While Alexis and Jordan were discussing the plan that would release him, Cloud was counting the stone blocks of his prison walls. It did nothing to keep his mind off the doubts and unanswered questions plaguing him.
Twenty-five.But why had Howe come to the house? He had expected naval authorities to take him into custody. Why had the senator?Twenty-six.And the guards with him seemed to be taking orders from him. Howe did not have that kind of authority. Madison must have given him orders to supervise the arrest.Twenty-seven.If only the President had been at the meeting. He would have understood why it had been necessary to release Alexis.Twenty-eight.
And why wasn’t he allowed to see his superiors? Why had the guards told him only Farthington and Howe were permitted to see him? He supposed it didn’t matter for the time being. He would be able to explain everything at his trial.Twenty-eight. No. Twenty-nine. Damn. One.He would be able to make the officers at his trial understand that freeing Alexis was not a treasonous act. He would make them see that by releasing her to find Travers they would have her help later and it would be given freely.Two. Three.What was it about Howe and the others he did not trust? They seemed to want the same things. Seemed to.Two. No—damn! One.
A key grated in the gate of his cell door. Cloud looked up and saw the guard named Matt usher Senator Howe into the cell.
Howe glanced around briefly before his gaze rested on the captain. His eyes were cold, mocking. His thick lips formed a derisive smile. “Not very pleasant, is it?”
“Not very. Would you care for a seat?” Cloud patted the end of his cot, the only available space in the room.
“I’ll stand. I understand you’ve asked to talk to your commander.”
“That’s right. I thought I should arrange for counsel.”
“You won’t need counsel.” He saw Cloud’s questioning look. “There isn’t going to be a trial.”
“No trial?” He was confused and a faint alarm sounded in his head. “Then you realize why I had to let Captain Danty go?”
“There isn’t going to be a trial because you have already been found guilty, Captain.”
“What?”
“Are you really surprised? You’ve already admitted you freed Captain Danty. She was a criminal.”
Cloud forced himself to speak with deadly calm. “You know that isn’t true, Senator. She isn’t a criminal, at least as far as the United States is concerned. That is one of the things I wanted to make clear at my trial.”
Howe laughed. “Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you understand that is precisely why there isn’t going to be a trial?”
“What are you talking about? Just exactly what is going on?”
“You really don’t know, do you?”
“I don’t make a habit of asking questions I know the answers to.”
Howe frowned. “You won’t be quite so cocky after I finish explaining a few things to you, Cloud. First, there won’t be any trial because as you’ve known all along there were never any real charges against Danty. You were right in expecting to be able to prove that. Therefore, there can’t be any charge of treason against you. Although Danty’s help would have benefited us we couldn’t force her to cooperate.”
“Then why—”
“Don’t interrupt.” Howe warned him sharply. “I don’t have to tell you anything before you’re hanged.” He saw Cloud’s attention was riveted on him and he felt a heady sensation knowing he held so much power over this man.
“As I was saying, no one would convict you of treason because no such act really took place. I know what you’re thinking—the orders. Well, the orders from Little Jemmy came from Bennet Farthington’s pen.”
“A forgery, then.”
“You’re very bright, Captain,” Howe responded sarcastically. “But not bright enough when it counted. Do you know how you were picked for the mission to bring in Danty?”
Cloud shook his head.
“No, of course you wouldn’t realize it. You were chosen because, unlike some of your fellow officers we could have picked, you believed a war could be won. You truly thought the United States had a grievance against Great Britain. We knew about your impressment by the Royal Navy, but we also knew you didn’t see this as a personal battle. You actually thought there might be a favorable outcome.
“You were chosen because we knew we could make you believe Captain Danty’s help could bring about that favorable ending sooner. And indeed, Danty would have been of some assistance if that’s what we really wanted. You’ll have to believe me when I tell you we had no idea you actually knew her. We were genuinely surprised to discover she was a woman.
“It almost made us change our minds until we realized she had to be stopped regardless of her motives or her sex. And there remained the matter of Lafitte who was our second target. You helped us stumble on the means to get both of them at once.
“You see, Captain, winning this war is not our desire. I never wanted to enter it in the first place, and I have a lot of company. My biggest concern, and Robert’s, too, when you arrived here with Danty was that somehow you would find out that both of us voted against the proposal for war. There were hardly any votes from New England to support Madison. Because Robert, Bennet, Richard, and I knew there was probably no way to stop a declaration, our primary interest became how to survive it.
“Contrary to what you believe, we cannot hope to win. The real problem is how to end it quickly. The fewer losses the British suffer, the sooner this is over and the better chance we have for negotiating a favorable peace settlement. Turning Captain Danty over to the Royal Naval authorities would have been seen as a friendly gesture on our part.”
