David Liss - The Coffee Trader

“You rotten bastard!” the man shouted. “I know who you are, and I’ll kill you!”

“Christ,” Hendrick said petulantly, as though he had been asked to perform an unpleasant chore. He let out a puff of breath and struck the man hard in the face. The blow came fast, and his assailant went down on the floor to the cheers of the patrons.

In an instant the barkeep came out and, with the help of a servant, dragged the attacker toward the kitchens. Miguel guessed he would be thrown into the alley out back.

Hendrick smiled sheepishly. “I’d wager that fellow doesn’t much like me.”

Miguel nodded as he wiped the beer from his face.

“I don’t think there will be any trouble,” Geertruid said, “but you may wish to get gone.”

Hendrick nodded. “I take your meaning. Good day to you, Jew Man. ”

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes once Hendrick had left, and Miguel pondered the unanswerable question of how Geertruid understood what had passed.

“Tell me once more why you associate with him,” Miguel said, after a moment.

“Anyone can make enemies,” Geertruid said unconvincingly. “He is a rough man with rough friends, and they sometimes settle their differences uncouthly.”

It was true enough. Miguel found himself secretly hoping that Joachim might someday confront him with Hendrick nearby.

“In any case,” Geertruid said, still sounding a little drunk, “I am sorry you had to witness such trouble.”

He shook his head. “Where have you been these past days?”

“I never stay in one place for long,” she told him. She set a hand on top of his. “I like to visit my relatives in the countryside. It is a sad bird who never leaves her nest.”

“I wish you would inform me of when you plan to go away and when you plan to return. If we are to do business together, I must be able to find you.”

She patted his hand and looked directly into his eyes. “Of course. I’ll be good to you.”

Miguel took his hand away. He was in no mood for her nonsense. “It is not a matter of being good to me, but of being good to our business. This is not some silly woman’s game.”

“And I am not some silly woman,” she answered, her voice now hard as steel. “I may be soft, but I am not a fool to be lectured.”

Miguel felt himself go pale. He could not recall her ever having spoken to him thus. Like a Dutch husband, he wanted nothing so much as to placate her. “Madam, I of all men would never call you a fool. I only wished to say that I must be able to speak with you.”

She turned to him, her head at an angle, her thin lips spread in a warm smile, her eyes wide and inviting. “Of course, senhor. I have been at fault.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Miguel muttered. “And we have more important business to discuss. I have received several letters from our agents, and I’m optimistic that we’ll receive more good news within the next few weeks.”

She took a drink from her tankard. “Have we all the agents we require?”

“Not quite. We still lack Madrid, Lisbon, and Oporto.” He made every effort to sound unconcerned, but the truth was that there could be no control of the market without Iberia. “It is a problem,” Miguel added.

Geertruid studied him. “How will you solve this problem?” Her voice sounded icy.

“If I could answer that question I would have already solved it.”

“I put forth the money. I’ve done my part. Your part is to make it work-otherwise I should hardly need you.”

Miguel shook his head. “If you have no faith in this project, you must tell me now. There is still time to cancel the sale, though we lose the premium.”

Geertruid shook her head. “I don’t want to cancel the sale. I want the problem solved, and if it cannot be solved, I want to know that I can trust you to tell me so.”

“Very well,” he said sullenly. He had hardly been prepared for her to take this posture. “If I have not resolved the question of the Iberian agents in two weeks, we’ll cancel.”

Miguel showed no emotion, but even the thought of abandoning the deal filled him with misery. Perhaps he could find someone else, someone in the Jewish community to fund him. But that idea presented its own host of problems. He would have to discuss the plan in order to try to bring someone on board. Once he discussed it, it would no longer be a secret. His brother might have put up the money if they were on better terms, but Daniel had no faith that Miguel could manage his own affairs. No, if he lost Geertruid’s money, he could never proceed.

Then there was the matter of canceling the sale. Geertruid had been concerned about her money, and her lack of trust irritated Miguel. Though he had lost two thirds of her investment, he wasn’t the sort of person who handled money irresponsibly. He had only been unlucky.

Guessing that Geertruid had no idea how such sales were actually ordered, Miguel had simply invented his two-week estimate. He doubted he could get Nunes to cancel the deal in two weeks or even right now. But that difficulty could be dealt with another time. Now Miguel had no concern greater than regaining Geertruid’s confidence.

She nodded. “Two weeks is a goodly amount of time.”

“I had better redouble my efforts.” Miguel stood up. “I should hate to disappoint you.”

“Don’t think I’ve lost faith.” She reached out and took his hand in both of hers. “It is a great deal of money I’ve put forth, and I must protect my investment.”

“Of course, madam,” Miguel said. “I understand your heart in all things.”

Miguel stopped next at the Flyboat, where he found Isaiah Nunes engaged in conversation with a few other merchants of Miguel’s acquaintance. Nunes knew well how to read the expressions on a man’s face and, understanding that Miguel needed to speak with him, he pushed his muscular form upward.

The tavern was far too noisy, so they stepped outside into the cool of the late afternoon. Both men looked around carefully to make sure their conversation could not be overheard.

“If I choose to cancel the sale,” Miguel began abruptly, “by what date must I do so?”

“Cancel?” Nunes demanded. His face darkened. “What’s gone wrong?”

“Nothing,” Miguel told him warily. “I have no real plans to cancel, but one of my partners is nervous and asked me to make an inquiry. Besides, you were the one who advised me to be rid of coffee.”

“But not to be rid of our contract. You may tell this partner of yours it is far too late to back out. We don’t deal here with some friend of our Nation, you know. We deal with the East India Company, and the Company does not allow a buyer to change his mind no matter how politely one might ask.” Nunes paused for a moment. “I know you understand how things stand. I would hate for you to put me in an awkward position, Miguel.”

Miguel forced a smile. “Of course.”

Nunes shrugged. “In any case, I had actually been planning on sending you a little note tomorrow. I have made all the arrangements, and I now require a portion of the payment.”

“I had thought I would pay upon delivery,” said Miguel, who had thought no such thing.

“You know better than that,” Nunes said, his brow wrinkled in obvious displeasure.

“Shall we say a quarter up front?”

Nunes laughed and put a hand on Miguel’s shoulder. “You’re making me laugh now. You know how these things are done. If you’ll transfer half the amount to my account by the end of next week, I’d be most appreciative.”

Miguel cleared his throat. “Sadly, one of my partners has suffered a small-and temporary, I assure you-setback. We cannot come up with the entire sum by next week.”

The smile dropped from Nunes’s face.