“An interesting way to put it. What else?”
“He has taught himself several languages. He speaks English better than most of my countrymen. And he's quite elderly, near eighty.
That's significant because he has ruled longer than anyone else in North Africa. Regimes in that part of the world tend to be rather temporary, you understand. The dey does not rule as a hereditary right, as does the British king, for example, but entirely at the pleasure of the
ozak,
his council of janissariesâTurkish soldiers who owe their allegiance not to the dey, but to the grand sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople. Should the dey displease the
ozak,
an assassin is likely to put a quick end to his reign. Stop me if I'm telling you what you already know.”
Richard shook his head. “I don't know any of this. How has bin Osman managed to survive for so long?”
“As I said, he's no fool. He's a tough old bird who does not abuse his office, as others have before him. In his youth, so the story goes, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and earned a reputation for hard work and decency. Since he's of Turkish ancestry, he was able to work his way up through the ranks until he achieved the title of
khaznaji,
or treasurer, a position regarded as equivalent to an heir apparentâa prince of Wales if you will. His reputation is that of a simple, frugal man who does not shrink from using piracy and terror as instruments of government policy, and who does not tolerate loose morals or spirits or tobacco. He is widely respected for those beliefs, since they sit at the heart of Islam, in theory if not always in practice. When the former ruler copped it forty years ago, bin Osman was voted in.”
“You make him sound almost admirable.”
“That's exactly the point, Richard. He
is
admirable to those he serves. If you're going to judge a man, do so using his standards, not your own. It's a mistake we English often make.”
Richard pressed on, his voice laced with derision. “So Mohammed bin Osman dispatches pirate corsairs to prey on unarmed merchant vessels and enslave and torture their crews. Yes, I can understand why people find him so admirable.”
Jeremy's face tightened. “I certainly do not wish to imply that
I
admire the dey,” he huffed, “or that I approve of his ways. However reprehensible I find him and his ilk, though, I advise you to first size up your enemy before you endeavor to bring him down.”
Richard's shoulders slumped. “I'm sorry, Jeremy. I meant no offense.”
“No offense taken. The dey of Algiers has thrown your brother into the brig. You have every reason to hate him.”
“Please, carry on.”
“I will, but first, may I offer you more partridge? Anything else? No? Right, then, at least allow me to pour you some more wine. Your glass is dreadfully empty.”
Richard did not protest, though the rich meal reinforced with several glasses of wine was beginning to slow his thinking. He forced himself to sip more slowly, to keep a grip on himself.
“There are essentially three points you need to understand,” Jeremy said, settling into an explanation that Richard suspected had by now become quite familiar to him. “I'll try to keep them brief and simpleâthough admittedly there is precious little about our Muslim friends that fits comfortably under either of those terms.
“First, you must recognize that Muslims do not believe that what they are doing violates civil or Islamic law. To the contrary, their religion encourages holy war, or jihad, against nonbelievers. That most definitely includes you and me, and everyone else who does not pay homage to the Prophet Muhammad or follow the Koran, the Islamic sacred book that Muslims accept as the word of God dictated to the Prophet. So you see, all this has a religious undertone to it.
“Howeverâand this is my second pointâwhile religion is important to the Muslim as an individual, its role is secondary in affairs of state. Put another way, what to you and me is piracy on the open seas is, to the dey and his council, simply good business. The tribute he receives from European powers to protect their shipping in these waters and the ransoms he receives for the release of captured sailors are critical to the economy of Algiers and the other Barbary States.”
“So the dey not only supports acts of piracy, he directs them.”
“Just so. And I might add that he earns a pretty penny in the process: one-fifth of every tribute paid, one-fifth of every ransom paid, one-fifth of the value of every foreign cargo seized. The captain and owners of the corsair receive half, and her crew and soldiers divide up the balance. A rather tidy arrangement, isn't it? Does it happen to remind you of anything?”
“Privateering?”
“Well done. Bravo. As I recall, during the recent war your privateers were quite successful in the Atlantic and Caribbean doing precisely what Barbary corsairs are doing today in the Mediterranean.”
“That's hardly a fair comparison, Jeremy,” Richard protested. “America was at war with England at the time. Every nation accepts privateering as a legitimate activity in times of war.”
“Ah, you've put your legal finger right on it. Brilliant.” Jeremy raised his glass in a silent toast. At Richard's confused expression he explained: “To you and me, Richard, and to everyone else of a Western mind, peace exists until a state of war is declared between two nations. Muslims, however, tend to look at things a bit differently. They believe that a state of war exists ipso facto with an infidel country until a temporary peace has been declared with that country. That notion has its roots in Islam, since Islam is forever fighting what Muslims believe is a holy war against nonbelievers. That's just my opinion, of course. You'll not find that in the Koran. And incidentally, the purpose of jihad is not strictly to convert nonbelievers by force. It is, rather, to remove obstacles to their conversion to Islam. To achieve that goal, force often becomes necessary.”
Richard contemplated that. “And a temporary peace can be declared only if and when another nation pays a financial gift, or tribute, to the ruler?”
“Exactly so.”
“We call that blackmail in America, Jeremy.”
“We call it blackmail in England, too, Richard. But to repeat myself, the Muslims don't see things our way. Mind you, the dey does not desire peace with every nation, only the most powerful ones, such as England. The others he'd prefer to prey upon and take his profit from their cargoes and sailors. Cheers.” Jeremy drained his glass, gripped the bottle, and after glancing over at Richard's half-full glass, refilled his own. “And by the by, you may be interested to know that in Arabic, the word âcorsair' does not mean âpirate' as many people believe. It means âprivateer.'”
Richard settled back in his chair. “What's your third point?”
“Sorry?”
“Your third point. You said there were three points I need to understand.”
“So I did. Let me see . . . I should let up a bit on the wine . . . Ah, yes. My third point is that taking innocent people for slaves has been going on for centuries, by Christians and Muslims alike. Barbary corsairs have raided the coasts of Ireland and England and as far north as Iceland to cart off and sell off whomever and whatever they can. Britain has returned the favor by raiding villages in northern and sub-Saharan Africa and making slaves of Berbers, Moors, and Negroes. France, Spain, Holland, and many others have all followed our example. As
have you chaps in the coloniesâquite enthusiastically, I might add. So you see, Richard, we are
all
guilty in the eyes of Godâor Allah, if you prefer.”
The door opened and the steward reappeared carrying a silver tray. The conversation ceased momentarily as Jeremy and Richard watched him set the tray on the dining table. After removing the used dishes and glasses, he served heaping spoonfuls of a steaming pudding into two blue-flowered china bowls. He placed each bowl just so on a plate in front of each diner along with a clean wineglass.
“Figgy-dowdy,” he announced imperiously to Richard, “prepared to the captain's specifications. May I suggest a bottle of port to complement the pudding?”
Richard put a hand over his glass. “I'd best not, else Iâ”
“A capital suggestion, Bowen,” Jeremy interjected. “Please make it so. And Richard, I suggest you take my first lieutenant's cabin tonight. He's ashore at the citadel. Pedestal or no, my dear sister will see me keelhauled if you should fall overboard on your way back to your schooner.”
“Thank you, Jeremy,” Richard said, his speech slurring slightly despite his best efforts to control his tongue. “And thank you for the many courtesies you've shown me and my crew. You have been most kind.”
“Nonsense, my dear fellow. We're family. It's the least I can do. Now, then, before we both set three sheets to the wind, there is something I need give you. I mentioned it earlier when we were both sober as church mice.” He motioned to his steward, who had uncorked the port and was engaged in pouring out the contents. “Bowen, kindly bring me the packet on the smaller desk by the inkwell.”
When the steward had brought over the thick canvas package and departed the alcove, Jeremy opened it and removed a folded British flag, on top of which was a sheet of paper with a scalloped edge on one side and odd-looking bold black script cut off at the jagged edge.
“The flag, you may recall,” he said impishly, “is the Union Jack. I'd advise you to fly it when you leave Gibraltar. Barbary pirates are less likely to interfere with a vessel flying the Jack. In the event they do, show this to their
rais,
their captain.” He handed over the sheet of paper.
“What is it?”
“It's a passport of sorts. Every corsair captain in the Mediterranean has a half-sheet to match this paper. If the two sides fit together, you are free to sail on your way.”
“Is that what comes from paying tribute?” Despite himself, Richard could not suppress a note of sarcasm.
“England does not pay tribute, as such, to any Barbary state. Arabs have too much respect for our guns to demand it. As a matter of diplomacy, however, we do from time to time present the various deys and beys with giftsâfor example after a new ruler has been installed. Which tends to happen quite frequently, as I told you.
“A further point, whilst we're on the subject. I have notified Charles Logie, our consul in Algiers, of your pending visit. No doubt he has informed the dey. I have never met Mr. Logie, and I have little information to give you about him. I do advise you to be wary of the French consul, a certain Monsieur de Kercy. Your own envoyâa chap named Lambârelied too much on his good offices, and came to regret it. Which leads me to my main point, a warning, actually: trust no one in Algiers, Richard. And I mean
no one.
It's the proverbial den of thieves. And do not believe for an instant that because you represent the United States in Algiers you have diplomatic immunity there. More than one foreign consul has found himself in an Algerian prison for the crime of upsetting the dey.”
Richard nodded. He had heard similar words of caution from others.
“By the by,” Jeremy said with just a trace of slurred speech, “I had another distinguished guest for supper not two weeks ago. He sat in the very chair you're sitting in now.”
“Oh? Who?”
“Captain Horatio Nelson. He's a dear friend of mine. I believe you have made his acquaintance?”
Richard allowed the beginnings of a grin.
“Yes, well, ahem, I informed Captain Nelson of your pending arrival here and he insisted on sending you his warmest personal regards.”
“That was very decent of him,” Richard commented.
“Yes, well, Horatio is a very decent sort of man. But perhaps there's another reason for his bestowing such benevolence upon you. He's getting married, did you know?”
“I did not. To an Englishwoman?”
“Rather. Her name is Frances Nisbet. Her uncle is the governor of Nevis. She's a young widow with a young son, Josiah. Her former husband
was quite a bit older than she. He was, in fact, the family doctor who tried to save her sick father, whom Fanny adored. He wasn't able to, alas. In any event, Captain Nelson was on his way home and did me the honor of nipping in.”
“I'm glad you told me. I wish him the best in his marriage.”
“Yes, I'm sure you do.”
Despite the late hour, Jeremy showed a seemingly limitless capacity for conversation and alcohol. As his inquiries and observations and opinions rained in, the thought came warmly to Richard's mind that Jeremy Hardcastle was, after all, Katherine's brother and a very fine man.
Jeremy was keen to learn about the goings-on in Philadelphia, where a new Constitution had been completed the previous September and now awaited ratification by two additional states before it could be signed into law. Richard was surprised to learn how much of American politics and policy Jeremy already knew, as he picked Richard's brain for further details. What was his take on the convention? Who among the delegates did he know personally and what was his opinion of them? How would the proposed two houses of Congress actually function if both were popularly elected? What city would serve as capital? How serious, in fact, was the rift between the Federalist North and the Republican South? Would the infant republic be split asunder as a result of that rift? Most pressing: who among the nation's elite would be called upon to serve as its first president? General George Washington, one supposed.
“Only a fool would not think so,” Richard declared, his patriotism roused by Jeremy's enthusiasm despite a surfeit of wine. “It's his fate, Jeremy. He didn't prevail against overwhelming odds during the war in order to step aside now, when his country needs him the most.”