Dangerous Women Part 48

Juanito's lumpy face darkened, but Raoul looked sharply at Ian, first at his face, then, deliberately, at his crotch. Ian shook his head, still grinning, and Raoul shrugged but returned the smile, then took Juanito by the arm, tugging him off in the direction of the back room, where dicing was to be found.

"What did you say to him?" the barmaid asked, glancing after the departing pair, then looking back wide-eyed at Jamie. "And what tongue did you say it in?"

Jamie was glad to have the wide brown eyes to gaze into; it was causing his neck considerable strain to keep his head from tilting farther down in order to gaze into her decolletage. The charming hollow between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s drew the eye ...

"Oh, nothing but a little bonhomie," he said, grinning down at her. "I said it in Hebrew." He wanted to impress her, and he did, but not the way he'd meant to. Her half-smile vanished, and she edged back a little.

"Oh," she said. "Your pardon, sir, I'm needed ..." and with a vaguely apologetic flip of the hand, she vanished into the throng of customers, pitcher in hand.

"Eejit," Ian said, coming up beside him. "What did ye tell her that for? Now she thinks ye're a Jew."

Jamie's mouth fell open in shock. "What, me? How, then?" he demanded, looking down at himself. He'd meant his Highland dress, but Ian looked critically at him and shook his head.

"Ye've got the lang neb and the red hair," he pointed out. "Half the Spanish Jews I've seen look like that, and some of them are a good size, too. For all yon la.s.s kens, ye stole the plaid off somebody ye killed."

Jamie felt more nonplussed than affronted. Rather hurt, too.

"Well, what if I was a Jew?" he demanded. "Why should it matter? I wasna askin' for her hand in marriage, was I? I was only talkin' to her, for G.o.d's sake!"

Ian gave him that annoyingly tolerant look. He shouldn't mind, he knew; he'd lorded it over Ian often enough about things he kent and Ian didn't. He did mind, though; the borrowed shirt was too small and chafed him under the arms and his wrists stuck out, bony and raw-looking. He didn't look like a Jew, but he looked like a gowk and he knew it. It made him cross-grained.

"Most o' the Frenchwomen-the Christian ones, I mean-dinna like to go wi' Jews. Not because they're Christ-killers, but because of their ... um ..." He glanced down, with a discreet gesture at Jamie's crotch. "They think it looks funny."

"It doesna look that different."

"It does."

"Well, aye, when it's ... but when it's-I mean, if it's in a state that a la.s.sie would be lookin' at it, it isna ..." He saw Ian opening his mouth to ask just how he happened to know what an erect, circ.u.mcised c.o.c.k looked like. "Forget it," he said brusquely, and pushed past his friend. "Let's be goin' down the street."

At dawn, the band gathered at the inn where D'Eglise and the wagon waited, ready to escort it through the streets to its destination-a warehouse on the banks of the Garonne. Jamie saw that the Captain had changed into his finest clothes, plumed hat and all, and so had the four men-among the biggest in the band-who had guarded the wagon during the night. They were all armed to the teeth, and Jamie wondered whether this was only to make a good show, or whether D'Eglise intended to have them stand behind him while he explained why the shipment was one rug short, to discourage complaint from the merchant receiving the shipment.

He was enjoying the walk through the city, though keeping a sharp eye out as he'd been instructed, against the possibility of ambush from alleys, or thieves dropping from a roof or balcony onto the wagon. He thought the latter possibility remote, but dutifully looked up now and then. Upon lowering his eyes from one of these inspections, he found that the Captain had dropped back, and was now pacing beside him on his big gray gelding.

"Juanito says you speak Hebrew," D'Eglise said, looking down at him as though he'd suddenly sprouted horns. "Is this true?"

"Aye," he said cautiously. "Though it's more I can read the Bible in Hebrew-a bit-there not bein' so many Jews in the Highlands to converse with." There had been a few in Paris, but he knew better than to talk about the Universite and the study of philosophers like Maimonides. They'd scrag him before supper.

The Captain grunted, but didn't look displeased. He rode for a time in silence, but kept his horse to a walk, pacing at Jamie's side. This made Jamie nervous, and after a few moments, impulse made him jerk his head to the rear and say, "Ian can, too. Read Hebrew, I mean."

D'Eglise looked down at him, startled, and glanced back. Ian was clearly visible, as he stood a head taller than the three men with whom he was conversing as he walked.

"Will wonders never cease?" the Captain said, as though to himself. But he nudged his horse into a trot and left Jamie in the dust.

It wasn't until the next afternoon that this conversation returned to bite Jamie in the a.r.s.e. They'd delivered the rugs and the gold and silver to the warehouse on the river, D'Eglise had received his payment, and consequently the men were scattered down the length of an alle that boasted cheap eating and drinking establishments, many of these with a room above or behind where a man could spend his money in other ways.

Neither Jamie nor Ian said anything further regarding the subject of brothels, but Jamie found his mind returning to the pretty barmaid. He had his own shirt on now, and had half a mind to find his way back and tell her he wasn't a Jew.

He had no idea what she might do with that information, though, and the tavern was clear on the other side of the city.

"Think we'll have another job soon?" he asked idly, as much to break Ian's silence as to escape from his own thoughts. There had been talk around the fire about the prospects; evidently there were no good wars at the moment, though it was rumored that the King of Prussia was beginning to gather men in Silesia.

"I hope so," Ian muttered. "Canna bear hangin' about." He drummed long fingers on the tabletop. "I need to be movin'.

"That why ye left Scotland, is it?" He was only making conversation, and was surprised to see Ian dart him a wary glance.

"Didna want to farm, wasna much else to do. I make good money here. And I mostly send it home."

"Still, I dinna imagine your da was pleased." Ian was the only son; Auld John was probably still livid, though he hadn't said much in Jamie's hearing during the brief time he'd been home, before the redcoats- "My sister's marrit. Her husband can manage, if ..." Ian lapsed into a moody silence.

Before Jamie could decide whether to prod Ian or not, the Captain appeared beside their table, surprising them both.

D'Eglise stood for a moment, considering them. Finally he sighed and said, "All right. The two of you, come with me."

Ian shoved the rest of his bread and cheese into his mouth and rose, chewing. Jamie was about to do likewise when the Captain frowned at him.

"Is your shirt clean?"

He felt the blood rise in his cheeks. It was the closest anyone had come to mentioning his back, and it was too close. Most of the wounds had crusted over long since, but the worst ones were still infected; they broke open with the chafing of the bandages or if he bent too suddenly. He'd had to rinse his shirt almost every night-it was constantly damp and that didn't help-and he knew fine that the whole band knew, but n.o.body'd spoken of it.

"It is," he replied shortly, and drew himself up to his full height, staring down at D'Eglise, who merely said, "Good, then. Come on."

The new potential client was a physician named Dr. Hasdi, reputed to be a person of great influence among the Jews of Bordeaux. The last client had made the introduction, so apparently D'Eglise had managed to smooth over the matter of the missing rug.

Dr. Hasdi's house was discreetly tucked away in a decent but modest side street, behind a stuccoed wall and locked gates. Ian rang the bell, and a man dressed like a gardener promptly appeared to let them in, gesturing them up the walk to the front door. Evidently, they were expected.

"They don't flaunt their wealth, the Jews," D'Eglise murmured out of the side of his mouth to Jamie. "But they have it."

Well, these did, Jamie thought. A manservant greeted them in a plain tiled foyer, but then opened the door into a room that made the senses swim. It was lined with books in dark wood cases, carpeted thickly underfoot, and what little of the walls was not covered with books was adorned with small tapestries and framed tiles that he thought might be Moorish. But above all, the scent! He breathed it in to the bottom of his lungs, feeling slightly intoxicated, and looking for the source of it, finally spotted the owner of this earthly paradise, sitting behind a desk and staring ... at him. Or maybe him and Ian both; the man's eyes flicked back and forth between them, round as sucked toffees.

He straightened up instinctively, and bowed.

"We greet thee, Lord," he said, in carefully rehea.r.s.ed Hebrew. "Peace be on your house." The man's mouth fell open. Noticeably so; he had a large, bushy dark beard, going white near the mouth. An indefinable expression-surely it wasn't amus.e.m.e.nt?-ran over what could be seen of his face.

A small sound that certainly was amus.e.m.e.nt drew his attention to one side. A small bra.s.s bowl sat on a round, tile-topped table, with smoke wandering lazily up from it through a bar of late afternoon sun. Between the sun and the smoke, he could just make out the form of a woman standing in the shadows. She stepped forward, materializing out of the gloom, and his heart jumped.

She inclined her head gravely to the soldiers, addressing them impartially.

"I am Rebekah bat-Leah Hauberger. My grandfather bids me make you welcome to our home, gentlemen," she said, in perfect French, though the old gentleman hadn't spoken. Jamie drew in a great breath of relief; he wouldn't have to try to explain their business in Hebrew, after all. The breath was so deep, though, that it made him cough, the perfumed smoke tickling his chest.

He could feel his face going red as he tried to strangle the cough, and Ian glanced at him out of the sides of his eyes. The girl-yes, she was young, maybe his own age-swiftly took up a cover and clapped it on the bowl, then rang a bell and told the servant something in what sounded like Spanish. Ladino? he thought.

"Do please sit, sirs," she said, waving gracefully toward a chair in front of the desk, then turning to fetch another standing by the wall.

"Allow me, Mademoiselle!" Ian leapt forward to a.s.sist her. Jamie, still choking as quietly as possible, followed suit.

She had dark hair, very wavy, bound back from her brow with a rose-colored ribbon, but falling loose down her back, nearly to her waist. He had actually raised a hand to stroke it before catching hold of himself. Then she turned round. Pale skin, big, dark eyes, and an oddly knowing look in those eyes when she met his own-which she did, very directly, when he set the third chair down before her.

Annalise. He swallowed, hard, and cleared his throat. A wave of dizzy heat washed over him, and he wished suddenly that they'd open a window.

D'Eglise, too, was visibly relieved at having a more reliable interpreter than Jamie, and launched into a gallant speech of introduction, much decorated with French flowers, bowing repeatedly to the girl and her grandfather in turn.

Jamie wasn't paying attention to the talk; he was still watching Rebekah. It was her pa.s.sing resemblance to Annalise de Marillac, the girl he'd loved in Paris, that had drawn his attention-but now he came to look, she was quite different.

Quite different. Annalise had been tiny and fluffy as a kitten. This girl was small-he'd seen that she came no higher than his elbow; her soft hair had brushed his wrist when she sat down-but there was nothing either fluffy or helpless about her. She'd noticed him watching her, and was now watching him, with a faint curve to her red mouth that made the blood rise in his cheeks. He coughed and looked down.

"What's amiss?" Ian muttered out of the side of his mouth. "Ye look like ye've got a c.o.c.klebur stuck betwixt your hurdies."

Jamie gave an irritable twitch, then stiffened as he felt one of the rawer wounds on his back break open. He could feel the fast-cooling spot, the slow seep of pus or blood, and sat very straight, trying not to breathe deep, in hopes that the bandages would absorb the liquid before it got onto his shirt.

This niggling concern had at least distracted his mind from Rebekah bat-Leah Hauberger, and to distract himself from the aggravation of his back, he returned to the three-way conversation between D'Eglise and the Jews.

The Captain was sweating freely, whether from the hot tea or the strain of persuasion, but he talked easily, gesturing now and then toward his matched pair of tall, Hebrew-speaking Scots, now and then toward the window and the outer world, where vast legions of similar warriors awaited, ready and eager to do Dr. Hasdi's bidding.

The Doctor watched D'Eglise intently, occasionally addressing a soft rumble of incomprehensible words to his granddaughter. It did sound like the Ladino Juanito spoke, more than anything else; certainly it sounded nothing like the Hebrew Jamie had been taught in Paris.

Finally the old Jew glanced among the three mercenaries, pursed his lips thoughtfully, and nodded. He rose and went to a large blanket chest that stood under the window, where he knelt and carefully gathered up a long, heavy cylinder wrapped in oiled cloth. Jamie could see that it was remarkably heavy for its size from the slow way the old man rose with it, and his first thought was that it must be a gold statue of some sort. His second thought was that Rebekah smelled like rose petals and vanilla pods. He breathed in, very gently, feeling his shirt stick to his back.

The thing, whatever it was, jingled and chimed softly as it moved. Some sort of Jewish clock? Dr. Hasdi carried the cylinder to the desk and set it down, then curled a finger to invite the soldiers to step near.

Unwrapped with a slow and solemn sense of ceremony, the object emerged from its layers of linen, canvas, and oilcloth. It was gold, in part, and not unlike statuary, but made of wood and shaped like a prism, with a sort of crown at one end. While Jamie was still wondering what the devil it might be, the Doctor's arthritic fingers touched a small clasp and the box opened, revealing yet more layers of cloth, from which yet another delicate, spicy scent emerged. All three soldiers breathed deep, in unison, and Rebekah made that small sound of amus.e.m.e.nt again.

"The case is cedarwood," she said. "From Lebanon."

"Oh," D'Eglise said respectfully. "Of course!"

The bundle inside was dressed-there was no other word for it; it was wearing a sort of caped mantle and a belt-with a miniature buckle-in velvet and embroidered silk. From one end, two ma.s.sive golden finials protruded like twin heads. They were pierced work, and looked like towers, adorned in the windows and along their lower edges with a number of tiny bells.

"This is a very old Torah scroll," Rebekah said, keeping a respectful distance. "From Spain."

"A priceless object, to be sure," D'Eglise said, bending to peer closer.

Dr. Hasdi grunted and said something to Rebekah, who translated: "Only to those whose Book it is. To anyone else, it has a very obvious and attractive price. If this were not so, I would not stand in need of your services." The Doctor looked pointedly at Jamie and Ian. "A respectable man-a Jew-will carry the Torah. It may not be touched. But you will safeguard it-and my granddaughter."

"Quite so, Your Honor." D'Eglise flushed slightly, but was too pleased to look abashed. "I am deeply honored by your trust, sir, and I a.s.sure you ..." But Rebekah had rung her bell again, and the manservant came in with wine.

The job offered was simple. Rebekah was to be married to the son of the chief rabbi of the Paris synagogue. The ancient Torah was part of her dowry, as was a sum of money that made D'Eglise's eyes glisten. The Doctor wished to engage D'Eglise to deliver all three items-the girl, the scroll, and the money-safely to Paris; the Doctor himself would travel there for the wedding, but later in the month, as his business in Bordeaux detained him. The only things to be decided were the price for D'Eglise's services, the time in which they were to be accomplished, and the guarantees D'Eglise was prepared to offer.

The Doctor's lips pursed over this last; his friend Ackerman, who had referred D'Eglise to him, had not been entirely pleased at having one of his valuable rugs stolen en route, and the Doctor wished to be a.s.sured that none of his valuable property-Jamie saw Rebekah's soft mouth twitch as she translated this-would go missing between Bordeaux and Paris. The Captain gave Ian and Jamie a stern look, then altered this to earnest sincerity as he a.s.sured the Doctor that there would be no difficulty; his best men would take on the job, and he would offer whatever a.s.surances the Doctor required. Small drops of sweat stood out on his upper lip.

Between the warmth of the fire and the hot tea, Jamie was sweating, too, and could have used a gla.s.s of wine. But the old gentleman stood up abruptly and, with a courteous bow to D'Eglise, came out from behind his desk and took Jamie by the arm, pulling him up and tugging him gently toward a doorway.

He ducked, just in time to avoid braining himself on a low archway, and found himself in a small, plain room with bunches of drying herbs hung from its beams. What- But before he could formulate any sort of question, the old man had got hold of his shirt and was pulling it free of his plaid. He tried to step back, but there was no room, and w.i.l.l.y-nilly, he found himself set down on a stool, the old man's h.o.r.n.y fingers pulling loose the bandages. The Doctor made a deep sound of disapproval, then shouted something in which the words agua caliente were clearly discernible, back through the archway.

He daren't stand up and flee-not and risk D'Eglises's new arrangement. And so he sat, burning with embarra.s.sment, while the physician probed, prodded, and-a bowl of hot water having appeared-scrubbed at his back with something painfully rough. None of this bothered Jamie nearly as much as the appearance of Rebekah in the doorway, her dark eyebrows raised.

"My grandfather says your back is a mess," she told him, translating a remark from the old man.

"Thank ye. I didna ken that," he muttered in English, but then repeated the remark more politely in French. His cheeks burned with mortification, but a small, cold echo sounded in his heart. "He's made a mess of you, boy."

The surgeon at Fort William had said it, when the soldiers had dragged Jamie to him after the flogging, legs too wabbly to stand by himself. The surgeon had been right, and so was Dr. Hasdi, but it didn't mean Jamie wanted to hear it again.

Rebekah, evidently interested to see what her grandfather meant, came round behind Jamie. He stiffened, and the Doctor poked him sharply in the back of the neck, making him bend forward again. The two Jews were discussing the spectacle in tones of detachment; he felt the girl's small, soft fingers trace a line between his ribs and nearly shot off the stool, his flesh erupting in goose b.u.mps.

"Jamie?" Ian's voice came from the hallway, sounding worried. "Are ye all right?"

"Aye!" he managed, half-strangled. "Don't-ye needn't come in."

"Your name is Jamie?" Rebekah was now in front of him, leaning down to look into his face. Her own was alive with interest and concern. "James?"

"Aye. James." He clenched his teeth as the Doctor dug a little harder, clicking his tongue.

"Diego," she said, smiling at him. "That's what it would be in Spanish-or Ladino. And your friend?"

"He's called Ian. That's-" He groped for a moment and found the English equivalent. "John. That would be ..."

"Juan. Diego and Juan." She touched him gently on the bare shoulder. "You're friends? Brothers? I can see you come from the same place-where is that?"

"Friends. From ... Scotland. The-the-Highlands. A place called Lallybroch." He'd spoken unwarily, and a pang shot through him at the name, sharper than whatever the Doctor was sc.r.a.ping his back with. He looked away; the girl's face was too close; he didn't want her to see.

She didn't move away. Instead, she crouched gracefully beside him and took his hand. Hers was very warm, and the hairs on his wrist rose in response, in spite of what the Doctor was doing to his back.

"It will be done soon," she promised. "He's cleaning the infected parts; he says they will scab over cleanly now and stop draining." A gruff question from the Doctor. "He asks, do you have fever at night? Bad dreams?"

Startled, he looked back at her, but her face showed only compa.s.sion. Her hand tightened on his in rea.s.surance.

"I ... yes. Sometimes."

A grunt from the Doctor, more words, and Rebekah let go his hand with a little pat, and went out, skirts a-rustle. He closed his eyes and tried to keep the scent of her in his mind-he couldn't keep it in his nose, as the Doctor was now anointing him with something vile smelling. He could smell himself, too, and his jaw p.r.i.c.kled with embarra.s.sment; he reeked of stale sweat, campfire smoke, and fresh blood.

He could hear D'Eglise and Ian talking in the parlor, low voiced, discussing whether to come and rescue him. He would have called out to them, save that he couldn't bear the Captain to see ... He pressed his lips together tight. Aye, well, it was nearly done; he could tell from the Doctor's slower movements, almost gentle now.

"Rebekah!" the Doctor called, impatient, and the girl appeared an instant later, a small cloth bundle in one hand. The Doctor let off a short burst of words, then pressed a thin cloth of some sort over Jamie's back; it stuck to the nasty ointment.

"Grandfather says the cloth will protect your shirt until the ointment is absorbed," she told him. "By the time it falls off-don't peel it off, let it come off by itself-the wounds will be scabbed, but the scabs should be soft and not crack."

The Doctor took his hand off Jamie's shoulder, and Jamie shot to his feet, looking round for his shirt. Rebekah handed it to him. Her eyes were fastened on his naked chest, and he was-for the first time in his life-embarra.s.sed by the fact that he possessed nipples. An extraordinary but not unpleasant tingle made the curly hairs on his body stand up.

"Thank you-ah, I mean ... gracias, Senor." His face was flaming, but he bowed to the Doctor with as much grace as he could muster. "Muchas gracias."

"De nada," the old man said gruffly, with a dismissive wave of one hand. He pointed at the small bundle in his granddaughter's hand. "Drink. No fever. No dream." And then, surprisingly, he smiled.

"Shalom," he said, and made a shooing gesture.

D'Eglise, looking pleased with the new job, left Ian and Jamie at a large tavern called Le Poulet Gai, where some of the other mercenaries were enjoying themselves-in various ways. The Cheerful Chicken most a.s.suredly did boast a brothel on the upper floor, and slatternly women in various degrees of undress wandered freely through the lower rooms, picking up new customers with whom they vanished upstairs.

The two tall young Scots provoked a certain amount of interest from the women, but when Ian solemnly turned his empty purse inside out in front of them-having put his money inside his shirt for safety-they left the lads alone.

"Couldna look at one of those," Ian said, turning his back on the wh.o.r.es and devoting himself to his ale. "Not after seein' the wee Jewess up close. Did ye ever seen anything like?"