The Prisoner's Dilemma (22 page)

He moved as if to seat himself again on the dune. But Dunbeath was too desperate by now to give up. Once more, the sight of L'Arquen's smirking face came into his mind.

‘Very well,' he said bitterly through clenched teeth, ‘I shall clear the debt myself. Whatever her father is due for, I shall give it to you. But you'll only get the money if you can carry me to London in time for my meeting.'

Zweig looked steadily Lord Dunbeath for a few seconds.

‘Well then,' he replied, with a curt nod of his head, ‘we have an agreement. If the vessel is sound we shall certainly be in London within the six days you have given me. You have my word on that. As to the money I am owed, do I have your word, as a gentleman, that you will pay it to me when we return here from London?'

‘A gentleman? You have my word as a Scottish earl,' said Dunbeath with some heat.

‘In that case we understand each other. We can sail on the next tide. I believe it will turn at about three tomorrow morning and I shall be anchored off the beach here with the boat then. Be ready when you hear me knock at the castle door – we shall need to leave immediately.'

* * * 

Dunbeath ran up the great staircase as soon as he'd returned from seeing Zweig. He called out loudly as he stamped past the salon door.

‘Sophie! If you'd be so kind. I shall be in my study.'

He continued to run along the corridor until he reached the small room in the tower. Sophie found him at his desk as she came round the door a minute later, and immediately saw that he was immersed in the presentation charts that they had ready for the Board. He looked up quickly as she came in.

‘Yes, Zweig will take me! I prevailed with him. But Sophie,
I'm afraid that this means I must change my mind about you coming. I wish it were otherwise, but I dare not have you so close to that man. Who knows what he might attempt? I may be supping with the devil with him but I shall take that risk alone. You are safer here with Hume. It won't be for long, I shall be back in three weeks, a month at the latest.'

‘But how on earth did you get him to take you?'

Dunbeath looked away and a bitter, tight set came into his face.

‘I've agreed with your captain' he said tensely, ‘that when we return from London he can keep my boat to sail back to Germany.'

‘Oh, that is good news indeed, my lord. It gives me such joy to hear that. I can begin to breathe again, just knowing that he'll be leaving.'

‘There is more, Sophie. He refused any offer at first. His only thought was for his filthy hold on your father's debt and of getting you to return to Königsberg with him. And so I told him I would pay off the amount that is owed as well.'

Sophie took a step backwards, stunned at what she was hearing.

‘Yes, I know, it is a full price for the journey,' said Dunbeath, glancing at her shocked expression, ‘but what other choice did I have? If I don't show my work at this meeting then that mountebank Harrison will undoubtedly be bending people's minds to his infernal clock idea. No, no. No dismay now on that pretty face, Sophie, be of good cheer. You will be free, think on that! I shall use Zweig for his seamanship and when I get back he will leave for Königsberg. He will be gone. Your anxieties are at an end.'

Sophie remained frozen as she heard Dunbeath out, her mouth still open in astonishment. But the earl now looked intently at her, gazing deeply into her eyes. He spoke again, with more tenderness than she had ever thought possible from him.

‘You are not to worry, my dear one. I shall return with the Prize and Zweig will be back in Prussia forever. The money for winning the Prize will be far more than the amount your father owed him. If I don't get to London I cannot succeed, though. So using the captain is a good investment - just the kind of thing my men of business are always urging me to think about. So enough of this, we are not to discuss it again.'

As he said this Dunbeath reached down and gently took Sophie's hand in his.

'Sophie, my dearest, dearest Sophie,' he continued softly, ‘I am happy to do this if you will but agree to stay here with me. I am quite decided now. I want to spend the rest of my days with you, sweetheart. I know that now. When I return, will you agree to be my wife?'

He showed no sign of noticing her stunned appearance but instead bowed his head towards her.

‘Will you consent to marry me?'

Sophie was aghast. This was more than she had ever wished for. But she knew immediately that there was no turning back now. The slightest delay, the slightest sign of doubt, and the debt could return. She knew that she was substituting one man's hold over her for another's. But she had to accept. Was it also not true, she felt, that she had seen another side to this wild man? Hadn't Dunbeath shown real affection when he'd recovered from his illness? And hadn't she just witnessed the nearest thing to passion that he was capable of? And, yes again, would she not have huge riches and a powerful position to look after her family and pursue the kind of research that so fascinated her? No, there was not love for the man yet; but that could grow.

She looked him full in the face and smiled. One of her father's maxims sprang into her head: ‘if there is something you dare not refuse,' he would say, ‘then you must do it with a good grace.'

‘Yes. My answer is yes,' she replied now, her face glowing. ‘Yes, I shall marry you. And with all my heart. You are to hurry
to London and hurry back. We shall be married when you return.'

Dunbeath put her hands to his lips and kissed them. There was a slight pause and then he returned to his brisk self.

‘Good, I am so glad that is settled. Now, let's us check again that we have everything ready for the Board.'

Zweig walked slowly back to Dunbeaton, utterly spent and deep in thought. He looked upwards into the clearest of spring skies and gave thanks to heaven that his ordeal had come to an end. He knew he couldn't have lasted much longer. As he walked he turned over the events of the past few days in his mind, smiling grimly to himself at how strange life was. In a million years he could never have guessed that this would have been the outcome. He'd known only that a man like Dunbeath could never have tolerated him sitting in his view for long. And now a boat and the money to start again! This was more than he could ever have hoped for. All he had to do was get the man to London and then sail him back. He could even drop him off in a dinghy near the shore when he returned – he wouldn't be surprised if he'd have to stand clear of the English by then. If they'd worked out who he was they would have his head in a noose before he could blink.

But this could only be the first stage. If he managed all this he had still to arrive at a strategy for Sophie. He suddenly felt bone weary and knew he would have to put these thoughts to one side for the present. A few hours of blessed sleep would have to come first. Then he would be able to think more clearly about his next steps.

He eventually arrived at the cottage door. As he pushed it open he saw Mona McLeish tending the peat fire and she looked up quickly as he came in and jumped to her feet, beaming in relief at seeing him.

‘Alexis! At last. We've been so worried for you.' She turned and spoke to her son as he sat hunched over a bowl of fish stew at the table, ‘James, move along there. Make a space for Alexis.'

She smiled again at Zweig with obvious affection.

‘You'll need something to eat. Then we can talk.'

She ladled a bowl from the pot over the fire and came over to
sit with him as he ate at the table. He'd said nothing since he'd come in, but as the thick broth warmed him he looked over his porringer to where she sat smiling with affection.

‘Thank you, madam. Yet again you have restored me. Well, no doubt you know where I've been. It took me longer than I thought it would but in the end Lord Dunbeath couldn't stand the sight of me – and eventually he came out to see what I was about. My intention was to ask for work. I persevered and he has found a need for me.'

‘But why, Alexis? Why did you do this?'

‘I had to do something, Mona – I cannot live here forever. I need to repay you and Andrew for eating you out of house and home, to say nothing of repaying you for saving my life. You have all been too good to me. I can take your hospitality no longer.'

‘Oh, Alexis. You had no need to do this. And to put yourself through such an ordeal!'

She was about to say more but Zweig cut across her. He looked over at James.

‘Lord Dunbeath told me he has a boat moored here at Dunbeaton that his father used to reach their lands on the Dark Isles. Do you know it, James?'

‘Aye, of course I do. Everyone knows it,' James replied sulkily. ‘Nobody has ever dared touch it though.'

‘Dunbeath has great need to be in London urgently,' continued Zweig, calmly ignoring James's petulant tone, ‘and I have agreed to sail him there. We shall leave at dawn tomorrow. I could see that he was desperate – he has to be there within a week – and so I set a high price for my work. He is rewarding me well and I shall be able to give you both all I owe and more when I return.'

He finished eating and then asked James to show him where the boat lay. He thanked Mona once again and the two men left the cottage and began their descent to the quay, Zweig leading
the way and James walking in his threatening, surly manner behind him. Zweig was only too aware of the rancorous mood that he could feel behind him and knew that he would need a different approach for the boy. He might be just as deranged as Dunbeath, Zweig thought to himself, but another tactic was called for this one. This jealousy James had for him, muddled in with the guilt that weighed on him over his brother's death, had to be faced. It was clear to Zweig that the boy was too dangerous to leave as he was.

The two men stopped at a bend in the path and looked down on the quay. Zweig turned to James to ask which of the boats was Dunbeath's but the boy hardly lifted his eyes before he threw out a halfhearted attempt at a wave in the general direction of the harbour.

Zweig decided to adopt a kindly tone.

‘You seem out of sorts, James. What ails you?'

The question was too much. James looked away in a bitter fury, unable to articulate his resentment. Zweig came closer and took him by the arm.

‘James,' he whispered urgently, ‘you must listen. I need your help. You must tell me how you found your way into the castle. It is vital that I go there tonight before I leave.'

This was the breaking point for James. He was sick of the thought of the castle and sick of Zweig's hold over him. He stared back at him with bitterness.

‘You ask for more,' he spat out, his fierce hatred finally given voice. ‘I wish I had never set eyes on you. I saved your life, my mother feeds you. And yet you still ask for more.'

Zweig had seen such distorted behaviour before. There was only one way to respond. He now fixed James with a granite gaze.

‘Yes, I shall ask for more. And yes, James, you will help. We have our bargain, do we not?' All trace of Zweig's co-operative approach had gone and his voice now carried the threat of
unlimited menace. He would not be denied.

‘We have our bargain,' replied James in a shrill, angry tone, ‘but how can I trust you not to break it? You are leaving for London and with you goes your side of our agreement. The English would not be able to hold you if you were no longer here. The telescope is all I have in the world yet you will not give it to me! How would I know where it was if you didn't come back? How can I even be sure you're not planning to take it with you? You must give it to me.'

Zweig looked James squarely in the face, his eyes as black as death.

‘Must?' he said, and his voice was now suddenly loud. ‘Must? What nonsense is this you're blathering now, James?'

But this was an insult too many for James. With a roar he threw himself at Zweig, frantically thrashing at him with his fists. A blow struck Zweig's shoulder and another landed on his chest. Then the big man stepped smoothly to one side and expertly felled James with a single heavy punch to the side of his face. There was never going to be a contest and as James reeled, shocked by the blow, Zweig slipped behind him and grabbed his arms, forcing him to the ground.

The two were motionless for a time as James's shuddering calmed and his anger subsided. He quietly sobbed in defeat and Zweig knew that the time had come to change his tactics. Giving up his hold, he jumped to his feet and burst out laughing. He extended his hand and pulled James upright, then embraced the weeping boy.

‘You're right to be angry James,' he said, still laughing. ‘I understand. You must have your security. But so must I. You see, if I give you the telescope, you could easily run off to the English and tell them about me. That's why I had to keep it in the first place. Yet I understand you very clearly that you'd want to know where it is if, for some reason, I fail to come back.

‘So, here is my proposal. Let us give it to your mother for
safekeeping. In that way, if I don't manage to return or if you don't hear from me in a month, let's say by the end of May, then she is to give it to you. You can wait that long, can't you James?'

He smiled encouragingly at the boy, very obviously appearing to be solving his problems. Now he moved to close the bargain.

‘But, if I do this then you have to meet my wishes as well – you have to show me the way into the castle. There, do you agree?'

James was exhausted and hurt. His breathing was short and ragged but he had been listening hard. After a pause he lifted his eyes from the ground.

‘A month. I get the telescope when you return. And Mother will have it in the meantime and she will give it to me if you don't come back. Yes, all right, I agree.'

* * * 

Major Sharrocks crept towards where his redcoat spy lay hidden in the dune grass. As the trooper heard him he turned his head and put the telescope down.

‘Come on,' whispered Sharrocks, ‘the colonel's changed his orders. He says we've got better things to do than this. He wants us back at barracks. What's happening anyway?'

‘A fight,' said the soldier. ‘That bloke that was staring on the beach just laid out one of the fisherfools.'

‘Did he?' said Sharrocks, without much interest. L'Arquen's change of focus had infected him as well. ‘Good. Would that these Scots madmen all killed each other. Then we could go home. Come on, we're finished here. The colonel will want to know about this – and he'll want to know why you're late as well if you hang about much longer.'

* * * 

Zweig took little time to look over Dunbeath's boat. He checked the sheets for knots and wear, and then pulled the sails out of the locker and examined them carefully for fraying and any small tears that would widen if they hit foul weather. He ran his expert eye over a host of potential problem areas but eventually he straightened.

‘She's still trim, James. I've no doubt she will get Lord Dunbeath to London. Help me get this awning off the cabin roof, would you? And then we can go back to the cottage and ask for your mother's help with our agreement.'

James came forward and the two men finished making the boat ready for the coming journey. Finally Zweig gave a satisfied nod to the boy.

‘Thank you for your help, James. Now, why don't you go back to the house and I'll meet you there? I shall get the telescope from its hiding place and bring it along presently.'

It was a few minutes later that the three of them were sitting around the cottage table. Zweig had the wooden telescope in his hand, hidden in its oilcloth and he held it up briefly to show James. Then he smiled broadly at Mona.

‘Madam, we have a great service that we would like you to do for us. We have something here that we would ask you to keep safe. We'd like you to hide it very carefully from view until I return from London. Would you do that, Mona? It is a simple task but it would mean everything to us both.'

‘Why? What is it?'

‘Mona. I knew you would ask that and I understand why you should do so. And I'm sorry to say that I'm not able to answer – but can you not trust us with this? Just for a little time? You see, it is a pact between James and myself and …' he leant forward towards Mona, his huge personality fully trained on her, ‘…it's important to me that you keep it hidden from us both. But, if anything should happen to me, Mona, if I'm arrested, or do not return a month from now, then please let James have it. But not
before. Can you do that for us, madam? I would not ask you to do this if it was not important.'

Mona looked uncomfortable and began to mutter her concerns, but Zweig's smiling certainty made her fall silent.

‘Please, do this one last thing for me, Mona,' he said softly, ‘I shall return soon and Lord Dunbeath will pay me out and I'll be able to repay you more than handsomely for your kindness towards me. All will be well.'

Mona looked questioningly across at James. The boy nodded.

‘Aye', she said when she saw this, ‘I'll do as you ask.'

She looked more closely at James's face and saw that a large bruise was emerging on his face.

‘You're hurt, James. How did you come by that?'

‘I fell on the path,' he replied and turned away from her. Mona glanced over to Zweig but he continued to smile blandly back at her.

‘Here, James,' he said, and handed the boy the bundle. James's face brightened at once and he grabbed it from the captain and held it longingly to his chest. He then ran his hand slowly over the cloth as he felt for the jewels. He sat stroking it for a few moments and it was with an evident effort that he then passed it over to his mother.

‘There, madam,' said Zweig with the air of a man who had just completed a complex business arrangement, ‘that is done. Many thanks to you. Now, do you have any clothes you could let me have for the journey to London? I dare say the east coast winds will make the voyage a wet one.'

Mona stood up and Zweig followed her to a corner where a pile of oiled clothes had been thrown. The pair dropped to their knees to sort through them.

Zweig glanced over to where James was sitting at the table, still brooding, and made sure that he couldn't be seen or heard. He then leant across and whispered fiercely in Mona's ear.

‘Whatever you do, madam – do not let James have that
bundle. My life depends on it.'

She looked up in alarm and saw that he was utterly serious.

‘Please. Do this for me, Mona. Never let him have it. Whatever happens, do not let him open the wrapping. Don't be concerned, no harm will come – I shall return soon and everything will be resolved. But please, please, trust me on this.'

They stared at each other for some seconds before Mona's resistance cracked. She knew only too well her son's fragile state of mind.

‘Yes. All right. I promise,' she whispered.

Zweig stood up, his arms full of waterproof gear. He beamed at her with affection and gratitude and then strode back to where James was still sitting at the table.

‘I must get some sleep now,' he said to the boy. ‘Wake me at midnight will you, James, and we'll sail the boat down to the castle together.'

With that Zweig lay down on the rushes in the corner of the cottage and was immediately asleep for the first time in three days.

* * * 

Sophie drew back the curtains in her room, relieved that the need to hide behind them like a prying neighbour had come to an end at last. Immediately she did so she felt another curtain lift from the gloom that had been so affecting her mood. She now stopped with her hand on the heavy fringe of the drape and looked down towards the empty spot where Zweig had been sitting. In an instant she found herself thinking about the two men who were in such a struggle over her, and of their wildly different characters – the one impetuous, difficult, presumptuous and the other so determined and patient. She thought of Zweig again and his incredible vigil. What a fighter he was! But, what had it meant?