Lord Martin smiled at his guest as he was seated in his home in St. Augustine with his wife.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Major Deveaux,” Lord Martin said. “I have been looking to talk with you for a while, but I fear you have been very busy.”

“I did not wish to be rude, Lord Martin, but I was indeed busy with an expedition on behalf of the British empire. I hope you might understand how that would take precedence over my social life,” Major Deveaux replied.

“We are not offended, Major,” Lady Martin said graciously. “As far as I understand it, you are from South Carolina.”

“That’s right, I was an officer with the local forces there,” Major Deveaux replied.

“My son was up in that area not too long ago,” Lady Martin continued.

“What is your son’s name? Perhaps I know him,” Major Deveaux responded politely.

“His name is Robert Woods. As far as I understand it, he was brought there to serve as a barrister for a case involving a black man, and the case ended up being quite dramatic,” Lady Martin replied.

“I do remember hearing about him,” Major Deveaux said. “I did not speak to him personally, but the case was all over the news in Charleston, and he defended his client very ably, as far as I understand it. Although he was thought by the local population to be a bit radical in his speech, no one could doubt that he was a conscientious man who took his obligations seriously.”

“That is how my son is,” Lady Martin said, somewhat distressed.

“Where is your son now? I imagine if he was here he would be eating with us, would he not?” Major Deveaux said.

“I am sure he would have enjoyed talking with you. He has never been a military man himself, but he has served with military figures on various business,” Lady Martin said. “Unfortunately, he is stuck in Nassau now and has been stuck there for many months.”

“How was he stuck there? Nassau has been under Spanish rule since it was shamefully surrendered last April,” Major Deveaux replied.

“Well, he was there at the time, and Vice Admiral Maxwell put him in irons for some reason and left him there when the garrison surrendered and was paroled here,” Lady Martin said.

“That is very distressing news indeed,” Major Deveaux replied. “I think I remembering hearing something about a British citizen being left imprisoned in Nassau and what a scandal it had proved.”

“That is my son,” Lady Martin replied.

“I did not connect him to you, probably because the name is different. If you don’t mind explaining, how did you come to be Lady Martin?” Major Deveaux said.

“It is no trouble to explain,” Lady Martin replied. “When I was young, I married Robert’s father, John Woods, who was the second son of Viscount Lipton. I was of a family in Market _________ that was involved in a trade partnership that the Viscount invested in, while my family served as the active partner engaged in the actual mercantile business. About ten years later or so, when Britain took over Florida, my husband was sent to engage in various diplomacy and other business with the crown. He died of apoplexy a few years later, and my son took up the business that his father had been involved with. I was a widow for a while, but a few years ago Lord Martin asked me to marry him and I agreed.”

“That is a lovely story,” Major Devaux replied. “I assume that Lord Martin is one of the notables here in St. Augustine?”

“That is correct,” Lord Martin replied. “My home estate is in Surrey, but I have been here for a few years on account of the weather.”

“Do you have any family of your own?” Major Devaux asked. “Assuming the question is not too personal?”

“It’s not too personal of a question at all. I have some sisters who are all married, most of them with families, but my only brother died childless and I have no children of my own either,” Lord Martin answered.

“Who is to inherit your title–I assume a baronetcy or something like that–after you?” Major Deveaux asked.

“It is entailed upon a distant cousin,” Lord Martin replied. “I do not know him, but I hope he will take it up and live as well as the rest of us have.”

“I am glad you are untroubled about such business,” Major Deveaux replied.

“As long as everything is alright with my stepson,” Lord Martin said. “I do not think my family has anything to worry about. Mr. Woods stands to inherit the position of Viscount Lipton and a pretty estate in North Yorkshire that is worth north of ten thousand pounds a year. As long as he survives his captivity in Nassau, he will do quite well.”

Major Deveaux looked suddenly thoughtful.

“I hope that what I said doesn’t disturb you,” Lord Martin said.

“Not at all,” Major Deveaux replied. “I was just thinking about the business I am engaged in.”

“I am sure that you are full of cares with such business,” Lady Martin said. “Now, since you have been so curious about our family background, would you be so kind as to explain your own?”

“I was born in Beaufort, to a plantation owning family. My mother’s line goes back through the Barnwells to a good family in the area, and my father’s family were French nobles who left for the colonies in search of religious freedom in the time after the Edict of Nantes was revoked,” Major Deveaux replied. “I came here when the British evacuated Charleston in the aftermath of Yorktown when they simply could not spend the forces to hold onto Charleston with the rebellion gaining in strength.”

“What is it that led you to abandon the chance of being a patriot plantation owner and claim to support freedom while being the master of many men and women and children?” Lady Martin said.

“I imagine that your son gets his abolitionist sentiments from you,” Major Deveaux replied politely. “It was in defense of my father that I became active in Loyalist quarters and started up a band of loyalist soldiers of my own. I was perfectly content on my own to be in the Continental Army, but because my father was suffering harassment I felt it necessary to act in his defense.”

“It is a wonderful thing for a son to defend his father from abuse and trouble,” Lord Martin said. “I hope that your father honored your efforts to defend him from problems.”

“He was very grateful for the help,” Major Deveaux said.

With the conversation have served to the satisfaction of all parties involved, who knew about as much of each other as was necessary to consider themselves acquainted and with a desire to meet on pleasant and at least casual terms in the future, the three decided to spend the rest of their attention focusing on the most excellent fish that had been procured for their dinner, along with their vegetables and corn bread, in the style of the locals.

Meanwhile, in Nassau, Mr. Robert Woods found himself eating dinner with the garrison of the fortress, and as he was eating the chicken and potato soup that was common for meals among the soldiers, found himself invited to sit at the head table where the commander of the garrison, one Don Antonio Claraco Sauz, called on him to engage him in a bit of conversation.

“Welcome, Mr. Woods,” Don Antonio began. “I regret that I have not made your acquaintance beforehand.”

“I do not think I am a difficult man to find,” Robert replied. “I do hope that you have found your time in this city to be a pleasant one.”

“It is far more pleasant for me than it has been for you, or for my predecessors here, I imagine,” Don Antonio said delicately.

“Apart from my time in irons, I have enjoyed my time here in the Bahamas,” Robert said politely. “It does seem as if there has been a rather serious rash of imprisonment going on when it comes to the commanders of this fortress.”

“I hope neither of us have to worry about that in the future,” Don Antonio replied.

“I hope the same as well,” Robert said pleasantly.

“I must admit, it is hard to know exactly what sort of man you are,” Don Antonio said. “You have an air of mystery that interests me and many others I speak and write to.”

“I am not sure what would make me a mysterious man to you or to the Spanish authorities in general,” Robert replied.

“You seem to be a man of a complex nature,” Don Antonio said. “You carry the name of a mere Mr. Robert Woods, an obscure but loyal servant of the British whose modest fame but noted competence has been recorded not only by the British, I assume, but by the French, Dutch, and Spanish as well. We do not know much about you, but what we do know is that we share many of the same acquaintances and have done business with many of the same parties.”

“I can easily imagine that to be the case,” Robert said politely. “I have not spent much time in the Spanish-speaking world, but I have traveled extensively throughout the lands of the Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee.”

“Indeed, that is where we have heard of you. I believe that some of the tribes have taken to calling you Big Tree,” Don Antonio answered.

“Well, I am no skinny one,” Robert replied. “As you can well see.”

“Indeed, that I can see,” Don Antonio answered. “It is an apt name, given your own family name. Tell me, what part of Britain are you from?”

“I am from Northern Yorkshire,” Robert said. “I was born in a small market town a few hours ride north of Hull, the local seaport. Some members of my family are among the nobility and other members of my family are large-scale merchants involved in the sugar trade. From that family background, I was able to take on my father’s work on behalf of the British crown and its interests after his untimely and early death.”

“That is of considerably more importance than the name of a mere Mr. Woods would signify,” Don Antonio said. “I wonder why we did not know about your more illustrious connections?”

“I suppose few people bothered to ask,” Robert said. “I have never sought to hide my illustrious connections, even if being the eldest son of the second son of an English Viscount of fairly ordinary wealth among that sort of class is not something that one ought to brag about. I considered it an honor to serve the interests of my nation, and to be able to do so in a manner that has kept up my status as a gentleman with varied interests.”

“I suppose one might have to ask you about where you come from, and you seem so ordinary that few people ever ask, it would appear,” Don Antonio replied.

“Some people have asked, mostly those who are people who have a deep interest in seeing where everyone belongs and in ensuring that they do not slight anyone who may be of use to them as an acquaintance. Those who fancy others to be beneath their notice might fail to be show curiosity about someone who appears to be as ordinary as I do, I must admit,” Robert answered.

“I am by no means a conspicuous or well-known servant of the Spanish crown,” Don Antonio stated. “But I respect those who are loyal and decent servants of their own realm.”

“As do I,” Robert said.

“I look forward to eating with you as long as we both reside here,” Don Antonio said. “Consider yourself always welcome to dine with me.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Robert replied.

And so it was, that Robert sat with Don Antonio during meals and chatted with him and the other leaders among the garrison, who were pleased to have an Englishman around them who was as noble and as honorable as they were, who could chat with them in English, Spanish, and French, and who could be trusted to enjoy the hearty food that soldiers in such a post would eat. It was not common when an obscure posting like this one offered the chance to talk with someone who was obviously a knowledgeable gentleman of considerable wit and good humor as Robert was, and he for his turn found his time in Nassau a lot less lonely in talking to officers who had an educational background similar enough to his own that he could engage in something approaching an equal conversation, which he relished and had gone for too long without.