The walk up the hill in the midday Nassau sun in weltering, causing you to sweat profusely. It's little wonder so many of the scallywags and privateers, not to mention the common citizens, wear lightweight cotton and linen. The white-washed walls of the Colonial Hotel reveal their slight pink hue and faint cracks in the stucco. Outside, a lean black man beats a rug while several laughing English women gather flowers that cluster around the hotel's perimeter.
Badouin, the thick-browed brown-skinned agent of du Tourbillon's, finds you at the wide shaded arch entry into the Hotel's courtyard. He smiles broadly, extinguishing a small cigarette under heel. "Ah, nanparkal! You will find Monsieur du Tourbillon under the veranda enjoying lunch. Shall I fetch some hard-boiled eggs, biscuits and tea for you?" Walking with you into the courtyard, he nods politely to Kid and Etienne who he has not met yet. To Barrington he gives a welcoming handshake. "Mr. Barrington! Good to have you back," Badouin says in his thick Tamil sing-song accent.
From under the shaded veranda, du Tourbillon notices your party's approach and raises his tea cup politely, acknowledging you and inviting you over. He appears to be chatting with an French woman in a formal pale white and purple dress complete with a wide white summer hat and veil.
