Race of Scorpions - Dorothy Dunnett [244]
And Nicholas had said, ‘More to the point, will the Turkish fleet have gone back to Gallipoli by then? It doesn’t matter. We’ll get the sugar out somehow. Then our Syrian friend might like a short visit home. Is that why you asked?’
‘You know as well as I do,’ said Loppe, ‘that when Famagusta surrenders, this island will split into flame like a fireball. Nor will it be between brother and sister.’
‘I can stop it,’ said Nicholas.
‘With a cataract that will flood them?’ said Loppe. ‘The Venetians have bested you once already at least.’
‘Ah,’ said Nicholas. ‘But it’s the last time that counts. I agree, the taking of Famagusta will be the signal for a great deal of treachery. But if all goes well, James might end up King of Jerusalem again. Think of all those Syrian cane fields.’
‘You’re talking rubbish,’ said Loppe. ‘That will never happen.’
‘Of course it will never happen,’ Nicholas said. ‘But a lot of other things might. There’s no sense in letting things become dull.’
Then he thudded back to Nicosia again.
Primaflora was absent when he arrived at the villa and when she returned, an hour later, she was wearing a girdle and a left sleeve he had never seen before, and a jewelled coif with a curled feather in it. She stood in the portico of his chamber and gravely allowed him to admire her. He cogitated, his head on one side. ‘Cropnose has made you one of her ladies? No. A better guess. Zacco is back in the Palace, and has agreed that you stay?’
Then she gave one of her small, pleated smiles and said, ‘It pleased him, I think, to rob his sister. Even the sleeve came from her. And he has realised that he had nothing to lose even if I am spying for Carlotta. But these, of course, are not his main reasons. I am to stay for your sake. He is fond of you.’
‘And you think I am fond of him?’ Nicholas said. ‘I would ask you to come in and sit down, but you are wearing so many clothes.’
‘I can still come in and sit down,’ Primaflora said, doing so. ‘Yes, I think you are fond of him. But I believe you would be fond of him if he looked like your camel. It is your nature. I think you have grown fond even of Tzani-bey.’
She had said that once before, surprising him, on the voyage from Rhodes. He said now, ‘Tzani-bey, I assure you, has not grown fond of me. As I told you, the present war rules us both. He is only waiting, as I am, until Famagusta is taken.’
‘So?’ she said. ‘And that will be next week? The week after? It’s a year since you sailed to Cape Gata. Nine months since you came back from Rhodes, and then deserted Cyprus again. You promised Zacco his kingdom this summer, and he is still waiting. He said so this morning. Also, I had to give him news. After four years, the Queen his half-sister is carrying.’
And Zacco was not married. She didn’t have to say so. Her conversation, full of spice and amazements, was always different from other people’s. He said, ‘Famagusta will fall, and with luck, before the rain comes.’
‘With luck? Did you win Kyrenia with luck? Or has Famagusta heard what the Mamelukes did?’ asked Primaflora.
‘Are those the rumours?’ Nicholas said. ‘The Mamelukes did nothing to the hurt of Kyrenia, because the King stopped them. The Brethren of the Order were set free to go to Kolossi. The Queen’s Marshal and all her associates – Montolif, Pardo, de Bon – were allowed to take ship for Rhodes.’
‘But they surrendered because they were starving?’ said Primaflora. Her voice, for once, was a trifle sharp. ‘Eating dogs, cats and mice? An egg sold, we heard, for a hyperper?’
‘They certainly didn’t have any pork,’ Nicholas said. ‘But I think a few rats did survive. Kyrenia surrendered because the commander Sor de Naves had been promised wealth, estates, the office of Constable and the hand, when she is out of napkins, of Charlotte, the elder daughter of Zacco. But it was necessary, of course, for the garrison to experience discomfort first. Unfortunately, the other daughter is a little too young, and I don’t think Zacco wants a