Red Seas Under Red Skies: The Gentleman Bastard Sequence, Book Two (Gentleman Bastards 2)
4
‘Ravelle didn’t exist until a month ago,’ said Stragos. ‘Not until I had you to build the lie around. A dozen of my most trusted men and women will swear after the fact that he was real, that they shared assignments and meals with him, that they spoke of duties and trifles in his company.
‘My finnickers have prepared orders, duty rosters, pay vouchers and other documents, and seeded them throughout my archives. Men using the name of Ravelle have rented rooms, purchased goods, ordered tailored uniforms delivered to the Sword Marina. By the time I’m dealing with the consequences of your betrayal, he’ll seem real in fact and memory.’
‘Consequences?’ asked Locke.
‘Ravelle is going to betray me just as Captain Bonaire betrayed me when she took my Basilisk out of the harbour seven years ago and raised a red banner. It’s going to happen again . . . twice to the same Archon. I will be ridiculed in some quarters, for a time. Temporary loss for long-term gain.’ He winced. ‘Have you not considered the public reaction to what I’m arranging, Master Kosta? I certainly have.’
‘Gods, Maxilan,’ said Locke, toying absently with a knot on one of the lines bracing the vessel’s relatively small mainsail. ‘Trapped out at sea, feigning mastery in a trade for which I’m barely competent, fighting for my life with your fucking poison in my veins, I shall endeavour to keep you in my prayers for the sake of your hardship.’
‘Ravelle is an ass, too,’ said the Archon. ‘I’ve had that specifically written into his back history. Now, something you should know about Tal Verrar - the Priori’s constables guard Highpoint Citadel Gaol in the Castellana. The majority of the city’s prisoners go there. But while the Windward Rock is a much smaller affair, it’s mine. Manned and provisioned only by my people.’
The Archon smiled. ‘That’s where Ravelle’s treachery will reach the point of no return. That, Master Kosta, is where you’ll get your crew.’