Duff! Duff, me auld lad! Roger leaned down and grabbed his hat, then reached back to give his erstwhile acquaintance a hand up. Duff, a small, grizzled Scot with a very long nose, sparse jowls, and a fine sprout of graying whiskers that made him look as though hed been thickly dusted in icing sugar, leaped nimbly up onto the quay and proceeded to clasp Roger in a manly embrace, punctuated by fierce thumpings on the back and ejaculations of amazement, all heartily returned by Roger. The rest of us stood politely watching this reunion, while Marsali prevented Germain from jumping off the quay into the water.
Do you know him? I asked Brianna, who was dubiously examining her husbands old friend.
I think he might have been on a ship with Roger once, she replied, renewing her grip on Jemmy, who was wildly excited by the sight of seagulls, finding these much more entertaining than Mr. Duff.
Why, look at him! Duff exclaimed, finally standing back and wiping a sleeve happily under his nose. A coat like a lairdies and buttons to match. And the hat! Christ, lad, yere so slick these days as shit wouldna stick to ye, would it?
Roger laughed, and bent to pick up his soggy hat. He slapped it against his thigh to dislodge a strand of bladder-wrack, and handed it absently to Bree, who was still viewing Mr. Duff with a rather narrow eye.
My wife, Roger introduced her, and waved a hand at the rest of us. And her family. Mr. James Fraser, Mrs. Fraser... and my wifes good-sister, also Mrs. MacKenzie.
Your servant, sirladies. Duff bowed to Jamie, and put a finger to the disreputable object on his head in brief token of respect. He glanced at Brianna, and a broad grin stretched his lips.
Oh, so ye married her. Got her out o the breeks, I see. He nudged Roger familiarly in the ribs, lowering his voice to a hoarse whisper. Did ye pay her faither for her, or did he pay you to take her? He emitted a creaking noise, which I took to be laughter.
Jamie and Bree gave Mr. Duff identical cold looks down the bridges of their long, straight noses, but before Roger could reply, the other oarsman shouted something incomprehensible from the boat below.
Oh, aye, aye, hold your water, man. Mr. Duff waved a quelling hand at his partner. Thats by way of a jest, he explained to me confidentially. What with us bein sailors, ken. Hold your water, aye? Forbye ye dont hold water, then yell be at the bottom o the harbor, aye? He quivered with merriment, making the creaking noise again.
Most amusing, I assured him. Did he say something about a whale?
Oh, to be sure! Was that not why yeve come down to the shore this morning?
Everyone looked blank.
No, Marsali said, too bent upon her errand to pay much attention to anything else, including whales. Germain, come back here! No, sir, weve come to see if theres any word of the Octopus. Yell not have heard anything, yourself?
Duff shook his head.
No, Missus. But the weathers been that treacherous off the Banks for a month past... He saw Marsalis face go pale, and hastened to add, A good many ships will ha sheered off, see? Gone to another port, maybe, or lyin to just off the coast, in hopes of fair skies to make the run in. Ye recall, MacKenziewe did that ourselves, when we came in wi the Gloriana.
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Aye, thats true. Roger nodded, though his eyes grew wary at mention of the Gloriana. He glanced briefly at Brianna, then back at Duff, and lowered his voice slightly. Youve parted company with Captain Bonnet, I see.
A small jolt shot through the soles of my feet, as though the dock had been electrified. Jamie and Bree both reacted, too, though in different fashion. He took an immediate step toward Duff, she took one back.
Stephen Bonnet? Jamie said, eyeing Duff with interest. Yell be acquainted with that gentleman, will ye?
I have been, sir, Duff said, and crossed himself.
Jamie nodded slowly, seeing this.
Aye, I see. And will ye ken somewhat about Mr. Bonnets present whereabouts, perhaps?
Och, well, as to that...
Duff looked up at him speculatively, taking in the details of his clothing and appearance, and obviously wondering exactly how much the answer to that question might be worth. His partner below was growing increasingly restive, though, and shouted impatiently.
Marsali was restive, too.
Where might they go, then? If theyve gone to another port? Germain, stop! Yell fall in, next thing! She bent to retrieve her offspring, who had been hanging over the edge of the wharf, peacefully exploring its underside, and hoicked him up onto one hip.
Bonnet? Jamie raised his brows, contriving to look simultaneously encouraging and menacing.
They gone see da whale or dont they? yelled the gentleman in the boat, impatient to be off on more profitable ventures.
Duff seemed somewhat at a loss as to whom to reply to first. His small eyes blinked, shifting to and fro between Jamie, Marsali, and his increasingly vociferous partner below. I stepped in to break the impasse.
Whats all this about a whale?
Compelled to focus on this straightforward question, Duff looked relieved.
Why, the dead whale, Missus. A big un, gone aground on the Island. I thought sure as yed all come down to see.
I looked out across the water, and for the first time realized that the boat traffic was not entirely random. While a few large canoes and barges were headed toward the mouth of Cape Fear, most of the smaller craft were plying to and fro, disappearing into the distant haze, or returning from it, bearing small groups of passengers. Linen parasols sprouted like pastel mushrooms from the boats, and there was a sprinkling of what were obviously townspeople on the dock, standing as we were, looking expectantly across the harbor.
Two shillins the boatload, Duff suggested ingratiatingly. Over and back.
Roger, Brianna, and Marsali looked interested. Jamie looked uneasy.
In that? he asked, with a skeptical glance at the piretta, bobbing gently below. Duffs partnera gentleman of indeterminate race and languageseemed inclined to take offense at this implied criticism of his craft, but Duff was reassuring.
Oh, its dead calm today, sir, dead calm. Why, twould be like sittin on a tavern bench. Congenial, aye? Verra suitable to conversation. He blinked, innocently affable.
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Jamie drew a deep breath in through his nose, and I saw him glance once more at the piretta. Jamie hated boats. On the other hand, he would do far more desperate things than get into a boat in pursuit of Stephen Bonnet. The only question was whether Mr. Duff actually had information to that end, or was only inveigling passengers. Jamie swallowed hard and braced his shoulders, steeling himself to it.
Not waiting, Duff reinforced his position by turning craftily to Marsali.
Theres a lighthouse on the Island, maam. Ye can see a good ways out to sea from the top o that. See if any ships should be lyin off.
Marsalis hand dropped at once to her pocket, fumbling for the strings. I observed Germain solicitously poking a dead mussel over her shoulder toward Jemmys eagerly open mouth, like a mother bird feeding her offspring a nice juicy worm, and tactfully intervened, taking Jemmy into my own arms.
No, sweetheart, I said, dropping the mussel off the dock. You dont want that nasty thing. Wouldnt you like to go see a nice dead whale, instead?
Jamie sighed in resignation, and reached for his sporran. Yed best call for another boat, then, so as well not all drown together.
IT WAS LOVELY out on the water, with the sun covered by a hazy layer of cloud, and a cool breeze that made me take my hat off for the pleasure of feeling the wind in my hair. While not quite flat calm, the rise and fall of the surf was peacefully lullingto those of us not afflicted by seasickness.
I glanced at Jamies back, but his head was bent, shoulders moving in an easy, powerful rhythm as he rowed.
Resigned to the inevitable, he had taken brisk charge of the situation, summoning a second boat and herding Bree, Marsali, and the boys into it. Thereupon Jamie had unfastened his brooch and announced that he and Roger would row the remaining piretta, in order that Duff might put himself at ease and thus improve his chances of recollecting interesting facts regarding Stephen Bonnet.
Less chance of me puking if Ive something to do, he muttered to me, stripping off his coat and plaid.
Roger gave a small snort of amusement, but nodded agreeably and shed his own coat and shirt. With Duff and Peter installed at one end of the craft in a state of high hilarity over the turnabout of being paid to be rowed in their own boat, I was told off to sit in the other end, facing them.
Just to keep a bit of an eye on things, Sassenach. Under cover of the wadded clothes, Jamie wrapped my hand around the stock of his pistol, and squeezed gently. He handed me down into the boat, then climbed down gingerly himself, going only slightly pale as the craft swayed and shifted under his weight.
It was a calm day, fortunately. A faint haze hung over the water, obscuring the dim shape of Smith Island in the distance. Kittiwakes and terns wheeled in gyres far above, and a heavy-bodied gull seemed to hang immobile in the air nearby, riding the wind as we sculled slowly out into the harbor mouth.
Seated just before me, Roger rowed easily, broad bare shoulders flexing rhythmically, obviously accustomed to the exercise. Jamie, on the seat in front of Roger, handled the oars with a fair amount of grace, but somewhat less assurance. He was no sailor, and never would be. Still, the distraction of rowing did seem to be keeping his mind off his stomach. For the moment.
Oh, I could find myself accustomed to this, what dye say, Peter? Duff lifted a long nose into the breeze, half-closing his eyes as he savored the novelty of being rowed.
Peter, who appeared to be some exotic blend of Indian and African, grunted in reply, but lounged on the seat beside Duff, equally pleased. He wore nothing but a pair of stained homespun breeches, tied at the waist with a length of tarred rope, and was burned so dark by the sun that he might have been a Negro, save for the spill of long black hair that fell over one shoulder, decorated with bits of shell and tiny dried starfish tied into it.
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Stephen Bonnet? Jamie inquired pleasantly, drawing strongly on the oars.
Oh, him. Duff looked as though he would have preferred to put off this subject of discussion indefinitely, but a glance at Jamies face resigned him to the inevitable.
What dye want to know, then? The little man hunched his shoulders warily.
To begin with, where he is, Jamie said, grunting slightly as he hauled on the oars.
No idea, Duff said promptly, looking happier.
Well, where did ye last see the bugger? Jamie asked patiently.
Duff and Peter exchanged glances.
Well, noo, Duff began cautiously, dye mean by see, where it was I last clapped een on the captain?
What else would he mean, clotheid? Roger said, grunting with a backward stroke.
Peter nodded thoughtfully, evidently awarding a point to our side, and elbowed Duff in the ribs.
He was in a pot-house on Roanoke, eatin fish pie, Duff said, capitulating. Baked wi oysters and breadcrumbs on the top, and a pint of dark ale to wash it down. Molasses pudding, too.
Yeve a keen sense of observation, Mr. Duff, Jamie said. Hows your sense of time, then?
Eh? Oh, aye, I tak your meanin, man. When was it... twa month past, aboot.
And if ye were close enough to see what the man was eating, Jamie observed mildly, then I expect ye were at table with him, no? What did he speak of?
Duff looked mildly embarrassed. He glanced at me, then up at one of the circling gulls.
Aye, well. The shape of the arse on the barmaid, mostly.
I shouldna think that a topic of conversation to occupy the course of a meal, even if the lassie was particularly shapely, Roger put in.
Ah, yed be surprised how much there is to say about a womans bum, lad, Duff assured him. This one was round as an apple, and heavy as a steamed puddin. Twas cold as charity in the place, and the thought of havin such a plump, hot, wee bridie in your handsmeanin no offense to ye, maam, Im sure, he added hurriedly, tipping his hat in my direction.
None taken, I assured him cordially.
Can you swim, Mr. Duff? Jamie asked, his tone still one of mild curiosity.
What? Duff blinked, taken back. I... ah... well...
No, he cant, Roger said cheerfully. He told me.
Duff gave him a look of outraged betrayal over Jamies head.
Well, theres loyalty! he said, scandalized. A fine shipmate you are! Givin me away soye should be ashamed of yersel, so ye should!
Jamie raised his oars, dripping, out of the water, and Roger followed suit. We were perhaps a quarter-mile from shore, and the water beneath our hull was a deep, soft green, portending a bottom several fathoms deep. The boat rocked gently, lifting on the bosom of a long, slow swell.
Bonnet, Jamie said, still politely, but with a definite edge. Peter folded his arms and closed his eyes, making it clear that the subject had nothing to do with him. Duff sighed and eyed Jamie narrowly.
Aye, well. Its true, Ive no notion where the man is. When I saw him on Roanoke, he was makin arrangements to have some... goods... brought in. For what that might be worth to ye, he added, rather ungraciously.
What goods? Brought in where? And going where? Jamie was leaning on his shipped oars, apparently casual. I could see a certain tension in the line of his body, though, and it occurred to me that while his attention might be fixed on Duffs face, he was of necessity also watching the horizon behind Duffwhich was rising and falling hypnotically as the swell lifted the piretta and let it drop. Over and over and...
Tea-chests was what I took in for him, Duff answered warily. Couldna say, for the rest.
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The rest?
Christ, man, every boat on this water brings in the odd bit of jiggery-pokery here and theresurely ye ken that much?
Peters eyes had opened to half-slits; I saw them rest on Jamies face with a certain expression of interest. The wind had shifted a few points, and the smell of dead whale was decidedly stronger. Jamie took a slow, deep breath, and let it out again, rather faster.
Ye brought in tea, then. Where from? A ship?
Aye. Duff was watching Jamie, too, in growing fascination. I shifted uneasily on the narrow seat. I couldnt tell from the back of his neck, but I thought it more than likely that he was beginning to turn green.
The Sparrow, Duff went on, eyes fixed on Jamie. She anchored off the Banks, and the boats went out to her. We loaded the cargo and came in through Joads Inlet. Cam ashore at Wylies Landing, and handed over to a fellow there.
What... fellow? The wind was cool, but I could see sweat trickling down the back of Jamies neck, dampening his collar and plastering the linen between his shoulders.
Duff didnt answer immediately. A look of speculation flickered in his small, deep-set eyes.
Dont think about it, Duff, Roger said, softly, but with great assurance. I can reach ye from here with an oar, ken?
Aye? Duff glanced thoughtfully from Jamie, to Roger, and then to me. Aye, reckon ye might. But allowin for the sake for argyment as how you can swim, MacKenzieand even that Mr. Fraser might keep afloatI dinna think thats true of the lady, is it? Skirts and petticoats... He shook his head, pursing thin lips in speculation as he looked at me. Go to the bottom like a stone, she would.
Peter shifted ever so slightly, bringing his feet under him.
Claire? Jamie said. I saw his fingers curl tight round the oars, and heard the note of strain in his voice. I sighed and drew the pistol out from under the coat across my lap.
Right, I said. Which one shall I shoot?
Peters eyes snapped open, wide enough that I saw a rim of white show all round his black pupils. He looked at the pistol, then at Duff, then directly at Jamie.
Give tea to a man name Butlah, he said. Work for Mist Lyon. He pointed at me, then at Duff. Shoot him, he suggested.
The ice thus broken, it took very little time for our two passengers to confide the rest of what they knew, pausing only momentarily for Jamie to be sick over the side between questions.
Smuggling was, as Duff had suggested, so common in the area as to constitute general business practice; most of the merchantsand all of the small boatmenin Wilmington engaged in it, as did most others on the Carolina coast, in order to avoid the crippling duties on officially imported goods. Stephen Bonnet, however, was not only one of the more successful smugglers, but also rather a specialist.
Brings in goods to order, like, Duff said, twisting his neck in order to scratch more effectively between his shoulder blades. And in what ye might call quantity.
How much quantity? Jamies elbows rested on his knees, his head sunk onto his hands. It seemed to be helping; his voice was steady.
Duff pursed his lips and squinted, calculating.
There was six of us at the tavern on Roanoke. Six wi small boats, I mean, as could run the inlets. If we were each to be fetchin along as much as we could manage... say, fifty chests of tea all told, then.
And he brings in such a load how oftenevery two months? Roger had relaxed a little, leaning on his oars. I hadnt, and gave Duff a hard eye over the pistol to indicate as much.
Oh, more often than that, Duff answered, eyeing me warily. Couldnt say exactly, but you hear talk, aye? From what the other boats say, I reckon hes got a load comin every two weeks in the season, somewhere on the coast betwixt Virginia and Charleston. Roger gave a brief grunt of surprise at that, and Jamie looked up briefly from his cupped hands.
What about the Navy? he asked. Whos he paying? That was a good question. While small boats might escape the Navys eye, Bonnets operation evidently involved large quantities of contraband, coming in on large ships. It would be hard to hide something on that scaleand the obvious answer was that he wasnt bothering to hide it.
Duff shook his head and shrugged.
Cant say, man.
But you havent worked for Bonnet since February? I asked. Why not?
Duff and Peter exchanged a glance.
You eat scorpion-fish, you hungry, Peter said to me. You don eat dem, iffen you got sumpin bettah.
What?
The mans dangerous, Sassenach, Jamie translated dryly. They dinna like to deal with him, save for need.
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Well, see him, Bonnet, Duff said, warming to the topic. Hes no bad at all to deal withsae long as your interest runs wi his. Only, if it might be as all of a sudden it doesna quite run with his...
Peter solemnly drew a finger across his stringy neck, nodding in affirmation.
And its no as if theres warnin about it, either, Duff added, nodding too. One minute, its whisky and segars, the next, yere on your back in the sawdust, breathin blood, and happy still to be breathin at that.
A temper, has he? Jamie drew a hand down over his face, then wiped his sweaty palm on his shirt. The linen clung damply to his shoulders, but I knew he wouldnt take it off.
Duff, Peter, and Roger all shook their heads simultaneously at the question.
Cold as ice, Roger said, and I heard the small note of strain in his voice.
Kill ye without the turn of an arse-hair, Duff assured Jamie.
Rip you like dem whale, Peter put in helpfully, with a wave toward the island. The current had carried us a good deal closer to the land, and I could see the whale as well as smell it. Seabirds whirled and screamed in a great cloud over the carcass, swooping down to tear away gobbets of flesh, and a small crowd of people clustered nearby, hands to their noses, clearly clutching handkerchiefs and sachets.
Just then, the wind changed, and a fetid gust of decay washed over us like a breaking wave. I clapped Rogers shirt to my own face, and even Peter appeared to pale.
Mother of God, have mercy on me, Jamie said, under his breath. Ioh, Christ! He leaned to the side and threw up, repeatedly.
I nudged Roger in the buttock with my toe.
Row, I suggested.
Roger obeyed with alacrity, putting his back into it, and within a few minutes, the keel of the piretta touched sand. Duff and Peter leaped out to run the hull up onto the beach, then gallantly assisted me out of the boat, evidently not holding the pistol against me.
Jamie paid them, then staggered a short distance up the beach and sat down, quite suddenly, in the sand beneath a loblolly pine. He was roughly the same shade as the dead whale, a dirty gray with white blotches.
Will we wait for ye, sir, and row ye back? Duff, his purse now bulging healthily, hovered helpfully over Jamie.
No, Jamie said. Take them. He waved feebly at me and Roger, then closed his eyes and swallowed heavily. As for me, I believe... I shall just... swim back.
MONSTERS AND HEROES
THE LITTLE BOYS WERE mad to see the whale, and tugged their reluctant mothers along like kites. I came along, keeping a somewhat more discreet distance from the towering carcass, leaving Jamie on the beach to recover. Roger took Duff aside for a bit of private conversation, while Peter subsided into somnolence in the bottom of the boat.
The carcass was newly washed up on the beach, though it must have been dead for some time before its landing; such an impressive state of decomposition must have taken days to develop. The stench notwithstanding, a number of the more intrepid visitors were standing on the carcass, waving cheerily to their companions on the beach below, and a gentleman armed with a hatchet was employed in hacking chunks of flesh from the side of the animal, dropping these into a pair of large buckets. I recognized him as the proprietor of an ordinary on Hawthorn Street, and made a mental note to strike that establishment from our list of potential eating-places.
Numbers of small crustaceans, not nearly so fastidious in their habits, swarmed merrily over the carcass, and I saw several people, also armed with buckets, picking the larger crabs and crayfish off like ripe fruit. Ten million sand fleas had joined the circus, too, and I retreated to a safe distance, rubbing my ankles.
I glanced back down the beach, seeing that Jamie had risen now and joined the conversationDuff was looking increasingly restive, glancing back and forth from the whale to his boat. Clearly, he was anxious to return to business, before the attraction should disappear altogether.
At last he succeeded in escaping, and scampered away toward his piretta, looking hunted. Jamie and Roger came toward me, but the little boys were clearly not ready yet to leave the whale. Brianna nobly volunteered to watch them both, so that Marsali could climb the nearby lighthouse tower, to see whether there might be any sign of the Octopus.
What have you been saying to poor Mr. Duff? I asked Jamie. He looked rather worried.
Aye? No need of worry, he said, glancing toward the water, where Duffs piretta was rapidly pulling back to the quay. Ive only put a wee bit of business in his way.
He knows where Lyon is, Roger put in. He looked disturbed, but excited.
And Mr. Lyon knows where Bonnet isor if not where, precisely, at least how to get word to him. Let us go a bit higher, aye? Jamie was still pale; he gestured toward the stair of the tower with his chin, wiping sweat from the side of his neck.
The air was fresher at the top of the tower, but I had little attention to spare for the view out over the ocean.
And so...? I said, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.
So I have commissioned Duff to carry a message to Mr. Lyon. All being agreeable, we will meet with Mr. Bonnet at Wylies Landing, in a weeks time.
I swallowed, feeling a wave of dizziness that had nothing to do with the height. I closed my eyes, clutching the wooden rail that surrounded the tiny platform we stood on. The wind was blowing hard, and the boards of the tower creaked and groaned, feeling frighteningly insubstantial.
I heard Jamie shift his weight, moving toward Roger.
He is a man, ken? he said quietly. Not a monster.
Was he? It was a monster, I thought, who haunted Briannaand perhaps her father. Would killing him reduce him, make him no more than a man again?
I know. Rogers voice was steady, but lacked conviction.
I opened my eyes, to see the ocean falling away before me into a bank of floating mist. It was vast and beautifuland empty. One might well fall off the end of the world, I thought.
YE SAILED WI our Stephen, aye? For what, two months, three?
Near on three, Roger answered.
Our Stephen, was it? And what did Jamie mean by that homely usage, then?
Jamie nodded, not turning his head. He looked out over the rolling wash of the sea, the breeze whipping strands of hair loose from their binding to dance like flames, pale in daylight.
Yell have kent the man well enough, then.
Roger leaned his weight against the rail. It was solid, but wet and sticky with half-dried spray, where spume from the rocks below had reached it.
Well enough, he echoed. Aye. Well enough for what?
Jamie turned then, to look him in the face. His eyes were narrowed against the wind, but straight and bright as razors.
Well enough to ken he is a manand no more.
What else would he be? Roger felt the edge in his own voice.
Jamie turned back toward the sea, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked toward the sinking sun.
A monster, he said softly. Something less than a manor more.
Roger opened his mouth to reply, but found he could not. For it was a monster that shadowed his own heart with fear.
How did the sailors see him? Claires voice came from Jamies other side; she leaned over the rail to look around him, and the wind seized her hair and shook it out in a flying cloud, stormy as the distant sky.
On the Gloriana? Roger took a deep breath, a whiff of dead whale mingling with the fecund scent of the salt marsh behind. They... respected him. Some of them were afraid of him. Like me. He had the reputation of a hard captain, but a good one. Competent. Men were willing to ship with him, because he always came safe into port, his voyages were always profitable.
Was he cruel? Claire asked. A faint line showed between her brows.
All captains are cruel sometimes, Sassenach, Jamie said, with a slight tinge of impatience. They need to be.
She glanced up at him, and Roger saw her expression change, memory softening her eyes, a wry thought tightening the corner of her mouth. She laid a hand on Jamies arm, and he saw her knuckles whiten as she squeezed.
Youve never done other than you had to, she said, so quietly that Roger could scarcely hear her. No matter; the words were plainly not meant for him. She raised her voice then, slightly. Theres a difference between cruelty and necessity.
Aye, Jamie said, half under his breath. And a thin line, maybe, between a monster and a hero.
