Caprice and Rondo - Dorothy Dunnett [174]
She said, ‘I have been so afraid. Come and sit by me.’ And kept his hand as they sat close together, his free arm laid in a sheltering way along the wood of the settle behind her. She said, ‘You didn’t come home. The Patriarch said you left by yourself. I was afraid they had killed you.’
‘The bears?’ Nicholas said. Her lips were quivering.
She made an attempt at a smile. ‘Worse than that. Nicholas, have you not heard? Did you not see the change at the gates?’
It was safe to say that he had observed the change at the gates. The guard had not wished to let him through, and he had been stopped several times in the streets. There were soldiers everywhere. By now, he also had a good idea of the reason, but he let her tell him. He had been fishing, and she had steered the business alone through an upheaval that might well have wrecked it.
For, it seemed, the Khan Mengli-Girey had not persuaded the Genoese to appoint the Tudun he wanted. Politely, he had agreed to discard the possibly traitorous Eminek. He had even agreed, a very special concession, to ride down from his snowy mountain to Caffa and attend the installation of Eminek’s successor. The outrage occurred when it was discovered: the Khan proposed that the successor should be his secretary, the noble Karaï Mirza.
‘Of course, the Genoese had been bribed to appoint the widow’s son Sertak, and they forced the Khan in the end to agree. But it was ugly, Nicholas, for a while, and they are still suspicious of anyone who has had to do with the Khan or, of course, with Karaï Mirza. They questioned Sinbaldo, and came here to talk about the business. I thought I had persuaded them to leave us alone when —’ She stopped.
‘What?’ Nicholas said. ‘The Genoese are your friends. They won’t harm you. And I can look after myself. What frightened you?’
Her face was pale, looking up at him. ‘The furs came,’ Anna said.
‘All the furs that you and Julius were owed? But that is wonderful!’ Nicholas said.
‘More than we were owed. An ox-cart full. Ermines, martens, sables, everything. A surplus more than we could ever pay for if it wasn’t a gift. If it wasn’t a bribe from the Khan, made possible by his friendship with Moscow and Mánkup.’
‘A bribe to do what?’ Nicholas said. He rose quickly. ‘Look, I’m going to give you some wine. It’s all right. They can’t prove we did anything.’
‘They think we did,’ Anna said. ‘They think the Khan gave us silver to buy support for Karaï Mirza, and that the furs are our reward. I told them they were wrong. So did the Patriarch, when he came back.’
‘Well, that ought to convince them,’ said Nicholas. ‘At least it can be proved that you had nothing to do with it. If they have to blame someone, it’ll be me. Do you know why the Khan agreed to give up so easily? After all, he is the lord of the Crim Horde.’
Anna put down the cup he had given her. Colour had returned to her cheeks. She said, ‘Mengli-Girey’s worst enemies are two older brothers who wanted to rule in his place. The Genoese threatened to release them from prison, unless the Khan appointed the Tudun they wanted. Nicholas, where have you been?’
He smiled. ‘Fishing,’ he said. ‘And just as well, perhaps, although it left you to bear all the brunt of this nonsense. Fishing, and visiting Soldaia. Can you guess why?’
Her eyes flamed. ‘Nicholas!’ And then, as her eye fell on the pendulum that he held in his hand: ‘The gold is here! You divined it! That is why you came back?’
He sat down, and touched his cup to hers. ‘Because of the gold. It isn’t here yet, but I did see Ochoa, and have paid him something, at least. Now we have to