Mutiny (16 page)

_{'Thank you,' Leith said
equably, 'and this is my man. He has stayed with me since the other side of the
Alps.}

_{What is the situation, if you
please?' Before Griffith could answer, Leith added, 'Be aware that the French
are advancing with celerity and all the determination of a strong sea tide.
There is no time to be lost, sir.'}

_{'Our evacuation is in
hand as we speak, sir. Our agent is procuring passage for us by any means, and
I expect him back by the hour.'}

_{'Very good. I will not speak of food and
drink - these can wait until we are on board. Now, if you please, be so good as
to allow us a period of sleep. We are sorely tried.'}

_'Sir.'

_{There was nothing to do
except wait for Amati in decorous silence. Renzi lay on a sack and closed his
eyes, but Kydd could not rest. It was expecting a lot of the agent to delay his
own hopes of safety for their sake, however high his expected reward. Perhaps
he had already slipped away, leaving them to wait in vain for their passage
out.}

_{It seemed hours, but
Amati returned. Kydd felt for the little man as he slipped in noiselessly. 'I
can no' find a passage,' he said defiantly.}

_{'What?'
Griffith jumped to his feet.}

_{'My dear sir, the man
returned, did he not?' Leith said wearily. 'Pray tell us, what is the
difficulty?' he asked Amati.}

_{'The French, they take
Chioggia, Malamocco. Now they ha' control all gate to th' lagoon. No ship can
lif. None.' He looked up wearily. 'No one wan' to try.'}

_{Griffith
stared at Amati. 'So, we have a problem.'}

_{No
one spoke.}

_{Renzi's expression eased to a
half-smile, and in the breathless hush he said, 'Sir, you are mindful that we
are English —}

_{'Of
course I do — you try my patience, Renzi!'}

_{'- and therefore we shall probably be
yielded up by the Venetians as a placating move to the French—'}

_{'Enough!
Hold your tongue, you impertinent rascal!'}

_{'—who will without doubt understand us
to be here as spies, to be executed perhaps?'}

_{At his words there was
only a grim silence. It was broken by a dry chuckle from Leith. 'Just so.
Nothing less than the truth, I would have thought.' He glanced keenly at Renzi.
'Please go on.'}

_{'Sir. Our logical course is to hide
among the people but, sadly, I fear we would make poor Italians. Disguise is
impossible — we would be discovered out of hand. I feel we must find another
solution.'}

_{'They gotta catch us
fust. Let 'em come!' Larsson challenged.}

_{'With no weapons of any
kind?' Everyone present knew that an armed party discovered ashore in Venice
would have been an intolerable provocation to the Serene Republic. 'No. I fancy
we are at hazard to a degree.'}

_{A rattling started at
the door. Kydd and Larsson hastily took position at each side, ready for the
final act. The door opened, but instead of soldiers there was a small figure,
fetchingly arrayed in a Columbine costume, her face hidden by a white mask.}

_{'What
in heaven—' spluttered Griffith.}

_{'You fools!' Lucrezia
said, dropping her mask and sparing Renzi a withering look. 'Why you still
'ere?'}

_{Leith
picked up on the look. 'Your acquaintance, Mr Renzi?'}

_{.Renzi
ignored the expression of sudden realisation on Kydd's face. 'Signora Lucrezia
Carradini, Sir Alastair Leith.'}

_{She acknowledged him
warily, sizing up the littie party. Her eyes rested on Amati. "Oo is zis?'
she demanded. Renzi began to explain, but Amati's muttered Italian seemed to
satisfy her.}

_{She looked away for a moment. 'To hide
all you, zis will be deeficult. It may be long time, the French will no' go
away soon.' It seemed natural that she was taking charge of their fate: her
strong features and resolute bearing made it so.}

_{The men waited. She
looked once towards the door then spoke decisively. 'Here I say I store my
cargo, a ver' valuable load, to wait the ship. I send men to guard it, no one
interfere wi' you now.'}

_{Her mask went up as she prepared to
leave. 'I will fin' you a ship, jus' be patient. And never show yourselfs.' She
turned to Renzi. 'You are ze compradore, you worry of its safety, you come back
an' check on it many times. But now you mus' come wi' me.'}

_{The spicy rankness of the warehouse
bore on the spirit but, sailor-fashion, the men turned to, making the best of
it. Hammocks were fashioned, screens were rigged and a 'mess area' squared away
as clean as possible. They tried to ignore the sounds from outside, the chains
drawn across the door, the unknown muffled words.}

_{Renzi returned at
nightfall with food and drink concealed in a chest, as if an addition to the
cargo. He did not volunteer conversation, and the others did not press him. He
left quickly.}

_{Leith spent his
time with the naval officer, leaving the two sailors to themselves. There was
not much conversation in Larsson, and Kydd found himself on edge.}

_{After a restless night
and a quick dawn visit from Renzi they had no choice other than to resign
themselves to another day of tedium. It was well into the morning when Kydd's
senses pricked an alert. 'There's somethin' amiss,' he said. 'Listen .. .'}

_{'I
hear nothing,' said Griffith irritably.}

_{'That is m' point, sir. There's nothin'
going on - everythin's stopped.'}

_{'He's
right,' said Leith.}

_{The
troubling stillness continued into the afternoon.}

_{'One o' their papist festivals cleared
'em from their duties,' was Griffith's opinion.}

_{Drily, Leith disagreed.
'I rather fancy they'd make more noise, more bells and crowds.'}

_{'Then
maybe the French have entered?'}

_{'Without protest,
cannon fire? Their soldiers would certainly have let the world know if they
had, I can assure you.' Leith stood up and paced about, the first sign of
unease Kydd had seen him display. 'I don't like this - at all.'}

_{By late afternoon, it
was obvious that something was seriously out of kilter. And Renzi had not come
with their food.}

_{'We have to know what
is afoot. Pray stand by me, you men.' Leith crossed to the doors and shook them
sharply for attention.}

_{'Sir,
the woman—'}

_{'We
must be ready to take action - of any kind.' There was no response from the
outside. Leith shook the door again. Kydd tried to squint through the cracks,
but could see no one.}

_{'Her
men have gone. We are forgotten.'}

_{Griffith stood suddenly. 'We have to
move. Kydd, climb aloft to the upper storeroom and see if there is an exit for
us there.' Kydd swung up into the darkness of the partitioned loft above, but
found that the warehouse was proofed against thieves and had no discernible
openings.}

_{Larsson was tasked to
look for a sizeable timber for use as a battering ram on the stout doors. Then
the chain rattled on the outside. It fell away and Renzi thrust himself in,
pulling the door to hastily.}

_{'The gravest news!' He was breathless
and looked weary. He let a bundle fall, which Kydd recognised as his sea-bag.}

_{'We have hours only
before the worst and — I — I cannot believe what has taken place!' Renzi's
expression struck a deep chill in his listeners.}

_{'And
that is?' Leith's tone was steely.}

_{Renzi turned. 'Venice
is no more! A thousand years of civilisation gone! Finished!'}

_{Griffith snorted. 'Get
on with it, you ninny, make your report.'}

_{Renzi ignored
him, staring at Leith, whose grave face suggested that he knew what was to
come. 'The people have been betrayed. The Council of Ten - the Doge — have
failed their citizens. They have been deluded, bullied. It is all over for
Venice.'}

_{He paused and looked away. 'The
true situation has been concealed. What has happened is that the French
general, Buonaparte, has cleverly turned an enemy, Austria, to an ally. How? He
cannot strike southward into Italy until he has pacified this hostile country
in his rear. So he pacifies it in another way. He gives it Venice.'}

_{'Venice
is neutral.'}

_{'This Buonaparte is truly a genius
at war, but as ruthless and unscrupulous as the very devil himself. Yes, Venice
is neutral, but he has taken every excuse to paint her the aggressor, the
tyrant. Just two weeks ago his commander, Junot, apparendy stormed before the
Council of Ten with a personal letter from him containing unacceptable
demands. Today—' Renzi's voice changed almost to a whisper. 'Today the Doge
Lodovico called a Grand Council. It was the first the people knew of the danger
— they believed themselves neutral in this war. A new letter was read out from
General Buonaparte. In it he said that the old ways were to be swept away, a
new age of revolution was upon them, and if they objected, he would not be held
accountable for the consequences.}

_{'While they
deliberated, a despatch was received from their own consiglieri militari that
there is French artillery, many guns, ringing the lagoon and ready to reduce
Venice to a ruin. The Doge asks for a final vote of submission to the French
and suicide for the Venetian state. What he did not reveal was that their spies
had reported that, not two weeks earlier, a secret peace was signed at Leoben
between Austria and France. The price asked was Venice and her decrepit
empire.'}

_{Renzi continued quietly, 'The vote
was taken in indecent haste, passed, and the nobiluomi of Venice fell over each
other to get away, turning their backs on their birthright and abandoning their
noble obligations to save their skins. Gentlemen, the Serenissima is no more!'}

_{The brooding quiet lay
heavy and ominous. When the people of Venice had digested the events, there
would be a reaction. Even now far-off shouts could be heard. The French would
be forming up to march in, whether to civil chaos or a humbled populace it
didn't matter: the end was the same. They only had hours to decide what to do.}

_{'You seem very well
informed, Renzi, for a foremast hand,' snarled Griffith.}

_{'The lady Carradini, whom I knew —
before, is well placed in the highest of the land. You can be assured there are
few secrets she does not know.'}

_{'And
tells you?'}

_{Renzi's wintry smile
was weary. 'She has a tendre for me. This is not for us to debate. What is more
at issue is the next few hours.'}

_{'Have a care, Renzi,
you are still under discipline, even here.'}

_'Sir.'

_{Leith stirred. 'I care
not for your nautical niceties, gentlemen. Now, are you about to leave us
again, Mr Renzi?'}

_'No,
sir.'

_{Kydd realised the implication of the
sea-bag: Renzi might have had a chance to get away but he had chosen to see
things through with his friends. 'Thank ye, Nicholas,' he said softly.}

_{The dusty silence was broken by a
tiny sound, a wispy slither. The pale edge of a paper appeared under the door,
but when Kydd reached it there was no sign of anyone. 'Here, m' friend, it's
all Dutch t' me,' Kydd said, passing it to Renzi.}

_{'Thank you. It says we are to stay
here until after dark. Then we will receive a visitor, whom we may account a
welcome one. I recognise the hand,' Renzi added gravely.}

_{'We wait?' Griffith ignored Renzi,
addressing Leith directly.}

_{'Have
you an alternative in mind, sir?'}