And just as he did so there was a murmur at the back of the court. Harry turned.

Amid a flurry of bowing and murmured obsequies Queen Isabel walked in. Flanked by soldiers of the Holy Brotherhood and trailed by bishops, nobles and other courtiers, she was dressed for the field in a practical-looking gown of crushed velvet, and her famous chestnut hair was pulled back from a still-beautiful face. She had a quality of light about her that changed the very room, Harry thought.

She smiled almost fondly at Colon, who bowed with a flourish.

XXVI

XXVI

Isabel took the seat de Santangel had vacated. She murmured to the financier that she was sorry to have missed Colon’s presentation but looked forward to his judgement.

De Santangel, glorying, showed off. He walked back and forth, stroking his bearded chin. ‘I’ll tell you what I think of all this, good Colon. I can see you’re a man of substance: of good bearing, of integrity, of faith, of belief - and of determination, which is what a man needs to get along in business.

‘But I can also see that the case you’ve spouted is a lot of bilge. No, no,’ and he held up a hand as Colon made to protest, ‘I don’t want to hear it all trotted out again. Once is enough, thanks! But what I will say is that it’s bound to be a lot of bilge, because the truth is nobody can say what lies on the other side of the Ocean Sea until somebody goes out there to see for himself. Am I right? So that’s the bare bones of the case.

‘Now, I’m a man of business, and I’m used to estimating risk. And as I see it the risk to the monarchs is low. All we have to fund is the first voyage, for if you succeed subsequent voyages will be paid for out of the profits, and if you fail, for instance if you don’t come back, we just won’t go out again. All you want is three ships. You’re asking for, what, five million maravedis? Why, I’d be prepared to put up my own house as collateral on that much if necessary.

‘And why? Because the returns are potentially huge. The Portuguese are already sucking in profits from Madeira; we are already making money from the Canaries. Now, I’m no geographer and I don’t know if you’ll find a way to Asia or not. But it stands to reason that there’s something out there, because God surely wouldn’t make a world half-covered with an ocean good for nothing but fish!