Scales of Gold - Dorothy Dunnett [199]
Gelis said, ‘Does it mean nothing? The end of his Bank, the ruin of Diniz and his mother, perhaps?’
‘He is acting,’ Godscalc said. ‘And he loves Umar.’
‘You would think-’ said Gelis, and stopped.
‘If you do, you don’t know Nicholas,’ Godscalc said. ‘It is Umar you must be sorry for.’
Late that night, having read Gregorio’s letter to the end, Nicholas brought them all to his chamber – Gelis and Bel, Godscalc and Diniz, and told them what was in it. He had thrown off his robe and sat on the sill in his shirt, for tonight the great drop into coolness had not occurred, and it was breathlessly hot. Outside in the courtyard the moon silvered the palms and caught the spray of the fountain, while moths pattered against the night veils that protected the unshuttered windows and doors. It was very quiet, and he showed, now, the marks of his illness.
He said, ‘If there’s any blame, it is mine. I knew the risks when I sent the gold north with Ochoa, and I should do it again – it was the only chance that we had. It isn’t entirely clear, even yet, what has happened: I can only tell you what Gregorio says. The Ghost arrived in Madeira and was met by a team of experts who identified her as the roundship stolen from Ceuta, and had her seized and impounded. The Lomellini also took part.’
‘When?’ said Godscalc.
‘At the end of December. That is the date of this letter. Gregorio says he hasn’t protested, since he doesn’t want a link’ between me and Ceuta, or between the San Niccolò and illegal trading. He has, however, suggested an enquiry into the early history of the Ghost to establish its proper ownership. If it takes place, and if I am there to answer it, we may possibly win. It wouldn’t be hard for a good lawyer to prove that neither Simon nor Jordan his father can claim her.’
‘What are you saying?’ said Gelis. ‘The ship is nothing; all that counts is the gold. They surely can’t lay claim to that?’
‘There is no gold,’ Nicholas said.
Diniz was silent. Bel looked at him, and away. Gelis pushed back her veils and a coil of hair fell unpinned. With sudden irritation she dragged it all free. Nicholas said, ‘When the Ghost arrived in Madeira, she carried no cargo. The Lomellini signed papers to that effect, and so did the customs searchers who boarded her. Ochoa confirmed it. He said she had been unable to trade, being unlicensed, and had therefore been sent back home empty. Gregorio tried to get hold of Ochoa, but found that he’d been spirited away from the island, together with all the seamen he had sailed with. He also tried to quiz a Portuguese patrol vessel about some tale of a clash between the Lomellini’s Fortado and a roundship of uncertain colouring. The master avoided him. He got nothing either, out of a Portuguese from the Senagana.’
‘So who has it?’ said Godscalc. ‘Someone who can pay for silence, it seems. So you can rule out Ochoa.’
‘Can you?’ said Gelis. ‘Aren’t there two separate things: the loss of the gold, and the rivalry of the San Niccolò and the Fortado? The silence may be to protect the Fortado, not the thief of the gold. That could still be Ochoa.’
‘It is a possibility,’ Nicholas said. ‘He might have landed it somewhere beforehand. He might even have done it for our sakes: it may be lying somewhere waiting to be uplifted for us when he thinks that it’s safe. So let’s hope he doesn’t die. Or it may not be Ochoa at all: the Lomellini may have done away with it, and bribed Ochoa to lie. The Lomellini backed, of course, by David de Salmeton.’ A dimple appeared. ‘Sharp justice. We kill Doria, and the Vatachino get all our gold.’
‘Simon,’ Diniz said. He had spoken hardly at all, so great was his despair. ‘Simon doesn’t know the Vatachino are in league with the Genoese?’
‘With the Lomellini? No,’ Nicholas said. ‘Unless he has found out. Why? You think the Lomellini may have done