A Plague of Zombies: An Outlander Novella Page 4

  He was shivering violently, despite the warmth of the night. He rubbed a hand over his left arm, which ached from the struggle; he had been badly wounded three years before, at Crefeld, and had nearly lost the arm. It worked but was still a good deal weaker than he’d like. Glancing at it, though, he was startled. Dark smears befouled the pale sleeve of his banyan, and, turning over his right hand, he found it wet and sticky.

  ‘Jesus,’ he murmured, and brought it gingerly to his nose. No mistaking that smell, even overlaid as it was by grave reek and the incongruous scent of night-blooming jasmine from the vines that grew in tubs by the terrace. Rain was beginning to fall, pungent and sweet—but even that could not obliterate the smell.

  Blood. Fresh blood. Not his, either.

  He rubbed the rest of the blood from his hand with the hem of his banyan, and the cold horror of the last few minutes faded into a glowing coal of anger, hot in the pit of his stomach.

  He’d been a soldier most of his life; he’d killed. He’d seen the dead on battlefields. And one thing he knew for a fact. Dead men don’t bleed.

  * * *

  Fettes and Cherry had to know, of course. So did Tom, as the wreckage of his room couldn’t be explained as the result of a nightmare. The four of them gathered in Grey’s room, conferring by candlelight as Tom went about tidying the damage, white to the lips.

  ‘You’ve never heard of zombie—or zombies? I have no idea whether the term is plural or not.’ Heads were shaken all round. A large square bottle of excellent Scotch whisky had survived the rigours of the voyage in the bottom of his trunk, and he poured generous tots of this, including Tom in the distribution.

  ‘Tom—will you ask among the servants tomorrow? Carefully, of course. Drink that; it will do you good.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll be careful, me lord,’ Tom assured him fervently. He took an obedient gulp of the whisky before Grey could warn him. His eyes bulged and he made a noise like a bull that has sat on a bumblebee, but managed somehow to swallow the mouthful, after which he stood still, opening and closing his mouth in a stunned sort of way.

  Bob Cherry’s mouth twitched, but Fettes maintained his usual stolid imperturbability.

  ‘Why the attack upon you, sir, do you suppose?’

  ‘If the servant who warned me about the Obeah man was correct, I can only suppose that it was a consequence of my posting sentries to keep guard upon the governor. But you’re right.’ He nodded at Fettes’s implication. ‘That means that whoever was responsible for this’—he waved a hand to indicate the disorder of his chamber, which still smelled of its recent intruder, despite the rain-scented wind that came through the shattered doors and the burnt-honey smell of the whisky—‘either was watching the house closely, or—’

  ‘Or lives here,’ Fettes said, and took a meditative sip. ‘Dawes, perhaps?’

  Grey’s eyebrows rose. That small, tubby, genial man? And yet he’d known a number of small, wicked men.

  ‘Well,’ he said slowly, ‘it was not he who attacked me; I can tell you that much. Whoever it was was taller than I am and of a very lean build—not corpulent at all.’

  Tom made a hesitant noise, indicating that he had had a thought, and Grey nodded at him, giving permission to speak.

  ‘You’re quite sure, me lord, as the man who went for you … er … wasn’t dead? Because by the smell of him, he’s been buried for a week, at least.’

  A reflexive shudder went through all of them, but Grey shook his head.

  ‘I am positive,’ he said, as firmly as he could. ‘It was a live man—though certainly a peculiar one,’ he added, frowning.

  ‘Ought we to search the house, sir?’ Cherry suggested.

  Grey shook his head reluctantly.

  ‘He—or it—went away into the garden. He left discernible footmarks.’ He did not add that there had been sufficient time for the servants—if they were involved—to hide any traces of the creature by now. If there was involvement, he thought, the servant Rodrigo was his best avenue of inquiry—and it would not serve his purposes to alarm the house and focus attention on the young man ahead of time.

  ‘Tom,’ he said, turning to his valet. ‘Does Rodrigo appear to be approachable?’

  ‘Oh, yes, me lord. He was friendly to me over supper,’ Tom assured him, brush in hand. ‘D’ye want me to talk to him?’

  ‘Yes, if you will. Beyond that …’ He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the sprouting beard-stubble on his jaw. ‘I think we will proceed with the plans for tomorrow. But, Captain Cherry, will you also find time to question Mr Dawes? You may tell him what transpired here tonight; I should find his response to that most interesting.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Cherry finished his whisky, coughed, and sat blinking for a moment, then cleared his throat. ‘The, um, the governor, sir …?’

  ‘I’ll speak to him myself,’ Grey said. ‘And then I propose to ride up into the hills, to pay a visit to a couple of plantations, with an eye to defensive postings. For we must be seen to be taking prompt and decisive action. If there’s offensive action to be taken against the maroons, it will wait until we see what we’re up against.’ Fettes and Cherry nodded; lifelong soldiers, they had no urgent desire to rush into combat.

  The meeting dismissed, Grey sat down with a fresh glass of whisky, sipping it as Tom finished his work in silence.

  ‘You’re sure as you want to sleep in this room tonight, me lord?’ he said, putting the dressing-table bench neatly back in its spot. ‘I could find you another place, I’m sure.’

  Grey smiled at him with affection.

  ‘I’m sure you could, Tom. But so could our recent friend, I expect. No, Captain Cherry will post a double guard on the terrace, as well as inside the house. It will be perfectly safe.’ And even if it wasn’t, the thought of hiding, skulking away from whatever the thing was that had visited him … No. He wouldn’t allow them—whoever they were—to think they had shaken his nerve.

  Tom sighed and shook his head but reached into his shirt and drew out a small cross, woven of wheat stalks and somewhat battered, suspended on a bit of leather string.

  ‘All right, me lord. But you’ll wear this, at least.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘A charm, me lord. Ilsa gave it to me, in Germany. She said it would protect me against evil—and so it has.’

  ‘Oh, no, Tom—surely you must keep—’

  Mouth set in an expression of obstinacy that Grey knew well, Tom leaned forward and put the leather string over Grey’s head. The mouth relaxed.

  ‘There, me lord. Now I can sleep, at least.’

  * * *

  Grey’s plan to speak to the governor at breakfast was foiled, as that gentleman sent word that he was indisposed. Grey, Cherry, and Fettes all exchanged looks across the breakfast table, but Grey said merely, ‘Fettes? And you, Captain Cherry, please.’ They nodded, a look of subdued satisfaction passing between them. He hid a smile; they loved questioning people.

  The secretary, Dawes, was present at breakfast but said little, giving all his attention to the eggs and toast on his plate. Grey inspected him carefully, but he showed no sign, either of nocturnal excursions or of clandestine knowledge. Grey gave Cherry an eye. Both Fettes and Cherry brightened perceptibly.

  For the moment, though, his own path lay clear. He needed to make a public appearance, as soon as possible, and to take such action as would make it apparent to the public that the situation was under control—and would make it apparent to the maroons that attention was being paid and that their destructive activities would no longer be allowed to pass unchallenged.

  He summoned one of his other captains after breakfast and arranged for an escort. Twelve men should make enough of a show, he decided.

  ‘And where will you be going, sir?’ Captain Lossey asked, squinting as he made mental calculations regarding horses, pack mules, and supplies.

  Grey took a deep breath and grasped the nettle.

  ‘A plantation called Twelvetrees,’ he
said. ‘Twenty miles or so into the uplands above Kingston.’

  * * *

  Philip Twelvetrees was young, perhaps in his mid-twenties, and good-looking in a sturdy sort of way. He didn’t stir Grey personally, but nonetheless Grey felt a tightness through his body as he shook hands with the man, studying his face carefully for any sign that Twelvetrees recognised his name or attributed any importance to his presence beyond the present political situation.

  Not a flicker of unease or suspicion crossed Twelvetrees’s face, and Grey relaxed a little, accepting the offer of a cooling drink. This turned out to be a mixture of fruit juices and wine, tart but refreshing.

  ‘It’s called sangria,’ Twelvetrees remarked, holding up his glass so the soft light fell glowing through it. ‘Blood, it means. In Spanish.’

  Grey did not speak much Spanish but did know that. However, blood seemed as good a point d’appui as any, concerning his business.

  ‘So you think we might be next?’ Twelvetrees paled noticeably beneath his tan. He hastily swallowed a gulp of sangria and straightened his shoulders, though. ‘No, no. I’m sure we’ll be all right. Our slaves are loyal, I’d swear to that.’

  ‘How many have you? And do you trust them with arms?’

  ‘One hundred and sixteen,’ Twelvetrees replied automatically. Plainly he was contemplating the expense and danger of arming some fifty men—for at least half his slaves must be women or children—and setting them essentially at liberty upon his property. Not to mention the vision of an unknown number of maroons, also armed, coming suddenly out of the night with torches. He drank a little more sangria. ‘Perhaps … what did you have in mind?’ he asked abruptly, setting down his glass.

  Grey had just finished laying out his suggested plans, which called for the posting of two companies of infantry at the plantation, when a flutter of muslin at the door made him lift his eyes.

  ‘Oh, Nan!’ Philip put a hand over the papers Grey had spread out on the table and shot Grey a quick warning look. ‘Here’s Colonel Grey come to call. Colonel, my sister, Nancy.’

  ‘Miss Twelvetrees.’ Grey had risen at once and now took two or three steps towards her, bowing over her hand. Behind him, he heard the rustle as Twelvetrees hastily shuffled maps and diagrams together.

  Nancy Twelvetrees shared her brother’s genial sturdiness. Not pretty in the least, she had intelligent dark eyes—and these sharpened noticeably at her brother’s introduction.

  ‘Colonel Grey,’ she said, waving him gracefully back to his seat as she took her own. ‘Would you be connected with the Greys of Ilford, in Sussex? Or perhaps your family are from the London branch …?’

  ‘My brother has an estate in Sussex, yes,’ he said hastily. Forbearing to add that it was his half-brother Paul, who was not in fact a Grey, having been born of his mother’s first marriage. Forbearing also to mention that his elder full brother was the Duke of Pardloe, and the man who had shot one Nathaniel Twelvetrees twenty years before. Which would logically expose the fact that Grey himself …

  Philip Twelvetrees rather obviously did not want his sister alarmed by any mention of the present situation. Grey gave him the faintest of nods in acknowledgement, and Twelvetrees relaxed visibly, settling down to exchange polite social conversation.

  ‘And what it is that brings you to Jamaica, Colonel Grey?’ Miss Twelvetrees asked eventually. Knowing this was coming, Grey had devised an answer of careful vagueness, having to do with the Crown’s concern for shipping. Halfway through this taradiddle, though, Miss Twelvetrees gave him a very direct look and demanded, ‘Are you here because of the governor?’

  ‘Nan!’ said her brother, shocked.

  ‘Are you?’ she repeated, ignoring her brother. Her eyes were very bright, and her cheeks flushed.

  Grey smiled at her.

  ‘What makes you think that that might be the case, may I ask, ma’am?’

  ‘Because if you haven’t come to remove Derwent Warren from his office, then someone should!’

  ‘Nancy!’ Philip was nearly as flushed as his sister. He leaned forward, grasping her wrist. ‘Nancy, please!’

  She made as though to pull away, but then, seeing his pleading face, contented herself with a simple ‘Hmph!’ and sat back in her chair, mouth set in a thin line.

  Grey would dearly have liked to know what lay behind Miss Twelvetrees’s animosity toward the governor, but he couldn’t well inquire directly. Instead, he guided the conversation smoothly away, inquiring of Philip regarding the operations of the plantation and of Miss Twelvetrees regarding the natural history of Jamaica, for which she seemed to have some feeling, judging by the rather good watercolours of plants and animals that hung about the room, all neatly signed N. T.

  Gradually, the sense of tension in the room relaxed, and Grey became aware that Miss Twelvetrees was focusing her attentions upon him. Not quite flirting—she was not built for flirtation—but definitely going out of her way to make him aware of her as a woman. He didn’t quite know what she had in mind—he was presentable enough but didn’t think she was truly attracted to him. Still, he made no move to stop her; if Philip should leave them alone together, he might be able to find out why she had said that about Governor Warren.

  A quarter hour later, a mulatto man in a well-made suit put his head in at the door to the drawing room and asked if he might speak with Philip. He cast a curious eye towards Grey, but Twelvetrees made no move to introduce them, instead excusing himself and taking the visitor—who, Grey conceived, must be an overseer of some kind—to the far end of the large, airy room, where they conferred in low voices.

  He at once seized the opportunity to fix his attention on Miss Nancy, in hopes of turning the conversation to his own ends.

  ‘I collect you are acquainted with the governor, Miss Twelvetrees?’ he asked, to which she gave a short laugh.

  ‘Better than I might wish, sir.’

  ‘Really?’ he said, in as inviting a tone as possible.

  ‘Really,’ she said, and smiled unpleasantly. ‘But let us not waste time in discussing a … a person of such low character.’ The smile altered, and she leaned towards him, touching his hand, which surprised him. ‘Tell me, Colonel, does your wife accompany you? Or does she remain in London, from fear of fevers and slave uprisings?’

  ‘Alas, I am unmarried, ma’am,’ he said, thinking that she likely knew a good deal more than her brother wished her to.

  ‘Really,’ she said again, in an altogether different tone.

  Her touch lingered on his hand, a fraction of a moment too long. Not long enough to be blatant, but long enough for a normal man to perceive it—and Grey’s reflexes in such matters were much better developed than a normal man’s, from necessity.

  He barely thought consciously but smiled at her, then glanced at her brother, then back, with the tiniest of regretful shrugs. He forbore to add the lingering smile that would have said, ‘Later.’

  She sucked her lower lip in for a moment, then released it, wet and reddened, and gave him a look under lowered lids that said, ‘Later,’ and a good deal more. He coughed, and out of the sheer need to say something completely free of suggestion asked abruptly, ‘Do you by chance know what an Obeah man is, Miss Twelvetrees?’

  Her eyes sprang wide, and she lifted her hand from his arm. He managed to move out of her easy reach without actually appearing to shove his chair backwards and thought she didn’t notice; she was still looking at him with great attention, but the nature of that attention had changed. The sharp vertical lines between her brows deepened into a harsh eleven.

  ‘Where did you encounter that term, Colonel, may I ask?’ Her voice was quite normal, her tone light—but she also glanced at her brother’s turned back, and she spoke quietly.

  ‘One of the governor’s servants mentioned it. I see you are familiar with the term—I collect it is to do with Africans?’

  ‘Yes.’ Now she was biting her upper lip, but the intent was not sexual. ‘The Koromantyn slaves—
you know what those are?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Negroes from the Gold Coast,’ she said, and putting her hand once more on his sleeve, pulled him up and drew him a little away, towards the far end of the room. ‘Most planters want them, because they’re big and strong and usually very well formed.’ Was it—no, he decided, it was not his imagination; the tip of her tongue had darted out and touched her lip in the fraction of an instant before she’d said ‘well formed.’ He thought Philip Twelvetrees had best find his sister a husband, and quickly.

  ‘Do you have Koromantyn slaves here?’

  ‘A few. The thing is, Koromantyns tend to be intractable. Very aggressive and hard to control.’

  ‘Not a desirable trait in a slave, I collect,’ he said, making an effort to keep any edge out of his tone.

  ‘Well, it can be,’ she said, surprising him. She smiled briefly. ‘If your slaves are loyal—and ours are, I’d swear it—then you don’t mind them being a bit bloody-minded towards … anyone who might want to come and cause trouble.’

  He was sufficiently shocked at her language that it took him a moment to absorb her meaning. The tongue tip flickered out again, and had she had dimples, she would certainly have employed them.

  ‘I see,’ he said carefully. ‘But you were about to tell me what an Obeah man is. Some figure of authority, I take it, among the Koromantyns?’

  The flirtatiousness vanished abruptly, and she frowned again.

  ‘Yes. Obi is what they call their … religion, I suppose one must call it. Though from what little I know of it, no minister or priest would allow it that name.’

  Loud screams came from the garden below, and Grey glanced out, to see a flock of small, brightly coloured parrots swooping in and out of a big, lacy tree with yellowish fruit. Like clockwork, two small black children, naked as eggs, shot out of the shrubbery and aimed slingshots at the birds. Rocks spattered harmless among the branches, but the birds rose in a feathery vortex of agitation and flapped off, shrieking their complaints.