The Spring of the Ram - Dorothy Dunnett [256]
“I know,” said Nicholas. There was a pause. He said, “So is Tobie.”
The door was still open behind him. There was another silence. Godscalc said, “Then why leave it so late?”
“Because I thought I could do it alone,” Nicholas said. “Mistakenly.” There was a rare line between his remarkable eyes, but the rest of his face—scar, dimples, all that was vulnerable—was hidden and clothed by his beard. He said, “But I’ll go away if you wish.”
“And do what alone?” Godscalc said.
“Go to the Sultan,” said Nicholas.
Chapter 37
“I’M SURPRISED,” Godscalc said. “I had the impression you felt you could do anything.” He closed the door and watched Nicholas wander to the opposite side of the room, where the balcony gave on to the crowded courtyard. He said, “I suppose you had better shut that door as well.” He thought for a moment Nicholas hadn’t heard him; then the boy closed the door and came back and sat down.
Nicholas said, “Well, you’re angry. And I was wrong. There has to be a team, in case something happens to me.”
Godscalc sat down briskly himself. “Your wife is capable,” he said. “You can hardly imagine that we would abandon her?”
“No. You would stay from duty. It is a different thing,” Nicholas said.
There was a pause, which Godscalc did not break. The boy had to learn. If he didn’t learn now, it was too late. At length Nicholas said, “There are disadvantages, when one is brought up as a servant. Men of different rank have different customs. Men of the same rank are vulnerable—” He broke off. He said, “Even Loppe knows I don’t trust him.”
“He would give his life for you,” Godscalc said.
Nicholas said, “Regardless of anything else. That is why.”
Godscalc considered that, and set it aside for the moment. He said, “And what is this burden, then, that you have elected to carry alone; and why do you bring it me now?”
“Because I can’t carry it,” Nicholas said. “I’m not competent. And I can’t risk being wrong. So your peace of mind is what I decided to sacrifice.”
“You underrate me,” said Godscalc. “Today is the first day I could claim peace of mind since we both came to Trebizond. And don’t mistake me again. I know it’s not your soul that is in question. Yes, I knew about Doria’s secret consignment of arms. Yes, I have been angry with you. You gave me a pretty lecture, some of it true. But this was a barrier of your own making. You kept quiet, I suppose, to save us from making the choice. Specifically, to exclude me. You must have a poor opinion of militant church.”
He had seen a man look like that when he had hit him in the face. He had never seen a man accept it in silence, uncomplaining. Nicholas said, “John would agree with you. Will you help me?”
“You would pay my fee?” Godscalc said. And then smiled and said, “You don’t quite know your way about as yet, do you? That is one debt you won’t have to face. But the crux of the matter, as you say, is the arms.”
He watched the boy recover. It was smooth, and nearly invisible. Nicholas said, “Yes. At least, that is the catalyst. Arms and armour bought from Louis de Gruuthuse. They were in the Ribérac ship when Simon stole it from his father. Doria said nothing of them at Pisa or Genoa. He perhaps hoped to sell them at Constantinople, but the plague scare prevented him. Perhaps he hoped on the way to barter them for…something else, but time was against him. He arrived at Trebizond holding them in reserve, as might be, to obtain the Emperor’s favour. For whatever reason, he kept them on board until the round ship was dismantled; and then he brought them ashore.