” ‘He’?”
“Only that. I say no more. The result was that he held a quiet little auction, a secluded place, only a few trustworthy and possible customers.
“The wench was bold. She appeared before them, and she looked over the lot and saw our man—her man—and looked right into his eyes. ‘You,’ she said. ‘I want it to be you.’
“There was some bidding, of course, for she was a likely lass, but several had heard what she said and had lost interest. Our man bought her.
“He bought his clothes from me, so I had the story from his own lips, and an amazing story it was! On that first night when they arrived, he was about to order her confined when she demanded to speak with him alone.
“Once alone, she faced him boldly. ‘You have a slave,’ she said, ‘and you may have a willing slave or wife—’
“Wife?” he exclaimed.
” ‘Wife,’ she said, ‘or slave, whichever you like, it matters not a whit to me, but treat me like a lady, and I shall respond like one. Treat me as a slave, and I will make your life a hell.’
“She gestured. ‘This place needs care. It is rich and beautiful, but it needs someone who loves it … and you. I have never kept a house like this, but I can, and for you I will. My father, while he lived, had a small business. He traded to the Indies and to England. I helped him keep his accounts. I can help with yours. You will come home tired, and I can make you comfortable. If you wish to talk, I can both talk and listen. So choose. Am I to be a slave brought to your bed when you need me, or your aide, your mistress, and your friend?'”
Jayne chuckled. “You can imagine. The man in question was a quiet sort and had not really planned on buying a woman. In fact, the idea was furthest from his mind. I suspect he both wanted and needed someone desperately, and he went to see what sort of woman could be had. Now he had one, and her nerve appealed to him.
” ‘You will not try to run away?’ he asked.
” ‘Why? Would I run from a man I wanted to buy me? Would I be so foolish? I had no home. Now you can give me one. I had no one to serve. Now I can serve you.’
“He put her in a spare bedroom, and of course she did not run away. When he came in from riding about the plantation, his robe and slippers were ready for him. Where his former wife had been cold and selfish; Adele was warm and seemed to think only of his comfort.”
“But was she honest? Was not this all a sort of game?”
“That’s just it. She was honest. She sincerely liked the man, as she had known she would from the start, but also she had seen the need in him and the loneliness. She had an instinct for such things.
“Within a few months he was living better than he ever had, was enjoying life for the first time, and was completely happy.”
“And then?”
“He married her. Oh, he did not have to! She told him that, plainly enough, but it was his wish. And he never regretted it.”
“He is dead?”
“On the contrary, he is very much alive. At this moment she probably knows more about his plantation than he does, but she seems not to. Here and there she makes a suggestion … only that. But he listens, and they have prospered.”
Augustus Jayne sat back and smiled, eyes twinkling. ” ‘They are living happily ever after,’ ” he said.
“But what makes you think she is the one I seek?”
He chuckled, then grew serious. “The timing is right, or close to right. But that is not all. A few weeks ago I was at their place, seeing him fitted for a court dress. They were going to a ball at the governor’s palace.
“He had not come in from the fields when I arrived, and she sat me down and told me she knew something about me—which her husband did not, I am sure—and that she wanted information about a certain man. About Joseph Pittingel.”
I was startled. “Why? Why about him? I should think—”
“So should I have thought. That she would have had quite enough of him. But you mistake the lady. She has iron in her system, that one. Joseph Pittingel treated her with contempt. She despised him. She wanted something to use against him.”
“Then she might help me!”
“What is it you want of her?”
“Evidence. A sworn statement as to what happened. I want to see the whole shameful business destroyed.”
Jayne shook his head. “You will ask too much, my friend Sackett. Adele—she allows me to call her that—will not do it. She would have to reveal herself. She would have to go before a court or the governor or a notary and make a statement that would reveal all. She will not do it, not for herself but because of him. Because of the man she married.
“You see, no one knows. She is a woman of mystery, appearing from nowhere, and by the first time she appeared with him, she was his wife, completely in command of herself and her future.
“No, I am afraid not. She will not risk all for you, nor for revenge. She has other ideas in mind.”
“Such as?”
“She wants the man destroyed, ruined, finished. I do not think she cares whether he is dead or alive when it is over. She wants him ruined for what he tried to do to her and for what he has done to others.”
“Well, I shall just have to go see her.”
Augustus Jayne smiled smugly again. “That will not be necessary. She is here … now.”
CHAPTER XIII
He held aside the curtain into an inner room, and I stepped through. There was also a door, I noticed, that was hidden by the curtain. That door had remained open, and now he paused beside it. “I have much to do, and you will have much to discuss. Kin Ring Sackett, Madam Adele Legare.”
He stepped out and closed the door behind him. She was not beautiful except for her eyes, which were. She was a striking young woman with a voluptuous figure. Her hair was blonde, shading toward red, and her eyes blue.
“Kin Ring Sackett. It is an unusual name. You are from Carolina.”
“From the mountains, madam. You must excuse me. I fear I have few of the social graces.”
“You know about me, so I will waste no time. Besides, we have no time. Max Bauer is in town, and he is at work, and that means he will have made arrangements to have you killed.”
“You evidently know the man.”
“I do. And do not take him lightly. You may be sure he has no intention of letting you get out of Port Royal alive unless he does what he did to a man who tried to help me.”
“What did he do?”
“He was a good man. Oh, I suspect he had been bad enough in his way, but he was good to me and tried to help me.”
She paused. “Max Bauer put out his eyes and cut out his tongue.”
I was shocked, and she saw it. She shrugged. “Worse things can happen here, and in England as well. I need not tell you that, but he was a good man.”
“What happened to him?”
“He lives here. He has a cottage on a hill where there is a view, and he weaves baskets, rugs. They are for sale. I have seen to it that he is cared for, but he is a proud man and chooses to earn his own way.”
She turned suddenly back to me. “You look to be a strong man. Could you kill Max Bauer?”
“You mistake me, madam. I do not plan to kill him, only to put a stop to this business. I want evidence that will show Pittingel for what he is.”
“Do you think that will stop them? They will simply move to some other place. Oh, it would hurt Pittingel! He likes being an important man! He likes putting on airs and strutting about! As for the name, even that doesn’t belong to him. I’ve not been able to discover just what his name was. I know the one he had before this, but I think he borrowed that one, also.
“That is not important. The man is evil, and Max Bauer is as well. I want them destroyed.”
“If I could return to Cape Ann with a sworn statement—?”
“Out of the question. For myself I do not care; for my husband I care very much. He has his position and his pride. No one here knows where I came from. I do not want them to know.”