Howe gave no indication one way or the other. “Why do you want to know?”
“I think it is unwise to pursue the subject with her. She has already mentioned Lafitte in passing, but it is easy to see she will not use her friendship, even to save herself.”
“Does she know that by bringing Lafitte to us she can gain herself a pardon?”
“In the first place, Senator, she has correctly surmised that we have no right to keep her. In order for her to be brought here I had to threaten her with the imprisonment of her men. She knows these charges are merely a ruse. I have only told her we require her assistance, that her knowledge of British movements, of running blockades, would be of value to us. Those are the things you should ask her to help us with. I never mentioned Lafitte, hoping I could persuade you to reconsider the issue. I doubt if she will help us now, even if Lafitte’s name is never brought up, but I know for a certainty she will refuse if we expect her to use her friendship as a weapon.”
“You have something in mind, Captain?” asked Howe, mulling over what had been said.
“I believe if we offer Captain Danty an opportunity to find Travers she may help us.” Cloud was taken aback by the quick and angry response of the senator.
“It’s out of the question! Bennet Farthington will tell you himself that we don’t need ships in the Caribbean right now, not when the British are beginning to blockade our eastern ports.”
“And what good is her experience if she refuses you and spends the entire war in prison?” Cloud asked angrily.
“She would do that?”
“She’ll tell you yourself if you don’t change your approach.”
Senator Howe eased back in his chair. “Travers is in the Caribbean. Lafitte is in the Caribbean. If she could bring us Lafitte then—”
“No! Lafitte must stay out of this. Find another way to get his help. Captain Danty will not do it.”
“You ask too much for her, Captain.”
“I do not,” Cloud answered quietly. Howe said nothing and Cloud went on, resigned to the fact that nothing would change. “When do you want to meet with her?”
“Robert Davidson has asked the President to have dinner with him on Thursday. Granger, Farthington, and I will also be there. Originally we had planned to discuss what we would do if you were unsuccessful, now that has changed. It will be a good time for a meeting with Captain Danty. We can discuss her role after dinner. Why are you frowning, Captain?”
Howe’s question caught him off guard. He had been unaware he had shown his displeasure so openly. “I doubt that Captain Danty will take kindly to the pretense.”
“The pretense?”
“What else can you call it, Senator? She knows she is not your guest, yet you would ask that she perceive it that way. You would give her dinner, small talk, let her drink her wine, in return for her cooperation. She would rather you brought her in chains than as a guest.”
“That is hardly something I would consider.”
“Consider only that she will perceive it that way.”
“If it’s chains she wants, Captain, you may assure her that is what she’ll have if she refuses.”
Cloud stood immobile, fighting not to show what he thought about the senator, realizing somehow it was dangerous to show this man too much. “What time Thursday do I bring her to this”—he wanted to say charade—“dinner,” he finished, hoping the hesitation was not noticeable.
“I believe seven-thirty is what Davidson had in mind.” He checked his calendar, making a great show of it. “Yes. Seven-thirty, it is.”
As soon as Cloud left the office Howe scribbled a note and called in his secretary. “Find Bennet Farthington. He should be hanging on Eustis’s heels somewhere. Don’t look at me blankly! He’s the War Secretary, for God’s sake! Give Bennet this.” Howe threw the paper across his desk and his secretary hurried out. He got out of his chair and began to pace the room in angry strides.
She had to bring them Lafitte. He was the point of all of this—that, and having Danty herself in custody. If everything the captain said was true then they might have to settle for only Danty. The meeting would prove very interesting.
Walking toward his home, Cloud wondered if he should tell Alexis what had happened in the meeting. He already was sure she suspected there was something more involved in obtaining her pardon than simply supplying them with information and helping them fight a few ships. He shook his head. She would have to hear it from them. He could not be the one to tell her what they wanted.
He stopped suddenly, passing a dress shop. Taking a few steps backward, he went inside. He had not given any thought to what she would wear to meet the President until now and he knew she had nothing suitable for a dinner. He thought of her greeting the President and the others in her fawn britches and white shirt, perhaps with her rapier at her side. He chuckled softly at the thought, then felt himself tensing at the picture he created. She would be magnificent in anything she wore. He wondered idly if Howe expected her to appear with her dagger drawn.
He got the attention of the shopkeeper, a small woman with shrewd violet eyes, and explained what he wanted. She showed him pages and pages of drawings of gowns and he imagined each of them on Alexis’s slim, elegant form. He stopped in his search, pressing a finger to the gown on the page in front of him. The gown in the picture appeared to be made of a heavy material, possibly velvet, but it was not the richness of the material that caught his eye. The style, the lines of the gown, matched Alexis. It had short, puffed sleeves, a rounded neckline; and below the empire waist the dress hung freely.
“This is the one,” he said with certainty.
“It is very beautiful,” the woman agreed, eyeing Cloud with satisfaction. “Will your wife be choosing the material?”
