Godscalc’s hand, resting broken in his. A man, coming out of the desert, leading five camels. The sound of a voice, raised in pure, heartfelt love and praise and selfless wonder at the joy and mystery of the world.
Nicholas raised his hand and struck her once, on the cheek, as he would have cuffed an ill-mannered pup. Then he rose, and walked to the door.
She raised her voice as he went, not quite shouting, but making sure that he heard. ‘It’s Simon’s child, Nicholas. What shall I do with it? Kill it? Rear it? Tell Simon about it? Or let the world think it’s yours? Tell me! Whatever you want, I shall do it!’ He closed the door on her voice.
He had thought there was no one in this wing. He stood at some window, and only became aware after a while that a man was quietly waiting; had been there perhaps for a long time. He experienced a fear, like a physical pain, that it was Godscalc. It was Gregorio.
Nicholas said, ‘Did you hear?’
‘Yes,’ said the lawyer.
After a while, Nicholas said, ‘What do they say? Allah alone is the conqueror.’
Gregorio said, ‘Will you let me deal with it?’
‘Deal with it?’ Nicholas said.
‘Send her away. See that the child, discreetly born, is well fostered. Arrange for your marriage to end. There is a rumour of plague. She could leave Bruges tomorrow, and you also.’
Nicholas said, ‘His name is Sunni Ali, King of the Songhai. How could you deal with it?’
Gregorio said, ‘God forgive me … Nicholas, you cannot go back. All you knew in Timbuktu is dead and gone.’
‘What else is there?’ Nicholas said. Zuhra had covered herself.
‘What you brought back,’ said Gregorio. ‘You will find it again.’ His voice was filled with compassion. The first of many voices.
‘Of course,’ Nicholas said. ‘Then you will deal with all this? Or no. I am quite capable of dealing with it myself. No divorce. I like being married. I seem to have some new business I ought to attend to in the north. Gelis can retire to her cousins at Veere. Let it appear a legitimate child. If Simon can rear one, so can I.’
Was it quick for the babies – for him? Or was it stab upon stab upon stab?
‘She is too young to hate,’ Gregorio said.
‘But she does,’ Nicholas said. ‘Or she thinks that she does.’
‘She doesn’t know what the word means.’
Reader’s Guide
1. For Discussion: Scales of Gold
In Cyprus and Trebizond, even in Bruges, Nicholas and his friends had encountered various aspects and consequences of the practice, old as history, of humans enslaving humans. During this African adventure, what new elements in this practice come to the fore? What other aspects of Dorothy’s vivid portrayal of multi-cultural, multi-geographical Africa catch your eye in this novel?
2. Why does Father Godscale want to go to Ethiopia? What is Nicholas’s final judgement about the success of this failed mission, for the priest’s own soul, and for the general community of Christians?
3. How do some of the many transformations of the African Lopez recall (or reverse?) those of Nicholas vander Poele? What for you are the deepest or most interesting aspects of this soul-friendship? Why does the plot make a significant point of Umar’s final investment in being a father?
4. Is Gelis van Borselen the heroine of Scales of Gold? In which relationship are there elements of the traditional romance plot? When, and why, do you think she decides to do what she reveals to Nicholas on their wedding night?
5. Spectacles—a triumph of science, commerce and art, a “frivolity” Nicholas calls them at his Venetian party. What symbolic and practical uses does this product serve in the novel? How do spectacles connect with and compare to another ubiquitous product, useful as gift, in trade, as symbol, in this as in the other novels—books?
Dorothy Dunnett was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. She is the author of the Francis Crawford of Lymond novels; the House of Niccolò novels; seven mysteries; King Hereafter, an epic novel about Macbeth; and the text of The Scottish Highlands, a book of photographs by David Paterson, on which she collaborated with her husband, Sir Alastair Dunnett. In 1992, Queen Elizabeth appointed her an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Lady Dunnett died in 2001.
Books by Dorothy Dunnett
THE LYMOND CHRONICLES
The Game of Kings
Queens’ Play
The Disorderly Knights
Pawn in Frankincense
The Ringed Castle
Checkmate
King Hereafter
The Photogenic Soprano (Dolly and the Singing Bird)
Murder in the Round (Dolly and the Cookie Bird)
Match for a Murderer (Dolly and the Doctor Bird)
Murder in Focus (Dolly and the Starry Bird)
Dolly and the Nanny Bird
Dolly and the Bird of Paradise
Send a Fax to the Kasbah (Moroccan Traffic)
THE HOUSE OF NICCOLÒ
Niccolò Rising
The Spring of the Ram
Race of Scorpions
Scales of Gold
The Unicorn Hunt
To Lie with Lions
Caprice and Rondo
Gemini
The Scottish Highlands (with Alastair Dunnett)
The Dorothy Dunnett Companion Volume I (by Elspeth Morrison)
The Dorothy Dunnett Companion Volume II (by Elspeth Morrison)
THE HOUSE OF NICCOLÒ SERIES
BY DOROTHY DUNNETT
NICCOLÒ RISING
Bruges, 1460. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett’s hero Nicholas rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure that wins him the hand of the most powerful woman in Bruges—and the hatred of two powerful enemies.
Fiction/978-0-375-70477-2
THE SPRING OF THE RAM
Backed by none other than Cosimo de’ Medici, Nicholas sails the Black Sea to Trebizond, last outpost of Byzantium, and the last jewel missing from the crown of the Ottoman Empire. But trouble lies ahead. Nicholas’s stepdaughter has eloped with his rival in trade: a Machiavellian Genoese who races ahead of Nicholas, sowing disaster at every port.
Fiction/978-0-375-70478-9
RACE OF SCORPIONS
At the age of 21, Nicholas finds himself in limbo. His beloved wife is dead, his stepchildren have locked him out of the family business, and his private army is the target of multiple conspiracies. And both contenders for the throne of Cyprus—the brilliant Queen Carlotta and her sexually ambivalent brother James—are demanding his support.
Fiction/978-0-375-70479-6
SCALES OF GOLD
As unknown enemies conspire against him in Venice, Nicholas sets sail for Africa, legendary location of the Fountain of Youth and the source of gold in such abundance that men prefer to barter in shells. There he will discover the charms of Gelis van Borselen—a woman whose passion for Nicholas is rivaled only by her desire to punish him for his role in her sister’s death.
Fiction/978-0-375-70480-2
THE UNICORN HUNT
Nicholas seeks to avenge his bride’s claim that she carries the offspring of his archenemy, Simon St. Pol. When she flees before Nicholas can determine whether or not the rumored child is his own—or exists at all—Nicholas gives chase. So begins the deadly game of cat and mouse that will lead him from the infested cisterns of Cairo to the misted canals of Venice at carnival.
Fiction/978-0-375-70481-9
TO LIE WITH LIONS
As three courts vie for his allegiance, Nicholas finds himself embroiled in furious combat with his estranged wife for the future of their young son. He embarks on the greatest business scheme of his life—beginning with a journey to Iceland. But while Nicholas confronts merchant knights and the frozen volcanic wastelands of the North, a greater challenge awaits: the vengeful Gelis, whose secrets threaten to topple all Nicholas has achieved.
Fiction/
978-0-375-70482-6
CAPRICE AND RONDO
Winter 1474 finds Nicholas exiled in the frozen port of Danzig, Poland. His Machiavellian exploits in Scotland have cost him friends and family—not to mention countless riches. As Nicholas pursues his future, his estranged wife, Gelis, seeks the truth about his past, only to discover the secret identity of his latest comrade in arms—a ghost from the past poised to deal him the crowning death blow.
Fiction/978-0-375-70612-7
GEMINI
It is 1477 and Nicholas returns to Scotland in search of personal redemption and a haven for his recently reunited family. Friends and foes from many a past adventure converge on the scene as Nicholas becomes swept up in a political involving the Scottish royal family. With tensions escalating and the secrets of his heritage emerging, Nicholas finds that peace can be the most elusive achievement of all.
Fiction/978-0-375-7085-5
VINTAGE BOOKS
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Dorothy Dunnett, Scales of Gold: The Fourth Book of the House of Niccolo
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