There is no way to respond to this first statement which would not be either insulting to the Chinese view of dragons or traitorous to England, and so Laurence only gives a non-committal, acknowledging nod, shortly before he must ruthlessly push down his despair at Temeraire's relaxed attitude towards the absolute truth.

"It is a solution which has been suggested," he says. "And I believe the Emperor is amenable. But negotiations are ongoing, and it is by no means set in stone."

He smiles, slightly wry. "Temeraire is more optimistic than I in our ultimate success."