pay a price for murder? Surely you are mad! It is you who have committed murder, as I have been at great pains to learn. Did you think that you, who have been so publicly our enemy, should escape our notice? I know that you have been introduced to His Majesty’s case against Kate Cole, and I know of your involvement in the death of that blackguard. This company is committed to seeing you stand trial.”
I was stunned. I could not believe that this man could make so bold a pronouncement. I felt that it was a confession of connections, but I could not guess of what connections precisely. Did this mean that the Company was in league with Wild? That the Company had as good as confessed to being behind my father’s death? I could not sort it out. I was a trapped animal, and I had to restrain myself from jumping upon this man and beating him bloody.
Miriam looked on mutely. Her face was as that of a child whose parents bicker before her. I wished she had not been made to feel so threatened, but there was nothing to be done for it now.
“You have taken a misstep,” I said to the South Sea man, “in making me your enemy.”
He laughed aloud, and my rage increased, for I knew that I had nothing to threaten him with but the violence of the moment. But then a thought came to my mind. “If you want to silence me, I suggest you do it here and now. All your talk is but a bubble, for I assure you the moment I leave this building I shall inform the world of these forged issues.”
“Perhaps we are being hasty.” I had not seen Nathan Adelman enter the room, but he stood in the doorway, looking mildly amused. “Perhaps Mrs. Lienzo is but a victim and not a villain.”
I knew instantly their game; Adelman was to play the part of the compassionate man. Miriam breathed a sigh of relief, but I knew she was too clever to be fooled for more than an instant.
“Keep out of this, Adelman,” the other man said, “you know not of what you speak.”
“I think I do. Miriam, you merely want these stocks turned to cash, do you not?”
She nodded slowly.
“I see clearly that you have been swindled, and I shall tell you what we shall do. The Company is prepared to offer you three hundred pounds for these shares. Shall that satisfy the matter?”
I saw that Miriam, in her ignorance, was prepared to accept this meager offer. I would have none of it. “Adelman,” I spat, “why are you playing us for the fools that we are not? You know well that if this were valid stock it would sell for more than twice that on the open market.”
“You have learned a thing or two about the funds, Weaver. I am pleased to see that you are your father’s son after all. Yes, South Sea stock is now selling at over two hundred, but these are not valid stock—they are merely worth the value of printed paper, which is to say, nearly nothing. Three hundred pounds in exchange for nearly nothing is a good bargain, I think.”
“What both Miriam and I have is worth far more than that,” I said, “for now we have proof that counterfeit South Sea stock is in circulation. What will that do to its worth on the market when the word is spread, Adelman? Your efforts to eclipse the Bank shall come to a sudden halt. Do not think to try any of your Company tricks with us, for we have prepared ourselves by placing samples of this forged stock in a half-dozen different locations,” I lied hurriedly. “Should we fail to retrieve them before a time we have determined, our factors shall make them public. You cannot threaten to harm us or to destroy these issues without seeing your Company utterly undone.”
Miriam and I glanced at each other and nodded, as though this lie had been practiced all along. I delighted in seeing her hold herself in an attitude of authority—arms crossed, bosom thrust forward, chin held high. She knew that the balance of power had shifted.
Adelman’s companion nearly spat at the image of our complaisance. “Do you dare to threaten the South Sea Company?” he barked.
“No more so than this Company has threatened us. Let me make you a counteroffer. This woman will sign a paper swearing never to