Chapter Twelve #2
Therefore, he showed little interest in the visitors as Claudius and Maximilian led them to the keep.
Addax and Essien eyed one another, as they both understood the significance of the arrival.
In fact, Essien had spent the past six months at Raisbeck Castle with Claudius because Claudius had invited him to remain, given he had no knights, and it was exactly where Cole wanted him.
Addax could tell by his brother’s expression that there was more going on with the situation than met the eye.
As Claudius and Maximilian neared the keep with their guests, Addax casually joined his brother, bringing up the rear.
“It has been a while since I last saw you,” he said. “What is new and exciting at Raisbeck these days?”
Essien shook his head. “Only that which you see,” he said. They were far enough back that he could speak without being heard. “I’ve not told you that the Scots have been in almost constant contact with Claudius. This visit has been planned for months.”
Addax kept his attention on the men ahead of him. “Why did you not send word so I would not be surprised by it?”
“Because Claudius is not like his son,” Essien said. “The man has a suspicious streak. He watches. He is watching me even now.”
Addax looked at him. “He does not trust you?”
“He trusts me,” Essien said. “But he is still suspicious of everyone around him. That is why he does not have any knights. He does not want anyone at Raisbeck to have power but him.”
It was an interesting situation. Addax simply nodded and headed for the keep himself, ahead of Claudius and Maximilian and the Scots, making sure the entry door was open for them, but he headed straight to the solar to see if Emmeline was still there.
She was.
She had been writing something on a large piece of vellum with her quill. An abacus sat next to her, and she glanced up, quickly, when the solar door opened. She smiled at Addax right away, but she heard voices in the entry.
Her smile faded.
“Claudius?” she asked.
Addax nodded. “He has brought some buyers for the ore,” he said quietly, quickly. “Whatever you do, you must not agree to a deal today. I will explain later, but you must trust me.”
She frowned. “Not agree—?”
“Tell them you’re not sure about the inventory. Tell them it’s already sold. Just think of something and do not sell. It is important.”
She went to question him again, but Claudius appeared behind him, and Addax held open the door so he and Maximilian and the Scots could enter.
Maximilian went straight to the pitcher of wine, and when he saw there were not enough cups, he demanded that Emmeline go fetch some, but Addax volunteered.
Emmeline was introduced by Claudius to men named Lord Gavinton, Holmes, and Wendall.
He introduced them as friends, but also as men who wished to do business with the de Witt mines, as they were still known.
The name de Witt meant something when it came to lead ore, so neither Maximilian nor Claudius had seen any reason to change the name of the mines.
After what Addax had just told her, Emmeline was on her guard.
She knew he wouldn’t have said such a thing had he not had good reason.
The problem was that she wasn’t technically in charge of the mine or the sales, meaning any deal struck by Maximilian would have to stand no matter how she felt about it.
She was sure that Addax understood that, which was why she knew that his request must have been crucial.
She settled back down to her books and kept her mouth shut, watching.
Waiting.
Maximilian’s move wasn’t long in coming.
“Now,” he said. “My father says you wish to purchase ore.”
Lord Gavinton, the man at the lead of the delegation, nodded his silver-haired head.
“Aye,” he said in a thick Scots accent. “There’s been a sickness in the north, and the priests are asking for lead coffins and crypts.
They want something tae keep whatever sickness killed them from spreading, and they believe the lead will do that. ”
It sounded plausible enough, but Emmeline spoke before Maximilian could. “I am so terribly sorry to hear of such a thing,” she said. “How many people have died?”
“Hundreds, m’lady,” Gavinton said, looking her squarely in the eye. “I know Claudius, and I heard about the marriage tae the de Witt lead mines. We need the lead badly, m’lady.”
Emmeline thought he sounded a bit dramatic.
“It sounds as if you do,” she said. She could see Addax in her peripheral vision, over by the open solar door, and his words were rolling around in her mind.
You must not agree to a deal today. “Unfortunately, we may have a problem providing you with what you need. How soon do you need it?”
Everyone looked at her immediately. Maximilian’s features were full of disbelief, while Gavinton and Claudius seemed to only show concern.
“Problem?” Maximilian spat at her. “What problem?”
Emmeline’s gaze moved to him. “If you ever stopped spending money long enough to show any interest in the mines that make you your money, then you would know that we’ve had six of them flood over the past week,” she said.
“The heavy rains we’ve been having have wreaked havoc with them.
Only five of them are producing right now, and one of those is almost completely flooded, too.
I have other orders to fill, so I cannot supply ore to Lord Gavinton right away. ”
She’d fired a shot right across Maximilian’s bow, and he was embarrassed and furious over it.
But what she said was the truth, in fact—several of the mines had indeed flooded, though they were still working.
They simply weren’t producing as well as they should have been.
But Maximilian was having difficulty controlling his temper.
“I permit you to tend to business matters because you are much better at it than I am,” he said through clenched teeth. “When would we be able to provide Lord Gavinton with his ore?”
Emmeline looked at the vellum in front of her. “I am not entirely sure,” she said. Then she looked to Gavinton again. “How much would you need, my lord?”
Gavinton looked to his comrades. One whispered in his ear. He listened before speaking.
“Fifteen tons or more,” he said. “We require a great deal, m’lady.”
Maximilian stepped in. “That is a great deal,” he said, little gold coins dancing in his eyes at the prospect of such a huge sale. “What are you willing to pay?”
Gavinton looked between Claudius and Maximilian. “I was hoping you could see your way tae providing us with the ore for a good price,” he said. “It is for the dead, after all. It would be charitable if ye were tae sell it tae us for fifty pounds a ton.”
Emmeline gasped. “Fifty pounds a ton?” she repeated, shocked. “Forgive me, my lord, but it cannot be done. It cannot—”
Maximilian cut her off. “Would you be able to pay in advance?”
“I would, m’laird,” Gavinton said. “But when would I get it?”
“Wait,” Emmeline said, standing up. “Wait, please. My lord, I am sorry, but our ore sells for four hundred pounds a ton. I have hundreds of mine workers, and fifty pounds a ton would not even pay for their labor. It cannot be done.”
Maximilian whirled on her, slamming his fist on the table. “I will say if it can or cannot be done!” he boomed at her. “Sit down and shut your lips!”
Emmeline wasn’t afraid of him, especially not with Addax still standing near the door.
“Forgive me, but I cannot,” she said, looking to Gavinton.
“Surely you understand, my lord, that we cannot sell it for anything less than three hundred pounds a ton. I will go that low for you, and at that, it is substantially less than what we sell it for to others. We must be able to pay our workers a fair wage. I hope you understand.”
She made the mistake of getting too close to Maximilian, who reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck.
“Excuse me,” he said, shoving Emmeline toward the solar door. “I must discuss this with my wife in private.”
He was hurting her, but she couldn’t do much more than walk to the door, because he was shoving her in that direction.
“Max,” Claudius said, standing up and shaking his head at his son. “Take your hand off her. She carries your son. You must be gentle.”
Gavinton stood up also. “I canna pay ye three hundred pounds a ton,” he said. “But I can pay ye one hundred. I’m sorry, but I must have it.”
“It is yours,” Maximilian said as he let go of Emmeline, but he gave her a shove at the same time he let her go, and she stumbled into the doorjamb. “You shall have your ore, Lord Gavinton, but I want the money now. Do you have it?”
Gavinton started to nod, but Emmeline pushed herself away from the doorjamb, back in their direction.
“Nay,” she said. “My lord, you may as well steal it from us for that price. The mines are the only way Alston has survived all these years, and if you take the ore for that price, people will starve. I will not be able to pay our workers. You must understand that—”
Maximilian took a step back and smacked her right in the mouth. She yelped, her hands flying to her mouth, as he turned to Gavinton with a forced smile.
“You will have your ore,” he said firmly. “But I want the money now. If you want fifteen tons of ore, I want fifteen hundred pounds.”
Gavinton was looking at Maximilian with a horrified expression.
He then looked at Claudius, who seemed to have the same horrified look on his face, only he was controlling it a little better.
Gavinton was about to say something, but he caught the swift movement of something out of the corner of his eye, and the next thing he realized, Maximilian was being clobbered with an ash shovel from the hearth.
Emmeline smashed it right over his head as the chamber deteriorated into chaos.