on the faces of the Syrians. They were not disappointed by his silence. They knew the man well.
Their overseer. Their pain in the ass.
Above, on the poop deck, John of Rhodes smiled also.
Not a shy, awkward smile, this. No, not at all. John of Rhodes was neither shy nor awkward nor a misfit. True, his former naval career had been shipwrecked by his incorrigible womanizing. But he had been universally recognized by his fellow officers—except, perhaps, those whose wives he had seduced—as the Roman navy’s finest ship captain.
He knew a fighting crew when he saw one. And now, understanding that Eusebius would give no ringing peroration—could give none—John made good the lack.
In his own way, of course. Pericles would have been aghast.
“Gunners! Valiant men and women of the Theo-doran Cohort!”
He leaned over the rail, pointing dramatically at the seven dromons some three hundred yards distant.
“Those sorry bastards
Their overseer. Their pain in the ass.
Above, on the poop deck, John of Rhodes smiled also.
Not a shy, awkward smile, this. No, not at all. John of Rhodes was neither shy nor awkward nor a misfit. True, his former naval career had been shipwrecked by his incorrigible womanizing. But he had been universally recognized by his fellow officers—except, perhaps, those whose wives he had seduced—as the Roman navy’s finest ship captain.
He knew a fighting crew when he saw one. And now, understanding that Eusebius would give no ringing peroration—could give none—John made good the lack.
In his own way, of course. Pericles would have been aghast.
“Gunners! Valiant men and women of the Theo-doran Cohort!”
He leaned over the rail, pointing dramatically at the seven dromons some three hundred yards distant.
“Those sorry bastards