The Scent of Betrayal (40 page)

‘I must say I didn’t think you’d pull it off,’ replied James evasively.

‘Neither did I.’

The next time de Coburrabias put off from the shore, the chest that had been out of their sight for so long took a prominent position on the deck, with him standing over it. Harry called de Chigny into his cabin.

‘Lieutenant. You are to be taken ashore and there is something
I would like you to do for me.’ He handed the youngster a package. ‘Please put this out of sight, and hand it to the Barón de Carondelet personally. It contains information that is vital to his future well-being.’

‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘It is enough to ensure that you are not censured for the casualties you suffered last night.’ That made him blush, and drop his head. ‘Put it inside your coat and give it to the Barón as soon as you see him. He is waiting for you on the quay.’

‘It’s heavy.’

‘And important, remember. Now you’d best get up on deck.’

Harry followed him out of the door. The breeze had freshened, cooling the sweat on his face. He stood watching as the
Navarro
repeated the earlier manoeuvre. De Coburrabias crossed the gangplank again, this time followed by two struggling sailors, the chest between them.

‘Pender, look to that, if you please, and check the contents.’

His men grabbed it off the Spaniards and laid it down on the deck. Pender had his picks out and on his knees was working steadily.

‘You have something for me.’

‘Yes. I have the location of your reward.’

He handed de Coburrabias a piece of parchment, a map which he’d drawn from memory.

‘Bayou Pierre. Why so far north?’

‘I could hardly take de Guerin in Spanish territory. And it’s not a place many people want to visit.’

‘Are you ready, Lieutenant?’

De Chigny came to attention. ‘Sir.’

‘Then let us proceed.’

He turned to walk away, but Harry restrained him, waiting till de Chigny was out of earshot. ‘Don Cayetano, would I be right in assuming that de Carondelet’s safe conduct ends the minute you step ashore?’

‘No, Captain Ludlow, the second.’

‘One other thing. Why did you lie to me about murdering your mistress?’

‘Are you so sure I did?’

‘Not positive. But I did wonder why you took all the food off the
Gauchos
.’

‘Do you miss anything, Ludlow?’

‘I hope not,’ Harry replied, coldly.

De Coburrabias nearly lost control, such was the depth of his feelings. But only Harry, who was looking at him, observed this.

‘Mademoiselle Chrétien loved society, Ludlow. She badgered me for years so that as my wife she could move in the correct circles. So I have made her a Queen. I admit her Kingdom is small, and barren. But it is all hers, if you don’t count the millions of birds.’

De Carondelet was waiting to greet de Chigny on the quay, his face set like a stern uncle. The boy had the package in his hand so swiftly it looked like a desire to deflect criticism. The Governor tore it open, his eyes so large they seemed to fill his face. The silver flashed in the sunlight and he read the message before turning to de Coburrabias, waving it under his nose. The crack of the musket ball came a split second after it had entered his head. The soldier crumpled to the ground. De Carondelet, stunned, looked once more at the writing on the inside of the wrapping paper.

Out on the river, James dropped the nude sketches of Hyacinthe into the water. Innocent they might be, but Harry, he knew, wouldn’t understand. Above his head, his brother raised Able Mabel and allowed the wind to blow the last residue of smoke out of the barrel.

‘All hands,’ he said, in a soft voice.

J
ACK
L
UDLOW
is the pen-name of writer David Donachie, who was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has always had an abiding interest in history: from the Roman Republic to medieval warfare as well as the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which he has drawn on for his many historical adventure novels. David lives in Deal with his partner, the novelist Sarah Grazebrook.