I am really glad that this is the longest chapter in the book so far. This right here was what I came for (and... sober Jack, of course) and there is no way it can get any better from here.
Well, I'm wrong, because it DOES get better.
After Ickle Beckett (if you don't like it, don't make me go all Ebony D'arkness Dementia Raven Way on you) is nearly beaten to death, the schoolmaster MacFarlin comes just in time to save him. Both of them go into the schoolmaster's office, where MacFarlin tends to Cutler's wounds and then, this happens:
" 'Tis a brave lad ye are, that's for certain,' MacFarlin said, his burr still greatly in evidence. 'I'll have a word with your parents myself, I will.'
'No!' Cutler blurted. He grabbed MacFarlin's arm, holding it tightly. 'Please, schoolmaster. Don't tell my parents. Please.'
'But whyever not, laddie? You did nothing wrong!' MacFarlin was plainly astonished by his pupil's vehemence.
'Please, you can't tell them,' Beckett pleaded. 'My mother... she's not strong. If she heard that I'd been hurt, she might have one of her spells. I don't want to make her worse.'
'Oh, I see,' MacFarlin thought for a moment. 'I can talk to your father, then.'
'No!' Cutler didn't realize he'd shouted until the schoolmaster flinched back. 'Please, schoolmaster, it's... very important.'"
And then, when it seems my heart can't break any more, this happens:
"MacFarlin held the boy's gaze with his own, clearly troubled. 'Laddie, are ye sure about this? Don't ye think your father would want to know what happened today?'
Cutler nodded. 'I'm sure, schoolmaster.' He took a breath. 'My dad and my brothers... they don't like me. At all.' He gulped again. 'He'd be very angry that I didn't fight back.'
'Against three boys bigger than yourself, laddie?' MacFarlin was plainly incredulous.
Cutler gazed at him, then nodded. There was nothing more to say.
Someone please end this before I do something embarrassing.
Actually, that was rhetorical. I don't want this to end. Ever.
And when I think this scene is entirely irrelevant and used simply to distract me from the annoying flaws of Sober Jack, MacFarlin gives Cutler a present. A book, of all things, that he thought the boy would like. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that this was the book that had influenced the flashback, so it's only natural to assume this was the reason it was special to the older and slightly less adorable version of Beckett.
"Finally, he shook his head, then went over to a shelf. Taking a book down, he stood there a moment, turning it over in his hands. Cutler saw that it looked new. 'I have something here for you, lad. I was going to give it to you on your birthday, but I think you should have it now. I know you'll enjoy it. You have a good imagination, and this is a book that tells of great adventures. It also has lots of legends in it, legends about treasure.'
Cutler found himself reaching for it eagerly, his aches and pains forgotten. 'Treasure?'"
Mental images. I love you.
"'Aye. Treasure.'
He placed the book in Cutler's hands, and the boy read the title. My Lyfe Amonge the Pyrates. He looked up. 'Who is Captain J. Ward?'
'Nobody knows, lad. Someone didn't want to be recognized as the author, so he used what is called a pen name. -'"
Thank you, MacFarlin, for giving me the English lesson I never had.
"'- I read it myself, and there's no doubt that this J. Ward knows what he writes of, though. Pirates... bloodthirsty buccaneers and brigands, the lot of 'em. But they make for interesting reading.'"
You can say that again.
The flashback ends about here, and we are back in the present with the adult Beckett still looking at the book. He scolds himself for being lost in thought when there was work to be done, but shortly before that, a very crucial piece of information is given...
"Against their father's orders, Jane had written to him secretly for years. After the death of their mother, Cutler had promised her that she could join him at his next posting. He knew she hated their father almost as much as he did."
Okay, so there's a small bit of adorableness left in this chapter. It turns out he has a heart of some kind after all. But if that's the case, then why isn't she-
"Sometime during the time he'd been en route from his previous EITC posting in Nippon, the port of Edo, Jane had died from a fever."
....................
That, um..... That sucks, man.
Beckett is about to put the book back on the shelf and continue with his work, when he does a double-take and pulls the book back out. He remembers a chapter about something relating to West Africa (where he was at the moment, for those just joining us) and opens the book before flipping to the chapter and examining it carefully. There are pictures of ancient artifacts different from the ones Beckett had traditionally seen, but most of all, there's a link to tie the plot together: there is mention of the city of
But wait, you say... this book is more significant than you might think. I didn't mention this bit of foreshadowing in chapter one toward the beginning of the flashback, but let me reference this for a moment:
"'I'm surprised no one has translated the book,' Jack said. 'It was published in England about fifteen years ago. Sold very well, I gather. My Lyfe Amonge the Pyrates, by Captain J. Ward. Teague gave me his copy to read when I was just a lad.'" (from Chapter One)
This is the same book. Spelling and all. And once again, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this book is a major part of the plot. So while Jack brought it up in casual conversation (mentioning treasure hunting as a fun thing to do sometime on a Saturday), Beckett intends to actually do something about it... starting with finding a person to do it for him.
Hey, you know what they say about haters.
"Cutler Beckett actually had many operatives in his pay, men in important foreign ports who kept an eye on developments and reported to him. He had a web of informants funneling him information at all times. Information was his lifeline."
The mental image of Beckett knowing all the gossip of everywhere amuses me greatly, but I should continue.
The passage goes on to explain Beckett's "ways of business", starting with his motivation and drive. If he wanted to do something, he did it, mostly to climb to the top of the Company's ranks (spoiler alert: he succeeds).
"Cutler Beckett found himself doing a brisk side business in light-skinned female concubines."
Well, then.
Just good business, I'm assuming.
Basically, summing up the next page or so, here are Beckett's three main rules for succeeding in the business world:
- When you need something done, you've got to hire an assassin.
- Give the people what they want. And they want women. And slaves. And women slaves.
- Sucking up will get you everywhere.
The third rule is especially stressed upon when Beckett's supervisor (in general terms, his boss) comes to visit him. As Beckett is no dummy, severe flattery and sucking up is in order when Lord Penwallow (the aforementioned boss) arrives and stays at Beckett's "humble" home. It is in this section that we are introduced to Beckett's hidden acting skills, displaying not just the ability to conceal his real emotions but to manually "fake" emotion so he looks more humbled than he actually is. Several instances are highlighted in the next several pages:
"'Lord Penwallow, welcome to Calabar. Cutler Beckett, at your service, sir.'
'Indeed, Lord Penwallow. And may I hope that you will see fit to grace us here in my humble home? I've had the best suite prepared.'
'My lord,' Beckett hesitated for effect, and then cast his eyes down, humbly. 'I assure you it's the least I may do to repay the generosity you showed me all those years ago.... Sir... I would like to take the liberty of formally thanking you once again, this time in person, for your rescue of me ten years ago. To put it bluntly, you saved my life, when my family refused to come to my rescue, in effect casting me off. If it were not for your order that resulted in my being freed, I shudder to think of what would have happened to me. The EITC invested a goodly sum in me, a new and unproven employee, and it happened all by your order. I have always endeavored to make sure the company has been well repaid for its investment, my lord.'
Cutler Beckett cast his eyes down again, the very picture of a modest young man who was nearly overwhelmed at receiving the praise of a superior. 'My lord... may I only continue to prove worthy of such sentiments.'
About the second-to-last passage, surely that's a bit of a hint toward what may come in a future flashback of Beckett's?
Speaking of a flashback of Beckett's, I want another one, please.
Apparently, making casual conversation about Penwallow's personal life is a good way to obtain information, since a man's personal life is filled with a great many secrets about locations of hidden treasures and future investments in countries not imperialized by England as of yet, and definitely NOT for sitting around the tea table gossiping.
I went there.
Of course, as we all expected, there is a reason for all of this sucking up. Beckett wants power, and he wants to work his hardest, know the right people, use the right resources, and gossip quite a lot to get it. Ending what I consider to be "act two" of the chapter, below is Beckett's ideal vision of his future:
"Soon I'll be able to go back to Somersetshire, and drive through the gates of Springhaven. I'll knock on the door, and when the butler answers it, I'll instruct him to announce me to Father, Jonathan, and Bartholomew as Sir Cutler Beckett.... And after I see the envy in their eyes, and watch them try to figure out how to ingratiate themselves with me, then I'll have the pleasure of giving them the "cut direct," the worst insult high society allows. I'll stare at them as though they'd crawled out of a cesspool, then I'll turn my back and walk away, climb back into my carriage and drive off. And I'll never see them again."
I could have sworn "giving the finger" was in there somewhere.
So this is where I end it for now, although there will be a part THREE, in which hilarity ensues when Beckett and Sober Jack meet for the first time (and he's not the only person who makes a dramatic entrance). The final part of the first Beckett chapter is at hand, so you'd better be prepared!
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