The Scent of Betrayal (25 page)

‘It is not that simple!’ de Carondelet shouted.

‘It would help us to know what makes such information so significant,’ said James.

That stopped him in his tracks, since to answer would be to confirm that Saraille had printed the truth. ‘It is mischievous, designed to undermine both me and Spanish rule. The whole city now knows what was stolen out of that ship.’

‘With respect, Barón,’ James continued in a silky voice, ‘that still does not explain why you’re so agitated. Everyone also knows that newspapers print any nonsense that will tempt people to buy.’

‘It makes me sound like a thief,’ he cried, trying to cover his tracks. Then he thrust the paper at James. ‘Can’t you see that?’

After a brief perusal, James replied, ‘I must admit, I cannot, sir.’

‘Shipping bullion to the capital city of America.’

‘Nowhere here does he say that you are a thief.’

‘Of course not! But it is implied.’

James’s response was like a knife entering soft butter. Harry had to turn away from both the Governor and his aide for a moment lest they see him laughing.

‘Then let us hope he doesn’t hear a word about the chest you took out of
Bucephalas
yesterday, Barón. That I fear will do your already dented reputation no good at all.’

De Carondelet stopped as though he walked right into a wall. He turned slowly to look at James, whose face bore a completely bland expression. Harry saw him puff himself up to a yell, so cut in.

‘Now that we have seen to your honour, sir, perhaps you will explain why you have virtually clapped the crew of our ship in chains.’

‘I assume Lieutenant de Chigny has told you, Captain. It is to prevent you from doing anything foolish.’

‘The only foolish thing we have done up till now is to be open with you. Had we sailed into New Orleans keeping the fate of the
Gauchos
to ourselves, we would still be in possession of our property.’

‘Do not lecture me, Captain Ludlow. You are a mere private individual who has the good fortune to own a ship. I am a high official of the Spanish government with duties and responsibilities that you cannot even guess at. And here in this colony I am the law. If I see fit to take over the property of any subject of King Carlos, then I am within my rights to do so. Dissatisfied, he may appeal to Madrid for justice.’

‘I am a subject of King George.’

De Carondelet slammed his fist on his desk. ‘Who does not rule here.’

Harry reached into his coat and produced a piece of parchment. When he spoke, he adopted a formal tone which the other man recognised right away.

‘I have here a written demand for the return of my property.’

‘Which I accept,’ de Carondelet replied with a smile. ‘With the sad acknowledgement that my duty to my King does not permit me to comply.’

‘Then do I have your active assistance in the matter of finding your property? I wish to be allowed to talk to certain people, not least the members of your
Cabildo
and the prisoner Charpentier.’

‘I have my own watchmen to carry out enquiries, and I must insist that should you uncover any information you must pass it on to them. On your own, you will cause more trouble than you will solve.’

‘With your permission we will return to the ship.’

‘No!’

‘What?’

‘I require that both you and your brother stay ashore, Captain. Leaderless, your men will cause us no trouble. Without your crew, you will be similarly constrained.’

‘I cannot agree,’ said Harry, coldly.

‘Then I must tell you that any hope you have of restitution is forfeit. You will also find that the accommodation I shall force you to occupy is extremely uncomfortable. Believe me, in a city like ours a dungeon has special attributes. Agree, and you can choose your own place of residence. I expect you to accept, and when you do I will demand a parole that neither you nor your brother will go near your ship without an officer of my garrison in attendance. Failure to keep to your word will also endanger our agreement, and lead to your immediate arrest.’

He nodded to de Chigny, who opened the door to the chamber. Four Walloon Guards marched in, muskets at the present, and bayonets fixed.

‘Which is it to be, Captain?’

‘Are we allowed servants?’ said Harry wearily.

‘Of course. Do you wish me to recommend lodgings?’

‘No,’ Harry replied. ‘I think I know where we will take up residence.’

‘Well, brother,’ said James, softly, ‘it’s an ill wind.’

Harry didn’t even consider that Hyacinthe might refuse to take them in until they were actually outside the Hôtel de la Porte d’Orléans, and his sudden display of nerves provided James with both amusement and concern. He knew his brother well now, the gaps in their relationship when he was a boy repaired by all the time they’d spent together at sea. Harry was impulsive in most things he did, not least in the way he sailed and fought his ship. But that paled beside his personal relationships, since the snap decisions he was prone to take seemed to be based on less sure knowledge than he displayed at sea. Oliver Pollock was a classic example. James had found the man amusing enough. But half the reason he repaired so often to Madame de Leon’s bawdy-house in St Croix was that he was less smitten than Harry, whose regard for the American bordered on infatuation.

There were manifest reasons for this, not least the common one that such things afflicted all sailors. Away on voyages that could last a year, denied normal social intercourse, they were, as a breed, inclined to sharper emotional shifts than their lubberly brethren, and the very nature of their trade, where death from any number of dangers could occur within seconds, made them impatient fatalists. So when they came across a person or a place that excited them, their whole being was thrown into ensuring a successful outcome to whatever they desired. That such an attitude usually produced the exact opposite of what they intended was well known; a subject for cartoonists, dramatists, low comedians, and pamphleteers, all of whom took delight in pointing up the failings of the sailor fresh home from the sea: and nowhere was that more in evidence than in a tar’s relations with the opposite sex.

Yet once they were ensconced in the hotel, James was forced to examine his feelings just to check that he wasn’t indulging in
unnecessary cynicism. Not only did Hyacinthe welcome them with open arms, having banished him to the attic she set Harry up in a room right next door to her own; and watching them together over the following days, the depth of their regard was so obvious that even an exercise in wit that alluded to their passion seemed churlish. For once, James realised, his brother had matched himself with someone equally high spirited. Hyacinthe Feraud, who’d never had any difficulty in attracting the opposite sex, seemed as enamoured with Harry as he clearly was with her. They were drawn to each other in a way that practically excluded everyone else, arriving at the kind of intimacy shown by long-standing lovers almost immediately and exuding happiness in the process.

For all that, there was caution born in James that had as much to do with his own past as any protective strain he felt for his brother. The residual suspicion existed that Hyacinthe Feraud, who had ample experience despite her youth, was playing with Harry’s emotions, and that the whole thing would end in tears. To ask Harry to examine that possibility would only earn him an angry rebuke, but Hyacinthe was another matter. Since she was such a beautiful creature, and amusing company, it was a pleasure to engage her attention, and James was well aware, even if his brother was not, that time alone would reveal the true depth of her feelings.

FOR HARRY
, the next few days were a mixture of bliss and frustration. Saraille, even with his sources of information, could provide him with little help – happy to discuss the various members of the Spanish administration, his general bile towards them as a group robbed much of what he said of real value – and the Hôtel de la Porte d’Orléans provided three opinions for every two people he questioned. The loss of de Carondelet’s secret cargo was the main topic of conversation in the city, which obscured the truth rather than revealing it. If de Carondelet was indeed investigating he showed little sign, his routine seemingly unchanged from before his loss. Walking around the building which housed him, his administration, and his prisoners, or standing in the square in front, Harry could see no way of penetrating the wellguarded entrances to recover the treasure without serious loss. Looking at his ship, and observing the infinitesimal fall in the river level, was even more galling, reducing him to a quiet fury as his impotence was underlined.

Hyacinthe provided the bliss. If there had been any rivals before he came on the scene, they’d been routed. Tucker, on the two occasions he’d been encountered, was so drunk his insults carried neither force nor clarity. The time was spent either in her apartments or down in the tavern, watching her go about her business with an efficiency which was remarkable in one so young. She spoke of those whom Harry had a right to suspect of intercepting the
Gauchos
, but that was mostly gossip, or useless details of their sexual preferences. One thing was certain: for all their upright Catholic attitudes, they were not averse to the charms of
Hyacinthe’s girls. Not surprisingly, when success had attended his endeavours Charpentier had been a customer. She confirmed Harry’s initial impression of a man who was rogueish, but he was also said to be ineffectual, more interested in spending money than acquiring it, and she made it clear that the pirate was not the type of man to attract her. None of the Barataria Bay fraternity was available to be questioned, which lent credibility to San Lucar de Barrameda’s assertion that he’d cleaned out their base and dispersed them in the swamps.

So the couple ate, drank, and danced together. They made love often, beneath her portrait hanging above the bed. And when they talked it was Harry who opened up, telling Hyacinthe things that he rarely discussed with anyone: of the disappointment he knew he’d been to his father; and of the duel with a superior officer that in its aftermath and his refusal to apologise had ruined his naval career. He also told her of his homes in Kent and London and the nature of life in England. She was entranced by tales of Europe, asked questions about dress, manners, and morals, the answers to which alternately amused, amazed, and horrified her. Born into poverty, with her beauty her only asset, she had been in some senses rescued by her predecessor, trained by her to take over the hotel. She liked and admired de Coburrabias, as much for his acumen as for the lack of hypocrisy that was his abiding trait. And, it seemed, she loved Harry Ludlow, rushing to be with him as soon as chance allowed.

The idyll could never entirely shut out his difficulties. And with a servant like Pender, he had an instrument with which he could circumvent some of Carondelet’s restrictions.

‘Fernandez has set himself up in your cabin, and the ship is crawling with the buggers half the time.’

‘Did the Frenchmen finally go ashore?’ asked Harry.

‘They did, and I managed to sneak two sea-chests full of powder ashore with ’em.’

‘Good.’

‘Couldn’t have done it without that Lampin cove. He’s all right, he is, and sends his thanks for the money you advanced.
Him and Couvruer have taken charge of them as though they’re personal stores. If they can keep their mates’ noses out from them we should be safe. They’ve found a place, two floors of a house, in a street called the Calle des Ursulines, hard by a convent. Belongs to the nuns it seems, and them being homeless Papists they’ve taken pity on them.’

‘What about the crew?’

‘Well, it’s hard for ’em, Capt’n. Dreaver told me they can see the town if they climb to the cap, and can hear music an’ all sorts after dark. I had a look around and there’s an old royal warehouse right by the river that’s used for public dances. Not fussy either about who they let in. Word has it the slaves go there as well as the free, and the owner told me he’s already had his collar tugged for it. Fined and the like, ’cause old Carondelet don’t like it. Says it gives the blacks ideas. Not so, says Santiago. Decent cove, to my mind.
Bucephalas
is moored right on the other side of that there bank, so our lads’ll be able to watch the comings and goings.’

Pender was reaching into the deep inside pockets of his coat, leaving Harry to wonder how his servant, with not a word of Spanish or French, had not only found all this out but had also got on friendly terms with the owner of the dancehall. But that was typical of him. He had a way with people that made them warm to him: he could engender trust in even the most cynical breast – but more important than that he could pick locks. Harry’s smile turned to a grin as two pistols appeared, with Pender producing them like a fairground trickster.

‘They ain’t as good as your own, Capt’n. But they’ll do for close-quarter work. I’ll get Mr James a pair tomorrow.’ He looked around the room. ‘Where is he?’

‘He’s on the roof with Hyacinthe,’ said Harry, pursing his lips. ‘She is sitting for a portrait. As if there weren’t enough of the damn things around as it is. I told him there was one in the bedroom but he replied that since he was unlikely to benefit from seeing it he’d do his own.’

‘He don’t waste much time, do he, your honour?’

That wasn’t something Harry wanted to think about. ‘Do you think they’ll notice the armoury’s been opened?’

‘No. The lads say they never do nothing but check the extra lock they put on, and that is still on the hasp. I’ve set one of the chippy’s mates to making a wooden copy that can be swapped if we need to gain a bit of time. The rest are carving out dummy cutlasses so that if they do look inside they won’t notice what’s missing.’

‘That’s an interesting piece of news regarding the public dancing. Perhaps I can persuade de Carondelet that keeping them on the ship is a recipe for trouble. He might agree to let them ashore in quotas. We’d have to make our break sometime after dark and a party already ashore would be a great bonus.’

‘Perhaps some of them should kick up a fuss on their own account.’

The door burst open and Hyacinthe careered in, followed by James. Both were laughing, with that open, happy air of people totally at ease in each other’s company. Harry felt a pang of jealousy that evaporated immediately she threw herself into his lap.

‘It is too, too hot, Harry, even under a parasol.’

‘If you could be brought to sit still, Hyacinthe, then you’d be cooler. Honestly, brother, I’ve never known such a fidget.’

‘How can you wear that coat, Pender?’ she asked. Then her eyes strayed to the table. She leant forward and picked up a pistol between two fingers.

‘Have to have it to carry these, Miss H.,’ said Pender quietly. ‘Otherwise they’d be seen.’

She frowned and Harry uttered a silent curse. In the time they’d been at the hotel, Hyacinthe had not once posed an awkward question, content to avoid any knowledge of what they might be up to. Yet she must know Harry to be a man who would never allow someone like de Carondelet to dictate to him. That active personality was a great part of his attraction. But her attitude seemed to be that if she knew nothing she could say nothing. The pistol on the table, which should have been kept out of sight,
breached the hope that she would not be put in a compromising situation.

Cayetano had a call on her loyalty, but fortunately the connection seemed to be very tenuous. Hyacinthe had explained that as the highest-ranking army officer in the colony his association with a bawdy-house had to be kept as discreet as his own sexual dalliances. In fact, he owned several establishments in the town, operating them at arm’s length and was only really concerned that no trouble should emanate from his properties, only profits. It said something about the city of New Orleans that he could be a zealous and competent officer in the Spanish army as well as a brothel keeper.

‘Put it out of sight, Pender,’ said Harry, as Hyacinthe gave him a sad look. Then, because she hated to be unhappy, her face brightened.

‘I shall get Bernard to fetch us some iced lemonade.’

‘Such luxury,’ said Harry, looking at the bright summer sunshine outside the window.

‘That is what first brought me here,’ she said, now looking wistful. ‘The first time I ever set eyes on the hotel. I was only a child, and I saw the unloading of great blocks of ice on the levee. I’d never seen it, nor even heard of such a thing. It had come all the way from the mountains of the north and was covered in bales of straw. One of the boatmen let me touch it, then asked me if I’d like to try some. It was so cold, so beautiful.’

‘I could take you to places where it stretches for a thousand miles,’ said Harry.

‘Will you take me, Harry?’

‘Of course I will,’ he replied. Gazing at Hyacinthe, he didn’t see the look that was exchanged between Pender and James. Neither did she, but that didn’t stop the look of anger. She got out of Harry’s lap, and went to look out of the long windows.

‘Then the filthy pig with the ice, he told me what he wanted in return and I said
non
. I followed the cart all the way through the streets and ended up here, where I learned that most men are no different …’

She turned and looked hard at Harry Ludlow, walked briskly across the room, and pulled the bell to summon Bernard. Harry wanted to say something, but the words could not be uttered with James and Pender present. The door opened with a speed that surprised them all and Bernard entered and gave him a note. Hyacinthe ordered the drinks while Harry tore at the plain seal. The writing was odd, all capitals and deliberately crabbed to disguise its origin.

It could only be McGillivray. Harry cursed himself as he crumpled the note and threw it towards the empty fireplace, realising that he’d forgotten all about the Creek chieftain’s correspondence. Aware that it was in the sea-chest Pender had taken off the
Gauchos
, he’d anticipated, without really giving it much thought, handing the whole thing over unopened. It was no concern of his what those letters contained. Besides, when he’d gone back aboard after their meeting he’d been distracted by the need to deal with the Frenchmen, and, of course, having spent the night with Hyacinthe, he’d not returned. The following morning, contracted to meet with de Carondelet, he’d had no idea that he wouldn’t be allowed back on board. So McGillivray’s chest lay where it had done since it had been brought off the ship, in his side cabin. He was about to say something to Pender when he realised that not only was Hyacinthe present, so was Bernard. He stood up and walked out, indicating that his servant should follow. They waited on the landing until Bernard passed them, giving them an odd look before descending the stairs.

‘Pender, what are the chances of getting into my side cabin, unseen?’ he whispered.

‘Slim, your honour,’ Pender replied. ‘Captain Fernandez has set up home in the main cabin. If I’m allowed in there at all, it’s
only with him beside me. That’s why I couldn’t get your own pistols out of the desk drawer. He examines everything I take out.’

‘You know those sea-chests that you took out of the
Gauchos
?’ Pender nodded. ‘One of them contains something I need very badly.’

‘Well, you’re whistling for a wind, Capt’n, without you can get Fernandez out of the way.’

‘The casements are on the same side as the jetty.’

‘Only five feet high and ten yards from two sentries sittin’ on a bollard. Now they’re lazy sods an’ no error, but they’re not blind nor deaf.’

‘I have to find a way,’ Harry insisted.

‘What is it we’re after?’

‘Letters.’

‘An’ they’re in that chest?’ Harry nodded, as Pender continued. ‘Where?’

The blank look made Pender frown impatiently. ‘Are they just in the chest, or hidden away?’

‘I don’t know.’

Harry was suddenly distracted by the sound of Hyacinthe’s laughter. He heard James’s voice too, producing another witticism that would amuse her. Pender tugged his sleeve hard to regain his attention. ‘Then, your honour, we need to find out.’

‘What’s the point, if we can’t get to them?’

‘There’s always a way, like for instance your notion of the lads getting shirty because they can’t get ashore to join in the dancing. Only thing is the timin’, which is a bit hard to fix. If I could get in there I don’t know whether I’d have five seconds or five minutes.’

‘How long do you need?’

‘If’n I’m sure of where I’m looking, seconds, even if it ain’t locked. But if I have to search.’ Pender shrugged eloquently. ‘Which would it be?’

Harry conjured up a picture of McGillivray. He didn’t strike him as a man who would panic, but if he had information to
impart, the mere idea that his secrets weren’t yet safe might induce caution. If he heard that the chest had been left unlocked within ten feet of a Spanish army officer, he could easily refuse to trade.

‘I don’t think I can ask for an exact location.’

‘Then I need time.’

‘Would a fight on deck fetch Fernandez out of my cabin for five minutes?’ asked Harry.

‘Depends on whether he likes to watch a scrap. Anyway, it’s worth a try.’

‘There has to be another, surer way.’

Hyacinthe laughed again, a pealing delightful sound. Pender turned his head towards it. ‘There is!’

‘What is it?’

‘He’s a man, ain’t he?’

Following Pender’s look, and the sound, it wasn’t difficult to deduce his meaning. ‘I can’t involve her!’