But Mr. Sluys was not in a praying mood. He was thinking. Even in semi-darkness, through a miasma of candle and tobacco smoke, Eliza could read his face: Monmouth slaying Turks in Hungary means he won't use Holland as a platform to invade England – so there won't be a catastrophe in Anglo-Dutch relations – so the English Navy won't be firing any broadsides at the Dutch merchant fleet – so V.O.C. stock will rise .Sluys held his right hand up slightly and caressed the air with two fingers. A servant was suddenly draped over his epaulet, memorizing something, counting on his fingers. He nodded sharply, like a pecking gull, and was gone.