Seas of Fortune(31)
* * *
“How’s your report coming along, Maria?”
Maria greeted her friend Prudentia with a kiss on each cheek. “Almost done. It would help if the investors didn’t keep changing their mind as to what they wanted to know.”
Prudentia smiled. “Believe me, painters working on commission have the same problem.”
Maria showed Prudentia the report. “As you see, it covers pretty much everything the colony might grow, for itself or for export. Various kinds of rubber trees, sugarcane, cacao, coffee, cotton, dye plants, rice, pineapples, bananas, manioc, oranges, coconuts—you name it.”
Prudentia gave it a once-over. “Impressive.”
Maria shrugged. “I couldn’t have done it without Philip Jenkins’ help. He knows so much about trees, and of course he’s actually seen, and eaten, pineapples and bananas.”
Prudentia gave Maria a knowing look. “I bet he’s been helpful.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t pretend to be obtuse. You know what I mean. I think he likes you.”
“Yes, we’re friends.”
“That’s not what I meant. I think he’s courting you.”
“That’s ridiculous. I am in my mid-twenties, and he is what? Fifteen?”
“Sixteen. And a half.”
“That’s right. He did say that the first time we met.”
“He has probably been saying it to someone every day since attaining that lofty age.”
“Anyway, he’s not the only lad who helped me. There’s Lewis Bartolli, the chemistry ‘whiz kid,’ who did the write-up on aluminum, bauxite and cryolite. And his sister Marina has done a lot of typing for me.” She paused. “You know, maybe Phil is interested in Marina, and is using his visits as an excuse to see her. She’s pretty, in a dark sort of way, and just a little younger than Philip, so she’s the right age for him. And she is the daughter of the Bartolli of Bartolli’s Surplus and Outdoor Supplies, while Philip is a hunter and fisherman. Since Lewis Bartolli isn’t going into the family business, perhaps Philip sees an opportunity there. That would be sensible.”
“Yes, that would be sensible.” Prudentia didn’t sound convinced.
“By the way, who’s that kid that’s been making googly eyes at you at Dinner and a Movie?” asked Maria.
Prudentia blushed. “His name’s Jabe, and he’s not a kid. And he’s not making googly eyes. In fact, he can hardly look at me.”
* * *
Maria was walking down Buffalo Street, on her way to Hough Park. She stopped suddenly. Wasn’t that Rahel’s friend Greta in front of her? And the guy she was with was, what’s his name, Karl? He was handsome, but Maria had heard bad things about him. Should she join them? No, that probably wouldn’t work. She could follow them, but what could she do if there was trouble? She was no martial arts expert.
Then she saw Philip on a side street. The answer to her prayers. “Philip, come join me.” Philip was brawny—he played American high school football—and knew how to fight.
She linked arms with him. “Walk with me,” she commanded. “And talk.”
“About what?”
“Umm. Coconuts. Pineapples. Tropical stuff.”
“Okay.” She let him drone on while she kept her eyes on Greta and Karl. At last, Greta and Karl parted—not without some squirming on Greta’s part—and Maria breathed a sigh of relief.
“Did you say something?” asked Philip.
“Thank you, this was lovely. Sorry, but I have to run. Bye!”
* * *
If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. The latest problem was a political one. The Company had been chartered under the laws of the New United States, which, at the time, was a sovereign state. But now the NUS was merely a part of the United States of Europe. So was the charter still valid? And if the NUS prohibited slavery on its soil, but the USE had yet to speak on the issue, was slavery forbidden in the colony?
The lawyers whom David consulted gave him an extremely learned, expensive and authoritative “maybe.”
* * *
When David arrived in Hamburg, where his ship was docked, he discovered a letter waiting for him. He opened it. It read, simply, “Bring back bauxite.” The letter was unsigned.
But he recognized the handwriting. It was that of cousin Jan. Who, last David heard, was in the employ of Louis De Geer. Mr. “I-am-sending-ships-to-the-Davis-Strait-to-hunt-whales-and-maybe-mine-a-little-gold-in-Greenland.” Even though he was a metals magnate, with no previous interest in whales. And even though the up-time books said nothing about gold in Greenland.