Allison was immediately struck by the amount of comfort offered by the interior of this carriage as compared to the one which bore him from New York to Philadelphia. While the rough-hewn, hard wooden benches of the first vehicle had nearly beaten his hindquarters bloody, here he found only softly upholstered seats covered in attractive fabrics. It was also spacious enough to accommodate the four of them quite easily. They all took their seats before the footman shut the door and walked around to the rear of the carriage where he stepped up and took his place. The man shouted to the driver that all was ready and Allison felt the vehicle begin to roll forward along the waterfront as the driver urged his team forward into a steady, easy gait.After about a minute, the carriage made a turn southward along the wide avenue leading toward Government House known as George Street. There ahead of them, at the end of that thoroughfare, loomed the Governor’s residence atop its signature hill, k

“It is somewhat irregular to be meeting for the first time here at such an event,” he said after stopping and turning at the stone balustrade, “but I suppose there’s no help for it.” His face turned even more severe before he continued. “Admiral Lord Haig has made it clear to me by way of written orders that you are to be given a wide latitude in the accomplishment of your own mission. Given that I have not been granted the privilege of knowing what that entails, I can only trust that you will be doing your utmost everywhere and at all times to accomplish your assignment.”Semple appeared as though he was being spurned or snubbed by the arrangement as he crossed his arms and looked up into the night sky. He began to pace slowly.“Be that as it may, remember that I am your commanding officer while you are assigned to this region. I expect to be informed of all matters of importance as they pertain to the security of His Majesty’s dominions and the presence of the Royal Navy in this are

Allison ’s expression and aspect didn’t change. “Well one might tend to look this way when he comes to find out he’s been swilling treason by the glassful.”Peele laughed out loud. “Nonsense! This was legally taken from a French ship by our privateers. By the same reasoning you might as well call this informal style of dining we’ve engaged in tonight – the buffet, as it is called when serving oneself – a form of treason, since it is popular in France.”Here Peele raised an index finger to make a point.“However, as I suspect you’ve already guessed from seeing your reaction, there is in fact a great deal of smuggling going on out there.” He indicated the port with a nod of his head. “In fact, some of it happens between your fellow provincials on the mainland and the French islands.”Allison didn’t exactly know why he was surprised. He and Caldwell had come to the conclusion that the preponderance of privateering offered countless ways of enriching oneself given the right amount of dev

“I know what you mean, Henry,” Allison said understandingly, “I’m beginning to feel the same way, but you know we can’t simply leave before it’s appropriate to do so. Besides, I’m not sure when any of us will have the chance to partake of such fine food and drink again.”“True enough,” Caldwell said with his characteristic smile. “How was your conversation with Mr. Peele? I saw the two of you out on the terrace for a good while.”“Informative, to say the least,” Allison replied. “He told me a great deal about the state of affairs in the region as well as some of the local politics. I also found out a bit more about our friend Mr. Thorpe. Have you had any luck?”“Not a great deal,” he answered, “but I did learn one interesting bit. It seems Thorpe was involved in a weekly, or at least bi-weekly meeting at a tavern in town with some of the other gentlemen of Nassau - the same one William visited, in fact. Well, it turns out during the last of these he attended, he apparently had a rat

At length, Peele did in fact arrive, but through a back passage leading out of the kitchen to the outside which neither Allison nor James had managed to notice. This was due in part to the fact that the door was made to look like a wooden wall panel with small shelves on its inside. It had also been partially blocked by fallen sacks, baskets and kitchen implements which had been strewn about during the fight. The Councilor strode through the door behind a half dozen soldiers who pushed aside the debris, ran and grabbed the two assailants under their arms, and pulled them back outside, both still unconscious and with their feet dragging.“Take those men to the fort for questioning!” he commanded the redcoats as they dragged their quarry outside. “Have them locked up until they can be seen to!”When the soldiers left, Peele looked around the room, aghast.“My God! What in blazes happened down here?”“Suffice it to say, sir, that when we cornered the suspected poisoners in this kitchen