Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett [170]
“And you heard,” she said, “about the quarrels in the shed, and Henninc’s bad temper. That was because of Meester Gregorio. He was one of your suggestions. I am sure he’s the best man for the job. He is not yet any use whatsoever with people. You heard about the property claim?”
“I’ve settled that,” said Claes. “I called there on my way to Meester Adorne. They were wrong in their assumption. Meester Gregorio would have recognised that as well. He’ll settle down.”
“That’s what I told myself,” said Marian de Charetty. “Indeed, when I saw trouble was likely, I had a talk with him, and with Henninc. I apparently used the wrong words. And what about Louvain?”
He said, “Olivier was cheating, as I told you. Indeed, he was, I think, paid to cheat. That’s why I took Cristoffels. Of course, he hasn’t been given the appointment. You must see him and make up your mind. But he’s good, and he’s honest, and I’ve warned him against possible predators.”
She said, “You’re talking, I take it, of Jordan de Ribérac? Last time we spoke, you were most reassuring about him.”
His lips thickened, and thinned. “I don’t know who I’m talking about. But successful businesses do have rivals. It’s as well to be careful.”
Marian de Charetty sat back and looked at him. She said, “And when do you go back to Italy? Next week?”
This time, he did nothing expressive with his face at all. He said, “Not until after the White Bear joust.”
“In two weeks, then,” she said. “At that point I am left with a business in Louvain which is under some sort of threat and which is at the moment headed by a stranger whom I have not even met. I have a business in Bruges still suffering from past mismanagement and the lack of its usual notary, and now under another stranger who, brilliant though he may be, is causing my servants to attack one another. I have taken on property whose acquisition is causing legal problems, and have ventured into the courier business where secrets not only mean money, they mean physical danger. I am involved in large loans. My husband’s bodyguard, from a modest group hired to protect other merchants and earn their keep serving neighbouring princes, has now acquired men, arms and weapons and has become a unit in an international war, making me responsible for killings and open to claims against losses, including those caused by vendettas between rival commanders.”
She looked at Claes, and tried to keep the weariness out of her voice. “You suggested all these things. I agreed to them. I arranged them all with you. I am flattered and grateful. You thought, rightly, that I should like to be rich, that I should like to see the business expand and prosper; that I should like to hand something great to Cornelis’ son and mine. You thought that I could direct it, and that Felix in time would run it for me.”
She paused, and tried, again, to keep her voice calm. “But, my dear, I cannot direct it. However willing they are, Cristoffels and Gregorio and Henninc, and even Astorre and Thomas and Julius there in Italy, are not clever enough to help me do it properly. And Felix I know, and you must now know, cannot do it, does not want to do it and never, I think, will do more than use this business for money, when he wishes eight shillings for – whatever he wanted eight shillings for.”
She looked him straight in the eyes. “I cannot run this company as it is. Your wonderful coup, your master-stroke which would make me a fortune, is quite beyond me. There is no possible way I can agree to it.”
Claes said, “I thought Felix would develop more quickly.” And as she stirred, exasperated, he added briefly, “All right. Yes, I know. He won’t come to it soon enough. But the stuff is in him. I’ve seen it. Don’t expect too little of him. That’s been part of the trouble.”
He had paused. She said, “That is what I want of you. Honest comment. About myself, too.”
Another pause. He was looking, frowning, into the fire. He said, “Yes. You’re good with a team that’s