“Please – “ A deep, shuddering breath racks through him, and it is all he can do not to lose what little he has retained upon the plate so kindly offered him, “Don’t help.”
The last thing he wanted was for these men to think that he was weak. He understood that he had a very great deal to prove to Captain Vane, regardless of the kindness inherent in the quartermaster’s offer. Seasickness he was sure was understandable to some measure – but it had been two weeks at sea with no sign of issue from Thomas until now.
He was not ill – not in the sense of having eaten something wrong, or having been turned up by the sea – but in the mind, in ways that could not be seen. This morning’s breakfast – the consistency of it – had damn near broken him, and now it was all he could do to maintain dignity, and pray that he could overcome this before it marked him as a detriment.
Ocean Archive 