Chapter 3

"I'll wager you whatever you wish to risk, Baldwin. Murray never does anything without careful thought. He's angling for a governorship as surely as I am sitting before you."

"He's far too young, Evans, and you know that. He's probably running from one of his doxies who's waving a child from the wrong side of the blanket." Ethan Baldwin chuckled and sipped from his crystal glass.

"That could also be true, but that doesn't change the fact that Murray has years of experience in the wilds of Virginia as well as her capital. Now he's gathering experience in the Carolinas. He'll come back to England with an increased wealth of investments too or I'll be greatly disappointed in our English capacity for acquisition."

"He'll probably come back with a half-dozen bastards behind him!"

The two men laughed softly at their peer's well-known reputation for promiscuous behavior. They replenished their glasses and resumed their musings.

"No matter, that. What lord, prince or pauper doesn't have a half-dozen brats scattered over the kingdom? What was it Edward said of the Scots so long ago? To paraphrase: 'If we can't get them out, we'll breed them out.' We've all done our best for king and country! The Murrays have enriched themselves by playing both sides of the border. And both sides of the blanket! A rather ambitious lot, though they are Scots."

Another well-bred laugh, and the two men sat in silence. Then Owen Evans pursed his lips thoughtfully. "You realize, Baldwin, that if you're right we two stand to benefit as well. It would behoove us to remain close to Murray. We could gain from his advancement. After all, we are his best friends."

"I was thinking exactly the same thing. The Carolinas are rich in naval stores, and Charleston is a center for the African slave trade as well. Murray will come back with a little darkie or two or I miss my guess. And maybe a pretty quadroon for his own bed! He'll probably invest more heavily in the trade too. Knowing him, he could even build a discreet house for several of his favorites as another investment."

"Murray never was too particular about who or what he bedded. Remember him telling us about that Indian woman a few years back, right after he returned from the colonies? He seemed quite infatuated with her, if you can credit anything he says while he's in his cups."

"Yes, I remember. That's as close to love as I've ever seen John Murray, and I've known him since we were lads together. It's too bad she's a heathen and unfit to be a true consort."

Owen Evans snapped his fingers as a new thought entered his mind. "Ethan, he's gone back to get her! John Murray is in the Carolinas so he can sneak over the mountains and bring his dark-eyed doxy to England. I'll wager you any amount that he comes home with an Indian in tow. "

Ethan Baldwin frowned. "Done. Murray is far too conscious of his position and connections to do any such thing. He'd bed her in the colonies, I have no doubt. But bring her to England? That's too bold even for John Murray! We've come a great distance from being fascinated by a John Rolfe and his Rebecca."

The two Englishmen spent the rest of the afternoon discussing any number of their peers, then finished the evening in the company of their favorite consorts. Late in the night they arrived at their respective homes as usual. They were, after all, privileged.

Meanwhile John Murray was presenting himself to his commanding officer. The silver-haired man pursed his lips as he handed the new orders to the tall copper-haired major.

"You've done an admirable job on the harbor. Here are your orders to return to England. Also, your request to travel inland is granted, Major Murray. You may leave day after tomorrow. Godspeed, young man."

John Murray saluted his commander, turned and strode out of headquarters. The surveying had gone well and the harbor was ready for the engineers to begin moving earth. Major Murray and his team would not be needed any longer. The officer's request to explore west of the mountains was seen as odd, but since there was no real reason to refuse the commander had given his permission.

John spent the rest of the day and the day following equipping himself and his mule for the trip inland. The spring sunshine was warm but he knew that there would still be pockets of snow in the mountains. By the time he reached Chota the summer should be fully blooming. There would still be time to pass back through the Gap and over to the coast before winter set in.

He had spent the short coastal winter carefully planning. He scouted around the bustling seaport for a small house where he could install Talota and her son until the Carolina winter passed. Passage to England could begin the next spring. In little more than a year John Murray could be securely back in his big grey house, his Cherokee family comfortably housed in the rooms near his own. His ruddy face colored with desire every time he thought of slipping down the hall to Talota's soft feather bed.

Her son would now be eleven. In the back of his mind John entertained the thought of leaving the boy in Kentucky. What did it really matter, he told himself? The child had probably forgotten him and quite likely would prefer being a wild Indian to a cultured English boy. He probably spoke English no longer and would resent having to leave his Kentucky home.

He could much more easily enjoy Talota if the boy was not with them. As always with John Murray, his own pleasures were all that he really considered. His Cherokee wife and son had little value of their own. Their only value was in their connection to him.

He slept little that night as he enjoyed a last romp with his favorite Carolina belle. Named after her birthplace, Carolina Schuyler was like a tiny, blue-eyed Dresden figure. Only fourteen, she was an experienced playmate before John Murray found her walking enticingly near the wharf where he was surveying. Her swelling belly was of no concern to him and he gave no credence to her tearful admonitions that the child was his. He personally knew of three other men who regularly enjoyed the little doll. So with no guilt at all he left her crying in her bed as he strode westward out of the beautiful harbor city.