Letter to Jack, contd.
Oh, Jack,
I am in such a lather I can barely sit still to write this.
I hope I have done the right thing. I truly do. Today the negotiations concluded successfully, but two things give me pause. The first is that I have made one promise to the local head abbott that I do not fully comprehend, and surely it must be an error in the translation? But I have pledged to return the flowers to him if they do not thrive in our native land, as they believe the Occident to be cold and inhospitable. Indeed, I he spoke of these specimens in terms of an experiment, of testing their viability, so on that score we were in agreement. I assured him that I have the knowledge and the skills to keep any living thing thriving, so there will be no need for a return journey.
The second thing is, Jack, I had to give them a man: the engineer’s mate, who will help them with their ship construction. Oh, assuredly, they said he would be sent home as soon as their own ship was built, such that they could undertake the journey, but how am I to know what his fate will be? However, heed this well: the forbidden flowers must be something truly special, something beyond my wildest imagining. For the man chosen did not want to stay in such an alien land at first, but to convince him they allowed him to enter the deepest inner secret garden. And after spending a few hours there, he chose gladly to remain!
He has just left the ship with all his worldly belongings in a chest, quite cheerful at his prospects! I admit his sudden change of heart worried me deeply as an icicle of fear pierced my optimism at last: what else but opium, or perhaps some narcotic elixir even stronger and more gripping to the weak man's soul could create such a change in him? I thought I had solved the mystery at last. But no, no, though he had been sworn to silence about what he had witnessed, he assured me that addictive substances have nothing whatever to do with it.
So. Tomorrow we shall receive the delivery, at last, of the blossoms themselves. They will be brought to us in the evening, such that we may again slip our moorings under the dark of night. I have supplied several monks with Wardian cases to collect the necessary herbs as well as the flowers themselves. God bless Nathaniel Ward and his ingenious invention! So long as the glass cases remain sealed, the tender plants inside need never be watered nor cared for on the journey, protected from cold, sea spray, invasion of fungus, and all other hazards to herbaceous life.
My heart races and my blood surges when I think on it. Tomorrow, at sunset, I will at last lay eyes on these blossoms that have inspired such devotion in the local populace and such covetous desire among our richest men.