HEDGING YOUR BETS

Time slowed to a crawl as I waited for the sun to set.

Earlier, I had watched Captain Lafitte’s ship chug away from the dock under power of its Terramagica engine, then turn south and head down the coast, and for a wild moment I thought about climbing out the window and escaping.

Until I stuck my head out and looked around. Not only was there no window ledge, nor any other bit of cornice or decoration to hold onto and use to climb down, but I would be dropping right onto the paved street below. Moreover, two ill-kept men wearing stained linen shirts and loose fitting trousers were sitting on a stone bench set against the city wall, looking straight up at me. Both men grinned as I pulled my head back inside.

The sun was well up in the sky when the door was unlocked by another man, this one wearing denim trousers and a blue and white striped shirt. I noticed he had a rifle propped up against the far wall of the hallway as he moved aside and let Rhys come in, carrying a wooden tray. “Lock us in,” Rhys said to the man in French. “I will knock twice, then twice again as the signal to let me out.” The man nodded and shut the door, the key scraping in the lock as the Welshman came over and set the tray down on the bed. “I’ve brought you breakfast.”

It was obvious that none of them realized I understood anything but English, and I kept my face impassive so as not to give the game away. “Thank you. If I may ask a question, why were you talking to that man in French? I mean, he is from the Republic of Texas.”

Rhys arranged the items on the tray so they were set just so. “Captain Lafitte chose only new immigrants from France, so your grandfather wouldn’t be able to persuade any of them to defect.”

“Nor can I.”

“Exactly. However, it does mean we can speak freely without worries about being overheard.”

My ears pricked like a cat hearing mice. “About what?”

Rhys sat on the edge of the bed and I did the same, the tray between us as he spoke. “I know you think ill of me for what I’ve done to you and the rest of your group, but you cannot regard me as a bigger bastard than I do right now. What I did was evil, pure and simple, and I’d like to make amends without putting myself in grave danger.”

I was wary, and took a moment to look at the food on the tray before I responded. A blue ceramic plate held eggs scrambled with green peppers and corn, with a wicker basket holding tortillas beside it, and a china cup from which a pale golden liquid steamed. “Is this tea? I thought everyone in Mexico drank coffee.”

Rhys chuckled. “Most drink chocolate when they can afford it and coffee when they cannot. Me, I never developed a taste for the stuff, so I had this imported from England.” As I spooned roughly a half teaspoonful of sugar from the matching china bowl into the cup, he said, “Will you at least listen to what I have to say?”

“My grandfather told me it is right to listen and learn, even from an enemy.”

Rhys winced, but seemed to accept the rebuke and move on as I picked up the cup and blew on it before taking a sip. He said, “I have learned to understand and speak the Maya language about as well as Ran-Li speaks English. So, while I was escorting her out, she asked me to tell you that Kinubal and all the other half-bloods of your group are safe and in hiding.

“I couldn’t understand half of what she said, but it seems Beach Town and the surrounding area was somehow warned about the attack, and they in turned warned the Mexican army holding the forts.” He sighed. “The Maya are considered half-witted, lower class people by the Mexicans, so they likely didn’t believe that an attack was imminent.”

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I set the cup down. “Until it happened.”

“Indeed. The fort of San Miguel is… well, was, run by a rather hidebound chap, but the commander of San Jose has a great deal of dash-fire. So he likely didn’t discount the warning altogether, but must have put his soldiers on alert, for the moment San Miguel was attacked by the airship, he locked down the fort and put gun crews on the cannons. Then likely messaged the army post in Merida to let them know what happened.”

I had taken a tortilla and begun scooping eggs into it, but stopped and looked over at him. “Both forts have a Terramagica messaging device?”

“They do,” Rhys said as I finished stuffing the tortilla and took my first bite, “and it’s something Bella doesn’t know about.” He leaned forward. “One more thing. The last thing Ran-Li told me is that you’d be eventually joining her in Zotz-Na. ‘Tell Black Lion I want to see him perform the sacred dance’, is what I think she said, though I might have gotten it wrong. Maya’s a devilishly tricky language.”

“Do you think that is possible?”

I finished the last of the tortilla as he shook his head. “Not unless Bella changes her mind. However, once you reach New York and Corneal’s in charge of your captivity, you’ll have a golden opportunity to eventually make your escape.”

I picked up my teacup. “Mr. Vanderbilt did seem a bit… flighty.”

Rhys smiled. “An apt description. Corneal believes the plot to take over the world is cracked, and from our correspondence, doesn’t believe a word about Bella’s peculiar eating habits, as she calls them. He’s quite likely to lose interest in having you guarded so well, especially as the costs begin to add up and,” his finger pointing at me, “as you work on becoming his friend.”

My mind was rolling like a train engine picking up speed. “I’ll have to plan on rescuing myself. If I can get free, I can head for the British embassy-”

“They’ll expect that. Head for the Scottish, instead. Their Home Office will already know about the kidnapping attempt in Edinburgh, so your story won’t be dismissed out of hand.”

“I know England’s ambassador to Scotland personally, and I am sure he will secretly make arrangements.” I took a sip of the slightly sweetened tea before regarding the Welshman over the cup. “Rhys, why are you helping me?”

“When I still lived in Wales, I used to bet on the War Chess tournaments. Unlike many of my mates, I always bet on both teams as a hedge against loss, putting more down on the one I thought likely to win, of course.” He sighed. “One of two things is going to happen. The likely scenario is that Bella will kill the Camazotz, take the gold, and get picked up by the airship now occupying the fort.”

“How will Captain Ivy know where to find her?”

“Bella has a Terramagica homing beacon device, while the pirate has the receiver. Once she’s ready for pickup, Bella activates the beacon and the airship follows the signal.

“Now, the second, and quite frankly least likely scenario, is that the Camazotz somehow manages to kill everyone and either you escape, or Corneal learns what happened and makes a deal to let you go. Either way, the day will come when you will be in a position of having revenge on me for betraying you, and I want you to remember who gave you hope when all hope was lost.”

He rose to his feet. “I apologize for keeping you locked in this room, though I imagine this is something you’ll need to get used to.”

“I daresay,” I replied as he walked to the door, knocked twice, waited, then knocked again.

As the door opened, he glanced at me. “I’ll be back later with your supper. Remember what I’ve told you.” The guard let him out then re-locked the door as I finished my breakfast.

Rhys remains another mysterious character in this narrative. Wales in the early part of the 19th Century had its share of troubles, mostly due to the rapid industrialization and the importation of English Ogres to work in the coal mines. There were riots against the wealthy industrialists (most of them Koncava), and a number of those participating fled the authorities for the Union states.

It’s likely he was one of those involved, taking passage to New York, where he met the vivacious Miriam Ravenwood. They hit it off, and he became her traveling companion, accompanying her on several expeditions (including the disastrous trek into the spider-haunted ruins where Professor Bella was taken ill). After the death of Miriam’s husband, Rhys became a permanent fixture in Miss Ravenwood’s life.

An interesting side note concerns Henry Ravenwood’s death. According to my sources, he was about to file divorce papers when he was killed by an armed intruder on the estate, who then fled the scene. Detectives investigated the crime, but the killer was never found…