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And if I gain Philippe and lose you? Max asked.
Suddenly Justin grinned. You d give a damn?
Max scowled and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, like a wolf with an annoying cub. The gesture
coming from a man any less than Max s size would have been ridiculous. Yes, I d give a damn! That s
what I ve been trying to tell you.
Justin continued to smile. I give a damn about you too, Father.
I won t lose you, Max said grimly.
No, not if you keep from interfering.
Max released him reluctantly, remembering Justin s dislike of being touched. They began to walk again,
and Max said abruptly. There is something I didn t intend for you to know until after the matter was
resolved. Now I think you should be made aware of it.
What is it? Justin asked warily.
Commander Matthews and Lieutenant Benedict are assembling a combined force of sailors and
marines to attack the island. They ve been planning it for some time.
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Justin stopped in his tracks. What?How long have you known about this?
For weeks, actually.
Why the hell didn t you tell me? Justin demanded angrily.
I didn t feel you needed to know.
Dammit, when is this little expedition supposed to occur?
The day after tomorrow.
The day af Justin broke off with a foul oath. The fools! There ll be heavy loss of life. There are
ships in the harbor with long guns and carronades. They ll take out half the force before Matthews gets
close enough to fire on the island!
Perhaps. But Legare s presence has become too much of a menace. They can t allow it to continue
unchallenged any longer. They feel the assistance of the army will give them the necessary strength.
Have you told Matthews about Philippe? That he may be a prisoner on the island?
Of course not. If I had, the authorities would have come to arrest you immediately.
You ll have to go to Matthews and Lieutenant Benedict and tell them everything, Father. About me and
Philippe and the whole charade.
No, Max said decisively. If you re hoping to rely on their mercy,mon fils, you ll quickly discover that
there will be none for you. Come morning they ll have you swinging from the gallows.
Not if they know I can be of use to them. You must find outprecisely when they plan to attack, down to
the minute. Convince them to wait until after I exchange myself for Philippe. That way Philippe will be
safe.
Max looked unimpressed. And how will you be of any use to the naval force then?
I ll have some of my men on Isle au Corneille to protect me. Aug will smuggle them there. Then I ll lead
an attack from within the fort. Tell Matthews that we ll set fire to the munitions warehouses and use the
fort s own cannon to take out the defenses in the harbor. We ll weaken them from the inside. Then the
naval squadron will be able to take the island without resistance. Matthews will have to agree to that.
Max shook his head. There are too many opportunities for something to go wrong.
There always are. Justin glanced at him, surprised by the feeling of companionship he had never
experienced with Max before. We have to do it this way. For Philippe s sake. Make Matthews
understand that I can help him.
Max scowled, but he did not argue.
Justin was relieved as he realized that his father would do what he asked. Father& you realize that after
this I ll have to disappear for good.
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I m still attempting to arrange a pardon for you.
Not even you have that much money or influence. If I m not caught, I ll leave and hopefully be
presumed dead.
And we ll never see you again, Max said quietly.
Justin hesitated. No.
And what of Celia?
When there was no immediate reply, Max looked at his son. Justin s face was remote and his jaw was
tightly clenched. She ll be better off with Philippe, Justin managed to say. There s only one kind of life
I can offer her, and I ve come to realize I& don t want that for her.
After walking back to the main house with Max, Justin kept himself occupied with small tasks for the
rest of the day, repairing a few loose boards in the bell tower and joining in the effort to clear a fallen tree
that had partially blocked the drive. As he worked alongside the slaves, Justin reflected on the irony that
on Isle au Corneille and among most pirate crews, men of color had freedom and authority equal to any
white man, whereas here in the civilized world they were reduced to slavery. The value of a man like
Aug, intelligent and perceptive, able to organize men and carry out plans with skill and inventiveness,
could never be realized here. Here Aug could not sit at a table and partake of a meal with him. Their
friendship would be governed by intolerable restraints devised by a hypocritical society. Justin realized
that his friendship with Aug and the past few years of living and fighting alongside his crew had changed
his beliefs radically.
Although there were many freedmen in New Orleans, and it was common even encouraged for
white men to take mulatto or octoroon mistresses, a male with any drop of Negro blood would be
hanged for having an affair with a white woman. Since Justin had arrived here he had dared to ask Max if
he felt there was anything wrong with such a system. To his surprise, Max had admitted uncomfortably
that with his own increasing interest in his shipping business, he had recently been considering freeing his
slaves. Justin hoped that he would, although he knew that it would cause trouble, even outrage, between
the Vallerands and many important Creole families.
While Justin worked on the plantation, Celia spent the entire day with Noeline in one of the slave cabins,
caring for a mother and two children who had fallen ill. Justin was glad of the time spent apart from Celia.
He did not want to face her just yet, not with the knowledge that he was going to lose her. Last night he
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