equals rather than his actions – and it was upon realization of this that he recognized the debt he owed to Cotard for ever making so cruel and unfounded a comparison.

For this reason, he feels he owes much to Cotard as a comrade, and would be grateful for any opportunity to make up for the damages his doubt caused.