Race of Scorpions - Dorothy Dunnett [26]
‘They didn’t.’
‘No. The mattress and the rope were put there by an unknown confederate. You entered the house, unwilling to disturb the girls further, because you had learned you must leave Bruges immediately, and wished some memento of their mother.’
‘I was found with her keys in my hand. An odd memento,’ said Nicholas.
Adorne rested an elegant hand against his cheekbone. ‘You were moved to touch something of hers. Had you wanted to steal, you would have gone straight to the chest when you entered. In any case, the chest, even if full, probably contained only a fraction of what is owed you by the Charetty company for the last consignment of alum alone. Is that not so?’
‘I suppose so,’ Nicholas said.
‘And further, although you were stripped, you were found to be carrying nothing that did not belong to you. Except, of course, this.’ From a drawer, Adorne drew out a folded rectangle of cardboard and set it upright on the table before him. It was filled with columns of writing in Marian’s meticulous hand. Beside each price was a tuft of fine wool, dyed in good, solid Charetty colours; dense and fadeless and reliable. ‘Put it away,’ Adorne said. ‘There is clearly no charge to answer.’
It lay on the desk, creased now and blemished by other men’s handling. Nicholas said, ‘Thank you.’ He did not immediately take it. Instead he said, ‘Before I go, I wished to ask you something. In view of your kindness to me, and to Marian’s family, I find it difficult.’
Anselm Adorne settled back, with tranquillity, in his chair. ‘It has to do with business?’ he said. ‘Your interests are now Venetian and mine Genoese. On occasion, we shall be rivals, but honourable rivals, I hope. I don’t see that our friendship should suffer.’
Nicholas said, ‘I hope it won’t. That’s why I thought we should speak of it. You know that a Genoese tried to seize control of the Charetty company in Trebizond. You know how he chose to do it. The Doria family, which was his, are your friends, but I know you had nothing to do with it. I wanted to show, simply, that misunderstandings might occur. There is another matter.’
‘The alum project,’ said Adorne. His face was calm.
‘Yes. An Adorno cousin of yours signed an agreement with me about alum. The monopoly that provided my profit is over, since a new mine has opened at Tolfa. It isn’t a tragedy; but the new mine wasn’t discovered by chance. You and I and the Venetians knew it existed, and had a pact to conceal it. Someone broke the pact. And when they came upon Tolfa, they brought in Genoese experts to sample the alum.’
Anselm Adorne placed the tips of his fingers together. He said, ‘Yes. We should have this discussion. On the matter of Trebizond, I am glad you absolve me. My son Jan has a Doria for godfather, but I never knew the consul at Trebizond, and if I had known you were in danger from him, I should have told you. The alum is different.’
‘Is it?’ said Nicholas.
Adorne smiled. He said, ‘Don’t misunderstand me. Pacts should never be broken. I have to say I don’t know who did so in this instance. Certainly, my kinsmen and I knew there was an unquarried mine, but only you and the Venetians knew its location. You might say that we, too, were profiting from the monopoly, although the Venetians were the chief beneficiaries. On the other hand, the Turks have overrun the old sources, and if war breaks out, will stop using Venice as agent. It would suit Venice then to have Tolfa discovered and perhaps have a stake in its management.’
‘You could say the same of Genoa,’ Nicholas said. ‘Are you saying what I think you are saying? Pacts will not be broken by you, but erring kinsmen can count on your silence, unless they propose actually to kill me?’
‘I fear,’ said Anselm Adorne, ‘that I am saying just that. Is it so terrible? You wouldn’t expect me to denounce my friends and family any more than, I suppose, you would do. You must hope, however, that I continue to carry out my intention of never knowingly harming my friends. I expect to have your limited confidence.