Страница 71 из 131
“Clearly that is not what happened with Pearson. Now he has returned, what has Lavien learned about the fate of the money?”
“Very little. Pearson won’t answer any questions.”
“And, I suppose, you haven’t given Lavien permission to break his elbows or cut off his feet. Not with someone so prominent.”
“Pearson is clever,” said Hamilton. “He has openly refused to appear at the bank to explain the status of his loan, and he knows we dare not press the matter, lest it become public knowledge that a loan of this magnitude is in danger. I’m sure Pearson knows that that scoundrel Philip Freneau, who writes Jefferson ’s newspaper, has been sniffing about, asking questions. If Freneau learns the truth, he will use it to ruin us all. Jefferson and his men would gladly sacrifice the national economy if only to prove I am wrong and they are right.”
“Which is why the bank has not seized Pearson’s assets. To keep this from becoming a scandal?”
“Yes. While there is the chance of a quiet repayment of all or even some of the loan, we prefer to avoid a public fiasco that will only feed Jefferson ’s public animosity toward the bank. Until we know more, we will have to find other means of discovering what Pearson is up to.”
It seemed to me that, whether it was what he intended or not, I was those other means. There was no reason not to press it. “What of Duer?”
“What of him?”
“What is the link between Duer and Pearson?”
“None that I am aware of,” he said.
I thought about the note I had found in the tree stump. Duer has used him monstrous ill, and it ca
“Who would like to destroy the bank?” I asked.
Hamilton sighed. “Destroy it? Jefferson, I suppose.”
“No, not malign it, or see it fail, or rejoice in its adequacies. Jefferson wishes to find political advantage. Who wishes to destroy it by his own hands?”
“No one,” he said. “No one who could.”
“And if anyone could, who would it be?”
“The rabble,” he said. “The rabble prompted by Jefferson would see it destroyed. The western rustics, filled with democratical ideas by Jefferson, would rather go to war than hand over a pe
It seemed to me they were far more complex than I could imagine. That was the difficulty.
I f I was going to attempt to chip away at this complexity, the first thing I had to discover was the nature of the secret and financial relationship between Hamilton and Duer’s man, Reynolds. I might well have told Hamilton more if I could have better trusted him, but so long as he was secreting purses of gold to men of this sort, I would have to hold fast to my secrets. More to the point, I needed to know why the men who acted against me, and acted against Cynthia, wished to point me toward this man. Reynolds worked for Duer-that much was certain-but it now seemed to me that the bearded Scotsman, who was so clearly involved with the threat against the bank-wanted to make certain I noticed Reynolds and perhaps was set against him.
It was time to approach directly. Thus, that night I walked to Reynolds’s house and knocked on the door. It was later than good ma
When no one answered, I knocked again, and then a third time. At last I heard footsteps upon stairs, and a woman’s voice cried out from inside, asking who called.
“Captain Ethan Saunders, on behalf of the United States Department of the Treasury,” I responded, with only slight exaggeration. This was no time to be shy. “I must gain entrance.”
The door opened. Standing there, in a state of very appealing dishevel, was possibly the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Yes, I know this narrative is crowded with beautiful women-Mrs. Pearson, Mrs. Maycott, Mrs. Lavien, Mrs. Bingham. We might form a cricket team of beautiful women. I ca
This lady was beautiful, and not because her demeanor or exotic race or a longing heart provided an added advantage to elevate her. No, here was a creature of perfection, like Milton ’s Eve, the ideal of female loveliness. Her fair hair was wavy and in a state of wild disorder. Her eyes were large and so blue it was almost shocking. Her cheeks were red and round and molded to perfection. Her teeth as white as new snow, her lips the color of roses. Shall I go on? It is tedious, I know, but it is important that I make it clear that in part and in sum this was a woman, I believe, utterly without equal in the United States, possibly in the world. Those who would, in years to come, judge the frailty of a man enchanted with her, knew nothing of her astonishing charms. The man did not live who, given the opportunity to love her, would have turned aside.
“Madam, will you marry me?” I asked.
She laughed. She wore a loose gown, quite recently thrown on. It was rather generous in its presentation of décolletage, and her bosoms, large and full, moved very agreeably.
“I am afraid I am already married, sir.”
“Then I shall take my own life,” I said. “Before I do so, I would speak to a Mr. Reynolds. Does he live here?”
Her face darkened just a little. “That is the name of my husband, sir. He is not at home.”
That slovenly brute with his scarred face and lupine demeanor was the husband of this creature? How did she endure it? How could the world endure it? Under normal circumstances, I would almost certainly have inserted myself in this lady’s life to better her state, but I had other things that demanded my attention, foremost being Cynthia. I would focus on the beast and not the beauty. “I must find him.”
“He is not in town at all,” she said. “May I ask what this involves? Did you mention the Treasury Department, sir?”
“I work for Colonel Hamilton at Treasury.” Reform does not extend to lies of this sort.
“And what will you with my husband?” There was now something rather unkind in her tone, and I did not like it. I wanted her to be charmed again.
“I merely wish to talk with him about Mr. Duer,” I said, gri
“I see.”
“When will he return?”
“I ca
“And where has he gone?”
“He doesn’t tell me.”
“Perhaps,” I said, “you would care to invite me inside, and we can discuss this further.”
“Another time,” she said, as though she did not mean it, and closed the door.