by Sarah Maine
She only partly understood but saw that Mr Larsen was nodding.
‘In fact it was Jacko who saved us all. He’d already taught James the skills he needed to survive, and that day in court he taught me how to act to save James as well, by trusting not to the law, but to my conscience, for there would be no justice any other way. The weapons Jacko used against an unkind world had been the snare and the net, while mine would be money and reputation. And they were weapons that I understood—’
He looked over to where James, one-handed, was packing those provisions which had survived the storm. ‘And then, less than a week ago, James Douglas came paddling down the Nipigon River towards me, bathed in evening sunlight, the very embodiment of my unquiet conscience.’ He shook his head again, as if in disbelief. ‘And next morning Dalston was delivered to me at the station, all packaged, bound hand and foot, ready to stand his trial. I tell you, it was an extraordinary feeling—!’
Then he rose, stretched, and his eye fell again on Evelyn’s apparel and he said, in a lighter tone: ‘Not only practical, my dear, but rather becoming.’
‘They’re Louis’s,’ she said, not knowing what else to say. ‘And I shall have a pair made for riding at the very least.’
He laughed, and drew her to him, cupping his hand to the back of her head in the old way, and dropped a kiss on top of her wild curls. ‘You shall indeed. And now, my dear, I think perhaps you should go and see if Clementina requires anything. It would be a kindness if you stayed with her for a while and gave poor George a break from these endless vapours.’ He held her at arm’s length. ‘And if you’ll forgive me one more time, I have business to attend to.’
James looked up as Ballantyre came over to where he was, with difficulty, closing the lid on one of the portage boxes. Between them they sealed it.
‘Does it give you much pain?’ he asked, gesturing to James’s shoulder.
‘No,’ he lied. ‘And your face?’
‘It’s nothing. Larsen reckoned Dalston had been drinking, for which we must be thankful, otherwise he’d have had your heart and my brain—’ He looked across to where Louis sat with his back against a tree trunk, his wounded leg stretched out before him. ‘And what about you, Louis?’
‘For me, it would have been more serious,’ he said.
Ballantyre laughed. ‘And my daughter is wearing your spare trousers, I understand. I’ll see that you get them back. Although,’ he added, ‘I imagine, you’ll soon be able to afford a dozen pairs.’
Before Louis could respond, Ballantyre swung back to James. ‘I promised myself that I would fish Astra’s Pool again before I left, and it appears that this evening will be my last opportunity. So if your shoulder really isn’t paining you perhaps you’ll join me up there in a little while? Give me half an hour, then come.’
James looked at him, but as usual Ballantyre’s expression gave nothing away. Until now his visit to Achak had been entirely forgotten, but his remark to Louis could only mean one thing—
Its significance had not been lost on Louis either, and he watched Ballantyre as he went to assemble his fishing gear. ‘He knows it was us,’ he said.
‘Yes—’
Together they watched him set off up the trail and disappear amongst the trees. ‘Has he said anything to you?’
‘Nothing.’
Then Evelyn came over to them. ‘He’s gone fishing?’ she said. ‘He told me he had business to attend to. I thought he meant—’ She broke off and looked from Louis to James.
‘He wants me to join him in a moment.’
Evelyn took hold of his good arm. ‘Good. He can help you, James, and you must let him. Whatever he offers you, you must take it.’
He extracted his arm, gave another nod, but this time in Louis’s direction.
Half an hour later Evelyn stood beside Louis and watched James head up the shadowed trail after her father. They needed this time together, she knew, and yet once more she had been excluded.
She became aware that Louis was watching her, whistling softly between his teeth. ‘And so, mamselle, all is resolved,’ he said. ‘And you will return home.’
‘Yes.’
‘James has told me about your fine big house, and your father’s lands. You are very fortunate.’ There was a mocking tone in his voice, and she resented it. ‘So you will go back there soon, and then enjoy forever the sweet taste of raspberries.’
She frowned at him and he held her look. ‘And what else should I do?’ she demanded.
He gave his maddening shrug, then gestured up the trail. ‘I think milord Dalston’s father came just a little way close to the truth.’ He took in her puzzlement and smirked. ‘There is a bond between those two, I think, that goes deep, and now, up there, it is the strength of that bond that will decide things. And for me too—’
‘What do you mean?’
‘— perhaps James will tell you,’ he said, and eased his position, his hand on his wounded thigh. ‘But will he be held by old bonds, or new ones, I wonder? Your father will cool his bad conscience with fine offers, as you said. But what will James say?’
She did not like Louis in this mood – his eyes were dark and angry. ‘I’ve no idea.’
‘No? Your fate is being decided up there too, I think. Will you not try to influence them? I cannot.’
He gestured to the bloodstained bandage around his legs. ‘I am hors de combat. But you, mamselle, in those fine pantalons of mine, you could go after them …’ And with that he leant against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
Astra’s Pool was a tranquil spot fringed by trees, resplendent now in their autumn colours. Whoever Astra had been was long forgotten, but for anglers, she was immortalised here. The pool was fed by a pretty bridal veil of a waterfall, and was drained at the other end by a stream which tumbled over a set of smaller falls and rapids before it joined the river. The surrounding cliffs gave the pool shelter, and today it was flat calm as James emerged from the trees.
Two or three yards from the shore he saw Ballantyre standing in the water, flicking his rod back and forth, sending the coils of line through the air, as if he stood beside his own stretch of river. Wherever his fly landed, overlapping ripples caused the reflections to blur. There was beauty, and artistry, in his movement, and James stood a moment and watched, his shoulder throbbing, and his heart very full. Next time Ballantyre cast he saw James, raised a hand, and began to reel in. He came over to the shore and propped his rod against a rock. ‘Let’s sit a moment, shall we?’
As they sat a fish rose to an incautious fly, real this time, not counterfeit, and Ballantyre cursed it briefly. Then he turned to look at James. ‘There is nothing more I can say to you, by way of explanation or apology—’
‘I know.’
It was true, and they sat in silence.
After a little while Ballantyre spoke again: ‘Jacko once preached to me on the difference between natural and unnatural justice, in my own courtroom, no less.’ James smiled slightly, imagining the scene. ‘And I reviled him.’
‘But he would have been satisfied by today’s outcome.’
‘You think so?’
‘Yes. Better that the river took him.’
Ballantyre nodded, staring out across the lake as the ripples flattened into calm again. ‘Perhaps so— Stanton will retract his false statement, I promise you, and so there will be justice for you as well.’ James nodded. ‘And will you then come home?’
And James replied as he had done to Evelyn. ‘This is home now.’
They sat in silence again after that, but it was a companionable silence, and James thought he sensed Ballantyre’s relief at his answer. And then into the stillness came a strange whirring sound, and they looked up to see a ragged mass of large birds, flying with necks outstretched and their long wings flapping. ‘Sandhill cranes,’ he said, ‘following the geese, heading south.’ They watched them pass overhead, seeing the low sun shining through the wing feathers.
‘Yes,’ said Ball
antyre, then his tone became more brisk. ‘The season advances, and tomorrow we too will follow them.’ He turned to look at James. ‘And so, to business, my friend. It appears that you and your friends played me for a fool! And did a fine job of it.’ James stiffened, wary now. ‘You can imagine my surprise when I told Achak that I was travelling with Skinner, and he asked about the three of you—’ He glanced briefly at James but away again at once. ‘He was a charming and intelligent man, don’t you think?’ James made no response. Whatever else happened now he had Louis and Marcel to consider. ‘Several things then fell into place, and after some further discussion we were able to reach a settlement between us.’
A settlement. James felt the stirring of a sick anger, but Ballantyre was continuing. ‘I’d a prior agreement with Achak’s father, you see, as a result of Kershaw’s prospecting. Nothing signed, of course, but after some debate Achak agreed to abide by it. As a matter of honour.’
After all that had happened, all that had been said, Ballantyre still felt he could talk of honour?
‘In the end we were able to agree to terms very similar to those you three had negotiated with him,’ he continued. ‘Fair and reasonable terms, I might add, which protect Achak’s interests and will still turn a good profit. Kershaw now has a fairly good idea of the extent of the outcropping, and the potential of the area is much larger than you might imagine. Not only gold, you see, but copper and iron ore. Diamonds maybe— The claim that you three negotiated with Achak is not central to my plans, and if Kershaw is right, the outcropping there is thin, and will require considerable effort to extract it—’ James turned to him, confused now, but still wary. ‘As a single enterprise it will be an expensive undertaking, but as part of a wider concern—’
‘What are you saying?’
‘— although even as a single enterprise, if you choose to continue in that way, it will yield you worthwhile results.’ Ballantyre turned his head then and contemplated him with an odd expression. ‘Did you really think that I would try to take it back?’
He gave a grunt at James’s silence. ‘I suppose I deserved that you did.’ Then James saw that a smile was twitching at his lips. ‘Once I’d recovered from my surprise at your collective guile I was actually rather impressed by it. You, James Douglas, for all my efforts, are Jacko’s spawn, with the heart and soul of a poacher.’ He pulled out his cigar case. ‘Jacko would have been proud of you. First my grouse and my salmon, and now my gold mine. Does your thievery know no bounds?’
At the end of five minutes James sat staring at Ballantyre in astonishment. ‘From my point of view it would work well,’ he concluded, tapping ash onto the rock. ‘I like your friend Louis, he understands human nature and would handle the workforce well. Marcel’s temper might become less of a liability if his job was to liaise with Achak. I will pay them well, have no fear. I suspected you would not wish to return to Scotland, so I’m inviting you to be my partner in this, James. I will retain seventy-five per cent ownership, you get the rest.’
James continued to stare.
‘If your own partners wish to negotiate some other deal regarding the operation of your claim, then I’m happy to discuss it,’ he continued, ‘but that’s up to the three of you. And Achak.’ He paused and relit his own cigar. ‘This arrangement will suit me very well, you see, otherwise I would have to employ foremen, overseers, and the like who might try to rob me.’ He paused again, then added, ‘Something I don’t recommend you try—’ He raised his eyebrows, as if seeking a response, but James said nothing. ‘In fact it was your impudent little claim-jump that started me thinking. Very enterprising, and legally quite unimpeachable, as I had signed no documents, so it was, on your part, opportunistic and admirably incisive. Good qualities to harness, I think.’ Then he added in a different tone, ‘And it provides me with a God-sent opportunity to start to put things right between us, James Douglas.’
Somewhere in the trees nearby the song sparrow resumed its song. There was no other sound except for the breeze rustling through the trees, and James felt its coolness on his face. He got to his feet and went to stand beside the still pool. In a week or so ice would begin to form at its edges, and in a month it would be frozen solid, and animals would cross it, leaving tracks in the deepening snow.
It was an incredible offer—
But he would be Ballantyre’s man again. He might be three thousand miles away but he would still be there, in control, pulling the strings, determining fate and future. He would be no more free of him than Evelyn—
He tossed the half-smoked cigar into the water.
Evelyn.
The thought of her slipped into his head, unbidden, smooth and warm, like the feel of her skin beneath his palm, and his pulse began to race. And he stood there, stock still beside the pool, and let the idea take root and grow. Perhaps there was, after all, a deal to be struck—
He turned back to Ballantyre. ‘Thirty per cent,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘Thirty per cent to me. And thirty to your daughter. The rest you retain.’
Ballantyre stared fixedly at him. Then: ‘To Evelyn?’
‘Yes.’
His expression did not waver, and James returned it evenly. ‘So you think to have Evelyn too?’
‘That’s up to her.’
‘And thereby gain a controlling interest in the mine.’
‘To hell with the mine. Her share would remain hers, whatever happened. It gives her independence and freedom.’
Ballantyre ground out his cigar on the rocks. ‘To come to you?’ A chill had entered his tone.
‘If she’d have me. Yes.’
‘Evelyn returns home with me.’
‘I know.’
‘She’s not yet twenty.’
‘But she won’t always be.’
Ballantyre continued to stare at him, then he turned away and looked out over the pool of still water, his profile as rigid as the surrounding cliffs. James held his breath as the silence between them lengthened, staggered at his own audacity.
When Ballantyre turned back his expression was unchanged. ‘I cannot help thinking that if I had sent you straight to Rothmere House ten years ago, I would have spared myself a good deal of trouble.’ Or was it subtly altered—? ‘You’d have the estate too, I daresay!’
‘I don’t give a damn for—’
‘I might remarry. Breed sons!’ There was now a glint in Ballantyre’s eye.
‘I’d wish you joy, sir,’ James replied.
‘Ha!’
‘I only want Evelyn. But she’ll come to me of her own free will – or not, as she chooses.’
Ballantyre shook his head from side to side, as if in disbelief. ‘I was right – there is no end to your thievery. But Evelyn returns home with me, nevertheless, where she stays until she comes of age, or to her senses. Whatever you might think, she is a child still—’
He broke off as Evelyn herself appeared at the edge of the forest, still wearing James’s shirt and Louis’s trousers. She stepped out of the shadows and paused, her hair lit by a shaft of sunlight flickering through the trees. They both watched her as she came towards them.
She had stopped at the end of the trail and looked towards Astra’s Pool, and saw them, standing beside the water, talking. But James had his arms folded high across his chest, and her father had his shoulder half-turned away, and her heart sank. What had Louis said about a bond?
They caught sight of her and she went closer. ‘Not fishing?’ she asked, looking from one to the other.
Her father was contemplating her with a strange expression. ‘You will return home with me, Evelyn. You do understand that? Whatever has happened in my absence between the two of you, you will return home.’
Her eyes flew to James’s face and she felt colour flood her face. What had been said?
But James was shaking his head. ‘Of course she returns with you, sir. I ask only that your offer is framed as I ask.’
So Louis was right. Matte
rs had been discussed, and decided.
‘Your father has made me an offer, a business offer. A share of his mining enterprise’ – James glanced across at him – ‘an offer which he might well now withdraw.’
‘Unworthy, James,’ said her father softly.
James shrugged. ‘But I will only accept it if he agrees to my terms.’
‘Which are what?’
‘That he gives you a third share in the business as well. Yours forever. Which would leave you free to choose your own path.’
She looked back at him, thinking of the place by the river where Mr Skinner had found them. ‘What business?’
‘Not lumber—’ he said, with a slow smile. ‘Mining.’
‘But I know nothing of mining,’ she said, and her eyes met the smile in his.
‘Nor do I—’
She felt her father looking from one to another, and then she sensed something change. The tension seemed to go out of him. ‘So you both have a great deal to learn,’ he said, and she saw a smile reach his eyes. ‘But James will learn his business here, earning his twenty-five per cent share, and you will return home with me. And in a little over a year when most young ladies receive pearls and other jewels to mark their coming of age you, my dear, will also receive a twenty per cent share. What you do with it, Evelyn, will be your entirely own affair.’ He turned to James. ‘Satisfied?’
‘I said thirty. To each of us.’
‘I know you did, young man. But this is the deal I offer.’
James turned to her. ‘Evelyn?’
A strange new feeling was taking wings within her, like the beat of a hundred geese soaring high above them. ‘If you said thirty, then I don’t think you should back down.’ Her father looked astonished. ‘And perhaps the contract should state that an additional per centage will be passed on when’ – her nerve failed her – ‘a certain level of profit is reached.’