The Spring of the Ram - Dorothy Dunnett [202]
Their grooms were looking up, too, and faces showed at the open windows. Godscalc said, “The story is the same. Doria saw them both die, and says there were no survivors. Astorre has gone to find what he can. Doria and his wife are coming back as soon as he can ride. We’re tired.”
The engineer said, “Come in. Loppe will bring wine and warm water. Everything is in order here.”
Even Godscalc, dismounting, looked stiff. By the time they were indoors and in privacy, Loppe had already reappeared with all they needed to clean and refresh themselves. He stayed to serve, and then stood, quietly listening. Tobie, looking at him, thought that for a big man he had lost weight in the last week. Godscalc made his report plainly and quickly. “We are none the wiser. Doria’s wounds are from Kurdish weapons. He claims he found Nicholas and Julius beset, and tried to save them. There is no proof that they died as he said and equally none that he is lying. But he is confident enough to claim this fondaco. We have three days—perhaps four—to decide what to do about it.”
“Most of it has been done,” said John le Grant. He bent and, opening a drawer, tossed before them a thick wad of paper. The sheets separated as they fell. Each page was covered with the clear rapid writing of Nicholas. Le Grant said, “I found that with the ledgers, after you’d gone. For us, in the event of his death. An account of what is in the storehouse, and what it is to be used for. And of what is to be bought from the caravan, with top and bottom prices for each article, the quantity, and the client it should go to. There, for example. A thousand pounds of Caspian leggi, if they’ll bring the price down to two florins, and take twelve bales of woollen cloth instead of specie.”
Tobie said, “We don’t have any wool cloth.”
John le Grant looked up. “We apparently bought some on credit from Zorzi. They came aboard off Tophane. Sixty pieces lying surplus in Pera.”
“My God,” said Tobie.
“If there’s wool left over, we’re to sell for Papal ducats or Turkish gold coins: he seems to think there’ll be some about. If not, we’re to exchange it for drugs to pay for the manuscripts. He’s specific about which drugs for which monastery. He’d take seven thousand pounds of kermes from the credit notes we got for the three-pile velvet, and there’s a shopping list for other dyes that goes on for pages. We’re not to take any brazil that doesn’t come from Ceylon…Do you want all this now?” said John le Grant.
“Not the shopping list,” said Godscalc. “But other instructions?”
“Oh, plenty of those,” said their engineer and ship-master. “Things to do to safeguard all the stock, and orders about leasing premises within the Citadel, which I’ve done. An open letter, doubly witnessed, transmitting to each of us powers of attorney to act for the Charetty company in the event of his absence or death. A note, appended to that, saying that Doria will certainly try to seize the company’s local assets and negotiate in its name when the Tabriz caravan arrives. That is, acting as for Catherine’s mother, he could usurp Medici and Charetty resources to make massive purchases for himself and his employer, and make off with the goods and the profit. Nicholas suggests ways of stopping him. Quite a lot of ways, some of them fairly ingenious and most of them criminal.” His eyes, with their sandy rims, had been fixed on the floor. He raised them to Godscalc. “Your Master Nicholas was not absolutely certain, it seems, that he was coming back from that trip.”
“He chose to take it,” said Godscalc. “But you’re right. He knew it was dangerous. If you like, he waited until he thought it would be dangerous. He wanted to prove something.”
“And has he?” said the ship-master. He had flushed.
“Not in the way he wanted. In others, maybe. We may have been too ready to blame him. A man prepared to do what he has done has some character.