Chapter 8: A Gathering Team Part 3

"A scientist should have a more open mind." Lahdin swirled his glass, then put it on the sideboard. "If Sir Shillingsworth has signed her up, then we will have to learn to get along." Lahdin dressed more like a labourer than a scientist, and refused any title attached to his name.

"Well, I for one will have nothing to do with this. If you go along, I will stay ashore." Dr. Gostan looked around for support. The others stepped away from him.

"I will instruct Hans to bring your luggage down, I'm relieved to have discovered your attitude before we set sail." Sir Shillingsworth entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Dr. Gostan sputtered, then slammed his glass on the table, slopping the drink across the dark wood.

"You are choosing this...girl, over a learned man?" He pointed at her with a shaking hand as if she were a criminal in the dock.

"I am dismissing someone who is insubordinate."

Cal shivered. Her father's voice had to have dropped the temperature in the room several degrees. Dr. Gostan deflated. He opened his mouth then sighed. The door closed behind him and silence filled the room.

"I will be delighted to have you along." Prof. Orthin smiled at her. "What is your specialty?" His shock of white hair and wrinkled face contrasted with his apparently boundless energy. When he looked at Cal, she felt his eyes had taken in every detail of her appearance.

"I'm an artist, Sir."

"You are the creator of that extraordinary portrait Lord Carroway has hung in his hall. You have seen below the exterior to show what he thinks he should be."

Cal blushed, oddly touched by his praise.

"As a scientist, I was trained to draw what I had seen. As an art lover, I know my best efforts are scribbles. I think you will be a welcome addition to our team." Dr. Franklyn bowed slightly in her direction. "What do you prefer to use for your art?"

"Pencil on paper is most accurate. A hard lead for fine work like schematics, softer for shading. Colour is nice, but not as portable."

"That is true." Lahdin wandered over. "I dabbled with oils in my youth, I was forever either setting up or taking down my easel."

"One could try watercolour, but that is a mystery to me." Dr. Franklyn shook his head. "One of my daughters paints watercolours of flowers and birds. Beautiful, but not scientifically accurate."

"Sounds lovely," Cal said. "What does she use to fix the paper so it doesn't smudge?"

"I have no idea if she uses anything at all. I imagine smudging would be a problem with pencil, I know what my journals look like after a few weeks in the field."

"I have a device I use to spray a fine coat of varnish on the paper. It keeps the picture safe from most handling. The drawback is the varnish takes considerable time to dry, so I only use it on occasion."

"That sounds like a useful thing to have. Where did you find such a thing?"

Cal looked down and fumbled for words.

"My daughter is being modest. She invented the device herself using her mother's perfume atomizer as a model." Sir Shillingsworth put a hand on her shoulder before venturing over to the sideboard to get a drink.

"You wouldn't believe how many tries it took to get a nozzle which would spray finely and evenly and not clog up immediately."

"I imagine you need to thin the varnish."

"Exactly, but too much and it doesn't do the job, not enough and the nozzle clogs."

Pentam entered the room and scanned across it before joining Sir Shillingsworth at the sideboard.

"I thought we had four scientists on the team?" He poured a glass of wine and took a sip.

"Dr. Gostan had a change of mind." Sir Shillingsworth stated flatly.

"Would you like me to look for another chemist? There may be someone at the university."

"I'm sure you will do admirably in his place, Pentam. If I recall it was one of your better subjects."

"Sir, those were undergrad courses..." Pentam trailed off as Sir Shillingsworth looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I will make sure I refresh myself on the particulars. The equipment Dr. Gostan wanted has already been ordered and will be delivered to the ship within the week."

"Supper is served." Beth put her head in the door.

"Come, we eat, then we work." Sir Shillingsworth led them to the dining room.

***

Pentam sat up in his room reading his chemistry notes. The equipment wasn't a full lab, by any stretch, but it should be enough to identify chemicals they came across in their work. Anything beyond his or the lab's ability, they would bring samples back for the university. Even the things he did work on would be checked by the university chemists.

This could make or break his ambition. Too many mistakes, and no one would trust him with anything. It didn't matter he'd been dropped in at the last minute. The scientific community had no mercy.

Having a lab on the ship would make it easier to set up a darkroom for the photography. He had yet to tell Sir Shillingsworth he wanted to bring the camera. Appearing to compete with Cal for the work of recording the expedition would not please his mentor. Given the limitations of the camera, he'd have to stick with shots of specimens which could be held still for the necessary time.

Unless he could come up with a lighting source.

He turned down the lamp on his desk and turned in. They'd be travelling to the port in a few days.