David Liss - The Coffee Trader

Here was a handsome situation. How could I avoid cutting off his little fingers-fingers he volunteered for their severing-without revealing myself to be the sort of man who simply re-frained from those sorts of cruelties? I truly believed he had forced my hand and I had no choice but to cut off the man’s fingers-though, being merciful, I was prepared to cut off only one. How else could I save my fierce reputation? I know not what dark path I might have followed if I had not been rescued by the most unlikely of men.

As I stared at the old fellow and contemplated his fate, I heard the slap of metal on wood. I and my Dutchmen turned and saw a figure standing in the dim light, erect as a royal guard. It was none other than Solomon Parido.

“Here is the ten guilders he owes you,” he said coolly. “I won’t allow this thing to transpire.”

“I had no idea you possessed such charity in your heart,” I said.

“I cannot stand by and see a man mutilated by so cruel a beast. This display sickens me, but I am at least gratified to know that the moral judgment I made of you has proved sound.”

“Senhor, the air circulates poorly in this room, and I fear your sanctimoniousness will suffocate us all. Nevertheless, I’m sure our friend here is grateful for your intervention.”

The old thief, knowing an opportunity when he saw one, chimed in. “Ten guilders is but the principal. You have neglected the interest.”

Claes and Caspar looked at me, awaiting orders. I did not want this farce witnessed, so I sent them all out of the room. I told the Dutchmen to free the thief with a slap or two for good measure, and they were gone. I sat facing my old enemy in the thin light of a musky closet. I had not had private words with Parido since my exile. There had been a few barbs exchanged on the street or in taverns where we crossed paths, but nothing like this.

It occurred to me that here was a fine opportunity for revenge. Why could I not have Claes and Caspar remove his little fingers or give him a slap or two for good measure? But that was not the sort of revenge I craved.

“Have you come to apologize to me?” I asked. I gestured for him to sit on one of the old stools in the room and lit my pipe by dipping a large splinter into the oil lamp and then into the packed bowl.

Parido remained standing, too great a man to place his ass on a stool that one such as I might use. “You know I haven’t.”

“I know you haven’t,” I agreed. “Well, then. It must be something for you to come here. I believe it to have worked this way: you had your Ma’amad spies track me to this place and you thought it perfect, for surely no one would see you enter or leave. You were willing to tear open your purse for that old thief because you could not imagine a more private meeting than this, and you were willing to take the opportunity when it presented itself. So now that we know all that, let us move on.” I blew smoke at him. “What do you want, Parido?”

His dignity would not permit him to swat at the smoke, but I could see him struggling not to gag. “I have questions for you to answer,” he said.

“I suppose then we’ll see if I feel like answering, but I can promise you nothing. You see, Parido, I can’t think of any reason why I should want to help you or provide you with answers about anything. You treated me as no Jew should treat another. This is not the Ma’amad chamber of the Talmud Torah, this is the belly of Amsterdam, and if I decide you are never vomited out, no one will hear from you more.”

“Don’t threaten me,” he said evenly.

I admired his courage and laughed at his stupidity-perhaps I had not secured my villainous reputation as carefully as I ought. He had every reason to be frightened yet did not seem to know or care. I only shrugged in return. “I suppose we’ll see what’s a threat and what isn’t. In the meantime, I am nothing short of astonished at your pluck, showing up as you have, as though I might be happy to forgive your wrongs.”

“I won’t defend my actions. I have only come to ask you if you encouraged Miguel Lienzo to pursue a trade in whale oil, knowing that his trade would harm me while keeping that possibility hidden from Lienzo himself. In other words, did you use him as your pawn?”

Quite the contrary: I had gone so far as to warn Miguel Lienzo about just this sort of thing, but I was not about to tell Parido that much. “Why should you ask me that?”

“Because that is what Lienzo says.”

Ah, Lienzo, I thought. Using my name to his advantage. Well, why should he not? Surely Parido cornered him, and, rather than risking himself, he blamed the souring of Parido’s finances on Alferonda the way peasants blame the souring of milk on imps. The parnass could do me no more harm than he already had. I was in no danger. I therefore did not feel any anger toward Miguel, who had only been behaving prudently.

I shook my head. “I would have done so if I could have, but I will not commit the sin of lying to protect any man. I had nothing to do with any whale-oil futures of yours. I suspect Lienzo is protecting himself or protecting another man by suggesting that it was me.”

But, you may wonder, if I did not resent Miguel for taking liberties with my name, why did I not protect him? Why did I expose him to Parido’s anger when I might so easily have absorbed that anger myself?

I did so because I could not risk a rapprochement between the two. Far better that Miguel should face Parido’s wrath.

During his brief period of exile, Miguel thought it best to avoid other Jews of the neighborhood. Their stares and whispers would only sour his victory. Men who had suffered temporary bans always hid themselves away in their homes until they were again free to go about their business. They lurked about like thieves, they closed their shutters, they ate their food cold.

Miguel had too much to do and hadn’t the luxury of hiding in his cellar for the day. He sent a note to Geertruid, telling her he wished to meet the next afternoon. He suggested the Golden Calf. That disgusting little place where they had first discussed coffee might not suit his taste, but at least he knew Geertruid’s cousin did not serve other Jews, and on the day of his cherem he wished for secrecy. Geertruid wrote back and suggested instead another tavern, one near the warehouses. As it promised to be equally obscure, Miguel sent his agreement.

After sending out letters to his agents, Miguel prepared a bowl of coffee and took a moment to think about his most pressing needs: how to raise five hundred guilders to complete the amount Isaiah Nunes required. Instead of obtaining the missing money, he might transfer to Nunes the thousand that remained to him at the very end of the week. Nunes would not notice, or he would not be able to speak of it until the beginning of next week. Being too cowardly to face Miguel directly when it came to such awkward things as debt, he would send a letter requesting the remaining amount, and then-since Miguel planned to ignore the request-he would send another note a few days later. Miguel would return a vague reply that would give Nunes some hope that the money was forthcoming at any moment. So long as he avoided running into his friend, he could extend the payment date for weeks before Nunes grew angry enough to threaten him with courts or the Ma’amad. Clearly this matter of five hundred guilders was not nearly so dire as he had led himself to believe.

In a much brighter mood, he indulged himself with a Charming Pieter pamphlet he had read only twice before. He had not even set the water for his second bowl of coffee to boiling before Annetje appeared from around the winding staircase, her head cocked at an impish angle Miguel mistook for lust. He had not been feeling amorous, but with a free morning before him, there was no reason why he could not summon some enthusiasm. Annetje, however, only wished to tell him that the senhora awaited him in the drawing room.