Silence Is Golden (Storm and Silence 3)

‘True.’

‘Why?’

In answer, instead of saying anything, Mr Ambrose bent down and retrieved something from a drawer within his desk. With a whisper of air, a large sheet of paper landed in front of me on the desktop.

‘Read,’ he ordered.

Dear Diary

I picked up the paper, and read.

‘Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Her gracious consideration for the chiefs and people of New Zealand, and her desire to preserve to them their land and to maintain peace and order amongst them, has been pleased to appoint an officer to treat with them for the cession of the Sovereignty of their country and of the islands…’

My voice faded away. With narrowed eyes, I looked up at Mr Ambrose and waved the paper.

‘What is this?’

He met my gaze with his cold one. ‘I do not need to explain myself to you, Mr Linton. I will tell you what I plan in this case only because I shall need your assistance at a later point.’

‘Understood, Sir. So…what is it?’

‘What you are holding is a copy of the so-called Treaty of Waitangi, signed four days ago by representatives of the British Crown and forty-four Maori chiefs at Waitangi, New Zealand. It establishes British Sovereignty over all of New Zealand.’

My eyes narrowed a bit further.

‘I’ve read about sea journeys. A journey to New Zealand would take at least sixty days.’

‘Seventy-five, to be exact. But, depending on the weather, it can last as long as one hundred and twenty.’

‘If this was signed just four days ago, how do you have a copy of it now?’

‘By acquiring one before the original was shipped, of course.’

‘Of course.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘And what has this Treaty of Waikiki-’

‘Waitangi.’

‘-Waitangi got to do with you?’

‘Simple. With British sovereignty established over the islands, it will be much easier to exploit their natural resources. I am opening up new avenues of business.’

‘And what about these Maori you mentioned? What will they say to these new avenues of yours?’

‘Every avenue needs paving stones, doesn’t it?’

I decided it was best not to think too deeply about what exactly he meant by that. In any case, I still had plenty of other things to think about.

‘And what does all of this have to do with the Queen?’

‘I have already exerted considerable influence on the British Parliament to grant me economic benefits in New Zealand. Unlike India, Dalgliesh has not been able to sink his fangs into those lands yet, and I plan to make him pay for his negligence. I am going to get this land under my control.’

‘No matter the cost?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Mr Linton.’ He gave me a censuring look. ‘The cost always matters. One simply has to make sure that it is outweighed by profit.’

That wasn’t exactly what I had meant. But I knew it would be useless trying to explain to him that I had been referring to the natives. So I simply asked: ‘The Queen?’

‘The Queen is the last cornerstone in my plan. True, she has little actual political power, but she serves as an important figurehead. With her blessing for my ventures, rival offers will likely be looked upon with disfavour by Parliament. That is why I decided to win over her husband. Considering the way things stand, if I have Albert on my side, I have Victoria.’