Race of Scorpions - Dorothy Dunnett [189]
‘So the Knights think we’re dirt,’ said le Grant. ‘Upset their schemes, mishandled their wee man Kinloch, flouted Carlotta for Zacco, got their ship waylaid and gave Zacco its cargo. And now you’re competing with them in the sugar business. That being so, why are the Knights using the Martini brothers again? You saved the Martini sugar. The Martini must be the best friends you’ve got.’
‘Not exactly,’ said Nicholas. ‘Until now, the Martini held the royal franchise. The Martini had to go back to the Knights, because there wasn’t another job for them. They don’t like me at all.’
‘Can they harm you?’ said Tobie. ‘The Knights? The Martini brothers?’
‘Openly, no,’ Nicholas said. ‘We have the royal fief.’
‘But?’ said John le Grant.
Nicholas said, ‘But, of course. Imagine what you would do if you were an outpost of Rhodes, and wanted to make an impression on the Grand Master, or on Carlotta. Fortunately, there are the Corner. Venetians also, and lying between us and Kolossi.’
‘But competing also for men and equipment. Here’s another thing,’ said John le Grant. His hat clashed with his hair, and his skin shone under his freckles. ‘Corner are privately owned. They manage their business, top to bottom. But aren’t we in the same situation as the Martini? The royal estates turn out the sugar, and it’s our job simply to sail off and sell it? I’m supposing that that’s why Crackbene is sitting there. So why should we bother ourselves with all these lists I’ve been seeing? That’s the estate manager’s job, reporting to Zacco.’
‘It should be,’ Nicholas said. ‘But because of the war, the estate is in a mess. What men there were left when the Martini left. If I hadn’t done something as soon as we arrived, we should have acquired a most expensive franchise to nothing. As it is, there’s a lot to do still. You see that. But we’ve got the replacement cuttings we need, and the experts, and the buildings and vats are being repaired. And Loppe has installed a new manager.’
‘How?’ said Tobie.
‘He came from Syria,’ Nicholas said, to save Loppe replying. ‘All the sugar in Cyprus came from the Crusader factories at Acre and Tyre and Beirut. The country’s under Mamelukes now, but they’ll trade equipment and management skills from time to time, provided you use the right intermediary. We employed an Observatine friar to take the offer. The Patriarch of Antioch at times has his uses.’
‘Ludovico da Bologna!’ Tobie said. He paused. ‘He’s at Ferrara in Italy.’
Nicholas said, ‘You’d be amazed, but ships do sail from time to time between Cyprus and Italy. Ask where we got the manager’s new highly-trained sugar staff from.’
‘Ferrara,’ said Tobie, who never did puzzles.
‘Consider,’ said Nicholas. ‘Ferrara is not far from Florence, and in Florence is a powerful lady whose two sons work in Naples. One of them trained in Spain and was a friend of mine in Bruges. The other trained in Palermo. And the name of the family is –’
‘Strozzi,’ said John le Grant. ‘You got Lorenzo and Filippo Strozzi to send you men from Sicily. You cunning bastard.’
‘And more than men,’ Nicholas said. He threw a paper over and le Grant caught it and spread it on the table. Tobie craned. Crackbene, who had not so far opened his mouth, said, ‘That is good. It is a diagram of a sugar mill.’
John said, ‘It’s more than that. It’s a three-roller mill, and I’ve never seen one before. I’ve heard of it, though.’ He snorted. ‘In Sicily. Of course. The University. You want me to make you one?’
‘Yes, please,’ said Nicholas happily.
After that, it was exactly the kind of discussion he liked, with ideas and arguments flowing and fists pounding the table or knee. Halfway through, Umfrid spoke. He was quite as blond as Mick Crackbene, but short and neat, like a family mascot. He said, ‘You expect a yield of 11.2 in the hundred on your cane? If the acreage is as you say, you will need a new refinery. You cannot afford both that and the plant you are building.’
‘We refine once only, and subcontract,’ Nicholas said.
‘Then you