Next time when Jack woke up, darkness was not so 'solid', and now he could
finally feel his body, could feel the nagging pain. He heard the same
people speaking again: one voice was resentful, the other sounded as if the
person might burst into tears any moment.
"I cannot understand why you carried on with the duel."
"He insulted me and would not apologize"
"What sort of friend are you if you do not understand Jack's feelings?!
Do you think it would be so easy for him to apologize? And anyway I am
sure that he would not insult you just because he felt like it at the
time, he must have had a reason for it, even if he acted thoughtlessly.
And did not the fact that he lowered his pistol and did not shoot seem
like he admitted his guilt? Did it not?! Oh, how I wish Jack did not have
such a noble heart! He could have shot you!"
"You would not love him as much if he did not have a noble heart. I would
not..."- Stephen's voice was quiet, barely recognisable.
"How true..."
The other man seemed to calm down for now he also sounded quiet. Quiet and sad. Jack wanted to shout out that he did not have a noble heart: he let himself be rash; he let himself contemplate the idea of a duel with Stephen. The duel was his fault – not shooting was the only thing he could do. But no sound left his mouth, except barely audible groan.
* * * Jack regained consciousness on the fourth day after the duel. Almost immediately he was able to sit up in his bed, nevertheless he felt very weak and got tired very quickly, so most of the time he just slept. However, when he was awake he spent most time talking with David Sayers, his old friend who happened to be in the nearby village where Killick went to get some supplies for Captain's kitchen. David and Jack once served together as midshipmen and passed examination for lieutenant at the same time. Very soon after that David was forced to drop his naval career for his father died and left him a rather large inheritance and a younger sister to take care of. Jack at first could not understand why David had to forget being a sailor, just because his sister – already sixteen years old – needed taking care of. Soon the truth came out: David found himself a bride, but her parents were against their daughter marrying someone, who would be away most of the time. So David left sailing to his friend Jack, married Anna Elizabeth Westwood, and settled in the Sayers Manor, receiving about 5000 pounds a year. Jack remembered David's sister very well: once he was very fond of her. She was a rather tall girl with a beautiful face, dark red hair, full lips, which dared all men – rather than tempted – to kiss them, and mysterious green eyes. She also had an unusual personality and unusual name. Her father travelled to India as young man and came back with a broken heart. Several years passed and he married a respectable girl who soon gave birth to son David and shortly after that to daughter, who was called Sohalia by her father. His wife did not want her little girl to be named after some Indian whore, at least that where she thought the name came from, but her opposition did not prevent her neighbours admiring the unusual name, and so she gave up. With the unusual name came an unusual character: she seemed rather quiet and shy just like her mother, but as she grew up she displayed qualities that her mother never possessed. Sohalia was very intelligent, cunning and had a sense of humor, which sometimes was found very appalling. Some said it was her father who gave her these qualities, some said that the girl was adopted, the parish priest went as far as saying that the girl was possessed by the spirit of the Indian whore, but he was drunk at that time and nobody took his words seriously. Jack himself could never believe that one could call Sohalia a demon. She was strange no doubt, but she could only be admired, and that was what Jack did: he admired Sohalia, but she never treated his affections seriously and once on the rainy afternoon she told him not to bother her with his admiration. Aubrey could remember her words as if their conversation happened yesterday:
"- Jack, please shut up. Do not talk of love with me. Love is a severe
mental disorder.
- Sohalia, I cannot believe you are saying such things!
- Shut up, Jack. Do not act as if you are innocent. By the way it's
Plato's words. Not that you know who he is."
David told Jack that he was worried for Sohalia, but he could not remember why, for he was exhausted and fell asleep letting David carry on with his story. Next time he was ashamed to ask him about it. David stayed by his bed almost all the time while Jack had enough strength to talk. Stephen only came to change Jack's bandages and rarely said a word except a formal greeting. First time when David and Stephen were together with Jack, captain tried introducing them to each other, but they said that they know each other already and Jack was astonished to see a look of deep resentment in the eyes of David and Stephen whenever they looked at each other. Jack tried to question David on that matter but got no answer.
"I cannot understand why you carried on with the duel."
"He insulted me and would not apologize"
"What sort of friend are you if you do not understand Jack's feelings?!
Do you think it would be so easy for him to apologize? And anyway I am
sure that he would not insult you just because he felt like it at the
time, he must have had a reason for it, even if he acted thoughtlessly.
And did not the fact that he lowered his pistol and did not shoot seem
like he admitted his guilt? Did it not?! Oh, how I wish Jack did not have
such a noble heart! He could have shot you!"
"You would not love him as much if he did not have a noble heart. I would
not..."- Stephen's voice was quiet, barely recognisable.
"How true..."
The other man seemed to calm down for now he also sounded quiet. Quiet and sad. Jack wanted to shout out that he did not have a noble heart: he let himself be rash; he let himself contemplate the idea of a duel with Stephen. The duel was his fault – not shooting was the only thing he could do. But no sound left his mouth, except barely audible groan.
* * * Jack regained consciousness on the fourth day after the duel. Almost immediately he was able to sit up in his bed, nevertheless he felt very weak and got tired very quickly, so most of the time he just slept. However, when he was awake he spent most time talking with David Sayers, his old friend who happened to be in the nearby village where Killick went to get some supplies for Captain's kitchen. David and Jack once served together as midshipmen and passed examination for lieutenant at the same time. Very soon after that David was forced to drop his naval career for his father died and left him a rather large inheritance and a younger sister to take care of. Jack at first could not understand why David had to forget being a sailor, just because his sister – already sixteen years old – needed taking care of. Soon the truth came out: David found himself a bride, but her parents were against their daughter marrying someone, who would be away most of the time. So David left sailing to his friend Jack, married Anna Elizabeth Westwood, and settled in the Sayers Manor, receiving about 5000 pounds a year. Jack remembered David's sister very well: once he was very fond of her. She was a rather tall girl with a beautiful face, dark red hair, full lips, which dared all men – rather than tempted – to kiss them, and mysterious green eyes. She also had an unusual personality and unusual name. Her father travelled to India as young man and came back with a broken heart. Several years passed and he married a respectable girl who soon gave birth to son David and shortly after that to daughter, who was called Sohalia by her father. His wife did not want her little girl to be named after some Indian whore, at least that where she thought the name came from, but her opposition did not prevent her neighbours admiring the unusual name, and so she gave up. With the unusual name came an unusual character: she seemed rather quiet and shy just like her mother, but as she grew up she displayed qualities that her mother never possessed. Sohalia was very intelligent, cunning and had a sense of humor, which sometimes was found very appalling. Some said it was her father who gave her these qualities, some said that the girl was adopted, the parish priest went as far as saying that the girl was possessed by the spirit of the Indian whore, but he was drunk at that time and nobody took his words seriously. Jack himself could never believe that one could call Sohalia a demon. She was strange no doubt, but she could only be admired, and that was what Jack did: he admired Sohalia, but she never treated his affections seriously and once on the rainy afternoon she told him not to bother her with his admiration. Aubrey could remember her words as if their conversation happened yesterday:
"- Jack, please shut up. Do not talk of love with me. Love is a severe
mental disorder.
- Sohalia, I cannot believe you are saying such things!
- Shut up, Jack. Do not act as if you are innocent. By the way it's
Plato's words. Not that you know who he is."
David told Jack that he was worried for Sohalia, but he could not remember why, for he was exhausted and fell asleep letting David carry on with his story. Next time he was ashamed to ask him about it. David stayed by his bed almost all the time while Jack had enough strength to talk. Stephen only came to change Jack's bandages and rarely said a word except a formal greeting. First time when David and Stephen were together with Jack, captain tried introducing them to each other, but they said that they know each other already and Jack was astonished to see a look of deep resentment in the eyes of David and Stephen whenever they looked at each other. Jack tried to question David on that matter but got no answer.