"Sir!"

I was told of a school pupil who was able to express any meaning or feeling in the single word, "Sir": incomprehension, puzzlement, surprise, polite inquiry, indignation, acceptance of a fact, of an order, of a compliment, of a recrimination.

Dominic Flandry's Shalmuan servant, Chives, is clearly no slouch in this respect. When Flandry begins to imply that, instead of preparing supper, Chives will be required to remain on the bridge of the Hooligan:

"'Sir?' Chives raised the eyebrows that he didn't have." (Sir Dominic Flandry, p. 274)

When Flandry explains that Chives will be required to remain on the bridge and that instead a Chief Petty Officer will cook:

"'Sir!' bleated Chives." (ibid.)

Chives, of course, obeys orders except when it is a matter of deciding which uniform Flandry should wear to dinner or which wine should be served with the meal. There is a clear echo of Wooster and Jeeves but let me also recommend another fictional master-servant team.