“I cannot agree unless I know what I am getting myself into and the likelihood of being killed,” he raged.
“Listen to my proposal first,” Lionston insisted.
Rhys crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. It wasn’t as if he had a choice, since his future may very well depend on it. Or he could disappear before the Home Office found him. His funds may be low and he may be in debt from not working for a year, but he was far from destitute and if there is one thing that a spy learned to do well, it was vanish without a trace.
“Instead of calling your debts due, I will see them paid.”
It must be a dangerous mission if Lionston was going to be so generous. And for that reason alone, he had Rhys’ attention.
“Once it is complete, you can settle in Antigua.”
How important was this mission that he would be given what he wanted in the end? Rhys had worked in espionage, and for the government, for too long to know that there was always something held back and not mentioned until it was too late to back out.
“That is it? One mission and I will no longer be working for you?” Lionston had to believe that Rhys was not so foolish as to believe such a request was so simple.
“You will continue to work for me,” he answered. “Remember, I have agents beyond England.” He gestured to the maps on the wall, confirming what Rhys had wondered about the locations of spies. “You will be my man in the Caribbean.”
It had been difficult enough to get messages to and from England while they were working in France. The Caribbean was on the other side of the ocean. “How will you communicate?”
“When I become aware of a need in the Caribbean, I will write, using a code. Your instructions and mission will be contained within. Since it takes at least a month to sail from London to Antigua, the assignment will be fully detailed for you to see it through to the best of your ability. I will await your reply when the mission is complete, which means you will be an independent agent to decide how best to go about achieving the required results without interference from anyone.”
Had the Alien Office allowed him to do the job as he thought best and not saddled him with an incompetent fool, he would still be working for them. Instead, a man who had never been on a mission, had decided how he should go about uncovering French spies and the means used, while he dismissed all suggestions from Rhys.
“I cannot imagine that you will have much need of my talents.”
Lionston may have been a great spymaster when he was with the Home Office, but to run a spy ring around the world could even be beyond his abilities.
“One never knows when an agent is needed and that is the reason I am placing men and women in various locations. Those that I trust to see a matter through without the need to supervise. Also, agents who may discover unbeknownst to me, or anyone in England, threats to the Crown to be dealt with, in protection of England, without waiting for response or permission. We have been in those situations before when we were looking for one person but found something equally as dangerous not yet discovered and needed to be neutralized. It is because those situations may arise that I only recruit those who I know will be discrete and fully investigate to make certain of the facts before taking action and without having to wait for permission,” he explained.
Trust! And respect, which was something that was not given in his position with the Alien Office, which believed that each action he took needed to be dictated by them for fear that Rhys did not know what he was doing after he’d spent years on the Continent without error.
“When not working for me, you are free to fish or ferry people between the islands.”
Someone definitely had been listening to his discussion with Sellars since his friend was the only person he had shared his plans with.
“What if I do not want to work for you any longer—after I have completed the mission you have yet to share?”
“Then do not.” Lionston shrugged.
It could not be that easy, but he would accept the offer. His debts would be paid and he would be free to travel home.
“Very well, what is this mission that I am the only one suited to take on?”
One
January, 1809 ~ Martinique
Soon, if all went as planned, Rhys’ obligation to The Lion Watch would be at an end.
That had always been his intention when he received the assignment to travel to Martinique, one of the few islands in the Caribbean still controlled by the French, who were soon to be ousted by the British.
The residents of Fort-de-France, the largest city on the island, had been suspicious of him at first. Not that he could blame them. In their position, he would also wonder why an Englishman would want to live on Martinique. It wasn’t just those who had lived for generations on the island, but the French soldiers too, which is why he used the truth to win them over. There were still residents who remembered his mother and her family, though only distant relatives remained. When he described his dissatisfaction with England as a whole, little of it a falsity, he was welcomed.
His home, more of a hut than a house, had been found by a scout after Navy intelligence was informed that he would infiltrate the island community and gather information.
It had also secretly been made habitable prior to his arrival and even though it had only one room, there was a bed, table and benches and even a cook stove. After he had purchased other necessities, there was nothing else that he needed and Rhys was quite happy in his home, sheltered by the trees at the edge of the beach.
The other reason the British had chosen this place was because beside the hut was a sheltered and hidden cove where a small boat could remain out of sight awhen dispatches were delivered and received.
