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Allison; Taking Control Chapter 35
Three liveried servants strode into the room. One of them forcefully shook and rang a bell clutched in his hand as the others placed a small wooden riser in the middle of the floor. Allison recognized the bell-ringer as the man who had announced all of the guests arriving earlier in the evening.“ALL PRESENT, PLEASE STAND AND AWAIT HIS EXCELLENCY THE ROYAL GOVERNOR!” the man said loudly, calling everyone to attention.Conversations amongst the crowd deferentially quieted and all eyes turned toward the door through which everyone had entered that evening. A moment or two later, Governor Tinker walked slowly into the ballroom arm in arm with his wife. When they reached the riser, the Governor stepped up to where he could be more easily seen by all of his guests, while Lady Tinker walked to the side to stand with some of the assembled ladies, fanning herself along with the others. As the Governor looked out over the crowd silently for a few moments, an errant cough or two and the fitful
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 36
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
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 37
Allison wasn’t certain just how thorough any investigation of that possibility might have been in the end, however he didn’t disagree with any assertion that LaTour was responsible. He simply wasn’t sure if the Frenchman had any help in getting the job done. Seeing how perturbing discussions of the Diligent were to the Councilor, Allison decided he had learned enough on that subject for now.“Well,” he went on, “regardless of what LaTour and the Rapace accomplish, the activities of our own privateers remain at a healthy level.”“They continue on doggedly, that’s for sure,” Peele said, “but I don’t know exactly how ‘healthy’ some of those activities will prove to be for us all before this is over.”Allison thought he knew what he meant, but he stayed silent and listened.“I speak of course about the taking of Spanish and other vessels flying the flags of countries which have remained neutral in this war.”“That’s a more than valid concern, sir,” Allison offered, “and I admit I shar
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 38
“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
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 39
“Ah, pardon me,” Allison said, thinking quickly, “we seem to have gotten ourselves quite lost. Could you kindly tell us where we might find the kitchen?”After several seconds during which the men and women looked quizzically at one another, a young man, who was sitting closest to the door, piped up.“Other end of the corridor and down the stairs... but...”“Thank you, my good man,” Allison said, cutting him off before he could ask anything that might prove troublesome. He and James retreated back down the corridor with haste leaving the servants in the room puzzled.Sure enough, at the other end of the corridor, a bit further than the distance they had walked from the swinging door to the servants’ room, was a flight of heavy stone steps that wound around to the right, obscuring their destination. With a look at James , Allison put his index finger to his lips to indicate quiet and the two of them deftly went down, taking the steps one by one, careful not to let so much as a sing
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 40
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
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 41
James handed him the glass tube with the strange white clump inside.“William, if you’ll attend me once we set foot on deck, I believe I have another job for you as well,” Allison said to the marine lieutenant.The carriage rumbled on down Mount Fitzwilliam and out into the dim lights of George Street toward the waterfront.Allison sat glumly in the sternsheets of the pinnace as it was being rowed back across the harbor to Philadelphia. He was not happy. Though he had done his best to steel himself against the sheer and utter vexation he knew the meeting with Semple aboard Gallant would invariably cause, it did nothing to assuage the searing resentment which continued to torment him after he departed. He reflected, half-dejectedly, half-angrily, upon what had taken place in the Captain’s cabin.The whole affair had been little more than a tiresome and needlessly degrading rehash of what Sir Roger had told him the previous evening at Government House. Whether it was done for Suggs’
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 42
Allison stopped and thought of all the smiling faces and good cheer he had seen at the reception the preceding evening.“To think, behind many of those pleasant smiles and polished good manners, some people were not only filled with fear and loathing over the events of the past weeks, but also with suspicion regarding their friends and peers!”“Do you really think it’s quite that bad?” Caldwell asked. “His Excellency could simply be acting on a personal feeling or information that only he was privy to.”“Making a statement like this, encoded or otherwise, is deadly serious. I don’t believe anyone would simply say something like this on intuition alone. Besides, from what we’ve learned of local politics during our short stay here, it’s very easy to envision corrupt officials and landowners secretly implicating or even falsely accusing others while nearly all of them are wallowing in some measure of illicit activity that they want or even need to protect. The mysterious disappearance o
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