The Coffee Trader

After I had been cast out of the community, most of my friends and associates would have nothing more to say to me. Many shu

Men who owed me money boldly refused to pay, as though the ruling of the Ma’amad somehow superseded all civic law and personal honor. Old business contacts returned my notes unopened. Parido’s influence left me without a livelihood, and though I had some money saved, I knew it would not last me long.

I ca

There was no shortage of my kind in Amsterdam. We were as specialized as taverns, each of us serving one particular group or another: this lender serves artisans; that one, merchants; yet another, shopkeepers. I resolved never to lend to fellow Jews, for I did not want to travel down that path. I would not want to have to enforce my will on my countrymen and then have them speak of me as one who had turned against them. Instead, I lent to Dutchmen, and not just any Dutchmen. I found myself again and again lending to Dutchmen of the most unsavory variety: thieves and bandits, outlaws and renegades. I would not have chosen so vile a bunch, but a man has to earn his bread, and I had been thrust into this situation against my will.

I knew at once that I would have to be something of a villain if I were to see my money returned, for I lent to those who earned their bread by taking what did not belong to them, and I had no reason to believe my capital would be any more sacrosanct than a traveler’s purse or shopkeeper’s strongbox. The only way to force these men to make good on their promises was to let them fear the consequences of not doing so.

Sadly, Alfonzo Alferonda is not a villain. He ca

I let it be known, therefore, that I was not a man with whom to trifle. When the body of a nameless mendicant was found floating in a canal, it was no hard thing to circulate a story that there floats a fool who thought he could avoid paying Alferonda. When an impoverished fellow broke his arm or lost an eye in some unfortunate accident, a few coins in his hand easily persuaded him to tell the world that he wished he had paid Alferonda in a timely fashion.

Though I believe the Holy One, blessed be He, has granted me a warm face, one full of kindness, it was not long before the thieves of Amsterdam trembled at my countenance. A scowl or a raised eyebrow was enough to make the gold flow.

When I confronted a debtor who truly could not pay me, I made him believe that here, for the first time in his life, Alferonda had decided to show a measure of mercy, a mercy so tentative and fragile that even to think of abusing it would be the greatest madness in the world. This thief would pay me before he would put food into his own mouth.

These small deceptions fooled my audience easily. Thieves are, by nature, simple and easily duped, inclined to believe in monsters and ogres. Some, when they paid me, even believed I knew the contents of their purses, the locations of their paltry stashes, as though I were more witch than moneylender. I did nothing to make them believe otherwise. Alferonda is no fool.

I knew my name was spoken in the most unflattering terms among my fellow Jews in the Vlooyenburg, but I also knew I was blameless in the sight of the Lord-at least, as blameless as a man who lends money to thieves can ever hope to be.

10

Miguel met Geertruid in the Three Dirty Dogs, a tavern near the docks where great ships lay at anchor, packed with goods desired the world over. The day was warm and uncharacteristically su

The Three Dirty Dogs was infrequently visited by Jews-its patronage consisted of warehouse workers and owners-and Miguel knew that any man of the Nation who saw him there would have his own secrets to keep. It had become a regular habitation for Geertruid, whose husband had been part owner of one of those great buildings along the Brouwersgracht.

The windows of the tavern had been placed strangely toward the ceiling, and bright sharp-angled shafts of sunlight crisscrossed the dusky interior. Most of the tables were occupied, but the space was not crowded; groups of men sat in small clusters. Near the door someone read a news sheet aloud in a booming voice while a dozen men listened and drank.

Geertruid sat at the back, dressed in gray skirts and a blue bodice, modest and nondescript. She did not go to the tavern to make merry today but to do business, and she wore no bright colors with which to attract attention. She puffed at a pipe and sat in close quarters with her man, Hendrick, who whispered something conspiratorial when he saw Miguel.

“Good afternoon, Jew Man,” the Dutchman said with what might have been genuine warmth. He was a tricky one; he might present himself as a villain one instant and the grandest man in the world the next. “Join us. How have we managed all this time without you? We have been as parched as the desert without your company.”

Miguel sat. The knowledge of his impending wealth vied in his heart with the chafing impression that Hendrick mocked him.

“You look cheerful,” Geertruid told him. “I hope your month closed well.”

“Marvelously well, madam.” Miguel could not contain his grin.

“Ah, I’d been hoping that smile on your face meant you have some firm plans to do business with me.”

“It might mean that too,” Miguel answered. He hardly liked to give his name or the time of day with Hendrick around. “But we need not discuss these things at this moment.”

“What sound is this?” Hendrick gri

“Whoring or drinking?” Geertruid inquired.

He laughed. “That’s between me and my Maker.”

“Then I shall see you on the morrow,” Geertruid told him, squeezing his hand gently.

Hendrick pushed himself to his feet and swayed violently toward Geertruid. He snatched the side of the table to steady himself. “Rot these crooked floors, eh, Jew Man? Rot them, I say. Rot them.” He paused for a moment, as though waiting for Miguel to rot the floors.

A woman who saw her servant or lover in such a state might have shouted in anger or blushed in embarrassment, but Geertruid had already turned away, her attention arrested by some story read by the man with the news sheet. Therefore she did not see that after Hendrick had taken a few uneasy steps toward the door, he spun around, almost so quickly that he fell over but, instead, caught himself on Miguel’s shoulder.