Nobody's Saint (22 page)

“Slow down, Galeno! It is fine. As long as you spoke the truth, I am sure all will be well.”

The boy switched to English. “You are well, Señorita O’Reilly?”

“Fine, Galeno. Did you tell the bishop that our Diego is a Godsend? A
cosa llovida del cielo
?”

Galeno beamed with confidence. “He will know.”

“
Sí
, he will.” She smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

Father Tomás joined them and escorted the entire group into Bishop Álvarez’s office. The spacious room felt much tighter than it had the previous day. There were Enrique and the three crewmen who had started the inquiry, six others of
Magdalena’s
crew, plus Diego, Juan, Mary Kate, Galeno, and the two clergymen. The sailors stood pressed against the wall. Juan, Galeno, and Mary Kate took places standing in front of them, and two wooden chairs sat before the bishop’s desk to be taken by Father Tomás and Diego.

“I have already asked your crewmen this question. Now I would ask it of your friends. Have any of you been witness to what Diego claims to be one of his visitations?”

Father Tomás shook his head, and Juan murmured in the negative. Diego turned and smiled apologetically. “Actually, Don Juan, when I came to your home the day before yesterday, that was how I knew that I must return to the cathedral. It was how I knew that I was in trouble.”

“The spell you had?” Don Juan asked.

“Spell? Trouble?” Bishop Álvarez said.

“Magdalena knew that Enrique and the others did not understand,” Diego said. “I believe that was why she used the word ‘trouble.’”

“He grew pale, and I thought he was going to faint.”

“Did you see or hear anything unusual, something besides Captain Montoya’s unusual behavior?”

“No, Your Excellency.”

Enrique started to speak, but the bishop held up a hand and silenced him. “And you, Galeno?”

“I have seen these spells with the captain. He has them sometimes when we see a ship, and then he tells us they are pirates and tells us whether we must run or take a stand.”

“You say he has these spells when the ship appears.”

Galeno hesitated, and in a small voice replied, “The last time I saw it happen, it happened just before we saw the ship.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“He grew pale and closed his eyes. He said some things.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he would not chase another ship.”

“Was he talking to you?”

“No.”

“Señor Sánchez?”

“No.”

“Who?”

Galeno bit his lip. “I do not know, Your Excellency. I could not see her.”

“Her?”

“I—I thought it was God, but now I have been told that my captain speaks to María Magdalena.”

“Why did you think he was speaking to God?”

“Because these things that he knows, the things Magdalena tells him, they keep us all safe. That day he told us to sail north, and there we found a flota that protected us. The sea is a very big place, Your Excellency. There are fierce storms or days upon days of no wind or rain and the water barrels foul. Fevers may spread, and pirates may kill men right in front of you. Can you imagine what it is like after a battle to wash away the blood of a man you knew, but who is now dead? To see him spit upon a sword before your very eyes? A man needs his God upon the high seas, Your Excellency, or at least a saint.”

Every sailor in the room stood silent. Perhaps another fourteen-year-old boy would seem presumptuous to call himself a man, but this one had experienced all of these things before his eleventh birthday. A beard did not make a man.

“You have great faith in your captain.”

“He is the best man I know. Someday, I wish to be just like him.”

“Señorita O’Reilly?”

Mary Kate had been leaning toward Father Tomás, listening to his soft-spoken translation, and her head snapped back to the bishop.

“Have you been present during one of Captain Montoya’s visitations?”

With the priest’s help, she explained, “I was there for the one Galeno described. I saw what he saw and heard what he heard. I thought Diego was going to faint, and at first, I thought he was talking to me. Then he shouted orders to his men. I knew something was odd, because they seemed afraid.”

Galeno turned and glowered at his shipmates, several of whom had the grace to look away.

“But you saw nothing else?”

“Nay, Your Excellency.”

The bishop fixed his gaze on Diego. “I am at a loss. I have found no evidence of heresy. All witnesses, even those who found your odd insights suspect, have testified that you give every appearance of keeping your faith. You go to confession and Mass whenever you are not at sea. You pray and often admonish your men to trust in God when crisis strikes. Not one man I have interviewed can lay claim that you have spoken against the Church in any way.”

Diego nodded. Perhaps all would come out well after all.

“And yet, neither do I find evidence of a miracle. Just as there are no witnesses to any heresy, neither are there witnesses to your saint. Certainly, your foreknowledge of pirate ships is extraordinary, but that has only happened twice. More often, your lookout spies the ship, and you are merely more likely than most to know just what course of action is best. You would appear to be a fine captain, but your command is far from miraculous.” The bishop heaved a bitter sigh at that. “My remaining concern regards the woman. Your crew, even your young protégé, have observed how she distracts you. I cannot credit what you say about Magdalena
’s
involvement here.”

“May I speak, Your Excellency?” Mary Kate asked. With the bishop’s permission, she continued. “We pray to saints to intercede on our behalves. We are but poor sinners, and they better make our cases before God. They care what becomes of us.”

“Do you presume to tell me the nature of the saints?”

“Nay, not at all. Only, Diego here, he’s as good a man as you could hope. You’ve heard that even from men who had thought to speak ill of him. I’m thinking Father Tomás here had the right of it, and Mary Magdalene has a plan for him fighting pirates and all. But there’s one flaw, a tiny one to be sure, but a flaw all the same. He’s alone.” She turned to Diego. “Might you ever have called out to her and asked her for a mate? Did you ever tell her you were lonely?”

He thought for several moments before he answered. “I was heartbroken. I had fallen in love with a woman I was not meant to have.”

“And you asked Magdalene for a wife?”

“I did not ask her, but she said there was another out there for me. She said I would know her when I saw her.”

“Did she ever tell you outright that it was me?”

“No. It was only that you—” he swallowed hard—“you look so much like Magdalena.”

Mary Kate turned back to the bishop. “She had given Diego such a hard task. Perhaps she meant to help, to fix this one thing in his life, just for him.”

Don Juan interrupted. “Your Excellency, I cannot believe a saint would have promised Diego
this
woman. There is enough tension between our country and hers!”

At Father Tomás’s translation, Mary Kate bristled. “I’m Irish, not English.”

Diego grinned in spite of himself.

“One-half Irish,” Don Juan said. “She is also one-half English and the granddaughter of a nobleman.”

Mary Kate rolled her eyes. “For the love of Mike, he’s a baronet. That’s hardly a real title.”

“Engaged to be married to the son of another nobleman.”

“
Younger
son,” she amended.

“King Charles of England may allow his sailors to sully his honor by winking at privateers and criminals, but we are Spanish! We are honor-bound to return this woman to her country and to the man who has legal claim to her.”

“Well, I’d have to argue who claims me, being my own woman, as I am,” Mary Kate said. “But I’ll concede the part about her not promising me to Diego.”

She turned her gaze on Diego. “I’m thinking she was mainly thinking of you. You’d called to her, as it were. But I’m wondering if she might not have lost sight of the whole picture. I’m thinking she forgot I’m part of a larger design, connected to another place and other people.”

Bishop Álvarez spoke up. “Are you suggesting a saint could have made a mistake?”

“I’m only saying the world is much like a tapestry. If a saint were to step back, why she could see the whole picture and let the threads weave in and out where they will, with only a helping hand to tuck in a loose end or two. But if she were to be looking mostly at one small part, some tiny flaw in the life threads of someone she had taken it upon herself to watch out for, maybe she’d lose sight of the whole.”

“We are speaking of a saint,” the bishop insisted.

“But saints were human once. Mary Magdalene most of all.”

Don Juan looked at Mary Kate. “Are you saying you do not wish to remain with Diego?”

“It seems like every day I know less and less of what I want. Still, I have countless threads in my life tying me to people and places I was born to. I have to go back to my home.”

Bishop Álvarez nodded in relief. “Good then. Señor Gallegos, have you sent word to her fiancé in Port Royal?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Mary Kate recognized the name Port Royal and needed no translation. “That isn’t my home.”

Don Juan gave her an implacable look. “It is now.”

“Don Juan—” Diego began.

“‘Tis all right, Diego,” Mary Kate said. “I’ll make my own way back from there. You forget how—persuasive—I can be.”

*

Enrique and the other crewmen trailed at the end of the group flocking from the inner offices and into the main sanctuary of the cathedral. Diego told Don Juan and Mary Kate to go on ahead of him, then waited by the door. His first mate turned to engage Father Tomás in discussion, and the others seemed instantly transfixed by the topic. Only Galeno broke away and trotted over to Diego.

“They are cowards,” the young man spat.

An odd sort of emptiness clutched at Diego’s stomach. “Did they all testify against me?”

“Enrique, Vicente, Gabriel, and José,” Galeno answered. “Enrique ordered the others to come when the bishop said he wanted more witnesses.”

“Thank you. Go back to the ship and tell the rest of the men I will return in a few hours.”

Galeno nodded and skipped out with all of the enthusiasm of a young sailor carrying an important message and a fascinating tale.

Finally, Father Tomás excused himself from the group of seamen, and they turned to reluctantly face their commander. Diego waited. Let them come to him.

Enrique led the group forward until he stood face-to-face with his captain. “For what it is worth, I asked Galeno to testify, even before I was told that you had requested his presence. I never wanted to be unfair to you.”

Diego nodded. “I know.”

“Where does that leave us?”

To those sailors who had been ordered to testify, Diego said, “You may return to
Magdalena
and resume your jobs, if you wish. If you still fear me, then I would suggest you petition Don Luis to find you employment on one of his other ships. I cannot know whether or not I will continue to receive warnings of danger, but I will not tolerate one mention of the word heresy. I will not endure one more man who makes the sign of cross when I walk by.”

“But Captain,” one protested, “you are a holy man.”

Diego shook his head. “I am only a man.
Magdalena
is a blessed ship, and we are blessed to sail her. If any among you doubt that, then go back, gather your things, and be gone before I return after dinner.”

All the men moved to depart, but Diego stopped four of them. “Enrique, Vicente, José, Gabriel, stay a moment.” He waited until the doors closed behind the others. Dim light fell from the thick windows, and candles cast flickering shadows. The sanctuary was still as a tomb.

“I would not wish to be
unfair
,” Diego said. “I will try to be as fair as I can when I make my report to Don Luis this afternoon. I do not know whether he will choose to find you other positions in his company. I do know that there is no place for any of you on board
Magdalena
.”

“We did not go to the Inquisition,” Gabriel protested.

“You did not come to me, either, not even to inform me of your intentions. I have the authority to fire you here and now and the influence to remove any chance that you could work for Don Luis or any other merchant shipping company in Cartagena. I am trying my best to be magnanimous. Under the circumstances, I think I am being eminently
fair
.”

While the crewmen exchanged worried glances, Enrique looked squarely at Diego. “I am glad the bishop has cleared you.”

“So am I.”

“You could have told me about Magdalena.”

“Could I?”

Enrique pondered that a moment. “Perhaps not. Do you think Don Luis will allow me to keep my rank on another ship?”

“I will speak highly of your skills.”

“My skills, but not my loyalty.”

Diego sighed. “What would you have me say?”

*

Don Luis sat with his boots propped up on the cluttered desk in his disheveled office, and when Diego had finished his story, Luis shook his headful of light brown hair. “You should have sent for me. I did not know what to make of the message you sent yesterday about having business with Juan Gallegos and Bishop Álvarez. I was planning to pay a visit to Don Juan myself if I did not hear from you today.”

“I did not wish to alarm you.”

Luis snorted. “You thought I would dismiss you.”

“I would not have blamed you if you had decided to disassociate yourself from me before the Inquisition could become involved.”

Don Luis waved the suggestion away. “You are my most profitable employee. A little gold in the Grand Inquisitor’s pocket would have been a solid investment, if it had come to that. I cannot say I am sorry you cleared it up yourself. I am just as happy not to have parted with the gold.”

Diego lifted his dark brows. “You are not suggesting the Grand Inquisitor can be bought?”