‘This is like some kind of religious experience, brother, one of the Papist variety, where a stone Madonna sheds tears. Any enlightened person knows it to be trickery, but thousands are convinced.’
‘We’d have to go after them by boat,’ said Harry, who’d only been half listening. ‘Even riding hard we’d never catch them on horseback.’
‘We could steal the cutter,’ said Pender.
‘It would be missed, and so would the hands that we took to man it. Which would mean trouble for the rest and a warm reception for us when we returned.’
‘I think, right or wrong, you’re guaranteed that,’ said James.
‘We’d be lucky to stay out of the galleys. The cutter is the wrong kind of vessel for the river anyway. It’s too small for the numbers we require, and the wind isn’t likely to favour us so we’d have to row. I can’t see us leaping out of a boat in the right condition to take on an equal force of trained soldiers.’
‘I’m glad to observe, Harry, that you’re not incurably romantic.’
‘James,’ Harry replied testily, ‘if you have nothing positive to add, please remain silent.’
‘You can’t talk to me like that!’
The reply was just as firm. ‘I can and I do. You have done your best to persuade me against this. Having failed I expect your support, not a constant carping that you suppose, quite erroneously, to be humorous.’
‘When I’m convinced you’re right you shall have it. Until then please allow me to speak as I find.’
James strode ahead, every firm step he took evidence of his anger. Harry, equally upset, didn’t respond to the look he was getting from Pender.
‘Are you saying we need one of the keelboats?’
‘Do you approve of this, Pender?’
‘You keep askin’ that and I keep sayin’, it’s not up to me to one way nor the other, Capt’n.’
‘Nonsense.’
‘Then let’s just say that I know you’re set on the trip, which I’d rather make with you than stay behind. But I won’t say that there ain’t parts of the notion that don’t worry me.’
‘Such as?’
‘Well, it don’t do much good to go upsetting folk when it can be avoided, especially them that’s close. And if we can’t use the men from our own crew, where’s the muscle goin’ to come from to overpower well-armed soldiers? But the real bit that gets me is this. Why should a man like this McGillivray, who seems pretty convinced himself that these soldiers are carrying a fortune, pass the chance to intercept them on to you? Especially when all he has to do, if I’ve got it right, is send one of his savages upriver and he can command an army.’
‘You think he wants me to steal it from the Spanish, so that he can take it off me?’
‘Now that might just make sense.’ Pender lifted his hand to indicate James’s retreating back. ‘As much sense as an apology, Capt’n.’
Harry smiled. ‘Between the two of you it’s hard to keep hold of the idea that I’m Captain of anything.’ He increased his pace, almost running to catch up with James, and came abreast of him just at the bottom of the steps that led up to the main floor of the hotel. ‘Put it down to frustration, brother. I never was one to remain inactive.’
‘I hadn’t noticed that you’d done that, Harry,’ James replied, indicating the building before them. ‘Given what you’ve been up to these last few days I should have thought frustration was the least appropriate word you could use.’
‘What do you think of Hyacinthe, James? Really think?’
‘She’s young, beautiful, witty, and clever.’ Harry nodded happily. ‘She is also, though of tender years for the title, a madam who runs a bawdy-house. Which is fine here in New Orleans, but would be frowned upon elsewhere.’
‘Like Kent?’ asked Harry, his smile evaporating.
‘I doubt it would even pass in London, Harry.’ James patted him on the arm. ‘I have the feeling that you were hoping for a different opinion. But I cannot do that just to please you.’
‘No. I don’t suppose you can.’
‘Harry, how many ports have you been in, how many women have you known?’
‘It’s not the same.’
‘No,’ James replied sadly. ‘I can see that. Just as I can see that being the kind of person you are, the idea of taking Hyacinthe back to England as a mistress while denying her the opportunity to be respectable is not likely to be one you could subscribe to.’
‘I had rather hoped you’d be less stiff.’
‘Because of my own past?’
Harry nodded. James had been involved with a married woman, and scandalised London by his open relationship with her. Never mind that her noble husband was a drunken rogue, a profligate gambler, and a disreputable rake. Society had its rules, even for noted artists, and James and Lady Farquhar had breached them. Being forced to give her up had reduced James Ludlow to a wreck. Being at sea with Harry had, with time and circumstances, restored his pride and self-esteem.
‘Perhaps it is that very background,’ James continued, ‘that makes me urge caution.’
‘Just caution.’
‘Oh, yes, brother. If the emotion you feel is strong enough to withstand the level of disapproval you’ll encounter, then do as you will. England is not the only place a man can live. Besides, in the years since my own débâcle, I’ve come to know you much better. I’ve learned that disapproval is not something you pay much heed to.’
‘Tucker sold the boat back to him this morning,’ said Hyacinthe. ‘He’s not fond of keelboats. Besides he’s been in New Orleans so long that his own crew have drifted away in ones and twos, so Kavanagh’s boat wasn’t much use to him. He would have done it sooner if the great oaf could have talked any sense. He was feeling guilty, after the way he won it.’
‘He didn’t strike me as someone overburdened with much of that commodity,’ said Harry, all his suspicions regarding Tucker registered in his face.
Hyacinthe smiled. ‘Thankful Tucker is a better man than he appears at first. That’s true of a lot of these Kaintucks, for all their rough ways.’
‘Of course,’ James replied, his face blank. ‘You know them so much better than we do.’
‘What are the chances of buying another one?’ Harry asked, quickly.
‘Poor,’ she replied. ‘They love their boats, ugly though they are. But, Harry, why do you want to buy one?’
Harry shrugged, well aware that James’s eyes were on him and that by providing an answer that was an excuse he would also expose the fact that he didn’t trust her. Yet he realised suddenly that it was true. He hadn’t even told her that the money Carondelet had confiscated wasn’t his. But there was no alternative. If he was going after the soldiers it had to be surrounded with the same level of secrecy as that employed by the Governor.
‘I can’t just sit around and do nothing. Here I am on the edge of a huge and fascinating continent which is begging to be explored. I’ve even got an invitation to go hunting. Besides, I still feel responsible for those Frenchmen we brought to New Orleans. We promised them so much in the way of land and opportunity. Perhaps, if I take them upriver with me, I can find them somewhere to settle.’
‘Frenchmen would be happier here in the city, I think,’ she replied. There was a look in her eye that made Harry uncomfortable, one that made him think she saw right through his attempt at dissimulation.
‘Maybe,’ he said emphatically. ‘But they should be given the choice. How can I do that when I don’t know what is available?’
The suspicious air disappeared suddenly and Hyacinthe gave him a charming smile. ‘You know, Harry, you are a lot like these Kaintuck men. They are cursed with feet that itch. You too cannot stay in one place too long.’
‘Odd then that Tucker is still here,’ said James.
The floor was as crowded with dancers, the taproom for the riverboatmen just as vociferously noisy as the first night they’d arrived. Hyacinthe moved around the tables dispensing charm and making arrangeme
nts for the better class of girls who occupied the upstairs rooms. Lots of her customers had their favourites, for which she’d produce a little book, to write down a name and time. Bernard had the job of collecting the goods from those whose credit did not extend to such transactions and he followed her round assiduously, extracting payment in advance. Given the shortage of coin, it was interesting to see what people used in its place. Whiskey was popular since it could be sold on; tobacco, light in weight, for the same reason. Some preferred to sell goods like knives and musket balls. Few went further than a bale of cloth. Those with a line of credit tended to pledge a proportion of future crops, cotton, sugar, rice, and indigo, and Harry and James knew that since they’d been at the hotel Hyacinthe had acquired a number of horses, two mules, and one cart. Anyone, like them, with real coins to disburse was extremely popular as drinking companions, being people who extracted high value for their money.
‘I wonder how much de Coburrabias makes out of his extraneous activities,’ said James idly.
‘Enough,’ Harry replied, ‘considering he never comes near the place. Hyacinthe tells me has has opened a warehouse to stock his goods since the colony ran out of coins.’
‘And what about her, how does she get paid?’
‘No idea.’
‘Do you think she will tell her employer, when you fail to turn up, of your intended trip?’
‘What trip? I’ve no means of making it. I was down on the shoreline all day, getting absolutely nowhere, even with real money. All the rafts, which are useless anyway, are broken up as soon as they arrive. The only thing I could have had for the asking was a fist fight.’
‘That seems like an attempt to evade an answer, Harry.’
‘All right! I don’t know.’
‘What if she does say something to him? He of course knows nothing of de Carondelet’s alleged subterfuge. So, in passing, tucked away in a despatch, he mentions to the Barón that having accepted his invitation to hunt upriver, you have failed to show up. I wonder what happens to Bucephalas then.’
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Thankful Tucker had approached their table unseen. ‘Why, if it isn’t Mr Cuckoo and his brother.’
‘I’m sorry?’ said Harry.
‘You don’t like the nickname, Ludlow.’ Tucker replied. His face was red and his breath heavy with the odour of whiskey. ‘Was a time I was sat at that table. Was a time that Thankful Tucker wasn’t slung out into the street when the lights were dimmed.’
‘Thankful!’
The riverboat Captain turned to face Hyacinthe, swaying slightly. He leant towards her and waved a hand drunkenly.
‘Why there you are, the sweetest flower in the delta.’
‘Then don’t breathe on me so. I’ll wilt.’
‘I was just telling your cuckoo Englishman that possession of that seat he’s occupying tends to be temporary.’ He turned to leer at Harry. ‘And with the seat goes all the other little things that are so pleasant to taste.’
‘You’re drunk, Tucker,’ said Harry.
‘Only a whippersnapper would call this drunk. But then maybe you can’t hold your liquor.’
‘Don’t answer him, Harry,’ said James.
‘That right, Ludlow. Best if you don’t say nothing.’
‘Are you trying to pick a fight with me?’ asked Harry.
Half his attention was on Hyacinthe, the only person with the power to prevent the inevitable. Her eyes seemed excited and her breathing was heavy for someone not actually exerting herself.
‘Pick a fight with you,’ called Tucker, his voice loud enough to be heard at all the surrounding tables. Then he shook his head slowly. ‘You, with your high and mighty English ways, might think I have no dignity. But I have a care only to raise my hands to a man who can stand toe to toe.’
As Harry came slowly to his feet the noise in the tavern died away. His proximity forced Tucker to move slightly backwards. Then he shoved out his left foot and, raising his hands, adopted a pugilist’s defensive stance.
‘If you can look down without falling down, Tucker, I think you’ll observe a toe.’
‘I know what I’m fighting for, Ludlow. How about you?’
‘I believe I’m happy to take you on for the same stake as Kavanagh.’
‘My boat?’
Harry nodded. Tucker smiled slowly, then pulled himself up, his whole manner changing as the air of drunkenness dropped away. His speech changed at the same time, becoming much more clear and precise. ‘I won’t ask what you’d want with a Mississippi galley, Ludlow, but the stake suits me.’
James stood too. ‘I think, Harry, that you’ve just had a mouthful of whiskey blown in your face.’
‘Kentucky rules,’ said Tucker.
‘What are they?’ asked James.
‘Anything goes,’ the American replied.
The musicians stopped playing abruptly. The only noise to be heard, as both men removed jackets and shirts, was the scraping of wood on wood as chairs and tables were hastily dragged out of harm’s way. Bernard appeared on cue, in shirtsleeves, the club that stood as sole referee swinging lazily in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw James following Hyacinthe up to the balcony. Was she aware that for Tucker she was the prize in this encounter? That in turn forced Harry to examine his own feelings. If, as he’d implied to James, he was in love with her, he’d not give her up just because he’d lost. Therefore, did what was about to happen make sense? And what of her emotions? If she’d accepted the outcome of his defeat, what did that say about the depth of regard for him?
Such thoughts had to be banished, as Tucker, stripped to the waist, turned to face him. Harry was momentarily puzzled by the glistening state of his torso, then he realised that the Kaintuck, in a fashion that was clearly habitual, had engaged in a little more subterfuge. He’d set out to goad Harry, determined to engineer a fight, something James had spotted as quickly as his brother. As a precaution, he started by greasing his body in advance of his approach. This would mean that any blow Harry landed which wasn’t square on to a fistful of flesh would slide harmlessly to one side, with a subsequent diminution of effect. It was an old pugilist’s trick.
They edged towards each other, an act which brought the first cry of encouragement from the watching crowd. This was soon followed by others till it seemed as though no voice was still as numerous bets were placed on the outcome. Both had their fists up in a protective manner, left hand slightly ahead of the right, elbows held in tight to protect the vulnerable solar plexus, while the knuckles stood guard over that other fragile area, the chin. Harry looked into Tucker’s brown eyes, seeking that flicker of the lids which presaged action, all the time edging closer to his opponent. Tucker, likewise, was staring at him, gaze steady, every muscle on his shining body taut and knotted, ready to carry him forward or spring him back out of danger. Suddenly Harry let out a great yell and flung himself forward, arms outstretched. Tucker, alarmed as much by the sound as the act, tried unsuccessfully to leap backwards. In facing what looked like a boxer he’d obviously not expected this kind of assault. Even so, Harry only just caught him. He dug his fingernails into Tucker’s shoulder so that the greased flesh wouldn’t slip away, and using every ounce of his strength pulled his adversary close. Tucker had opened his hands to push Harry off, but these had been brushed aside. Seeing Harry was determined to get even closer, he opened his mouth and jabbed his head forward to bite his nose.
The head butt that Tucker received lost some of its force because of his swift reaction, but in jerking his head back to avoid damage he allowed Harry to get both arms round his waist and pull him into a bear hug. The teeth that Harry Ludlow sank into the lobe of Tucker’s ear were not designed to do more than distract him, even if the act did produce first blood. Those watching could have been forgiven for wondering what the Englishman was about, as he ground his body against that of the keelboat Captain in an almost sexual manner. Harry leapt back just as quickly as he’d jumped in, taking
himself well away from his opponent, his hands now rubbing into his body the grease that had transferred itself to him.
‘Just thought I’d even matters up a little, Tucker, while I had the chance. Now we’re both slippery customers.’
Tucker smiled. ‘And I thought you English fought upright and bareknuckle, with fair play paramount.’
‘You should try serving on a man-of-war, Tucker. You’d soon find out that your Kentucky rules have a long pedigree.’
Tucker skipped forward on his toes, left foot always to the fore, his stance more akin to that of a fencer than a boxer. As the crowd yelled encouragement his left fist shot out, aimed at Harry’s unguarded chin. It missed as the head was jerked sideways, but the right followed up, landing a heavy blow to the side of the ducking head. Harry recoiled a fraction, but this was more to achieve a proper balance than because he was hurt. Safe on one foot, his boot took Tucker right beneath the knee on his leading foot. That caused the Kaintuck to drop forward slightly, his lack of balance making the blow he aimed at Harry’s chest ineffectual. The one he received in reply was anything but, a crunching fist crashing into the top of his jawbone that spun his head sideways. Tucker was no fool. He knew that the Englishman would follow up, so he used the force of the punch to spin on his back foot. Harry’s left hand missed his chin by a whisker, an act which ruined his own stability, carrying him forward. Tucker spun right round, his leg rising higher and higher, till his toecap landed square in Harry’s kidney. Some of the agony was dissipated by the fact that he was already moving in the right direction. But not all of it, and Harry staggered, his face screwed up in pain.
Tucker was after him, raining blows on his body as he sought to turn. In the small arena there was little space to back away from the assault, and the screams of the crowd were loud in Harry’s ears as the Kaintuck, having him on the defensive, grabbed hold of his hair. Harry immediately ducked as low as he could, legs spread wide, trying to occupy a space that not only took the force out of Tucker’s remaining fist, but protected any vulnerable areas, while at the same time denying him the opportunity to either kick or knee him in the groin. He swung his head back and forth, only to have it jerked savagely by his opponent, giving, by his uncoordinated actions, the appearance of a fighter in dire straits. Tucker was attempting to pull his head up so that he could hit him, Harry equally determined, despite the pain, to deny it. Of the two men the latter had a clearer idea of what he was trying to achieve.
The Scent of Betrayal Page 28