China by Edward Rutherfurd (historical books to read TXT) 📕

“Do I get some of that?”

“Oh, I think so. As a matter of fact, you get the same as Tully and me. Twenty-five thousand.”

“But…my partnership is ten percent. Surely…”

“Tully’s very pleased with you. As it happened, that ugly business with Lin in Canton was a very good test. Showed us what you’re made of. You came through it very well. Steady under fire. Kept a cool head. Then you brought us that American to get our tea in, remember? When you came back from Hong Kong to Calcutta, Tully sent me a private letter, proposing we make you an equal partner, subject to my agreement. Timing left to my discretion. So there you are. I do agree, and this seems an excellent time.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Trader was thunderstruck. “It’s more than kind. I never expected…”

“Good.” Benjamin Odstock observed him for a moment. “Will that be enough to pay off your debt?” he asked genially.

“My debt?” Trader went pale for an instant. Then to his embarrassment he began to blush. Had Read told Tully about it? “How would you know if I had any debt?” he inquired.

“It was obvious right from the start. Tully and I both guessed. Actually,” Benjamin remarked cheerfully, “we enjoyed watching you sweat.” He took a pinch of snuff. “Good for you to suffer a bit. Showed you had nerve. It also told us that you were really committed to our business.”

“Oh,” said Trader.

“Is twenty-five thousand enough to clear your debt?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, you’re whole again. From now on, you’re an equal partner with us in Odstocks. As for the opium we lost, if we get compensated one day, that’ll be an extra windfall.” He smiled. “Something to look forward to.”

“I can’t believe it.” Trader shook his head in wonderment.

“Well, I’d say you’re out of trouble. As for making your fortune, we’ll have to see. If this expedition against the Chinese doesn’t work and the opium trade becomes impossible, I daresay Tully and I will take what we’ve already made and go home. You’ll have to trade as best you can.” He gave him a friendly nod. “Personally, I’m betting on the British.”

“So,” said Trader fervently, “am I.”

—

For the next few hours, John Trader answered business letters, checked ledgers, and tried not to think about the future. Shortly after noon, however, he felt the need to stretch his legs and began to walk slowly towards the large nearby park that ran along the bank of the sacred Hooghly River.

Once he was in the park, the trees gave him protection from the midday sun. After a few minutes he came to a shady spot overlooking the wide waters where someone had obligingly set a stone bench. And there he sat down, gazed at the moving river, and allowed himself to think.

What did this sudden change in his circumstances really mean? His debt was gone. He could settle up with Read. His inheritance was intact again. In fact, he was now some thousands richer. And an equal partner in a small but respectable merchant house. Most fellows had to wait many years before they reached that position. He was ahead of the game.

“I suppose,” he remarked to the river, “that I could marry.”

Plenty of people in Calcutta would have thought him eligible. He’d be seen as a good bet, a “coming man.”

If I were Charlie, I’d marry a nice girl and be happy, he said to himself. But that was the problem. He wasn’t Charlie. Something else drove him on; he wasn’t even sure what it was. A quest for the unknown? A dream, perhaps. He continued to sit on the bench staring at the water. “Why do I always have to want more?” he asked the river. And receiving no reply, he shook his head.

Then, into his mind’s eye, came the vision of a wild Scottish moor, a peat-brown burn, and a slim, graceful woman whose face was not clearly defined, but could only be Agnes; and behind her, in the distance, a Scottish castle.

Agnes. She wasn’t like the other girls. There was nothing wrong with them, but Agnes was set apart, a soul from another world. Agnes belonged in that mystic land where time was measured in centuries, and people knew who they were, and families were old as the echoing hills. And if he could obtain that for her, and she wanted to place her hand in his and lead him there and give herself to him, why then it seemed to him that he would have reached the holy grail itself.

Yesterday it had been only a dream. But today?

Two things troubled him. The lesser was the almost certain opposition of Colonel Lomond. Agnes might plead his cause. She certainly seemed to have given him the signal that she’d welcome his interest. But while it might be a tough fight with the colonel, he was prepared for that.

The second was more serious. For, as the colonel would no doubt point out, his fortunes still rested on the assumption that one way or another, the opium trade would resume. If it came to an end, he’d surely find a way to make a good living, but not the fortune needed to give Agnes the life she wanted. And above all things in the world, he desired to make her happy. I know the goodness of her soul, he thought. If she makes a commitment to love and cherish me, she’ll never let me down. But if I let her down, could I ever forgive myself?

Was it fair to press his suit when things with China were still so uncertain? On the other hand, if he waited too long, would he lose her?

“I need to think some more,” he murmured. He rose to his feet and began to move out of the park.

At the top of the park, he emerged into the district known as Dalhousie Square. It wasn’t a single square, but an entire area where the stately British government