Skulduggery laughs and lifts his shoulders in a brief shrug. "Ah, maybe a bit. I at least helped convince him to go easy."

Maybe this won't do much to soften people's perceptions of the Captain... but it isn't just the passengers he's got to convince. It's much harder to make a joke out of other people's love when you're in love yourself, and he can't help hoping that something tonight will resonate with their would-be captor. ...Even if it's just the desserts at this point.

"Johnny is braver than most of the people on this ship, and I'm glad he had the gall to ask. It's good for the Captain to see what happiness looks like for other people. Give it a few days and he may even say something positive about the whole event."