“Curiosity.”
The man’s smile did not ease the worry gnawing at Rourke’s gut. Did Benjamin know Rourke’s plan? Had Anabelle told her mistress? Before the other night, Rourke would have trusted Elizabeth. Now he couldn’t be sure. Hadn’t he seen her entertaining that clerk of her father’s, a fact she’d failed to mention mere hours before?
“You make the trip what, once or twice a year?” Benjamin asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“I simply wondered when you last saw your family.”
Benjamin’s placid smile could not hide his fangs. Rourke had no doubt the attorney was deftly leading him into a snare. Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure out how. “My visits are not public record.”
If Benjamin caught the legal reference, he didn’t say so. “Of course.” He stepped aside. “Since I’m headed to the harbor, why don’t I join you?”
All sorts of warnings fired off in Rourke’s head, but he couldn’t think of a way to shake the man. He settled for setting a brisk pace. If Benjamin wanted to follow, he’d have to keep up.
“Don’t you usually return home this time of year?” Benjamin asked, slightly out of breath.
Rourke began to perspire. Did the man know of his plans? Anabelle should know that no one could be trusted, but she had been close to Elizabeth all her life. If she had talked, then the escape was off.
“No firm plans.”
“How unfortunate. Your mother must miss you.”
What was the man getting at if not warning Rourke that he knew of the plan to whisk Anabelle to freedom? “I’m sure she does, but my younger brothers and sisters are keeping her busy.”
“Hmm. Many siblings?”
“Seven.” Since when did Charles Benjamin care about his family? He hazarded a glance. Benjamin looked genuinely interested. Maybe Rourke was reading too much into this. Maybe Benjamin now considered him a viable suitor for Elizabeth.
“Seven must be a lot to handle. Do I remember correctly that your father died?”
The tension winched up a few turns. His father’s death had been a desperately low point in Rourke’s life. He’d nearly given up wrecking. “Last year.”
“I’m sure your mother could use extra help . . . and income.”
Benjamin was rubbing salt in the wound, and Rourke had had enough. “What are you getting at?”
Benjamin’s smile could freeze a red-hot coal. “I see you prefer plain talk.”
“I do.”
“Very well, then. I’ll make myself clear. I propose an . . . exchange, shall we say. The case against you will not go well. Once Mr. Buetsch and Mr. Poppinclerk add their testimonies, Judge Marvin will have little choice but to terminate your license.”
“That’s your opinion,” Rourke said through clenched teeth.
Benjamin slipped papers from his valise and handed them to Rourke. “The depositions have already been taken. I only need to hand them to Judge Marvin. The choice is yours.”
Rourke scanned the mate’s and pilot’s testimonies. Lies. All lies, but sworn before a witness. “Captain Littlejohn can deny some of this.”
Benjamin slid yet another deposition from his case. “As you can see, not a soul on the Victory will testify on your behalf. Neither will any of Captain Littlejohn’s crew.” He paused to let the conclusion sink in.
Rourke spotted the same falsehoods in Littlejohn’s testimony. Benjamin must have bribed everyone to lie. Standing against that, Rourke had only a colored man, a loyal crew that most considered derelicts, and the newcomer Worthington. No judge would weigh those testimonies against the ones Benjamin had accumulated and rule in Rourke’s favor.
Rourke handed back the depositions. “Why don’t you give these to the judge and be done with it?”
“I’m not cruel, Captain. I would never deny a man his living. Moreover, you have been kind to my son.”
Rourke set his jaw. “I’m listening.”
“I’m glad to see you’re a reasonable man. It’s quite simple. You can stay to face the inevitable consequences, or you can exchange that verdict for one highly palatable task.”
“Which is?” Rourke wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“Visit your mother. Help her at home. Ensure she is faring well, and confine your wrecking to Bahamian waters.”
“You know as well as I that far fewer ships wreck on the Bahama Bank than in Florida waters. I’ll never be able to provide for my family from Bahamian waters alone.”
“There are always turtling and fishing.”
“A man can’t live off turtling and fishing. He certainly can’t support a large family.” That was why Rourke brought much of his earnings to his mother on his annual visits. His father had barely eked out an existence. His brothers tried to provide. Fish was plentiful, but without Rourke’s money, they could not afford clothing, candles, or repairs to the boat. No, he couldn’t resort to fishing.
“I’m not asking you to stay there forever,” Benjamin added.