Chapter 10
After fencing, Greg followed Fave down to the parlor for a refreshing cup of tea while Arnold said he’d help Hannah with their son. Fave’s wife, Rachel, had the best trading connections by virtue of her father’s business, and there was always a ready cup of the most delightful jasmine tea on hand. One of the many perks of coming to the Pearlers was not only the tea, but the warmth and friendly smile with which it was served.
Greg had nearly grown up in the house, so he knew it well. He noticed the lights in the drawing room and Gustav’s study. Gustav was Fave’s father and Arnold’s uncle, a man wiser than his years, yet gentler than his experience.
As they reached the last step to the first floor, Fave put his hand on Greg’s chest and brought his index finger to his mouth. “Shh!”
A heated discussion emanated from the study. Greg recognized the German accents that roughened the voices of two unwelcome guests. Richard Nagy, the older of the pair and self-appointed Bailiff to Prinny, had taken it upon himself to check and block everything the Pearlers and Klonimuses did. In short, he was a threat to their success, safety, and sometimes, their survival.
The other voice that could shatter crystal belonged to Baron von List of Prussia, a stately version of pure evil whom Greg had encountered in the past.
“I wasn’t finished with List yet, let me go in.” Greg tried to get past Fave, but his friend held his arm out and shook his head.
He touched his ear and cocked his head. “This isn’t the time to settle your bill with List,” Fave whispered. He turned to listen to the voices from downstairs.
“So, you see, without strategic alliances in parliament, it’s unlikely the Crown will be held accountable for the expenses you listed,” Nagy’s voice was as dissonant as nails on a blackboard. He seemed to enjoy making declarations in the name of the crown, each a carefully packaged parcel of threats against the Jews. How petty the lives of people consumed by destroying rather than building, sending arrows of hatred. If Nagy and List weren’t so evil, Greg would have pitied them, but they weren’t deserving of such kindness.
“I don’t understand,” Gustav said. Greg had always wished for his father to be more like Gustav.
“It’s the simple truth, Mister, that you are not entitled to hold the funds for the jewels, so I will put the money in escrow for you. Good day.” List’s voice reverberated and a chair screeched, which was odd because the chairs at the Pearler’s never made noise. It must be in the hands of that loathsome blistering personality that even the finest pieces of furniture rebelled.
List appeared in Gustav’s study doorway as if he owned the house, where in truth, he wasn’t in the least bit welcome there. His bottle green velvet coat was the shade of an aged wine that had turned to vinegar. Instead of a label, he wore the tin buttons on his coat as if they were medals of honor. Greg loathed men who smiled at themselves in the mirror at White’s and List was the kind who never missed the opportunity.
“Och, da ist er ja!” Oh, there he is. List feigned pleasantries in German when he saw Fave in the hall. “Und were its denn das?” And who’s this?
Greg realized he hadn’t yet pulled off his fencing mask and left it on. He put a hand on his chest, bowed, and went upstairs. It was better not to show his face to List; they’d been opponents before, in chess, in parliament, but if given the chance to use a sword, Greg thought it better not to engage. If he did—and he sourly wished he could one day—it mustn’t be at the house of his Jewish friends lest they be accused of entrapment or worse. Jews had fewer legal protections than a Baron, so Greg didn’t dare risk their safety.
“You must excuse my cousin, Arnold has been feeling a little vexed since I won in a fencing match,” Fave lied.
Greg disappeared into the corridor upstairs. From there, he listened to List and Nagy as they talked down to Gustav and Fave.
“I was just informed, my son, that Baron von List will hold back the moneys that are due us for the recent pieces of the gold orb,” Gustav enunciated clearly. He must have recognized Greg and made sure he could hear them.
“We’re not getting paid for the work we finished when it’ll be delivered?” Fave asked.
Greg heard the anger bubbling under his reserved tone.
“Your accounts are fuller than any other Jewish ones in all of Europe. You see, unless you have a patron in the House of Lords, we have no assurances that?—”
“We don’t need anyone in the House to back our accounts. We worked for the money, we earned it,” Fave said.
“Yes, it’s earmarked for you,” List said. “But you’ll have to understand that I’ll be holding it for you. Consider it a bailment.”
“I’m considering it theft,” Fave said. “Embezzlement if you touch what’s due us from the Crown, Mister Nagy.”
“Very well, Pearler. Call it what you might, but nobody needs to listen to you at the House of Lords. You have no recourse.”
“You’re in the wrong, Nagy!” Fave called out.
“And yet, you are without rights,” List said curtly.
And with these words, List and Nagy left. They didn’t take Greg into account, so they must have thought he was Arnold or Caleb.
The door slammed shut.
“It’s not fair, he’s freezing our main line of profit,” Fave said.
Greg’s stomach turned. “This is my fault. I provoked List at Westminster.” He emerged from his perch and descended to Fave and Gustav.
“List cannot set fire where there’s no tinder,” Gustav reassured Greg, “and there’s plenty of that in the House of Lords. None of this is your fault.”
“I should have prevented it, I have a say at least where you don’t,” Greg told Gustav.
“It’s another of his strategies to bring us down, Yingale.” Sweet boy he called him in Yiddish with such tenderness that Greg’s heart burned with longing for love. Gustav padded Greg’s upper arm. “How do you do?”
Greg lifted the fencing mask and exhaled heavily. “I heard everything.”
“Then you know that we’re in quite a troublesome situation. I hope Pavel and his sons will take this in their stride.” The six Klonimus brothers and their father, Pavel, were named Crown Jewelers along with Fave, Arnold, and Gustav.
“I cannot imagine that they will, “ Fave said, and Greg agreed. “They’ll be furious if they don’t get paid for months of labor and a load of gems.”
“Rightly so,” Greg added. “Why do they have the right to intercept the money Prinny pays you for work that’s done and delivered?”
Fave rubbed his forehead. “Because we’re setting a precedent that List and Nagy don’t like.”
“So is he. He cannot annex the pieces he ordered from you. Don’t you have a contract?”
“An appointment, not a work order, nor a contract,” Gustav said.
“They’re lining up their pawns and blocking the way to Prinny,” Fave said.
“They’re a toxic combination, List with his tentacles all over Europe and Nagy with his reach all over St. James,” Greg said. “But you’re Crown Jewelers, can’t you appeal to Prinny directly?” Greg had spent many leisurely afternoons with the Prince. He was smooth and easy to talk to, and certainly used to people making demands.
“No matter what, we need a confidant in parliament. Whatever Prinny can do, he’s not able to overrule the entire House of Lords.”
“We need to split them, divide and conquer,” Fave said.
“For that, we need sway. And for sway, we need access. You can’t just knock them off their high horses and expect to form pawn islands to shoot new ideas through. Life’s not a chess board.” Pawn islands were inherent weaknesses in the formation of a shield in chess. The more pawn islands, the lower the defenses. “But it is a battlefield. The floor of the House of Lords is a bit like a chessboard when the votes sway yay or nay.”
Gustav narrowed his eyes. “Unfortunately, I agree.”
“I have to get more sway in parliament and speak up on your behalf,” Greg said. “Let me be the bullet that shoots down the pawn islands.”
Fave pursed his lips and searched his father’s eyes. “He wants to marry Hermy and step into her brother’s title.”
“Oh Greg,” Gustav said. “That’s so dangerous! You cannot take on the House of Lords and the Prussian delegate on our behalf, it could cost you your career.”
“Not as dangerous as being in the line of attack for both Nagy and List. He could cost you everything. The Klonimuses, too. I’ve been there when he tried to … you know when Ben and I returned from India.”
“And that’s why we cannot pull you into this trouble, son. It’s our burden to bear.” Gustav drew Greg into an embrace, and Greg’s heart nearly cracked open. He hadn’t cried since his own father died, but whenever Gustav was so nice to him, he felt the urge to weep at his feet.
“Please let me do this for you,” Greg pled. “If my father was too much of a coward to bear the burden, let me at least protect you.”
“Nobody can protect the Jews, my son. It’s almost Purim and we remember Haman. There were so many instances in history where Jews were the targets of lethal attacks?—”
“But every once in a while, the Jews needed a friend. Please, Uncle Gustav, let me.” Greg called Gustav uncle even though they were not blood relatives; they were almost family, and he had to call him something akin to father—his own didn’t deserve the parental title. His father would have sent him to battle if there was any promise of a return on investment. Not Gustav. The Pearlers looked out for one another, considered every angle of the risks involved, and they never threw one of their own to the dogs. They would protect Greg, treat him as if he was one of them, and for such big hearts, and in return for the warm welcomes, the kind smiles, and the tender nicknames he received, Greg wanted nothing more than to wage war on their behalf.
The first step was a good opening.
Well, an opening speech counted, and he’d already delivered one.
Next, he had to develop his minor pieces.
Time for the Black Knight to jump and take the center.