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“Stephen?”
“Be still now, my dear; I shall not be a moment.”
“But Stephen…!”
“Hush, Jack! You will frighten it else.”
Jack Aubrey closed his eyes and tried hard to swallow down the lump in his throat as Stephen gazed, fascinated, at the large black and yellow-striped caterpillar crawling along his friend’s shoulder.
“I should have thought – indeed, I had not looked to find… Oh, is she not beautiful? I believe it is a she; yes, yes indeed I am certain it is a she! A more perfect example of Danaus plexippus in the larvae stage I could not have wished for. Thank you, my dear; I cannot thank you enough!”
“I do not care what it is or what it is doing!” Jack’s voice was rising in pitch as the placid caterpillar made her steady progress along the captain’s epaulette towards the general direction of his neck. “Just get the damned thing off me!”
“There is no need to squeak so, joy; she is doing you no harm– God love you, Jack, she is not going to eat you! Danaus plexippus, like any other of its specie, is by nature an herbivore, and therefore is thoroughly disinterested in devouring large, dangerously obese sea-captains given to unnecessary panic when confronted with creatures not even a tenth of their size. If anything I believe she may have been attracted by the brightness of your disgustingly yellow hair… yes, it is so. See, she is making for that lock fallen just behind your ear.”
“Stephen!” Jack wailed, trembling and sweating, his blue eyes wide with fear. “Please!”
“Oh, very well,” Stephen murmured, and reached up to brush the caterpillar from Jack’s shoulder into his palm where it curled up into a ball, doubtless thinking it had been struck by a bird. The doctor gazed lovingly at the small creature and cooed to it softly, stroking one finger along its back. “There, honey; no need to be afraid… I shall name her Hygieia, as she feeds on the Asclepias.”
“You cannot mean to keep it?” Jack asked, incredulous. Stephen looked up at him, frowning.
“But of course I mean to keep her! She is in the advanced stage of larvae, and a chance to observe and accurately record the pupation and subsequent emergence of the adult creature would be most wonderous, a most valuable experience indeed.”
“No, Stephen, I am sorry. I will not having it escaping into the cabin and crawling away to God knows where!”
The doctor looked at his friend, hurt, clutching the caterpillar to his chest as it began to uncurl and explore his hands.
“But, Jack, I will not let her trouble you, I swear. I shall keep her in a glass jar in my dispensary – a fine jar in which she may crawl and eat and mature to her heart’s content. She will not escape, and she shall not trouble you in the least, out of sight as she will be.”
Jack glared at Stephen, trying his best to be stern and severe; yet the injured, pleading expression in Stephen’s pale eyes as ever began to undo his resolve. He narrowed his eyes at Stephen’s face, glanced down at the caterpillar, then back to his friend. At length he sighed in irritation and shook his head.
“All right, I suppose it would not hurt… But mind you keep it secure!” he growled, in a desperate attempt to keep himself from smiling as Stephen’s face lit up with happiness. “I cannot guarantee for its safety should it be found roaming free.”
“Oh, I assure you I shall take the greastest care!” Stephen smiled down at the caterpillar, stroking its lightly again, this time not prompting it to curl up. “And she will soon be into pupation, which means she shall not crawl at all. Indeed, I doubt you shall see her again until she has her wings.”
Jack blinked.
“Her wings?” he repeated blankly.
“Yes, her wings,” Stephen said, beaming at his friend’s confusion and lifting the caterpillar closer for to him to look. “She is a butterfly!”