are stuck with him.”
“He is also the best physician in the western half of the Mediterannean. Approach Asher and tell him he must accept this commission from the Spanish.”
“Yes, but they might not go to him first. They might-”
“Then approach the other xueta physicians, as well. They are to refuse the Spanish commission, if offered.”
“But, even if they agree, how can one refuse the Spanish? After all-”
“The others are all younger than Asher. They can refuse on the basis of modesty and that the forced intimacy with another woman is an insult to their wives, and to their duty as good Catholics. Lately come to the foot of the cross, they may protest their ardent desire to observe the highest standards of Christian propriety. The Spanish will accept that-readily.”
“Yes, the bastards probably will.”
“They are not all bastards, Meir. Believe me. Now, when the Spanish bring the commission to Asher, he is to haggle over the terms. Haggle hard. He must not look eager to take the commission. Which should not be difficult; he is old and travel to and from Bellver will genuinely tax him. And with his reputation for being cantankerous, the Spanish will not be surprised when he resists.”
“But if he resists too much, they might seek one of our other physicians-”
“Which is why you will pay them to reject the commission. The job must go to Asher, but he must resist it. If he accepts the case too quickly, the Spanish may suspect it suits some purpose of ours and become suspicious and watchful.”
Meir shook his head. “You were ever a deep one, Ezekiel.”
“I was ever careful and thorough; you were deeper, more favored by the rabbis. You could have been a Talmudic scholar readily enough.”
“I would have had to pay them to raise my ears higher, first. Speaking of the easy assumptions of snobs, just how do you propose I pay for the other physicians to refuse the commission?”
Ezekiel handed him another envelope. It was very thin.
“What is this?”
“Information that will give you access to funds held in the Rialto. You will find ample recompense there, as the accounting at the bottom shows.”
Meir managed to keep his eyebrows from rising. “This is a most considerable sum.”
“The USE is not without means. Nor is the very wealthy father of Frank Stone.”
“Evidently. But Venice is far away, and the favors-and supplies-you need must all be bought here, right now.”
“True. But I am not proposing this account as a line of credit against which you may draw. I am conferring it unto you; all of it.”
Meir looked at the very large number once again. “So, we put up money equal to, say, half of this sum, and then are entitled to withdraw all of it from the Rialto.”
“That is correct. You stand to make one hundred percent profit, but you must bear the risk of advancing the resources we need here.”
Meir looked at his old friend. “Huh. There’s some of your own money in here as well, isn’t there?”
Ezekiel shrugged. “A little. Maybe. I don’t recall.”
“Breaking the commandments, now, eh, Ezekiel? As in, ‘thou shalt not lie?’ I recognize the account number; this is the one you used to transfer profits to us when you were our counterfeit hidalgo trading from Lisbon to the Levant.”
“Which simply meant that we already had an account that could be easily repurposed to support this operation, Meir.”
“That’s not a lie, but it is still an evasion. How much of your money are you spending to help free these two Gentiles?”
Ezekiel looked hard at Meir. “First, it is none of your business. Second, you do not understand what is at stake here.”
“A man and a woman are being held captive under almost princely conditions; excuse me while I weep a bit.”
“No, Meir, you are missing the point entirely. These ‘Gentiles’ as you call them are different. I do not mean different in terms of my personal association with them; I have never met Frank and his wife, although I know the father-and he is as good a man as God ever fashioned. That alone might make me part with some of my money to aid in the reclamation of his son, but that was not what makes him-all of them-different.
“Meir, they preach true religious tolerance and they practice what they preach. And when Jews in their territories were persecuted, they took steps-strong, even violent steps-to put a stop to the mistreatment and punish the offenders. And not so they could lean towards us for loans, as have the kings of Europe since we came to live among them. These up-timers protected our people because they believe it is the right thing to do, that it is their duty.”
“Ah, so you have been dwelling among angels, then.”
“Meir, don’t be obstinate, not about this, and not now. Of course the up-timers are not angels; many are spoiled and impractical, and they are as susceptible to pettiness, jealousy, envy, and stupidity as all the other children of men. But whatever else we may wonder about their up-time world, I have seen this one truth with my own eyes: almost all of them despise bigots, and are incensed by the atrocities committed by them.”
Meir shrugged, trying to hide his surprise; he had never seen Ezekiel this passionate about anything in his life. “And so?”
“And so virtue and prudence dictate the same course for us. In helping the Stones, we help those who will not fail to insist upon advancing the cause of justice in this world. And so, in helping them, we help ourselves.”
Meir shrugged again, then tossed the account information down upon the table. “So what do you need?”
Ezekiel did not smile; he simply passed another piece of paper to Meir. Who almost gagged.
Miro was not done. “Obviously, I can’t pick it up here in Palma, so I’ll need you to contract a nondescript llaut with a reasonable cargo capacity. The master and crew will have to be discreet and available for at least two weeks. They are are to maintain the activities and appearance of fishermen; however they will ship these supplies out to us every other day, starting four days from now.”
Meir nodded. “I know a xueta, fully ‘reconciled’ to the Church, who will be perfect for the job. Above suspicion and very clever, but not much of a fisherman: he’ll be better at this. Where must he take the shipments?”
“You are familiar with Cala Beltran, just south of Cala Pi?”
“You mean, at the southern tip of the island-and right under the nose of the watchtower there?”
“Yes, the watchtower the Spanish still haven’t finished building, from what I understand.”
“You’re pretty well informed.”
“I try to be. With the tower still under construction, it does not have a full complement of guards and coast- watchers. But, more importantly, with all the llaut s going in and out of Cala Pi at dusk and dawn, who’ll notice one more loitering near Cala Beltran?”
“Let me guess. My llaut will go up Cala Beltran, deposits the goods in one of the small, blind coves and then leave once your ship is in sight.”
“Correct. Then my ship goes in to pick up the shipment before anyone can stumble across it.”
“I forgot how many times you must have done this before.”
“You have no idea, old friend. A few final details: Asher should be expecting to get messages from the Stones, but we must presume that he will be watched by the Spanish-both at the Castell and in his own home. Change his housekeeper now; make it someone who has helped us in the past, someone discreet and with whom we have routine, mundane contact.”
“Obviously. And Asher will obviously immediately understand that he will have to bear our messages back to the Stones. Which he won’t like.”
“No, he won’t, but he’ll do it; he has to have something to gripe about, after all. But without his cooperation, we won’t have any way to coordinate with Frank and Giovanna.”
“And the communication between the two of us runs through the llaut?”
“Yes, they will carry my messages, as well as the personnel I will send to wait here with you.”
