Cate of the Lost Colony - Lisa Klein [84]
“Ladi-cate, I am sorry for your plight. It is my fault,” I said.
She shook her head. “No, Manteo. I was wrong not to heed your warnings. Now I am trusting you to get us back to Fort Ralegh.”
Behind Ladi-cate I saw Wanchese emerge from his lodge. When he spied us, a look of jealousy spread over his face. I stiffened, warning Ladi-cate. She glanced behind her, and when she looked back at me, I saw she knew the kind of danger she faced.
“I will free you somehow. Until then, stay away from Wanchese. Do not flatter or please him,” I said in a low and rapid voice.
Then I said loudly for the benefit of Wanchese, “I will not speak with you, woman.” And though it pained me to perform any act of cruelty toward her, I pushed aside my Ladi-cate. Walked away from my Moon Maiden.
I was not clever, but I devised a plan I thought would succeed. I let a week pass after my encounter with Ladi-cate, then went to Wanchese and proposed that I go to Roanoke and offer to exchange the English women for muskets and ammunition. Wanchese knew that with good weapons he could drive away the English. Then he could take all their weapons and their women too. But I did not plan on letting this happen.
A flame of greed lit up Wanchese’s eyes. Still, he was suspicious.
“You were too slow to help me before. Why are you so eager now?”
“My friendship with the English is no longer strong,” I said. This at least was true. “More and more they mistrust me. Since you took their women and I have not returned to them, they must believe I am your ally. They will not welcome me, but they will heed me because I can return the women to them.”
Wanchese considered my offer. He knew he needed me to negotiate with the English. If he refused to negotiate, he had no choice but warfare against them. He would surely lose, for he lacked enough weapons.
Wanchese’s eyes narrowed into slits. “How can I be certain you will demand the weapons and not lead the the English against me?”
“Because if I fail in this, you will not spare the Croatoan.” I knew Wanchese was building an alliance to make war on the English. If necessary he would compel my mother’s people to join him. I had to protect them, so I made this condition for promising to help Wanchese: that when I obtained the weapons, he would use no force against the Croatoan.
He agreed, but I knew he was lying. Nor did he trust me, for he sent six warriors to accompany me to Fort Ralegh. Once we were away from Nantioc they began to question me about the white men. I described the wonders they possessed: compasses, magnets, chiming clocks. And those they could make: bricks and tile of many colors, houses on top of one another. How they could shape wood with their machines. The warriors were in awe of me and desired to see such things themselves.
Then I praised Wanchese for his bounty and the mercy he showed the captives. This was to test their loyalty to him.
But the men began to deny his virtues and speak ill of him. “He does not listen to the elders, who want to move inland to avoid the white men. Wanchese wants to fight the white men, and more of us will die then.”
They said Wanchese had attacked the village of Secotan and killed their weroance. Now he governed the people harshly. He made them pay for his protection with food, so they hungered while the people of Nantioc were fed. As they numbered his abuses, I saw how I could use their discontent to my advantage.
Three days of walking brought us to the river, and after two days in a canoe we came to Dasemunkepeuc, which was deserted. When we came to the fort, the soldiers surrounded us. They held the Roanoke warriors and made me enter alone. The assistants regarded me warily, as they would a wild animal in their midst. I was surprised to see Ambrose-vickers there, for I thought he had led those who stole away in the pinnace. When I told him his wife was alive, he put his head in his hands and seemed to weep. Then I presented Wanchese’s offer to release the three women in exchange for muskets. I said he would not use the weapons against