Book: Speaks the Nightbird 53 страница

Matthew answered, " You were correct. "

" Ahhhhh, " he said, like an exhalation of relief. " Thank you. I needed... to heat that, from you. " He squeezed Matthew's hand more firmly. " Listen, now. My hourglass... is broken. All my sand is running out. I will die soon. "

" Nonsense, sir! " Matthew's voice cracked and betrayed him. " You're just tired, that's all! "

" Yes. And I shall... soon sleep... for a very long time. Please... I may be dying, but I have not... become stupid. Now... just hush... and listen to me. " He tried to sit up but his body had shut that particular door to him. " In Manhattan, " he said. " Go see... Magistrate Powers. Nathaniel Powers. A very... very good man. He knows me. You tell him. He will find a place for you. "

" Please, sir. Don't do this. "

" I fear... I have no choice. The judgment has been... has been passed down... from a much higher court. Than ever I presided over. Magistrate Nathaniel Powers. In Manhattan. Yes? " Matthew was silent, the blood thrumming through his veins. " This will be... my final command to you, " Woodward said. " Say yes. "

Matthew looked into the near-sightless eyes. Into the face that seemed to be aging and crumbling even as he regarded it.

Seasons, and centuries, and men. The bad and the good. Frailty of flesh.

Must pass away. Must.

A nightbird, singing outside. In the dark. Singing as at full sunlit noon.

This one word, so simple, was almost impossible to speak.

But the magistrate was waiting, and the word must be spoken. " Yes. " His own throat felt near closing up. " Sir. "

" That's my boy, " Woodward whispered. His fingers released Matthew's hand. He lay staring up toward the ceiling, a half-smile playing around the corners of his mouth. " I remember... my own father, " he said after a moment of reflection. " He liked to dance. I can see them... in the house... dancing before the fire. No music. But my father... humming a tune. He picked my mother up. Twirled her... and she laughed. So... there was music... after all. "

Matthew heard the nightbird, whose soft song may have reawakened this memory.

" My father, " the magistrate said. " Grew sick. I watched him... in bed, like this. Watched him fade. One day... I asked my mother... why Papa didn't stand up. Get out of bed. And dance a jig... to make himself feel better. I always said... always to myself... that when I was old... very old... and I lay dying. I would stand up. Dance a jig, so that... I might feel better. Matthew? "

" Yes, sir? "

" Would it... sound very strange to you... if... I said I was ready to dance? "

" No, sir, it would not. "

" I am. Ready. I am. "

" Sir? " Matthew said. " I have something for you. " He reached down to the floor beside the bed and picked up the package he had put there this afternoon. Mrs. Nettles had found some brown wrapping paper, and decorated it with yellow twine. " Here, sir. " He put the package into the magistrate's hands. " Can you open it? "

" I shall try. " After a moment of struggling, however, he could not succeed in tearing the paper. " Well, " he frowned, " I am... lower on sand... than I thought. "

" Allow me. " Matthew leaned toward the bed, tore the paper with his good hand, and drew what was inside out into the lamplight. The gold threads caught that light, and shone their illumination in stripes across the magistrate's face.

His hands closed into the cloth that was as brown as rich French chocolate, and he drew the waistcoat to him even as the tears ran from his dying eyes.

It was, indeed, a gift of fantastic worth.

" Where? " the magistrate whispered. " How? "

" Shawcombe was found, " Matthew said, and saw no need to elaborate.

Woodward pressed the waistcoat against his face, as if trying to inhale from it the fragrance of a past life. Matthew saw the magistrate smile. Who was to say that Woodward did not smell the sun shining in a garden graced by a fountain of green Italian tiles? Who was to say he did not see the candlelight that glowed golden on the face of a beautiful young woman named Ann, or hear her soprano voice on a warm Sunday afternoon? Who was to say he did not feel the small hand of his son, clutching to that of a good father?

Matthew believed he did.

" I have always been proud of you, " Woodward said. " Always. I knew from the first. When I saw you... at the almshouse. The way you carried yourself. Something... different... and indefinable. But special. You will make your mark. Somewhere. You will make... a profound difference to someone... just by being alive. "

" Thank you, sir, " Matthew answered, as best he could. " I... also... thank you for the care you have shown to me. You have... always been temperate and fair. "

" I'm supposed to be, " Woodward said, and managed a frail smile though his eyes were wet. " I am a judge. " He reached out for Matthew and the boy took his hand. They sat together in silence, as beyond the window the nightbird spoke of joy seized from despair, of a new beginning reached only at an ending.

Dawn had begun to light the sky when the magistrate's body became rigid, after a difficult final hour of suffering.

" He's going, " Dr. Shields said, the lamplight aglow in the lenses of his spectacles. Bidwell stood at the foot of the bed, and Winston just within the door. Matthew still sat holding Woodward's hand, his head bowed and the Bible in his lap.

The magistrate's speech on this last portion of his journey had become barely intelligible, when he could speak through the pain. It had been mostly murmurs of torment, as his earthly clay transfigured itself. But now, as the silence lingered, the dying man seemed to stretch his body toward some unknown portal, the golden stripes of the waistcoat he wore shining on his chest. His head pressed back against the pillow, and he spoke three unmistakable words.

" Why? Why? " he whispered, the second fainter than the first.

And the last and most faint, barely the cloud of a breath:

" Why? "

A great question had been asked, Matthew thought. The ultimate question, which might be asked only by explorers who would not return to share their knowledge of a new world.

The magistrate's body poised on the point of tension… paused... paused... and then, at last, it appeared to Matthew that an answer had been given.

And understood.

There was a soft, all but imperceptible exhalation. A sigh, perhaps, of rest.

Woodward's empty clay settled. His hand relaxed. The night was over.

forty-four

AS SOON AS MATTHEW KNOCKED on the study's door, Bid-well said, " Come in! "

Matthew opened the door and saw Bidwell seated at his massive mahogany desk, with Winston sitting in a chair before it. The window's shutters were open, allowing in the warm breeze and early afternoon sun. " Mrs. Nettles told me you wanted to see me. "

" Exactly. Come in, please! Draw up a chair. " He motioned toward another that was in the room. Matthew sat down, not failing to notice the empty space on the wall where the map of the Florida country had been displayed.

" We are taking account of things. Edward and I, " Bidwell said. He was dressed in a cardinal-red suit with a ruffled shirt, but he had fotgone the wearing of his lavish wigs. On the desktop was a rectangular wooden box about nine inches long and seven inches wide. " I've been trying to locate you. Were you out for a walk? "

" Yes. Just walking and thinking. "

" Well, it's a pleasant day for such. " Bidwell folded his hands before him and regarded Matthew with an expression of genuine concern. " Are you all right? "

" I am. Or... I shall be presently. "

" Good. You're a young man, strong and fit. And I have to say, you have the most determined constitution of any man I've ever met. How are your injuries? "

" My ribs still ache, but I can endure it. My arm is... deceased, I think. Dr. Shields says I may regain some feeling in it, but the outlook is uncertain. " Matthew shrugged one shoulder. " He says he knows a doctor in New York who is doing amazing things for damaged limbs with a new surgical technique, so... who can say? "

" Yes, I hear those New York doctors are quite... um... radical. And they charge wholly radical prices, as well. What of your head wound? "

Matthew touched the fresh dressing Shields had applied just that morning. In the course of treatment, the doctor had been appalled at the Indians' method of tobacco-leaf and herb-potion healing, but also intrigued by the positive progress. " My scar, unfortunately, will be a subject of discussion for the rest of my life. "

" That may be so. " Bidwell leaned back in his chair. " Ah, but women love a dashing scar! And I daresay so will the grandchildren. "

Matthew had to give a guarded smile at this flattery. " You leap ahead more years than I care to lose. "

" Speaking of your years ahead, " Winston said, " what are your immediate plans? "

" I haven't given them much thought, " Matthew had to admit. " Other than returning to Charles Town. The magistrate gave me the name of a colleague in Manhattan, and said I would find a position with him, but... I really haven't decided. "

Bidwell nodded. " That's understandable, with so much on your mind. Tell me: do you approve of where I placed Isaac's grave? "

" I do, sir. As a matter of fact, I just came from there. It's a very lovely, shaded spot. "

" Good. And you don't think he would mind that he... uh... sleeps apart from the others in the cemetery? "

" Not at all. He always enjoyed his privacy. "

" I shall endeavor, at some point in the future, to erect a picket fence around it and a suitable marker for his excellent service to Fount Royal. "

Matthew was taken aback. " Wait, " he said. " You mean... you're staying here? "

" I am. Winston will be returning to England, to work in the offices there, and I'll be going back and forth as the situation warrants, but I plan on reviving Fount Royal and making it just as grand—no, thrice as grand—as ever I'd planned before. "

" But... the town is dead. There's hardly twenty people here! "

" Twenty citizens! " Bidwell thumped the desktop, his eyes bright with renewed purpose. " Then it's not dead, is it? "

" Perhaps not in fact, but it seems to me that—"

" If not in fact, then not at all! " Bidwell interrupted, displaying some of his old brusque self. He was aware of his slippage, and so immediately sought to soothe the friction burns. " What I mean is, I will not give up on Fount Royal. Not when I have invested so heavily in the venture, and particularly as I still fervently believe a southernmost naval station is not only practical, but essential for the future of these colonies. "

" How will you go about reviving the town, then? "

" The same as I originally began it. With having advertising placards placed in Charles Town and other cities up the seaboard. I shall also advertise in London. And I am getting to it sooner than later, as I understand I will be having competition from my own family! "

" Competition? How so? " Matthew asked.

" My youngest sister! Who was sick all the time, and for whom I bought medicine! " Bidwell scowled. " When Winston and I went to Charles Town to find the maskers, we also looked in on the supply situation at the harbor. Come to find out there was a whole load of supplies there those dogs had hidden from me! Luckily, Mr. Winston convinced a watchman to unlock a certain door—and imagine how I near fell to the ground to see all those crates with my name on them! Anyway, we also procured a packet of mail. " He made a queasy face. " Tell him, Edward! I can't bear to think of it! "

" Mr. Bidwell's sister married a land speculator, " Winston said. " In the letter she wrote, she indicated he has purchased a sizeable amount of territory between here and the Florida country, and has hopes to begin a port settlement of his own. "

" You don't say! " Matthew said.

" Yes, it's damnably true! " Bidwell started to hammer his fist on the desk, and then decided it was not proper for his new age of enlightment. " It'll never work, of course. That swampland down there makes ours look like a manicured showpark. And do you really think the Spanish are just going to sit still and let a half-pint, weasly milksop of a land speculator threaten their Florida country? No! He has no business sense! I told Savannah when she married that man she'd weep a tear for every pearl on her dress! " He stabbed a finger in the air like a rapier's thrust. " Mark my words, she'll regret such a folly as she's about to enter into! "

" Uh... shall I get you something to drink? " Winston asked. " To calm your nerves? " To Matthew, he confided, " Mr. Bidwell's sister never fails. To antagonize, I mean. "

" No, no! I'm all right. Just let me get my breath. Oh, my heart gallops like a wild horse. " Bidwell spent a moment in an exercise of slow and steady deep breathing, and gradually the red whorls that had surfaced on his cheeks faded away. " The point of my asking you here, Matthew, " he said, " is to offer you a position with my company. "

Matthew didn't respond; in truth, he was too shocked to speak.

" A position of not small responsibility, " Bidwell went on. " I need a good, trustworthy man in Charles Town. Someone to make sure the supplies keep flowing, and to make certain such dirtiness as has been done to me in the past is not repeated. A... uh... a private investigator, you might say. Does that sound at all of interest to you? "

It took a little while longer for Matthew to find his voice. " I do appreciate your offer, sir. I do. But, to be petfectly honest, you and I would eventually come to blows and our fight might knock the earth off its tilt. Therefore I must decline, as I would hate to be responsible for the death of mankind. "

" Ah. Yes. Well spoken, that. " Bidwell did appear much relieved. " I felt I should at least offer you a future, since my actions—-and stupidity—have so endangered your present. "

" I have a future, " Matthew said firmly. " In New York, I believe. And thank you for helping me come to that conclusion. "

" Now! That's out of the way! " Bidwell heaved a sigh. " I wanted you to see something. " He pushed the wooden box across the desk toward Matthew. " We searched through the foul bastard's house, just as you suggested, and found all the items you said would be there. That five-bladed device was still nasty with dried blood. And we discovered the book on ancient Egypt, as well. This box was placed in the bottom of a trunk. Open it, if you please. "

Matthew leaned forward and lifted the lid, which rose smoothly on a well-oiled hinge.

Within the box were three charcoal pencils, a writing tablet, a folded sheet of paper, a gum eraser... and...

" What he found in the spring, " Bidwell said.

Indeed. The sapphire brooch and ruby ring were there, along with a gold crucifix on a chain, seven gold doubloons, three silver coins, and a little black velvet bag.

" You will find the bag's contents of interest, " Bidwell promised.

Matthew took it out and emptied it on the desktop. In the sunlight that streamed through the window, the room was suddenly colored by the shine of four dark green emeralds, two deep purple amethysts, two pearls, and an amber stone. The jewels were raw and yet to be professionally polished, but even so were obviously of excellent quality. Matthew surmised they had been captured at sea from vessels shuttling between tropical mines and the marketplace.

" The folded paper is also worth a glance, " said Bidwell.

Matthew unfolded it. It was a drawing, in charcoal pencil, of a good-sized building. Some time had been spent in attending to the details. Present were bricks, windows, and a bell steeple.

" It appears, " Bidwell said, " the foul bastard... intended to build his next schoolhouse of a less flammable material. "

" I see. " Matthew gazed at the drawing—a sad sight, really—and then refolded the paper and returned it to the box.

Bidwell put the gemstones back into the bag. He removed from the box the pencils, the writing tablet, the eraser, and the drawing of the new schoolhouse.

" I own the spring, of course, " Bidwell said. " I own the water and the mud. By the rights of ownership—and the hell I have gone through—I also claim for myself these gems and jewelry, which came from that mud. Agreed? "

" It makes no matter to me, " Matthew answered. " Do with them as you please. "

" I shall. " Bidwell placed the little bag into the box, beside the coins, the brooch, the ring, and the crucifix and chain. He closed the lid.

Then he pushed the box toward Matthew. " It pleases me... for you to take this to the person who has suffered far more hell than I. "

Matthew couldn't fathom what he'd just heard. " Pardon me? "

" You heard correctly. Take them to—" He interrupted himself as he snapped the first charcoal pencil between his hands. " —her. It is the very least I can do, and certainly it can't bring back her husband or those months spent in the gaol. " In spite of his good intentions, he couldn't help but regard the box with a wanton eye. " Go ahead. Take it" —the second pencil was picked up and broken— " before I regain my senses. "

" Why don't you take it to her yourself! It would mean much more. "

" It would mean much less, " he corrected. " She hates me. I've tried to speak to her, tried to explain my position... but she turns away every time. Therefore you take the box. " Snap, died the third pencil. " Tell her you found it. "

Realizing that indeed Bidwell must be half-crazed with humanity to let such wealth slip through his fingers, Matthew picked up the box and held it to his chest. " I will take it to her directly. Do you know where she is? "

" I saw her an hour ago, " Winston said. " She was drawing water. " Matthew nodded; he had an idea where she might be found.

" We must put ourselves back in business here. " Bidwell picked up the drawing that Johnstone had done—the bad man's dream of an Oxford of his own—and began to methodically teat it to pieces. " Put ourselves back in order, and consign this disgraceful... insane... blot on my town to the trash heap. I can do nothing more for the woman than what I've done today. And neither can you. Therefore, I must ask: how much longer shall you grace us with your presence? "

" As a matter of fact, I have decided it's time to get on with my own life. I might leave in the morning, at first light. "

" I'll have Green take you to Charles Town in a wagon. Will you be ready by six? "

" I shall be, " Matthew said. " But I'd prefer you give me a horse, a saddle and tack, and some food, and I'll get myself to Charles Town. I am not an invalid, and therefore I refuse to be carted about like one. "

" Give you a horse? " Bidwell glowered at him. " Horses cost money, aren't you aware of that? And saddles don't grow on trees, either! "

" You might wish for saddle-trees, sir! " Matthew fired back at him. " As that might be the only crop your farmers can grow here! "

" You don't concern yourself with our crops, thank you! I'll have you know I'm bringing in a botanist—the finest money can buy—to set our growing affairs straight! So stick that in your damned theory hole and—"

" Excuse me, gentlemen! " Winston said calmly, and the wranglers fell quiet. " I shall be glad to pay for a horse and saddle for Mr. Corbett, though I think it unwise of you, Matthew, to travel unaccompanied. But I wish to offer my best regards and hope that you find much success in the future. "

" Write him a love letter while you're at it! " Bidwell steamed.

" My thanks, sir, " Matthew said. " As for travelling alone, I feel confident I won't be in any danger. " The demise of Shawcombe and Jack One Eye, he suspected, had made the backroads of the entire Southern colonies at least safer than Manhattan's harbor. " Oh. While I am thinking of it: Mr. Bidwell, there is one final rope that remains unknotted in this situation. "

" You mean Dr. Shields? " Bidwell crumpled the torn pieces of Johnstone's drawing in his fist. " I haven't decided what to do with him yet. And don't rush me! "

" No, not Dr. Shields. The burning of the schoolhouse, and who was responsible for the other fires as well. "

" What? " Winston blanched.

" Well, it wasn't Johnstone, obviously, " Matthew explained. " Even someone so preoccupied with his own affairs as Mr. Bidwell can understand that. And, in time, I'm sure Mr. Bidwell might begin to wonder, as well he should. "

" You're right! " Bidwell agreed, his eyes narrowing. " What son of a bitch tried to burn down my town? "

" Early this morning I had a thought about this burning business, and I went to Lancaster's house. The place is still a wreck, as you're aware. Has anyone else been through it? "

" No one would go within a hundred yards of that damn murder house! "

" I thought not, though I did appreciate the fact that the corpse has been disposed of. Anyway, I decided to search a little more thoroughly... and I discovered a very strange bucket in the debris. Evidently it was something Johnstone didn't bother himself with, since it simply appears to be a regular bucket. Perhaps he thought it was full of rat bait or some such. "

" Well, then? What was in it? "

" I'm not sure. It appears to be tar. It has a brimstone smell. I decided to leave it where I found it... as I didn't know if it might be flammable, or explode, or what might occur if it were jostled too severely. "

" Tar? A brimstone smell? " Alarmed, Bidwell looked at Winston. " By God. I don't like the sound of that! "

" I'm sure it's worth going there to get, " Matthew continued. " Or Mr. Winston might want to go and look at it, and then... I don't know, bury it or something. Would you be able to tell what it was if you saw it, Mr. Winston? "

" Possibly, " Winston answered, his voice tight. " But I'll tell you right now... as you describe it, the stuff sounds like... possibly... infernal fire, Mr. Bidwell? "

" Infernal fire? My God! " Now Bidwell did hammer his desk. " So that's who was burning the houses! But where was he getting the stuff from? "

" He was a very capable man, " Matthew said. " Perhaps he had sulphur for his rat baits or candles or something. Perhaps he cooked some tar and mixed it himself. I have a feeling Lancaster was trying to hurry the process of emptying the town without telling his accomplice. Who knows why? " Matthew shrugged. " There is no honor among thieves, and even less among murderers. "

" I'll be damned! " Bidwell looked as if he'd taken a punch to his ponderous gut. " Was there no end to their treacheries, even against each other? "

" It does appear a dangerous bucket, Mr. Winston, " Matthew said. " Very dangerous indeed. If it were up to me, I wouldn't dare bring it back to the mansion for fear of explosion. You might just want to bring a small sample to show Mr. Bidwell. Then by all means bury it and forget where you turned the shovel. "

" Excellent advice. " Winston gave a slight bow of his head. " I shall attend to it this afternoon. And I am very gratified, sir, that you did not leave this particular rope unknotted. "

" Mr. Winston is a useful man, " Matthew said to Bidwell. " You should be pleased to have him in your employ. "

Bidwell puffed his cheeks and blew out. " Whew! Don't I know it! "

As Matthew turned away and started out with the treasure box, the master of Fount Royal had to ask one last question: " Matthew? " he said. " Uh... is there any way... any possible way at all... that... the fortune might be recovered? "

Matthew made a display of thought. " As it has flowed along a river to the center of the earth, " he said, " I would think it extremely unlikely. But how long can you hold your breath? "

" Ha! " Bidwell smiled grimly, but there was some good humor in it. " Just because I build ships and I'm going to station a grand navy here... does not mean I can swim. Now go along with you, and if Edward thinks he's going to convince me to give you a free horse and saddle, he is a sadly mistaken duke! "

Matthew left the mansion and walked past the still waters of the spring on his way to the conjunction of streets. Before he reached the turn to Truth, however, he saw ahead of him the approach of a black-clad, black-tricorned, spidery, and wholly loathsome figure.

" Ho, there! " Exodus Jerusalem called, lifting a hand. On this deserted street, the sound fairly echoed. Matthew was sorely tempted to run, but the preacher picked up his pace and met him. Blocked his way, actually.

" What do you want? " Matthew asked.

" A truce, please. " Jerusalem showed both palms, and Matthew unconsciously held more securely to the treasure box. " We are packed and ready to leave, and I am on my way to give my regards to Mr. Bidwell. "

" Art thou? " Matthew lifted his eyebrows. " Thy speech has suddenly become more common, Preacher. Why is that? "

" My speech? Oh... that! " Jerusalem grinned broadly, his face seamed with wrinkles in the sunlight. " It's an effort to keep that up. Too many thees and thous in one day and my lips near fall off. "

" It's part of your performance, you mean? "

" No, it's real enough. My father spoke such, and his father before him. And my son—if I ever have a son—shall as well. Also, however, the widow Lassiter detests it. Gently, of course. She is a very gentle, very warm, very giving woman. "

" The widow Lassiter? Your latest conquest? "

" My latest convert, " he corrected. " There is quite a difference. Ah yes, she's a wonderfully warm woman. She ought to be warm, since she weighs almost two hundred pounds. But she has a lovely face and she can surely mend a shirt! " He leaned in a little closer, his grin lecherous. " And she has quite the toll in her skirt, if you catch my meaning! "

" I would prefer not to, thank you. "

" Well, as my father always said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The one-eyed, stiff beholder, I mean. "

" You are a piece of work, aren't you? " Matthew said, amazed at such audacity. " Do you do all your thinking with your private parts? "

" Let us be friends. Brothers under the warming sun. I have heard all about your triumph. I don't fully understand how such a thing was done—the Satan play, I mean—but I am gratified to know that a righteous and innocent woman has been cleared, and that you are also found guiltless. Besides, it would be a damn sin for a looker like that to bum, eh? "

" Excuse me, " Matthew said. " And farewell to you. "

" Ah, you may say farewell, but not goodbye, young man! Perchance we'll meet again, further along life's twisting road. "

" We might meet again, at that. Except I might be a judge and you might be at the end of a twisting rope. "

" Ha, ha! An excellent joke! " Now, however, a serious cast came over the wizened face. " Your magistrate. I—honestly—am very sorry. He fought death to the end, I understand. "

" No, " Matthew said. " In the end he accepted it. As I did. "

" Yes, of course. That, too. But he did seem a decent man. Too bad he died in a hole like this. "

Matthew stared at the ground, a muscle working in his jaw.

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