"That is exactly what I'm afraid of," he said. Unlike her, he was quite glad of the darkness. He could bear his red badge of embarrassment in privacy, hot enough that he could feel the flush in his ears. "I trust you'll give me advance warning if she ever decides to bring conscription back in fashion."

He kept his pace steady until she called out another course correction, this time dragging back a little on the right oar. "We're not very close to them yet, are we?"