that one of the ships wouldn’t agree to be chartered.”
“That’s true,” Ned said. “Who do you think would want to go – Secco, and be garrotted as a traitor? Or Gottlieb or Coles, with the bruises still showing?”
“No, I think you should take Heffer in the Griffin .”
A startled Ned stared at her. “Take the Griffin ?” he repeated incredulously.
“Yes. Make the governor agree that you will take Heffer to Santo Domingo and nowhere else, so there’s no risk. Obviously you can’t go to Santiago or anywhere on the Main because they know you, but Santo Domingo is safe enough: safe in the sense the Spanish would accept a flag of truce.”
Ned looked questioningly at Thomas. “It’s the sun,” he said lamely. “It’s deranged her.”
Thomas twiddled the end of his beard and then slowly shook his head. “No, she may be right, if you look at it from the point of view of what it might mean for Jamaica.”
“So you think I should take Heffer to Santo Domingo?”
Thomas nodded slowly. “I’ll come with you in the Peleus . We’ll toss up to see who carries Heffer – the man is a bore, and he’ll probably be devilishly seasick the whole way.”
“All right,” Ned said reluctantly, “but let’s be quite clear: all we do is carry Heffer there: once in Santo Domingo all the negotiating is up to him. Translators, transport, and all the rest of it – Heffer and whoever he takes with him deal with that.”
“Yes,” Thomas agreed. “After all, Heffer is the deputy governor. He’ll have his instructions from old Loosely, so we are simply shipmasters.”
Ned said to Aurelia: “Being fair to governors will get us all into trouble one of these days.”
Ned and Thomas went on shore the next morning to see Sir Harold, who met them in the council room looking uncomfortable and nervous, troubled by the heat and puzzled over their request to see him.
“A humid sort of day,” he began nervously. “I haven’t got used to the heat yet, and Lady Luce suffers cruelly.”
“It’s always harder on the women,” Ned said, thinking ironically of the deeply tanned bodies of Aurelia and Diana, who gloried in the sun. He could picture Lady Loosely – withered, sharp-eyed and with a querulous voice. He pictured her sitting tight-lipped in a rattan chair, anxious to catch every cool draught of wind coming through the window, calling for more lemonade, and never leaving the house without the enormous parasol which was already becoming famous in Port Royal.
“Now what can I do for you gentlemen?” Sir Harold asked ingratiatingly.
“Nothing,” Ned said firmly. “We were going to offer to do something for you.”
“Oh, indeed?” Sir Harold said warily. “What had you in mind?”
“There’s just one question first,” Ned said. “Where do you want to start negotiating with the Spaniards?”
“Bless my soul,” Luce said in surprise, “I hadn’t thought about it. Where do you suggest? Santiago de Cuba? Santa Marta? Or even Cartagena?”
“What about Santo Domingo?” Thomas asked.
“That would do as well as anywhere,” Luce said. “It seems an excellent place. But why do you ask?”
“We might be able to find you a ship to carry General Heffer,” Ned said cautiously. “All negotiations with the Dons would be up to Heffer. We just provide a ship.”
“But that would be capital, just capital,” Luce exclaimed, hardly able to believe his luck. The frigate was sailing in five or six hours: there would just be time to write another despatch for the Privy Council and get it out to the frigate captain, and substitute it for the one he had written last night, reporting his inability… Luce shuddered: it would be a close-run thing.
“When would this ship be ready to sail?” Luce inquired.
“Three or four days – just as soon as she has taken on water and provisions. How many would there be in General Heffer’s party?”
“Well, the General, and I expect he would like a couple
“That’s true,” Ned said. “Who do you think would want to go – Secco, and be garrotted as a traitor? Or Gottlieb or Coles, with the bruises still showing?”
“No, I think you should take Heffer in the Griffin .”
A startled Ned stared at her. “Take the Griffin ?” he repeated incredulously.
“Yes. Make the governor agree that you will take Heffer to Santo Domingo and nowhere else, so there’s no risk. Obviously you can’t go to Santiago or anywhere on the Main because they know you, but Santo Domingo is safe enough: safe in the sense the Spanish would accept a flag of truce.”
Ned looked questioningly at Thomas. “It’s the sun,” he said lamely. “It’s deranged her.”
Thomas twiddled the end of his beard and then slowly shook his head. “No, she may be right, if you look at it from the point of view of what it might mean for Jamaica.”
“So you think I should take Heffer to Santo Domingo?”
Thomas nodded slowly. “I’ll come with you in the Peleus . We’ll toss up to see who carries Heffer – the man is a bore, and he’ll probably be devilishly seasick the whole way.”
“All right,” Ned said reluctantly, “but let’s be quite clear: all we do is carry Heffer there: once in Santo Domingo all the negotiating is up to him. Translators, transport, and all the rest of it – Heffer and whoever he takes with him deal with that.”
“Yes,” Thomas agreed. “After all, Heffer is the deputy governor. He’ll have his instructions from old Loosely, so we are simply shipmasters.”
Ned said to Aurelia: “Being fair to governors will get us all into trouble one of these days.”
Ned and Thomas went on shore the next morning to see Sir Harold, who met them in the council room looking uncomfortable and nervous, troubled by the heat and puzzled over their request to see him.
“A humid sort of day,” he began nervously. “I haven’t got used to the heat yet, and Lady Luce suffers cruelly.”
“It’s always harder on the women,” Ned said, thinking ironically of the deeply tanned bodies of Aurelia and Diana, who gloried in the sun. He could picture Lady Loosely – withered, sharp-eyed and with a querulous voice. He pictured her sitting tight-lipped in a rattan chair, anxious to catch every cool draught of wind coming through the window, calling for more lemonade, and never leaving the house without the enormous parasol which was already becoming famous in Port Royal.
“Now what can I do for you gentlemen?” Sir Harold asked ingratiatingly.
“Nothing,” Ned said firmly. “We were going to offer to do something for you.”
“Oh, indeed?” Sir Harold said warily. “What had you in mind?”
“There’s just one question first,” Ned said. “Where do you want to start negotiating with the Spaniards?”
“Bless my soul,” Luce said in surprise, “I hadn’t thought about it. Where do you suggest? Santiago de Cuba? Santa Marta? Or even Cartagena?”
“What about Santo Domingo?” Thomas asked.
“That would do as well as anywhere,” Luce said. “It seems an excellent place. But why do you ask?”
“We might be able to find you a ship to carry General Heffer,” Ned said cautiously. “All negotiations with the Dons would be up to Heffer. We just provide a ship.”
“But that would be capital, just capital,” Luce exclaimed, hardly able to believe his luck. The frigate was sailing in five or six hours: there would just be time to write another despatch for the Privy Council and get it out to the frigate captain, and substitute it for the one he had written last night, reporting his inability… Luce shuddered: it would be a close-run thing.
“When would this ship be ready to sail?” Luce inquired.
“Three or four days – just as soon as she has taken on water and provisions. How many would there be in General Heffer’s party?”
“Well, the General, and I expect he would like a couple
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