The Bartered Bride Read Free Page A

more provisions." Since Gavin had never visited Maduri, he'd been pleased when a shipping agent in Manila asked him to transport several small boxes consigned personally to Sultan Kasan. Given the shipping fee, they must be very valuable indeed, and the stop would take him only a few days off his planned route. The remote island was a near legend in the East. Rich, powerful, and secretive, the sultans of Maduri refused to accept Dutch claims to rule the East Indies, and the Dutch were wise enough not to press the issue. Wild tales circulated about the people, the island, and most of all, the sultan. The stories were enhanced by the fact that foreigners were not allowed beyond a narrow strip of wharves and taverns. Like the Chinese, Maduri sultans did not want their people corrupted by Western ideas of education and free trade and justice for the common man.
    Personally, Gavin liked subversive Western ideals. His gaze went to the American flag snapping high above. The Helena, named for the girl he'd married and lost too soon, was the fastest and loveliest ship in his fleet. The design was an enlarged version of the sleek Baltimore clippers, and well suited to the China trade. Good cargo space joined with speed and seaworthiness to form a vessel that could outrun pirates or ride out the worst typhoon. It also carried sizable guns, for only a fool sailed these seas unarmed. He'd miss being master of the Helena. Though he'd started as a sailor, as his business grew he'd come to spend more and more time on land. When they left Maduri, he'd set his sails for England, where Benjamin would take over the Helena while Gavin established a London branch of Elliott House. His operations in Macao and Canton were in strong, honest hands, as was his home office in Boston. London was the last great challenge, the mercantile capital of Europe, and the goal he'd set his sights on decades earlier. He would settle there and be a brash, upstart American who'd beat the London merchants at their own game, and settle some private scores as well. There would never be another Helena, but perhaps he'd meet another gentle lady he could love. And if anyone remembered his father or that Gavin Elliott had been born and bred in Britain before being taken to America, that would make his triumph all the sweeter.
    It would be years, if ever, before he returned to the East, so this voyage was his private farewell. Though Britain and America were in his bones, he'd miss the brilliance of the Indies, the islands scattered across the bluest seas on earth like jewels tossed carelessly from a giant's hand. He'd miss China, too, where he'd spent much of his time in the last years, in his airy villa in Macao or the cramped foreign settlement in Canton, the source of much of his wealth.
    His reverie was interrupted when the second mate came up to him. "Captain, the Maduris wish to give you a personal message." Guessing they knew he carried a special shipment for the sultan, he approached the three men who'd boarded from the prau. Two looked like regular port officials, but the third was Chinese, not Malay. His dark hair streaked with silver and his clothing all of silk, he was clearly a man of authority.
    Gavin inclined his head respectfully. "Welcome to the Helena, gentlemen," he said, speaking the simple bazaar Malay which was in common use throughout the islands. "Your presence honors my humble ship."
    To his surprise, the Chinese official replied in good English. "The honor is ours, Captain Elliott. I am Sheng Yu, chief minister of Maduri, and I come bearing an invitation from His Gracious Highness, Sultan Kasan."
    Long experience enabled Gavin to conceal his surprise. How did Sheng know his name when he and his ship had never visited this port? And how did an American sea captain rate an invitation from a sultan? Granted, Gavin was also a successful merchant, a taipan, as the head of a trading house was called. But this invitation didn't fit what he knew about local