Though I love this series, I have always noticed this. "Jai Guru Deva, Om"
you have got to be kidding right?
Probably not. In the books he's always clearing his throat.
But only in the last books. In the first few books (on which the series is founded), Hornblower is much younger, and his distance from others is not yet as strongly established.
''you have got to be kidding right?''Yes, I pretty much was, even if it was a truthful observation... which is why louisejuel has noticed this also. Formerly KingAngantyr