Porto, Portugal
AntónioMonizdeNoronha,the mayor of Porto, rose nervously from behind his desk as the regional governor, Manuel Vasconcelos, was shown into his study. The two men exchanged warm, albeit brisk greetings, and Noronha offered his guest a seat.
The other had scarcely settled himself when Noronha began without preamble, “He is arrived?”
“He arrived yesterday on your Sonho do Mar,” the other confirmed. “A dreadful fuss he sent up. Three men were required to restrain him until he could be properly reassured and shown to his accommodations. Quite a shock he gave them, as I understand he was in a bad way after the long voyage.”
“Are you certain this has all been necessary? English gentlemen are not unreasonable, and we certainly have enough friends among them that he might have been persuaded to negotiate with us.”
“And pay for the land a second time! Unthinkable. Remember the promise of justice given by our English associate,” Vasconcelos reminded him. “He has made more enemies than only ourselves—this Darcy fellow is known to be a hard man. Do you truly think that if he had an inkling of that land’s value that he would ever part with it? No, no! And where should men such as we, reduced gentlemen of an impoverished nation, raise the funds such a man would demand? For even a bargain price from one such as Senhor Darcy would be many times more than we could scrape together, and then where would we be left? No capital at all to begin our own enterprise! No, there is no other option before us. We know for a certain fact that the Darcy family are all but criminals in England, perfectly willing to lie, cheat, and murder for a profit.”
“This partner of yours seems no better! We have a word for a man who helps arrange the abduction of another for his own gain.”
“That is no concern of ours. Whatever evils befall this Senhor Darcy as a result of his life-long misdeeds are only his just deserts.”
“How do we know all of this? It is only what you have heard from the other Englishman!”
“You forget, my friend, that my father attempted to purchase the land from Senhor Darcy’s grandfather soon after King José traded it away—the fool!”
“The king had no choice,” Noronha reasoned. “The old Englishman had granted our king substantial support begin the rebuilding after the Great Earthquake. Some collateral was nothing less than his due.”
“The loan was repaid,” growled Vasconcelos. “You know this as well as I.”
“Ifthat ship and chest of gold from the king ever reached England,” Noronha submitted quietly.
Vasconcelos’ fist crashed down on Noronha’s desk. “That is my father’s and my uncle’s honour you insult, my friend! Allow me to assure you, the old Darcywasrepaid.”
Noronha leaned backward in his chair, relenting. “Forgive me, old friend. I am unafraid to do what must be done to secure our region’s prosperity, particularly with Brasil making strides toward independence. When the war with Napoleon is over and the Prince Regent returns from exile, we shall all of us be made beggars in our own land. Our nation is in sore need of this mine, and I feel no misgivings about bringing justice to one who has so deeply wronged us. I only desire to know that we are in the right.”
“We aredecidedlyin the right. You needn’t worry your gentle old head about this Englishman. As soon as we have the required deed, we shall send him back to England, and we may begin the mining of the site.”
“You give me your word that you will set him free?”
“Why should I not?” Vasconcelos shrugged, then laughed. “Do you know, he has been buried and mourned in England these two months already? It will be amusing, yes, to think of how badly he will serve the one who betrayed him once he learns all? I think I will give him the name in writing myself.”
Noronha shook his head very faintly, eyes narrowed. “You take too much pleasure in another man’s distress, old friend. I wonder sometimes if you were not born a few centuries too late.”
“Oh! He may be an English heretic, but I think you will not permit me to harm him. It would not be the courtly thing to do. After all, was not your lovely Maria Amália enamoured with some relation of his at one time?” Vasconcelos raised a brow and a knowing smirk tugged at his mouth. “It seems to me that the name similarity is more than a coincidence, unless all the English christen their children with such pompous eponyms.”
Noronha’s face changed hues. He shifted in his chair until he nearly lifted to his feet, his eyes stark and blazing. “Amália is a faithful daughter and a true Catholic! She would never disgrace her family so. Any word to the contrary is the vilest of slander! For just over one year she has been an obedient wife to your son, has she not?”
Vasconcelos’ eyes glittered with delight. “I cannot answer whether she has been obedient, but Miguel has made no complaint which has reached my ears. There has been no issue as yet, but certainly that blame cannot be laid at the feet of the lady.”
Noronha was white now, his hands clenched. “We shall never speak of this again!”
Vasconcelos rose from his seat. “I hope we shall have no occasion to do so,” he agreed.
Noronha followed his partner to the door, still trembling but willing away his own turmoil somewhat. “Have you informed your men in Braga of the latest developments? We will require them to be ready, surely.”
“Inform them before we are certain?” Vasconcelos scoffed as he neared the door. “I dare not allow a breath of suspicion yet, and that includes sending word of pending arrangements. No, let us first have the deed in our hands. The moment we do, I shall be the first in a carriage with orders for them, and I daresay we will have men and equipment at our command within the hour.”
“It cannot be long, surely! Senhor Darcy came of necessity by a circuitous route, but the documents need not do so.”
“I think you underestimate the legal bother of the English inheritances. Once that has all settled, our contact will be required to conduct a search for the document. It may be filed with an attorney, but it is of such an age that it would not surprise me if it should be locked away in some secret place. Patience, my friend! We are in no danger, and now that Senhor Darcy is under our power, we may afford to wait a little longer.”
Noronha drew himself up. “Of course. I may depend upon you, certainly, for any further information.”
Vasconcelos smiled. “We are, by happy circumstance, joined as family now. A more promising enterprise we have never embarked upon together. Good day, old friend.”
