Chapter 25: A Fine Afternoon
They crossed nearly half of Nassau before James found a tavern that met his requirements.
It was crowded enough that nobody would pay attention to two strangers carrying a sack of stolen coin. The place was smaller than the Drowned Rat, but the tighter space only concentrated the noise. Men shouted over one another, tankards slammed against tables, and most of the patrons had long since stopped noticing anyone who wasn’t buying the next round.
James chose a table tucked behind a support post, half hidden from the lamplight. It offered cover, a clear view of the room, and enough privacy to sort their winnings. That was good enough.
He turned the bag upside down between them.
Coins spilled across the table in a glittering heap. Even in the weak light, the amount was impressive.
Anne immediately began sorting the coins with efficiency, separating them by weight and mint. She had nearly finished her first stack before James had decided where he would have started.
"Walsh wasn’t exaggeratin’ about the profits, was he?"
"No."
Anne barely glanced at him.
James watched her sort coins faster than he could follow.
"Should I be concerned by how quickly you’re doing that?"
She snorted, "Counting other people’s money was half my education. If someone’s trying to cheat you, it helps to know exactly what you’re owed."
The piles grew steadily. Silver became neat stacks instead of a scattered mound.
About halfway through, Anne pushed several rows toward James.
Her tone was sincere, for once, "It’s yours, all of it. You did the part that mattered. Getting free of those two is payment enough for me."
"That’s generous."
James pushed a respectable stack toward her.
"I might be greedy, Anne, but not unreasonable."
Anne finally raised her eyes.
"Excuse me? I don’t need charity."
"Good thing I’m not offerin’ any."
Neither gave an inch. James insisted she take more. Anne insisted he was an idiot. The discussion repeated with admirable consistency.
Eventually they reached a middle ground both could accept.
James would have three coins for every one Anne kept.
Judging by the expression she tried not to show, that suited her far better than taking nothing at all.
For a while afterward, the conversation flowed easily.
Then it stopped.
Anne froze in the middle of a sentence.
Her gaze dropped to a coin resting between her fingers. She stared at it long enough for James to notice.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That’s not nothing."
He watched her face.
"Out with it."
She let out a sharp breath through her nose.
"There’s something I didn’t tell you. About Walsh."
"Go on."
"Back in the warehouse, he was talking about his backing."
She turned the coin over once, then again.
"I never told you I already knew what he meant."
James waited.
Anne continued with a slow tone, "I’d heard the story before, more than once. Walsh supposedly had someone backing him in the Navy. The Royal Navy."
She paused.
There was guilt in her voice, "I never knew whether it was true or just something he spread around to scare people. Still, I should have told you before we walked in there."
James considered that.
If the rumor was true, it explained a great deal of things. Walsh’s confidence, his resources, the scale of his operation.
"The Royal Navy."
He tapped a coin against the table.
"That’s a far larger problem than a common swindler’s threat."
Anne’s shoulders lowered slightly. The blame she’d been carrying became obvious now that she’d finally spoken it aloud.
Then James smiled.
"Aye. I’d already figured somebody bigger had to be involved."
He leaned back in his chair.
His tone was fearless, "A man doesn’t move people across an ocean using only his own coin and his own ships. I just hadn’t worked out which flag was behind it."
She blinked.
"You knew?"
"Suspected."
He shrugged. "Spanish, English, makes little difference to me. "If he’s worth worryin’ about, I’ll worry when he’s standin’ in front of me."
Anne stared at him. The relief was obvious. So was her growing desire to throw something at him.
"You just sat there enjoying yourself, didn’t you?"
"In my defense, it was moderately entertaining."
James pretended to think it over.
"Fairly entertaining."
She pursed her mouth, clearly preparing a sharper response.
Then she reconsidered and settled for shoving his shoulder hard enough to rock the chair.
"Insufferable bastard."
"You’re welcome."
"I’m not thanking you for anything."
She rose and swept her share of the coins into her coat. The motion was quick and efficient, as if she’d already decided staying longer would only lead to another argument.
"Come by the Rat sometime. If you can manage to behave yourself."
"I make no promises."
"Then don’t bother."
She was already weaving through the crowd before he could think of a better reply.
A moment later she disappeared through the tavern door.
James gathered the remaining coins into the bag and sat for a moment longer.
He reviewed the day out of habit.
He’d found himself a partner in crime, a mark worth hunting, helped a woman he’d barely known, killed five men who had earned their fate, solved a money problem and ended the afternoon richer than he’d begun it.
All told, it had been a fine afternoon for a man with loose morals and expensive ambitions.
His ribs disagreed, but they weren’t in charge.
He stood, slung the bag over his shoulder, and started toward the harbor.
Cudjoe would almost certainly have questions. His captain had vanished for most of the day and returned carrying a suspicious amount of money.
James intended to enjoy the walk while he still could.
The questions would come soon enough.
He hadn’t even walked through the first street when something appeared directly in front of him.
🏴 [QUEST PROGRESS — MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL]
Funds : Resolved
Recruit / Repair / Replenish / Prepare : Pending
Congratulations, you are no longer poor. This has solved significantly fewer problems than you appear to have hoped.
James read the display while continuing to walk.
The message vanished almost immediately.
A second one replaced it before he could give much thought to the first.
⚓ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Quest Complete: Philanthropy with Expected Returns
Reward : 10 Fate
Reward : Title — [Nosy Bastard]
You inserted yourself into a stranger’s problem despite having no particular obligation to do so. The experience resulted in additional money, several enemies, and what appears to be a recurring relationship. At this point, I am forced to acknowledge a pattern.
The title carries a passive effect. Individuals, organizations, criminals, and occasionally entire situations appear more likely to become your problem than would normally be expected. Whether this represents supernatural influence or poor decision-making is still under investigation. Current evidence favors both.
James sat with that as he walked.
The bag of coins bumped lightly against his hip with every step.
More trouble, then.
Probably larger trouble, if Walsh truly had connections inside the Royal Navy.
The possibility should have concerned him.
Instead, he found himself looking at it the way he looked at any other problem. Bigger enemies meant bigger risks. They also tended to leave larger opportunities behind.
In the end, he couldn’t summon much worry.
If trouble intended to keep finding him, the least it could do was bring coin along for the introduction.
