"Well, she's out there in that mist somewhere, sir." "Right." "We'll take the boat and we'll look for her." "There she is, sir!" "She's a beautiful ship, sir." "But she's slack." "Gaffled all over the place." "A bit like old Captain Baines." "Christian Radich, ahoy!" "Christian Radich, ahoy!" "Albatross." "Now why would they killan albatross?" "The old shell backs used to make tobacco pouches out of them." "Till they learned better." "One damn thing after another, and then I got this hand." "The signal said fever." "But the fever followed." "There's a tick-worm here." "The buzzer, they call it." "Winds itself like silk round the anchor rope, but the moment you put flesh to it, it's into you." "I didn't know it then, you should cut it out at once," "I got to it too late." " What happened to the mate?" " Crilly?" "He got a knife in his back ashore." "He was lucky to get a Christian burial." "The third skinned out, and the police have got the boatswain, bending his elbow and his fist." " And the crew?" " Well, they're abed." "But I've just been so weak, whole days have gone by with me just lying here." "I got a message to the consul." "Well, your worries are over." "I'm to take her home." "You are?" "A mate, I asked for." "Mr Onedin wants the cargo home by Christmas." "I haven't had a Christmas ashore in seven years." "Well, you will now." "Do you want to stay in this cabin or do you want to take the mate's?" " Now look here..." " Look!" "The signal from Mr Onedin is very clear." "He says you're to be put ashore if there's any trouble." "He just wants the cargo." "Get on with it!" "Come on, get moving!" "I want this boat ship-shape and Bristol fashion." "Right?" "No!" "No, whatever it is, no!" "Stop and think!" "There's nothing that won't come out of the wash." "Believe me." "Nothing." "So the idea is that the Brazilian cargo is all dealt with in one wharf." "Now, out of this warehouse, we'll deal with the whittling and the repairs." "Course, it'll all have to made good, new timber inside and out." " And I want it all done by December." " Right." "Now you've also bought a job lot of properties there." "Down the bottom end of Wilmington Street." " Aye, what are they like?" " Slums." "Ah!" "No value, are they?" "No, coppers." "About six houses in all." "About the same size as the warehouse." "Oh, good, more storage space." "Right, get 'em down." " Demolish?" " Aye, by December." " We'll have to serve eviction orders." " So long as it's done by Christmas." " What's so special about Christmas?" " It's our anniversary." "For the family?" "Not them." "For the Onedin Line." "I feel we're coming to the end of one era and beginning anew." "When I look out of this window, I want to see a forest of masts stretching from one end of the wharf to t'other." "My ships, my wharf." "Brazilian wharf." "I want you to start before December." "And I thought you were going to be having a party." "A what?" "Oh, we always have a family do at Christmas." "You know, kids all over the place." "Go on." "Hello, Robert." "Haven't seen you since before the elections." " My loss again, I'm sure." " Eh?" "Look, if that's all you've got to say to me..." "Funnily enough, no." "I've had the most benevolent thought put into my mind." " Well, keep it there." " Christmas!" "That's months away." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am totally preoccupied." "Come along." "Come along." "Go on." "Go on!" "He just walked out of the committee rooms on the night, and walked and walked." "I don't know where on earth he went." "And that was the start of it." "Everything." "It's just as well he's lost his seat." "Better he's removed now, before he brings discredit on all of us." "Discredit?" "Robert?" "Oh, Sarah, you know what he's like." "Transparent." "Sooner or later, everyone sees through him." "Oh, you and your tongue!" "No wonder you never came near him." "Why don't you welcome the fact that he can now settle down to a humdrum life and upset as few people as possible?" "Oh, Elizabeth, I don't know why I bother to talk to you." " I'm speaking my mind." " And that's what I'm objecting to!" "Oh, he's best out of politics." "Well, he's not settling down to a humdrum life, and that's the truth." "Look, he's off all the time." " Off!" " Off?" "He's neither here nor in the office." "Don't you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" "He's getting himself dressed up to kill and then he's off somewhere and he won't say where." "Well, one thing Robert's never been is mysterious." "Oh, but he is now." " Over here." "They'll have to come out straightaway, or they'll get crushed." " Do you recognise the feathers?" " No." "Oh, you ought to, silly," " they're common garden fowl." " Oh!" "But of course, they've been combed and pressed." "Nearly all the hats are like this, this year." "The ribbon's very nice." " Pass me the other one, will you?" " Oh, yes." "Over here." "This is the new sailor." "A regular Jack Tarr with a very breezy brim." "Well?" "I think I prefer this one." "More dressy." "There's no problem with the warehouse, but we're gonna have to shift to get those houses down in Wilmington street." "Then shift." " Now, how many of these are there?" " Six orders, six houses." "Right." " Er, a visitor, sir." " Well, I'm not in." " It's Mrs Onedin, and she's in a bother." " She'll just have to wait, won't she?" "I have my heart set on this thing being done by Christmas." "And I want it contracted out and a prize given, before they can plead weather." " Very good, sir." " Aye." "Give it to some Irishmen." "They work harder and they're cheaper." "I will not be fobbed off by clerks!" "And you can tell him to get out as well." "This is family, James." "I have some questions." "Have you seen Robert lately?" " Well, I've..." " Either you have or you haven't, and if you haven't, it's very easy to say so, but you have, haven't you?" " Yes." "Yes, I have." " Anything to say?" " Who?" " Robert." "Well, um, no." "He cut me, actually." "There's something going on, I know it." "Look, I expect it's the elections that have upset him." "Oh, that's what Elizabeth said." "She's so selfish she's only interested in herself." "But of me thoughts..." "I have never had thoughts like them, not in all my married life." "It's true, I swear." "There's goings-on." "Don't just sit there!" "If your father were alive, he'd take a strap to him." "Oh, a bit late for that now." "Oh, James, you're his brother, you've got to do something," " will you speak to him?" " Well, I suppose..." "And don't listen to a word he says!" "We either do it now or we turn back and we put him ashore." " It's in a hell of a state, that hand." " I can hear what you're saying." " All right, then, what would you do?" " I'd cut!" "Okay, Wilson, take the bandage off." "Look at that!" "I'd set my heart on being home for Christmas." " There's some rum here." " Oh, you have it yourself." "All right." "Hold him down." "Come on." "It's gonna be better if you don't look." " I've done it myself." " That's why it's in such a mess." "That will teach you to shoot an albatross." "I never shot no albatross!" "Mental as well." " You sure this is the address?" " Positive." "It's above a shop." "One of my clerks said he saw Robert helping her to move in." "Oh." " Miss Beatrice..." "What's her name?" " Mays." "He calls on her nearly every day." " Come with me." " Certainly not!" " Oh, what are we gonna do?" " I'm not going to do anything." "Hmm." "Oh, what a month!" "First, Baines laid up." "I now have to take Harvey off the Osiris to bring the Christian Radich home, and now this!" " Matt Harvey's on the Christian Radich?" " Aye." "Bringing her home for Christmas, I hope." "Not much of a Christmas for Sarah." " Not much fun for Charlotte, either." " Will Miss Gaunt be accompanying her?" " Yes." "She is her governess." " Oh, get in." " Yes, ma'am?" "Perhaps you came to check the movements of the Christian Radich on the Lloyd's List." "She's an Onedin Line ship, ma'am." "Just do as you're told, Mr Johnson." "I've nothing to say to you." " Who invited you to sit down?" " A word in your ear." " You've no business here." " Oh, can't I just be curious?" "Not into my private affairs you can't, no." "Not all that private." "What?" "You are a lad, aren't you?" "You know, what I don't understand is, though, why are you making such an opera out of it?" "What are you saying?" "Well, you know, why don't you..." " Look, why sail under your own colours?" " What do you mean by that?" "Well, Father never had his bits of fancy within a stone's throw of the shop, you know." " Get out." " No, I won't get out." " Get out!" " Look, I'm trying to understand!" " You're incapable of understanding!" " Mmm." "You have never had a relationship with a man or a woman" " that was never based on money!" " Oh, aye, money." " Yes, that is right!" "And I'm including your marriage." "Why, you're not only incapable of understanding your own feelings, but those of others." "Like your bits of fancy, eh?" "That's just what I mean." "Even your expressions are out of the gutter!" "I thought, I bet she's taking you for a pretty penny, eh?" "And even if she were, it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference." "Now, look, Robert, I'm not interested..." "Get out!" "I've nothing to say to you that you're capable of understanding." "Mmm-hmm." "I have my explanations." "But it would be pointless in making them to someone as boorish and as selfish as you are!" "I remember your marriage!" "And I know why you're making all this fuss about Christmas." "It's because you can't stand your own company, that's why." "And another thing, you'd be forced to spend at least one day with your own child." " Right!" "Right!" "Robert?" "What's wrong?" "What was all that noise?" "Oh..." " That..." "That was my brother." " Does he object?" "No." "No, it's just that he's put a totally wrong construction on everything." "And..." "And I said some very hard things." "You see, Beattie, I've always been..." "Been looked upon as a bit of a joke." "I was." "I was a dogsbody." "In and out of that shop at every ring of the bell." "Oh, yes, I was." "A bit of joke." " A joke?" "You?" " Mmm-hmm." "Aye." "Oh, but that's ridiculous." " Robert?" " Mmm?" " You're a very attractive man." "Robert, listen to me." "If it weren't for my mother, I could say..." "Oh, no, no." "No, Beatie." "Well, I'm only human, like everyone else." "Yes, I suppose you are." "But the truth is, I was a bit of a joke all those years." "But people change." "I mean, I've changed." "Oh, yes, I've learnt so much." "When I think what I've done for that brother of mine, I..." "Oh, well, never mind." "At least there's one thing." "He didn't find out." "Now, come on." "Where are those deeds?" "They're in here." "But I'm afraid they're falling to pieces." "Oh, that's all right." "Yes, I think you can safely leave this matter to me." "Excuse me." "I wanted to see Mr Onedin." "Well, he's not here." "What do you want to see him about?" "I live in Wilmington Street." "I take it you've got an eviction order." "Do you mean this?" " Aye, that's it." " But I can't read." "It says you've got two weeks." "Two weeks?" "Aye." "Sorry, you left it too late." "You should have seen Mr Onedin before." "Ah!" "They'll set each other off nicely, don't you think?" "Uh, yes." "I value your opinion, you know." "It's the men who pay." " Well, I'm no judge." " Oh, but you are." "Oh!" "They set each other off very well." "Definitely." "How's that?" "Now, the money may be drawn on the bank next week." "So, from then on, you have nothing to worry about." " I don't know what to say." " When in doubt, say nowt." " It's not just the money." " I understand." "No, you don't." "I'm back on my feet again now." "I'm well in harness." "Of course you are." "When you sell those, I reckon they'll fetch a pretty penny." "I have my confidence back, Robert." "You gave me that." " I wish I could do as much for you." " For me?" "Yes, and more." "You see, your family don't think as much of you as I do, and you've had precious little reward from them or politics." "And now, after all you've done for me, I..." "That briefcase is never out of your hand." " There." "That's a start, then." "Life is full of starts." "Precious moments." "Quite." "I quite agree." "That albatross is still there, as if it's following us." "It's a bird, that's all." "More than a bird." " Wind's still blowing us back." " Is it there?" "The Horn's still there." "We can't get around it." " No, the bird." " Well, she comes and goes." " Sit down, Wilson." " Thank you, sir." "We'll never get round this month." "You don't believe all them yarns, do you?" " The souls of dead sailor men?" " Aye, and so do you." " Shooting an albatross." " I never shot no albatross!" "There was an albatross's foot pegged up to dry the day I come aboard." " You never told me that." " You were sick." "Whoever done it must have shot it on the passage out." "Snared it." " Snared?" " Aye, Crilly, the mate." "Said he was after flying fish or anything going, but what would he want an albatross's foot for?" " Smoke a pipe?" " Never out of his mouth." "Right, tobacco pouch." "But why is the bird following us and bringing this weather with it?" "We'll never get home for Christmas." "Why does anybody follow anybody?" "It's looking for its mate." "What are you looking for in there?" "This was the mate's." "Stick your hand down in there." "I knew there were two of them!" "And you're right, this is a tobacco pouch." "What are we gonna do with it?" " Pitch it overboard." "Right in the wake, where it can be seen." "Old wives' tales." "It's just a bird." " You see?" " Rubbish." "I've chucked that albatross pouch over." "But he reckons it's just an old wives' tale." "Well, he's a lad, isn't he?" "I mean, the wet's not dry on his legs yet." " I don't know." " Oh, well, I do." "And if he can ask me again, yes, I believe." "I always sail with my cowl." "I never whistle in a ship, never sail on a Friday, don't like women aboard, or cross-eyed men, and I never shot an albatross." "Never." "Especially not off the Horn." "Stand by to go above!" "The wind must have changed." "Of course the wind's changed." "We got rid of the albatross, haven't we?" "And he says, "Old wives' tales."" " But..." " Oh, no, "Buts."" "What happened to Crilly the mate?" "Dead." "Aye." "A regular Jack-me-hearty like him up there." "He knew it all." "Old wives' tales." "You can tell him from me, Wilson, the sea's got no wife." "There was a slight shift in the wind." "What are you grinning at?" "We've lost our company." " Robert..." " Not a word." "You're sure, are you?" "I mean, if you buy a property, a search is made, always." "You don't just lay down cash without any enquiry." " Your brother has." " But why?" "AIII know is Miss Mays has sold it to him." "Property in this area doesn't change hands without my knowing about it." "Well, they're useless as they are." "I mean, what's he got on his mind?" " There's no profit in them." " The reverse." "Maybe he's trying to teach me a lesson." "All of us." "Hear, do you know anything about this woman?" "She's hopeless as a businesswoman." "Ah, well, that makes two of them." "What else?" "The Mays are an old family." "Come down in the world." "Oh, respectable." "I was wrong about that, then, eh?" "Well, I have an inkling of what it's all about now." "That's a relief, eh?" "You better show in Mrs Onedin." "Right." "Mrs Onedin?" "Sarah?" "Oh, James." "Look, it's hundreds!" "Didn't know I had this much money." "It's the firm's money." "He's put it into his own account." "What's he intending to do?" "I don't know." "I..." "It just doesn't bear thinking about." "Look, has he actually been out all night?" " No." " Well, then, there's hope." "Go on." " What do you mean?" " Well, we might have wronged him, you know." " Wronged him?" " Aye!" "Don't you understand what he's doing?" "Unless we confront him face to face and demand an explanation..." " Is he expecting that?" " No, he certainly is not." "Now, when?" "Hmm?" " You're not very interested, are you?" " I have a life of my own." " Oh, good of you to come." " As I said, I have a life of my own." "Now, look, when Robert comes, you let him have his say without any fuss." "Do I make myself clear?" "All right, all right!" "Do you think I'm afraid to face them?" " Or any of you?" " James, listen..." "In fact, I'm glad in me heart of hearts that you've come." " Your heart, Robert?" " That's what I said." " This is money, Robert." " Exactly!" "And since you've raised the matter, let me remind you of what I said." "That you're incapable of understanding a relationship between two people that is not based on money!" "This is alll can get out of him." "Nothing about his bit of skirt!" "Listen to her, will you?" "Me own wife." "You can tell she was in service." "Now come on, Robert." "Tell us." "Before Christmas." "Very well." "I shall try to be as precise as I can." "And I might say here and now that I've waited a long time for this moment..." " Precise." " All right!" "To begin with, one, I have never given any money whatsoever to Miss Beatrice Mays." "Two, I have never, in any sense of the word, behaved with impropriety towards her, and three, my failure to communicate my intentions is borne out by my dear wife's recent behaviour viz. my cheque book," "floating about this family like dirty linen!" "I don't know what I've done to any of you, to be so humiliated and spied upon and watched..." " You did say, "Precise."" " All right!" "All right." "The fact of the matter is," "I came across Miss Beatrice Mays when she..." "When she was at the end of her tether." " Who is she?" " She's a gentlewoman." "She runs a little millinery business that was looked after by her mother, but after a chapter of accidents, things went from bad to worse." "She lost half her stock and then she was fleeced by her tenants." "Tenants?" "She does have a little property of her own." "So the rents fell behind and she went to pieces." "So, I bought the property." "I took it off her hands." "That's what I mean." "I am her landlord." "And that was the money!" "So if you wish to extend Wilmington Street, you won't get my end without it costing a pound or two." "Oh." " I see." " Why didn't you tell me?" "I was going to." "But you seemed so eager to put a totally wrong construction on everything." "And shall I tell you something else?" "Do you know what Miss Beattie Mays said to me?" "She said, "You're a marvellous man, Robert." ""Because you listen." ""You're only capable of understanding when you listen," she said." ""Listen and care."" "You see, I've never had a friend, not a woman friend who is just a friend." "Who is just glad to see me coming and going." "When I told her about you, James, and what I'd learnt from you, your energy and your foresight..." "Mind you, it wasn't till much later that I realised what a penny or two I could make out of Wilmington Street." "Didn't you tell her about me?" "Oh, I started to, but she knew all about you." "Apparently, you have quite a reputation amongst milliners." "Now, I'm going, so that you can say behind me back what you haven't the courage to say to me face." "You knew." "And they leased the old property." "They'll have expired by the time I want them." "Why did you let him prattle on?" "Well, it didn't do Sarah any harm to hear that, did it, eh?" "Come on, it's Christmas." "Don't you ever get benign feelings, eh?" " Come in." "What do you want, Wilson?" "A little bit of tickle for you, sir." "A very nice land form." "Yeah, well, you didn't come down to tell me that." "No, sir." "Captain Baines is with the pilot, but I said to myself, I'll do this for Captain Harvey, personal." "Come aboard with a pilot, but you can smell who it's from." " Who's it for?" " For you, sir." "From Mrs Frazer." "Pilot said she sent it special." "Couldn't wait until you docked." "I knew her in the old days, where I shipped out on the Cullen line." "All the talk she was, in the saloon." " Talk?" " Oh, yes, yes." "When she was Miss Onedin." "And after." "Right, I've got no time to listen to your gossip." "Out!" "It's just as well, sir." "Oh, Charlotte!" "You want to look your best." "Your father will expect it." " He's not even here." " He will be." " Can I stay up?" " Of course, it's Christmas Eve." " Who else will be here, then?" " Well, I couldn't say for sure." " Father?" " Yes." " You?" " Yes." "But I'm not getting up early." "Aunt Letty, I've only got presents for you two." " Oh, we're honoured!" "Ah!" "Here, aren't you supposed to be in bed or something?" " Letty said I could stay up." " Oh, Letty said, eh?" "And she said you'd come." "I didn't think you would, like last year." "Oh, I stand corrected, then." " She can have an hour, I said." " You didn't." "You just said, "Stay up."" "Yeah, we both stand corrected." "Right, I'll get us all a drink, eh?" "I'll be off now." "I thought I'd just stick my head in and say thanks." "That's all right." "I'm glad your hand mended." "Aye." "It's right as rain now." "You know, I haven't been ashore for Christmas in seven years." " Got a wife, have you?" " No, no, I stay with my niece, Mary." "She's got a little place." "No man, three children, but it's home." "Well, I'll see you, then." "And I shall remember this month." "The month of the albatross." "You know they'll tell us that we dreamed that." "Anyway, I've sent Wilson for your gear, 'cause I don't need him." " All right." "Bye." " Goodbye." "No need for me, sir." "There's a cab waiting on the jetty, horses champing at the bit." "Get out!" "She seems settled." "I told her she could stay up tomorrow night." "All right." "Here, did you remember to hire those two maids?" "Yes." "It seems strange being away from me own family." "We're usually together at Christmas." "Crowding out the house, eating too much." " I'm very grateful to you for coming." "What are you laughing at?" "There's no need to be grateful, Mr Onedin." "I'm quite glad to get away from them." "Families can be too much, especially at Christmas." "Oh, now, there I disagree with you." "Now, I've done something this year I've never done before." "I've planned this Christmas." " Well." " Well, what?" "There are other confidential files in my desk." "Still..." "That's James' proposed wharf you've been looking at." "A surprise for you?" "He's prepared to raise capital on a Brazilian venture involving the building of an entire dock." "To oppose him, she'll have to look elsewhere." "My intention is to look further north." "Philadelphia." "McFarlan's is still looking for vessels to carry petroleum." " "Urgent." That's what your note said." " Yes." "Whose urgency, yours or mine?" " If you're peeved because I wasn't..." " I am not peeved!" "I had an appointment at the exchange." " At the exchange?" " Yes, the exchange." "Is that all you've got to say to me?" "I called you up here to make you an offer of employment." "An offer of employment is not acceptable." " But you haven't heard..." " And I don't want to!" "It's a very handsome offer!" " I've lost the art." " Of what?" "Door-matting." "Oh, well, I'm sorry." "I am, really." "Perhaps I should have begun with an apology." "You know what I've been doing this trip?" "Thinking." "Oh!" "That must have overtaxed you." "Not quite." "With what limited equipment I have got," "I've realised what I've been over these past few months." "A piece of raffia with "welcome" stamped all over it." "Chief clerk!" "Chief mate!" "Chief prize idiot!" "Well, not any more, madam!" "I've read your number and I've got it in my log at last." "And any offer you ever make me again will have to be on my terms!" "And if it's Philadelphia, if it's petroleum, it'll have to be more than a command, more than just carrots!" "It'll have to be exactly the same kind of prospect that your brother had when he first started." "My brother had a ship and a wife, and that was all." "Exactly." "You're not..." "You're not thinking of proposing, are you?" "I'd like to wipe that expression off your face." " You won't get the opportunity." " And you won't get your partner." " Partner?" " It has to be a partner." "I wanna make something for myself." "Not just an employee." "Oh, well, in that case, alll can offer you is the share in a vessel." "You've no capital." "Your brother had no capital." "Why do you keep referring to my brother?" "Because he's gone soft inside." "He can be edged out of anything." "Oh, you've the appetite for success, then?" "I've got other appetites as well." "Just how many more demands have you?" "Look, I'm a man, aren't I?" "And I don't move one step in your employ or anybody else's." "Not one step." "And I don't want any conditions in any direction." "And have you nothing to say to me as a person?" "It's got to be a straight business offer to my advantage, or nothing." "Door-matting, you said?" "You seem to have come home determined to create one." "What's your answer?" "I expect I'll regret it." "Then you agree?" "Perhaps my urgency is greater and stronger and more obvious than you think." " It's not as funny as that." "Now come on, listen, I'm giving you a toast!" "To all of you." "All of you, young and old, family life." "Family life!" "Now, we must have a speech from James." "Yes, come on, James, we're here, we've come, and we're staying." " I don't know what to say." " Oh, come on, James!" "Well..." "I'd hoped we'd all be together." " And I'm thankful for it." "What else?" " Er, no business?" " Oh, aye." "To be frank with you, my concern in the future is with a Brazilian venture." "Now, brother Robert thinks I've bitten off more than I can chew." " I do, that." " Now let him get on with his speech." " Aye, but Elizabeth's with me this time." " A percentage only." "Aye, now I'm in it hook, line and sinker, but enough of that." "No, let's just praise the fact that we are together." "Together, eh?" "Aye." "Father would've liked that." "So, my toast is us." "Us together." "No, no, I mean it." "I'm glad of it, in my heart." "Us, together." "Hear, hear!" "Didn't you say who you were?" "I tried and tried, but it were hopeless." "Everything they've done were legal." "Aye." "I'm sure it was." "So Father used to sit us round this barrel, you see." "And then we used to have to dive in to catch the presents." "He never put any names on anything, you see." " And so the ones with the longest arms had got the best presents." "But why didn't he pack them individually?" "We hadn't got much money then." "She was that little, you see," " that he used to..." "I say, whoever that is, he's in a temper." "How do you know it's a he?" "I think I better go upstairs, have a look at the children, see if they're all right." "No, that Letty Gaunt is reading to them, or was." " Hmm, I know, but it's a strange house." " Look, will you leave it be?" "Don't go pretending you don't know what I'm talking about." " What is it?" " Shh." "It's not the first time you've done it to poor people all over this town." "But now it's more than I can take, and I'm telling you," " not any more, and not ever!" " You're besides yourself, man." "You already pulled down Wilmington Street?" "Six houses." "Didn't want 'em." "Well, my niece, Mary, lives in one of 'em." " She has no man, and three children." " There was plenty of notice given." " Eviction order." "Where was she to go?" " Well, I don't know!" " She tried to see you day after day." " I didn't know that, either." "Look, can't she find alternative accommodation?" "Oh, that's you, that is." "If she'd have found you, it wouldn't have made no difference." " Compliments of the season, Mr Baines." " I've finished with you, sir." "You've no thought for poor people nor no one else." "I've held my tongue long enough, but not any more!" "I'll never take an Onedin ship to sea again." "Never!" "He says I evicted his niece." "I wasn't to know." "Do you want me to handle it?" "No." "No, no." "What is it?" "Trouble." "Oh, why did you say we'd spend the night?" "You know what James' life is like." "# O come, let us adore Him" "Mr Baines." "Mr Baines!" "Mr Baines!" "The answer is no, sir." "And you heard my reasons." "Baines, please." "No, sir." "Your nature don't change, ever." "If I saw any sign of it, I might alter my mind, but I don't." "So the answer is no." "And that's flat." "He's left me." "There'll be others to take his place." "Not like Baines." "You should've let me handle it." "Does it matter?" "A man like that can find a berth anywhere." " I'll speak to Harvey." " Matt Harvey?" "Why Harvey?" "I've taken him on as partner in a vessel." "You've what?" "You've taken on Matt Harvey?" "Yes, Baines can join him." " When?" " Yesterday." " What, after she docked?" " The moment she docked." "And you let me prattle on in there" " about us being together?" " Oh, it did you good, James!" "Besides, Robert and Sarah hadn't got a dry eye between them." " Thank you!" " Anyway, it is Christmas, and Father would've liked it." "He was that kind of abject sentimentalist." "Little beesum!" "I'll see what I can do, mate." "Us, together again." "What you doing out here all on your own?" "Family life." "There's not a room I can get away from them." "Well..." "Thought I had to keep myself to myself, but now that they've retired, I didn't think you'd mind my coming in." "They haven't retired." "They never will."