The Last Suitor. A J McMahon
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the jewellery as well. Nicholas watched them watching these goodies, while Tagalong warily watched Nicholas from the side. Jolly was making frantic noises through his gag, but no-one was paying attention.
Nicholas placed the tapestry back over the treasure, hiding it from their sight. They came back to themselves in that crowded room, looking around as if wakening from a dream. Now Nicholas made his next move, hoping that he had gauged it right. He ungagged Jolly. If Jolly pleaded with Nicholas now, Jolly was finished.
‘Mr Raspero,’ Jolly said as calmly as his panic would allow, ‘we have surely continued as far as is necessary with this foolishness. I truly understand the gravity of the offence I have caused you. I entirely withdraw the threat I have made, which indeed I did not make, not even inadvertently. This is a misunderstanding, which has grieved you and I can only apologise for what I have done, because it was not done, not even by mistake. Whatever recompense you require, it shall be rendered to you without delay.’
‘You sound as if you’re begging me for mercy,’ Nicholas said contemptuously.
All eyes in the room were now on Jolly. ‘Certainly not, Mr Raspero,’ Jolly said, but his composure was visibly impaired as his eyes flickered towards his men who were watching him impassively. The fact that he had apparently wet himself had not escaped their attention. ‘I only trust to your inherent good sense, that I withdraw this mistaken threat, your awareness that I will make full restoration of all that has caused you offence, that I understand without reservation that indeed you have cause to feel unjustly treated, indeed you —’
Nicholas gagged him then, and turned to the other men in the room and considered them. They were a bunch who would look at home in a dark alley, he thought. They were evil men who were governed only by fear, and what fear did they have of Jolly now? He could leave Jolly in their hands without a backward glance. Jolly was making ever more frantic noises through his gag but again no-one was paying attention to him. ‘It is time for a successor to arise in the place of Jolly,’ he told them. ‘Or perhaps the enterprise which Jolly runs may be divided up between you, so that all four of you can continue in the place of Jolly. Now is the time to decide how you shall continue your lives as criminals of the New Landern demi-monde.’
Nicholas lifted the tapestry again and began to look through the documents. ‘Only two men in this room understand the meaning of these documents. One of them is Jolly, still begging for mercy over here,’ Nicholas gestured contemptuously to Jolly, so their eyes swivelled to regard Jolly, still making noises through his gag, ‘the other is Mr Longman, standing over here.’ With another gesture, Nicholas drew their attention to Tagalong. All eyes swivelled to Tagalong, who nodded with an immediate air of assurance in confirmation of Nicholas’s verdict. ‘But what are these documents? Ah, that is an interesting question, much more interesting than you realise. You lack education, you lack knowledge, and you are ignorant thugs, are you not? So let us examine what we have here. Here is a Short-Term Securities Tendering of Financial Residuals document which is worth three million, four hundred and twenty five thousand strada.’ Nicholas held the document up in front of their disbelieving eyes. ‘Yes, you heard me correctly. I am holding three million, four hundred and twenty five thousand strada in my hands right here.’ Still more disbelief. ‘You are so stupid that you don’t even know how stupid you are, do you?’
The four men looked back at Nicholas without expression. Nicholas noted, however, that they did not look hostile. They were fascinated, in their own thuggish way, by what he was saying, even if they did not fully understand it. Nor could men as low as this be insulted by a man holding the wand and offering them more money than they had dreamed possible.
‘There is a total of 20 million strada here, one million in cash, 19 million in these documents. If you want to have access to all of this money, then you will require the services of Mr Longman here,’ Nicholas told them. Tagalong nodded with the same air of assurance as before. ‘He may well choose not to explain these things to you, because he will wish to strike a deal with you concerning his own role in subsequent developments.’
‘That is so,’ Tagalong eagerly said, ‘I must reserve —’
‘Shut it!’ Nicholas told him harshly, adopting the vernacular of his current circumstances. Tagalong shut it. ‘We now turn to the last closing stage of this drama.’ Nicholas threw the document back on the table. ‘You will all look at me.’ They all looked at him. ‘I do not expect to be bothered by any of you ever again. If I am, I will see to it that those who serve you are given the same choice concerning your fate as I have given you concerning the fate of Jolly. Furthermore, not one of you will trouble Miss Ashton again. I will take it as a personal offence if anyone troubles her for any reason whatsoever. Stay away from her. That is all. You will decide who is to be the successor of Jolly, or whether or not you will divide up his business between you.’ Nicholas drew back the tapestry again and threw it to one side and said, ‘This fortune belongs to the successor, or successors, of Jolly here.’ With a gesture he drew their attention back to Jolly, who looked at Nicholas and made muffled noises through his gag, clearly wishing to speak at that very moment. Their attention did not linger long on Jolly, however, for it swiftly returned to the fabulous fortune sitting on the table. Nicholas untied the men still sitting on the floor, and then returned all their wands to them at the same time. He was standing by the side door by this time, and as they took hold of their wands, he turned and walked off through the doorway, closing the door behind him. He tracked their wands, but as he had expected, no-one came after him. No-one was going to leave all that money behind with the others. Besides, by now they all had a very healthy respect for Nicholas’s wandfighting ability. For whatever reason, Nicholas was not pursued as he returned to Angela’s flying carriage.
10:10 PM, Saturday 7 May 1544 A.F.
As he flew the Wolstone back to Angela’s apartment, he reflected that Jolly’s chances were not good. If he had miscalculated, and Jolly was freed, he would have to deal with whatever situation he encountered as it arose, but Jolly was not likely to live to see the sun rise on another day.
Angela and Hugo were still tied up in place. Hugo made desperate noises through his gag, more eager than ever to go to the bathroom. Nicholas untied them and let Hugo go with a wave of his hand. As far as he was concerned hostilities were over.
Nicholas sat down himself and pulled up a footstool. He considered Angela for a moment, while she considered him in her turn. It was very likely the reaction to everything that had happened, but for a moment Angela seemed to him like a wounded bird that needed to be sheltered and nursed back to health. She was an undeniable beauty, and he was struck by the fact that had she been a painting he would have contemplated that painting for a long while. He felt protective of her for no reason at all that he could identify, given that she had done her best that very day to bring him down, and yet he did not pause to reflect on the undeniable fact that he had already taken steps to protect her without having given any thought at the time as to what he was doing. Everything had happened so fast; he had done what he had done in the time and place of a world revolving rapidly under his feet.
‘What is the nature of your relationship with Jolly, Miss Ashton?’
Angela looked down at the fan in her hands and said, ‘He has been a kind benefactor to me. After my mother died when I was fifteen, I entered service as a lady’s companion with Mrs Farrar. When I chose to go on the stage, Jolly was kind enough to help me to do so.’
‘Kind is not the right word, Miss Ashton. There is no kindness in a man like Jolly. He had another motivation to help you, did he not?’
‘Where is Jolly now, Mr Raspero?’
‘Most likely in the afterlife.’
Angela looked up at him on hearing this. ‘Did you kill him, Mr Raspero?’
‘No, but I left him in the hands of men who will. Jolly is probably dead by now. If not, it is only a matter of time.’
‘I do not understand you, Mr Raspero.’
‘I left him tied up surrounded by piles of his money in the company of his men. They can free him, or kill him and take all that money for themselves. You can guess