to rats like you. I can, by God!”
“Excellent.” The man seemed to be trying very hard not to show any pain. “The Impherial dueling grounds, then. Just after se’vices. Swords.” With that, the man turned and paced calmly through the crowd.
“What the hell?” Matt asked, stunned. He seemed to be getting his rage under control and his expression showed uncertainty. He’d been prepared for a fight right then. “When’s that? What’s going on?”
“Next Sunday, a week from today-after church services,” Jenks said severely. “Sunday’s the customary day.” He shook his head and took a breath. “We’ve been done, my friend.” He released Matt’s arm and strode out into the circle, looking at the faces there. He lifted his gaze until he seemed to see who he was looking for, some distance away. “I want there to be no doubt among any man here that this despicable episode was premeditated and engaged upon by none other than Prime Proprietor Harrison Reed!” He pointed in the direction the slick-haired man had gone. “That creature, you know! How many times has he taken the field for the ‘ Honorable ’ New Britain Company? He’s an assassin! A hired killer! He does nothing on his own account! He is but a tool, a coward’s weapon in the hand of Harrison Reed!”
There was a gasp and the crowd began to shift, as if unconsciously realizing that it formed a barrier between two adversaries. Eventually, a gulf widened between the circle and the Prime Proprietor himself, standing on the steps of Government House. Just a short distance away, unnoticed by most, stood the Dominion Ambassador, Don Hernan DeDivino Dicha. Reed glared back at Jenks, then flicked his kerchief as if to say, “As you will,” and turned away.
Courtney swayed just a bit and wondered if he alone noticed the odd, benevolent smile on Don Hernan’s face. “A bloody duel!?” he roared. “Seriously, we’ve come all this way for a bloody duel? Buggery!”
After the bizarre confrontation most everyone, aside from a few wellwishers, seemed willing to leave the “celebrities” alone, and they managed to secure a well-lit table away from the dancers. The ball slowly gathered speed again, but there was a new, electric excitement as people began to contemplate the “Duel of the Decade.” Jenks recognized the mood and sighed. He’d seen it before. He looked at Chack. It wasn’t the Lemurian’s fault, but Chack couldn’t help but blame himself, and it showed in his body language.
“They suckered us,” Matt growled, rubbing his torn knuckles.
“They suckered you if by that you mean they lured us into their trap instead of the other way around,” Jenks said. He smiled slightly. “I must admit, it was a glorious thing to see, however. You knocked at least two teeth out of that vile man’s head, and he’s never even been touched on the field, with sword or pistol.” He smirked. “Dueling to the death is a common occurrence in the Empire. A serious, honest punch in the mouth is rare.”
“Who was that guy?” Matt asked.
“An assassin, as I said,” Jenks replied. “A damn good one, actually. If you’ll pardon the irony, you should feel flattered.”
“I feel like an idiot.”
“You don’t understand. One way or another, there was going to be a duel provoked this night. I should have expected it, but I never dreamed Reed would be so bold… or is it boldness? Desperation? What if Time is the issue?” He shook his head. “Put that aside for a moment. That man-that assassin-knew exactly what he was doing, and which keys to stroke. I doubt he expected quite as vigorous a response to his taunts”-he grinned again-“but he knew you would react the way you did. Who else has insulted our Lemurian friends lately?”
“Reed.”
“Precisely. The thing is, it didn’t matter if you responded or not. Say Chack had responded. There’d be a duel. If neither you nor he responded, I’ll wager Mr. Gray would have, and there’d be a duel.”
“Not without orders,” the Bosun stated piously.
“Oh, don’t be absurd, you ancient beast!” Courtney burst out. “Of course you would have-but that’s not the commodore’s point, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” Jenks said. “There would have been a duel if that man had had to bite your feet to provoke one. That’s what he does. All you lost by striking him was the dubious advantage of choosing weapons.”
“I’m good with a pistol,” Matt said.
“A licensed, inspected, flintlock dueling pistol? Mmm. I thought not. That may have made you almost even, at best. No, it will have to be swords now, and you simply can’t beat him… in the kind of fight he expects. I doubt I could.”
Matt sat up straighter, but didn’t speak.
“Well… then how come you jumped in too?” Gray demanded, a little loudly. He glowered at a man at a nearby table who’d glanced up when he spoke. Gray’s question was mirrored in the eyes of Jenks’s attractive young wife, seated beside him. She had dark hair and was dressed just as ridiculously as all the other women, but somehow she pulled it off. She didn’t voice the question as Gray had, though; it wasn’t her “place.”
“Why not? The incident was obviously contrived. No doubt there was another hireling in the crowd waiting to challenge me, or vice versa. I simply beat them to it by publicly blaming Reed to see his reaction-and the reaction of others. Most interesting.”
“At least you get to kill Reed,” Matt said, almost jealously.
“What? Oh, of course not! He’ll hire a substitute. It’s his right as the offended party. Can’t have people running around picking duels with others simply because they dislike them or they’re weak,” he scoffed sarcastically.
“Then… why do it?”
“ Because it was contrived. ‘They’-Reed, the Company… perhaps even Don Hernan, by the look on his face- have an agenda, that’s plain. What isn’t at all clear is what it is… and what next Sunday has to do with it.” He became silent, thoughtful. Matt looked at the others. Clearly he was missing something. Finally, Jenks shook his head. “I did what I did to surprise them, to see their unprotected reactions.”
“You’re gonna fight a duel ’cause you wanted to see the look on their faces?” Gray demanded.
“Quietly!” Jenks cautioned. “We don’t want Them to know that! Besides, once more, I presume I would have been compelled to in any case. Consider this: if they only wanted us dead, I assure you they would resort to assassination. What do they have to gain by a public duel?”
“Excuse me, Jenks,” Matt said. “You keep forgetting we’re new here. Dueling’s illegal in the U.S. Navy! What do you mean, public?”
Jenks looked around the table. He even had Courtney’s attention now. “Oh. I see. I was beginning to wonder why you were being so obtuse! Duels in the Empire are very public affairs. That’s probably why there aren’t more of them. They’re not rare, by any means, but I suspect some are more afraid of the crowd than they would be of an opponent on the field!”
“Crowd? Like this?”
Jenks almost laughed. “Um… not exactly.”
“Bigger?”
“Exponentially. Even under normal circumstances.”
“Normal?” Courtney asked.
Jenks sighed. “I am, deserving or not, a fairly well-known personality. Particularly in certain circles.” He grimaced. “I’ve been ‘on the field’ twice before, for various reasons.” He patted his wife’s hand when it suddenly touched his arm. “On both occasions, the event was… quite a spectacle.”
“That’s it!” Courtney said emphatically, and Matt began to nod.
“Indeed. It must be,” Jenks said seriously. “Imagine the spectacle at a multiple duel involving not only myself but the primary representative of the first ‘new’ people the Empire has encountered in over a century. The spectacle is the thing!”
“And the timing,” Matt reminded.
“The timing,” Jenks agreed. “I’m convinced of it! Somehow, our arrival or the impending arrival of Achilles - perhaps their belief that the princess is aboard her or that we have some proof of their scheme-has put that scheme, whatever it is, in jeopardy!”
“Ahem,” said Courtney. The table grew silent and they all looked up to see Andrew, the Governor-Emperor’s man, approaching. Without waiting to be invited, he sat.
“His Majesty has asked me ta ask all of ye, quote: ‘What in the name o’ God those fish-headed sailors think they’re about?’ Ah, end quote.” He looked around the table severely.
Jenks looked at the man with a calculating expression. “How long have we known each other, Andrew?”
