Know nothing about it--have you ever been there? Last year, the ship I was on stopped at Vancouver, in our colony there. It's just an outpost, and we went no further north."

"Sitka's not much further. I was there as a youth once. Now we've permanent settlement, lots of traders, a few hundred shacks,"

Zergeyev said sourly. "Furs, freezing, lawlessness, illiterates, Indians, drunks, and no society. The place is a foul wasteland, discovered by Bering and Chirikov a hundred odd years ago... at first they thought it was just part of our northern territories, fifty-odd miles across an inlet, not realizing it was a Strait they named after Bering.

Sixty-odd years ago, one of my granduncles helped form the Russian American Fur Company, our fur-trading monopoly, and appointed an imperious son of a whore--a cousin called Baranof--to be Director who moved the capital to Sitka. It's on an island off the coast, totally miserable and called, guess what, Baranof Island. Unfortunately my family made Alaska a special interest. Hence the posting. Matyeryeybitz! Both of them."

Sir William laughed and Angelique turned back to them. "May I share the joke?"

"Er, it wasn't well, very funny, my dear," he said, docketing the highly interesting data for transmission to London, "just a Russian vulgarity."

"English humor, Angelique," Zergeyev laughed. "And on that happy thought, it is time for dinner."

Gallantly he bowed, went over and took Maureen into the dining room, Sir William and Angelique followed, then the others.

Abundant silver on refectory table, liveried menservants behind each chair, others to bring in huge quantities of meats and borscht and beets and pies and jugs of iced vodka, champagne and French wines and sorbets.

Gypsy musicians from the Russian warship, then later Cossack dancers from his entourage for entertainment.

Conversation buzzing and all of them still comparing: tiny and tall, French against one of us, delightful French accent, comfortable Scots. Both beddable, Angelique much more so, both eligible, and marriageable, Maureen much more so.

Saturday, 3rd January

Saturday, 3rd January: "Mass'r down stair, Missee-tai-tai."

"Master Gornt?"

Ah Soh shrugged, standing in the doorway of Angelique's boudoir. "Kwailoh Mass'r." With her hand she indicated someone tall, and closed the door with a customary bang.

Angelique glanced quickly in the mirror.

Her suppressed excitement was all the makeup she needed. A moment while she locked her journal and put it away. A final check and she swept out. Black silk dress with many petticoats, hair tied with a neat chiffon scarf, also black. Signet wedding ring. Down the staircase oblivious of the servants at their early morning chores.

Into the tai-pan's office. Gornt stood by the window, looking out at the bay. Chen waited lugubriously.

"Good morning, Edward."

He turned and smiled a welcome. "'morning Ma'am."

"Can I order coffee, or champagne?"

"Nothing thank you, I've had breakfast. Just wanted to tell you about Hong Kong, and your shopping list, hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Thank you. Chen, wait outside, heya."

The moment they were alone she said softly, "This is Albert's office now, I'm borrowing it while he's in the counting office with Vargas so we may not have much time--it's hard to have somewhere to talk privately. Let's sit here, Edward," she said, motioning to the table in the window, the curtains open. "Passersby can see us, that should be safe, you were Malcolm's friend. Please quickly, what happened."

"May I say first how marvelous you look?"

"So do you." Her anxiety was open now.

"Please?"

"It went very well, I think," he said, as quietly, "Tess would make a great poker player, Angelique, so I can't be sure.

At our first meeting I told her about my Brock information as we agreed, saying several times in different ways it was because of you I was seeing her. Not th--"

"Were you the first to see her from the ship?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure because I went ashore on the pilot boat before Prancing Cloud docked, with Captain Strongbow. After I told Tess about the Brocks, there wasn't much of a reaction, she listened intently, asked a few questions and then said, Please come back tomorrow, with your evidence, shortly after dawn. Use the side door in the alley, it will be unlocked, and be muffled up and careful, the Brocks have spies everywhere. The next day..."

"Wait! Did you tell her about, about Malcolm dying, and about our marriage?"

"No, I let Strongbow do that," Gornt said. "I'll start from the beginning. We went ashore together on the pilot boat, at my suggestion, keeping quiet about it, and Hoag out of the plan--he's a loose mouth. I had volunteered to support Strongbow and help because I was a witness to part of it... the poor fellow was scared to death though it really was his duty to tell her. When he blurted out that Malcolm was dead she went white. In a few seconds she had recovered her composure, astonishing how fast, but she did and then she asked, her voice flat, she asked him how Malcolm had died. Strongbow was distraught and he stuttered, "I brought the death certificate, Mrs. Struan, and inquest findings and a letter from Sir William and it was from natural causes and happened aboard Prancing Cloud. We found him dead in the morning, after the night he was wed"..."

"She shot to her feet like an arrow and screeched, "You married my son to that woman?"' Strongbow almost died and gabbled out the story as fast as he could, about Pearl, about the duel, me saving Jamie's life killing Norbert, finding Malcolm, telling everything he knew, how you were in shock. The sweat was pouring off him, Angelique. I must admit I was sweating too --after the first screech Tess just stood there, eyes on fire like a Medusa. Then he gave her some letters, I saw one was from Sir William, mumbled sorry but it was his awful duty to tell her and he stumbled away."

Gornt took out a handkerchief and dried his forehead, and Angelique felt weak, nauseated at the strength of her enemy--if Tess could make Gornt sweat like this, what might Tess do to her? "She just stood there and then her eyes turned on me. Astonishing how such a woman could seem so... so tall. And tough.

Tough one minute, soft the next but never her guard down. I had to force my feet not to back off and looked around pretending to be afraid of being overheard, and said in a rush that I was dreadfully sorry too, Malcolm really was my friend, that you were her friend too and it was because of you I was there as I had information that would bankrupt Tyler and Morgan Brock. The moment I said "bankrupt Tyler" the madness left her, at least the scary fire left her and she sat down, still didn't take her eyes off me, sat down and after a long time said, "What information?"' I said I'd come back tomorrow but she said with a voice like a knife, What information? I gave her the bare bones ... Sorry, Angelique, could I have a drink? Not champagne, whisky, bourbon if you have it."

She went to the sideboard and poured for him, water for herself as he continued, "The next day I brought half of the evidence and left it with her.

She--"

"Wait, was she the same as the day before?"

"Yes and no. Thanks, health, a long one and a merry." He took a deep swig and gasped as the spirit caught his throat. "Thanks. When I'd finished she looked at me and I thought I'd failed. That's one hell of a scary woman, I wouldn't like to be her enemy."

"But I am? Mon Dieu, Edward, tell me the truth."

"Yes, you are but that doesn't matter for the moment, let me go on. I--"

"You gave her my letter?"

"Oh yes, sorry forgot to mention it, I did that the first day, before I left, just as we agreed, again stressing this was all your idea, telling her then that as my arrangement was with Malcolm, the tai-pan, and he was dead, I had considered the deal was off and was going back to Shanghai to wait for a new tai-pan. But you sought me out and begged me to come to see her, saying I owed it to my friend Malcolm, that he had mentioned my proposal to you in secret--with none of the details--and you were certain it would be his wish to pass the information on to his mother as soon as possible, that I must do it urgently. At first I didn't want to, but you pleaded with me and persuaded me. So I was there because of you and you had asked me to give her a letter. I passed it over."