Dunbeath stopped his furious rant and instead began to frantically pace the room. Hume quietly stroked the braid decoration at his wrist.
‘Forgive me if this is an absurd notion, Dunbeath, but would it not be possible for you to sail down to London by sea? Could that not be done in the time?’
Dunbeath stopped and looked at him.
‘I had the same thought myself. But who could ever take me? My father’s old helmsman is long gone. I don’t know how to sail. None of the fishermen around here would know the way – there’s hardly one of them that’s ever gone beyond the headland. And anyway, they wouldn’t know the Thames from the Styx.’
Hume paused and then quietly took a deep breath.
‘Perhaps our captain there could be persuaded? He must have sailed to London a hundred times – he would know the approaches.’
Dunbeath came to an abrupt standstill. He looked steadily at Hume, amazed at the suggestion. Nevertheless, it was clear that he was weighing up the idea. He rejected it. Then a picture of L’Arquen’s grinning insincerity came into his mind.
‘By God, Hume,’ he said decisively, ‘you may just be right. I dare say there will be a terrible price to pay but what other chance do I have? You are right, I shall see the man at once.’
* * *
Dunbeath ran down the stone steps by the side of the castle and out onto the beach. He tried to slow his pace, knowing that a difficult negotiation was ahead of him, but in spite of this, he could do little to disguise the urgency that showed in his every movement. Zweig saw him as he hurtled over the sands and rose easily to his feet. He could see immediately that Dunbeath’s manner was quite different. That he was about to ask for something.
‘My lord?’ said Zweig with interest. ‘Good afternoon to you.’
Dunbeath had reached the captain and now stood facing him, suddenly unable to speak, choking on his pride, finding it impossible to choose the right words. Zweig waited patiently and smiled back in encouragement.
Eventually, Dunbeath appeared to sit on his discomfort for long enough to talk.
‘Captain Zweig. I have a proposition for you.’
‘Indeed. I should be pleased to hear it.’
‘I have great need to be in London with all speed. There is not a moment to be lost. I must be there in six days at the latest – I have a vital meeting to attend. Is that possible? Can you sail me there in time? I presume you know the approaches – can you navigate the Thames?’
‘Of course, my lord,’ said Zweig pleasantly. ‘As to the journey, that would depend on the craft. But what is your proposal to me?’
Dunbeath gazed steadily at him, swallowing hard as he summoned up the will to be a supplicant.
‘I have a boat moored at Dunbeaton. What the Dutch call a jacht. I imagine it is still there. My father would use it to see our lands on the Dark Isles and he always said it was a speedy thing. Now, Zweig, if you would sail me to London so that I can attend the meeting of the Board of Longitude and then bring me back safely, then I shall…’ Dunbeath paused, hardly able to lower himself to bargain in this way.
‘Yes, my lord, you will what?’
‘I shall give you the boat. To return to Königsberg.’
Zweig looked at Dunbeath for a few seconds before he gave a courteous bow.
‘I am most grateful for your kind offer, but I regret I must refuse. As you know, my lord …’ he smiled as he spoke, slowly laying out his trump card, ‘…my aim is to return Miss Kant to our homeland …’ In an instant he had weighed up Dunbeath’s personality well enough to add the one thing that he knew would be understood the best, and would sting Dunbeath the most.
‘…to clear the debt owed to me by her father.’
Dunbeath struggled to suppress his rage as he heard Zweig say this.
‘Sophie will not be returning with you,’ he ground out in reply, ‘she will be staying here. She has agreed to that. You will not have her.’
Zweig put his head slightly to one side but continued to nod gently, as if in agreement.
Sophie? Now it’s Sophie rather than Miss Kant, he thought to himself. Here was a place to stand. He bowed again.
‘Then, my lord, without Miss Kant, and without the debt repaid, I’m afraid I have no option but to refuse your kind offer.’
He moved as if to seat himself again on the dune. But Dunbeath was too desperate by now to give up. Once more, the sight of L’Arquen’s smirking face came into his mind.
‘Very well,’ he said bitterly through clenched teeth, ‘I shall clear the debt myself. Whatever her father is due for, I shall give it to you. But you’ll only get the money if you can carry me to London in time for my meeting.’
Zweig looked steadily Lord Dunbeath for a few seconds.
‘Well then,’ he replied, with a curt nod of his head, ‘we have an agreement. If the vessel is sound we shall certainly be in London within the six days you have given me. You have my word on that. As to the money I am owed, do I have your word, as a gentleman, that you will pay it to me when we return here from London?’
‘A gentleman? You have my word as a Scottish earl,’ said Dunbeath with some heat.
‘In that case we understand each other. We can sail on the next tide. I believe it will turn at about three tomorrow morning and I shall be anchored off the beach here with the boat then. Be ready when you hear me knock at the castle door – we shall need to leave immediately.’
* * *
Dunbeath ran up the great staircase as soon as he’d returned from seeing Zweig. He called out loudly as he stamped past the salon door.
‘Sophie! If you’d be so kind. I shall be in my study.’
He continued to run along the corridor until he reached the small room in the tower. Sophie found him at his desk as she came round the door a minute later, and immediately saw that he was immersed in the presentation charts that they had ready for the Board. He looked up quickly as she came in.
‘Yes, Zweig will take me! I prevailed with him. But Sophie, I’m afraid that this means I must change my mind about you coming. I wish it were otherwise, but I dare not have you so close to that man. Who knows what he might attempt? I may be supping with the devil with him but I shall take that risk alone. You are safer here with Hume. It won’t be for long, I shall be back in three weeks, a month at the latest.’
‘But how on earth did you get him to take you?’
Dunbeath looked away and a bitter, tight set came into his face.
‘I’ve agreed with your captain’ he said tensely, ‘that when we return from London he can keep my boat to sail back to Germany.’
‘Oh, that is good news indeed, my lord. It gives me such joy to hear that. I can begin to breathe again, just knowing that he’ll be leaving.’
‘There is more, Sophie. He refused any offer at first. His only thought was for his filthy hold on your father’s debt and of getting you to return to Königsberg with him. And so I told him I would pay off the amount that is owed as well.’
Sophie took a step backwards, stunned at what she was hearing.
‘Yes, I know, it is a full price for the journey,’ said Dunbeath, glancing at her shocked expression, ‘but what other choice did I have? If I don’t show my work at this meeting then that mountebank Harrison will undoubtedly be bending people’s minds to his infernal clock idea. No, no. No dismay now on that pretty face, Sophie, be of good cheer. You will be free, think on that! I shall use Zweig for his seamanship and when I get back he will leave for Königsberg. He will be gone. Your anxieties are at an end.’
Sophie remained frozen as she heard Dunbeath out, her mouth still open in astonishment. But the earl now looked intently at her, gazing deeply into her eyes. He spoke again, with more tenderness than she had ever thought possible from him.
‘You are not to worry, my dear one. I shall return with the Prize and Zweig will be back in Prussia forever. The money for winning the Prize will be far more than the amount your father owed him. If I don’t get to
London I cannot succeed, though. So using the captain is a good investment - just the kind of thing my men of business are always urging me to think about. So enough of this, we are not to discuss it again.’
As he said this Dunbeath reached down and gently took Sophie’s hand in his.
’Sophie, my dearest, dearest Sophie,’ he continued softly, ‘I am happy to do this if you will but agree to stay here with me. I am quite decided now. I want to spend the rest of my days with you, sweetheart. I know that now. When I return, will you agree to be my wife?’
He showed no sign of noticing her stunned appearance but instead bowed his head towards her.
‘Will you consent to marry me?’
Sophie was aghast. This was more than she had ever wished for. But she knew immediately that there was no turning back now. The slightest delay, the slightest sign of doubt, and the debt could return. She knew that she was substituting one man’s hold over her for another’s. But she had to accept. Was it also not true, she felt, that she had seen another side to this wild man? Hadn’t Dunbeath shown real affection when he’d recovered from his illness? And hadn’t she just witnessed the nearest thing to passion that he was capable of? And, yes again, would she not have huge riches and a powerful position to look after her family and pursue the kind of research that so fascinated her? No, there was not love for the man yet; but that could grow.
She looked him full in the face and smiled. One of her father’s maxims sprang into her head: ‘if there is something you dare not refuse,’ he would say, ‘then you must do it with a good grace.’
‘Yes. My answer is yes,’ she replied now, her face glowing. ‘Yes, I shall marry you. And with all my heart. You are to hurry to London and hurry back. We shall be married when you return.’
Dunbeath put her hands to his lips and kissed them. There was a slight pause and then he returned to his brisk self.
‘Good, I am so glad that is settled. Now, let’s us check again that we have everything ready for the Board.’
Chapter 18
Zweig walked slowly back to Dunbeaton, utterly spent and deep in thought. He looked upwards into the clearest of spring skies and gave thanks to heaven that his ordeal had come to an end. He knew he couldn’t have lasted much longer. As he walked he turned over the events of the past few days in his mind, smiling grimly to himself at how strange life was. In a million years he could never have guessed that this would have been the outcome. He’d known only that a man like Dunbeath could never have tolerated him sitting in his view for long. And now a boat and the money to start again! This was more than he could ever have hoped for. All he had to do was get the man to London and then sail him back. He could even drop him off in a dinghy near the shore when he returned – he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d have to stand clear of the English by then. If they’d worked out who he was they would have his head in a noose before he could blink.
But this could only be the first stage. If he managed all this he had still to arrive at a strategy for Sophie. He suddenly felt bone weary and knew he would have to put these thoughts to one side for the present. A few hours of blessed sleep would have to come first. Then he would be able to think more clearly about his next steps.
He eventually arrived at the cottage door. As he pushed it open he saw Mona McLeish tending the peat fire and she looked up quickly as he came in and jumped to her feet, beaming in relief at seeing him.
‘Alexis! At last. We’ve been so worried for you.’ She turned and spoke to her son as he sat hunched over a bowl of fish stew at the table, ‘James, move along there. Make a space for Alexis.’
She smiled again at Zweig with obvious affection.
‘You’ll need something to eat. Then we can talk.’
She ladled a bowl from the pot over the fire and came over to sit with him as he ate at the table. He’d said nothing since he’d come in, but as the thick broth warmed him he looked over his porringer to where she sat smiling with affection.
‘Thank you, madam. Yet again you have restored me. Well, no doubt you know where I’ve been. It took me longer than I thought it would but in the end Lord Dunbeath couldn’t stand the sight of me – and eventually he came out to see what I was about. My intention was to ask for work. I persevered and he has found a need for me.’
‘But why, Alexis? Why did you do this?’
‘I had to do something, Mona – I cannot live here forever. I need to repay you and Andrew for eating you out of house and home, to say nothing of repaying you for saving my life. You have all been too good to me. I can take your hospitality no longer.’
‘Oh, Alexis. You had no need to do this. And to put yourself through such an ordeal!’
She was about to say more but Zweig cut across her. He looked over at James.
‘Lord Dunbeath told me he has a boat moored here at Dunbeaton that his father used to reach their lands on the Dark Isles. Do you know it, James?’
‘Aye, of course I do. Everyone knows it,’ James replied sulkily. ‘Nobody has ever dared touch it though.’
‘Dunbeath has great need to be in London urgently,’ continued Zweig, calmly ignoring James’s petulant tone, ‘and I have agreed to sail him there. We shall leave at dawn tomorrow. I could see that he was desperate – he has to be there within a week – and so I set a high price for my work. He is rewarding me well and I shall be able to give you both all I owe and more when I return.’
He finished eating and then asked James to show him where the boat lay. He thanked Mona once again and the two men left the cottage and began their descent to the quay, Zweig leading the way and James walking in his threatening, surly manner behind him. Zweig was only too aware of the rancorous mood that he could feel behind him and knew that he would need a different approach for the boy. He might be just as deranged as Dunbeath, Zweig thought to himself, but another tactic was called for this one. This jealousy James had for him, muddled in with the guilt that weighed on him over his brother’s death, had to be faced. It was clear to Zweig that the boy was too dangerous to leave as he was.
The two men stopped at a bend in the path and looked down on the quay. Zweig turned to James to ask which of the boats was Dunbeath’s but the boy hardly lifted his eyes before he threw out a halfhearted attempt at a wave in the general direction of the harbour.
Zweig decided to adopt a kindly tone.
‘You seem out of sorts, James. What ails you?’
The question was too much. James looked away in a bitter fury, unable to articulate his resentment. Zweig came closer and took him by the arm.
‘James,’ he whispered urgently, ‘you must listen. I need your help. You must tell me how you found your way into the castle. It is vital that I go there tonight before I leave.’
This was the breaking point for James. He was sick of the thought of the castle and sick of Zweig’s hold over him. He stared back at him with bitterness.
‘You ask for more,’ he spat out, his fierce hatred finally given voice. ‘I wish I had never set eyes on you. I saved your life, my mother feeds you. And yet you still ask for more.’
Zweig had seen such distorted behaviour before. There was only one way to respond. He now fixed James with a granite gaze.
‘Yes, I shall ask for more. And yes, James, you will help. We have our bargain, do we not?’ All trace of Zweig’s co-operative approach had gone and his voice now carried the threat of unlimited menace. He would not be denied.
‘We have our bargain,’ replied James in a shrill, angry tone, ‘but how can I trust you not to break it? You are leaving for London and with you goes your side of our agreement. The English would not be able to hold you if you were no longer here. The telescope is all I have in the world yet you will not give it to me! How would I know where it was if you didn’t come back? How can I even be sure you’re not planning to take it with you? You must give it to me.’
Zweig looked James squarely in the face, his eyes as black as death.
‘Must?’ he said, and hi
s voice was now suddenly loud. ‘Must? What nonsense is this you’re blathering now, James?’
But this was an insult too many for James. With a roar he threw himself at Zweig, frantically thrashing at him with his fists. A blow struck Zweig’s shoulder and another landed on his chest. Then the big man stepped smoothly to one side and expertly felled James with a single heavy punch to the side of his face. There was never going to be a contest and as James reeled, shocked by the blow, Zweig slipped behind him and grabbed his arms, forcing him to the ground.
The two were motionless for a time as James’s shuddering calmed and his anger subsided. He quietly sobbed in defeat and Zweig knew that the time had come to change his tactics. Giving up his hold, he jumped to his feet and burst out laughing. He extended his hand and pulled James upright, then embraced the weeping boy.
‘You’re right to be angry James,’ he said, still laughing. ‘I understand. You must have your security. But so must I. You see, if I give you the telescope, you could easily run off to the English and tell them about me. That’s why I had to keep it in the first place. Yet I understand you very clearly that you’d want to know where it is if, for some reason, I fail to come back.
‘So, here is my proposal. Let us give it to your mother for safekeeping. In that way, if I don’t manage to return or if you don’t hear from me in a month, let’s say by the end of May, then she is to give it to you. You can wait that long, can’t you James?’
He smiled encouragingly at the boy, very obviously appearing to be solving his problems. Now he moved to close the bargain.
‘But, if I do this then you have to meet my wishes as well – you have to show me the way into the castle. There, do you agree?’
James was exhausted and hurt. His breathing was short and ragged but he had been listening hard. After a pause he lifted his eyes from the ground.
‘A month. I get the telescope when you return. And Mother will have it in the meantime and she will give it to me if you don’t come back. Yes, all right, I agree.’
The Prisoner's Dilemma Page 22
