`` by all means , '' laurence said , and though he found the novel , a dreadful gothic with an appalling villain , wholly distasteful , he was more than content with his company : if temeraire had no great quarrel with the novel 's moral turpitude , which he seemed to find less shocking than peculiar , he roundly condemned its construction and what seemed to be several omitted chapters , so they had the pleasure of disliking it together , for their several reasons ; and temeraire did not treat him as an invalid , and shut his mouth on every other word .