Final Debt

Diamond.

I’d never seen one up close. I’d heard of them on the king’s finery but never been lucky enough to witness.

The night William returned from port, he told me he’d traded enough clear stones for passage back to England. And that was when I knew the tides had finally turned. The Weavers had ruled for long enough.

It was our turn.

By candle-light, we negotiated his plan upon returning to the United Kingdom. I gave him my elderly wisdom and what I’d learned the hard way. In order to become untouchable, he had to buy those who would protect him. He had to give the king everything to purchase his trust. He had to spend money to make his fortune last longer than fleeting.

I hoped he’d heed my advice.

Unfortunately, I never knew.

I died two weeks before William named a handful of trusted warriors the Black Diamonds and booked passage on the first boat back to England.

I never got to see him strip and destroy those who’d ruined us.

I never got to see the fruition of my sacrifice.

But it didn’t matter.

I loved him with all my heart.

I’d given him everything.

I’d finally set him free.

“COULD YOU FEEL her loyalty, Nila? Her unfailing spirit toward her beloved family?”

Cut’s voice tore me from the hypnosis of learning about Mabel Hawk. She was the only reason the Hawks had become the superpower they were today. Without her, without her determination and willingness to do whatever it took, the Hawks would’ve remained poor and unknown.

I rolled my shoulders, forcing myself to snap out of the trance he’d put me in. I couldn’t forget I stood in a dank mine—the very mine William Hawk started so many centuries ago. Cut wasn’t telling me history for the fun of it—he gave me a prelude to the debt I would soon have to pay.

Listening to Mabel’s tale, I couldn’t figure out what the payment would be. Mabel had given up everything for her grandson. What a strong, commendable woman she was. Even if she was the reason for my pain.

“Yes.” I nodded. “She did so much.” My eyes met Jethro’s. His nostrils flared wide, sucking in damp air, unable to talk with the gag lodged in his mouth. My heart overflowed with love and affection. I fully understood Mabel’s drive to save someone she loved.

She saved them.

I smiled sadly to think two things in both our families had been passed down from generations. One, my family had always had the tendency to breed in multiples. Twins were common and triplets a regular event. And Jethro…his empathy had come from William. Mabel wouldn’t have understood his plight, but listening to the characteristics of her grandson, I had no doubt he suffered what Jethro did.

“Can you see how everything we are is owed to that woman? That she is, without a doubt, the bravest Hawk.” Cut paced in front of me.

Yes, I can see.

I asked a question of my own. “Why don’t you have her portrait up in Hawksridge? You have so many men hanging in the dining room, where is Mabel—considering she is the founder of your family’s fortune?”

Cut paused. “There is a portrait, or as close to her likeness as William could make it. When he returned and created a new life for himself in England, he did his best to describe his grandmother to a local artist. The poor couldn’t afford painters, Nila. And she died before she had the means for such frivolous items.”

“Where do you keep her painting?”

Cut’s lips twisted into a smile. “It’s interesting you should ask that.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll see, soon enough. You’ll see her portrait, along with many other Hawk women before the Final Debt is paid.”

Jethro growled, struggling in his binds.

Cut chuckled. “Don’t like me mentioning your girlfriend is on borrowed time? I’m glad I gagged you. It’s nice being able to have a conversation and not have you interrupting us.”

Jethro’s eyes glowed with rage.

Turning his back on him, Cut gave me his full attention. “Now you know how we found the diamonds. Let’s continue with William’s story when he returned to England.”

I didn’t approve or deny as Cut moved around me, his voice taking on a story-time timbre. “William grieved his grandmother’s death, but he knew she would want him to reach the heights she’d dreamed. So he left on the boat with his Black Diamond warriors and returned to England without his grandmother.

“When he reached English soil, he went directly to the king. He didn’t try and find someone to value the stone or seek backhanded deals. He knew that was a sure way to get himself killed.

“Instead, he announced he’d been on a voyage and had returned with a gift for the king. It took him four months of hanging outside court, following dukes and duchesses, and slipping through the king’s guard before the king finally agreed to an audience.

“In a meeting attended by courtiers and advisors, William presented the black diamond. The stone was the largest ever found at the time and the king immediately gave him authority to return with a fleet of ships to collect more on his behalf.

“William remembered what Mabel told him. He was willing to give up the wealth he’d found, pay exorbitant taxes, and lavish gifts upon the crown in order to have the most powerful monarchy behind him.”

Cut ran a hand through his hair. “Imagine that. Giving up every stone you’d found, returning home richer than the king, and leaving penniless once again.”