Chapter Three
A Plan is Hatched
Verity followed the page into the hall. He took a lantern off the side table and lit it before handing it to Verity. He lit himself a lantern and held it up as he ushered the girl out of the hall and into the dusky evening. "Quiet night," Verity said as they stepped out onto the steps.
"Redmond's usually quiet," the page replied, leading his charge down the stairs. They passed the redcoat guards and walked into the plaza in front of the governor's residence. "Last time there was a ruckus that took the governor away from his before-bed sweets, they ended up in the stocks for a week."
"My goodness," Verity said gravely, her face creasing into a frown. She glanced sidelong at the page. "Does he have as wild a temper as it seems?"
"Quite wild, sometimes. If someone interrupts his meals, he gets furious!"
"Is he married?" Verity asked quietly.
The page shrugged. "Wife's dead. Crushed to death, probably—but that was years ago, when I was but a boy." He yawned hugely and added, "He's got a daughter, Lily. About your age, I think."
"Ah," said Verity, following the page up to a rough wooden door, above which a sign read Smith's Tavern and Inn. "What kind of deal do you think the governor is offering to Captain Black?"
"I'm not sure," the page confessed, pushing the door open. "Most likely he wants to make use of Black's skills and his ship." The page ushered Verity inside the warm, softly bright common area of the tavern. "Recently he sent a privateer to Douwesen to retrieve some sort of Incan treasure. It's likely something to that effect."
"Treasure?" Verity said thoughtfully, her mind turning to the canvas sack that Colin had taken from her home. She barely listened as the page explained that the governor couldn't use ships from the English fleet to further his own fortune, and then said, "I'll talk with the innkeeper."
He walked towards the bar, leaving her alone by the door. She crossed her arms and looked at the floor until a voice from behind her said, "Excuse me, miss. Would you mind…?" She turned to see a wizened crewman from the Crimson Dawn sitting at a table with a mug in one hand and a pen in the other. "I'm sorry, could you move? I'm recruiting."
"Oh," said Verity dumbly, her cheeks flushing a little. "Certainly, yes, of course." She moved to another table, at which she sat. As she watched, a young man came over to the crewman. They conversed quietly for several minutes until the young man made a mark in the book. He then turned and walked towards the bar.
He didn't make it to the bar, however. He spotted Verity and dropped unsteadily onto the bench across from her.
"Hello there," he said lecherously, leering across the table at her. "Mind if I keep you company?"
Verity was about to ask him to leave when an idea occurred to her. Mid-word, she changed her mind. "Yes—err—no. Not at all. Please sit down." By his breath and the look in his eyes, Verity guessed that he had already consumed quite a measure of liquid courage.
"What brings you 'round these parts?" he asked, smiling at her.
"Just visiting. Relatives. My brother," Verity explained, her dark eyes avoiding the drunken man's face. "Nothing special. So…are you a sailor?"
"Yes, I am," he replied with a grin. "Just signed on for my first tour with some ship. The Red Dawn or some such."
Things were looking better all the time, Verity thought. Two minutes ago, the drunk was signing up for the tour, and now he didn't even know the name of the ship. That was good news. She smiled over the table at him and tittered, "I love sailors."
"Yeah?" was the reply. "What say you come up to my room and give me a little going-away party?"
"I'd like that. Say, what's your name?" As she spoke, Verity tried not to gag over her fake smile.
"Jerome Bender. Yours?"
"Mary. Yes. Mary Johnson," she stammered.
"Purdy name for a purdy girl," said Bender, winking at her flirtatiously. "So how 'bout that party?"
"I'd love to give you a party. But I have to talk with someone first. My brother, you know." She smiled and said, "What room are you in?"
"Number nine. Shall we meet there in an hour?" He looked at her, although Verity had the distinct impression that he was trying to imagine what exactly she looked like under the dress and petticoats.
"I can't wait," Verity said with a smile. Bender stood up and across the tavern and up the stairs, giving her one last wink before disappearing up on to the upper floor.
"Now that the mixed company is gone, we can have a real drink," Governor Sybarite said calmly, pouring a measure of brandy into a snifter. He handed it across the desk to Colin, and then poured a much bigger measure of brandy into his own snifter. "Now then. You are captain of what, again?"
"Crimson Dawn, your Excellency." Colin took a sip of his brandy.
"Are you in good standing with the French?" asked the governor, setting his brandy down on the desk.
Colin stroked his goatee and frowned thoughtfully. "Yes," he said finally, nodding his head. "I suppose I am."
"Good. Then this is what you will do." The governor leaned forward, looking intently at the captain across his desk. "I want you to go to the French colony at Falaise de Fleur. You can infiltrate their fort there and find their battle plans. Do what you can to disrupt their war-making abilities."
"Governor, with all due respect, I have things I need to do. I can't be running around the archipelago on fools—I mean fantastic errands," Colin said, hurriedly correcting himself. He took a quick swig of brandy.
"Well, my friend," the governor said quietly. "I'm afraid you will either do this on your ship, or I will confiscate the ship and have my own men crew it." The governor steepled his fat, sausage-like fingers, and looked over them at the sea captain.
Colin frowned thoughtfully. "Yes, well. Your mission sounds fairly reasonable," he said pleasantly. "There will be monetary compensation, of course?"
"Of course." The governor bent and withdrew a sack of what Colin thought were coins judging by the tinkling sound coming from the sack. The governor dropped it on his desk. Colin picked it up and looked inside; it was indeed a large sum of gold. The governor asked, "Is that sufficient?"
"I should think so," Colin said, smiling politely. "I'd best get started. We'll put out early tomorrow morning."
"Keep me updated," Governor Sybarite said, turning his eyes back to his cake. Colin was quite sure this was a dismissal from his attention, and so he stood, gave a small bow, and then walked down the hall towards the hall. He had an appointment to keep with Verity at the tavern.