Melissa remained
stationary as he departed. Her memories of those hours when she had
been wholly unable to comfort herself that the boys would be in any
way safe, or that she had not sent them on an utterly futile errand
would not dissipate now they had been recalled and now she stood,
alone, wallowing in the fear, the futility and guilt. All the
horrendous negative emotions were roiling around her mind and
creating greater turmoil.
She stared into the
flames and relived every microsecond of the mind numbing, gut
wrenching horror of the mistake she had made and the fear of hearing
another tale from James or Michael of the failure of their mission.
She kept hauling herself back to that moment of success and relief
where she had seen the boys to their yacht and attempted to convince
herself they would be back and safe.
But the solution had
been too easy in comparison to the terror endured. It was as though
she had endured a medical diagnostic procedure over the course of
months with every sign indicating she had cancer; to be called into
an office and given the all clear. There must, she was convinced,
have been some mistake, or maybe it was a dream.
Mary came into the room
after a few minutes. She had heard the gentleman flounce out and had
held herself in readiness for a call that never came. Presuming
greatly, she simply presented herself in her mistress' company.
Within seconds she saw that Melissa was truly unwell; pale and
shaking, her eyes were hugely dilated and she was barely supporting
her own body weight. Mary immediately summoned the first footman: a
burly chap with steady hands and a placid disposition. When he saw
his mistress, he moved swiftly and decisively and caught her just as
she swayed and almost toppled into the fireplace.
Nodding with relief,
Mary directed him to transfer their mistress to her bedroom. The two
of them settled Melissa before she began to stir and as she did Mary
directed the footman to go to the kitchen and collect a number of
items. He did as he was told, taking the additional step of informing
the other servants of the outcome of her visit with her recent guest
with the result that when Paul attempted to visit the following day,
he was turned away in no uncertain terms. Lord Carlisle also
attempted to follow up his burgeoning acquaintance with Melissa and,
while surprised to discover she was ill, was not sufficiently
invested to particularly care one way or another and went placidly on
his way.
Paul had come to take
the easy route to caring for he horses they had left. Discovering
Melissa's illness he simply left a message to that effect with the
butler in a screwed up note before heading out of town. Melissa
received the note that evening and it allowed her begin overcoming
the stresses of her adventure. It was a simple and small
responsibility that could be easily achieved, with little investment,
but had a long future ahead of it. It was not something that would
disappear in as short a space of time as her difficulties with Andy
had, and yet it would not cause her ongoing distress.
She required Mary to
send for Starke on the following morning and wrote out a brief plan
for him to follow. It was wholly uncomplicated and required little
effort on his part, but she was able to drift off into a sound
un-drugged sleep once it was completed. When she saw Starke she asked
for him to arrange a financial supplement to care for the horses
they had brought from France. She described it as a charitable
venture to rescue stranded or suffering horses, and insisted it be
based in the region in which she had deposited the horses at Paul's
suggestion. She also suggested any recently located horses in the
region be taken into the charity to get the process underway.
Starke calmly took all
the details she provided, then proceeded to inform her of the success
of his endeavours on her behalf to date. As he recounted the details
of the property he had secured for her, she brought Mary in to listen
to the information he provided. Both ladies were thrilled by what he
had already accomplished and he confessed he had arranged for some
work to begin immediately to create additional entrance ways. The
ladies arranged a date to visit the site in his company and he
returned to the bank and set the wheels in motion for both the visit
and Melissa's new charitable endeavours. Working for Melissa was by
far the most interesting work he was enabled to do and he threw
himself into it whole heartedly with rapid and dramatic results, even
by the standards set by the average clerk at that bank.
Now Melissa had
distracted herself from the awful depression that had accompanied
Phillip's visit, she only needed to see her boys together again to
ensure her full recovery. It was two or three days later when and
impeccably turned out pair of young men arrived on her doorstep. They
were immediately admitted as Melissa had been gradually extending her
social forays again – a morning visit the day after Starke had
attended her had given her enough vivacity to cause Mary to relax her
vigilance and although she had not left her own home, she had begun
arranging a small musical soiree for the social circle she had been
forming. Neighbours and friends gave her advice via little notes with
hints and suggestions, and the young ladies from across the square
who were not yet out, but were allowed by their mother to attend day
visits came to see her and excitedly enquired after the progression
of her plans.
When Michael and James
arrived she was alone and welcomed them with delight. They,
understandably, had questions and she decided it made most sense to
explain as much as possible to the group. She sent notes to both John
and Paul requesting their immediate attendance and called to the
kitchen for tea to be sent up.
When the four men were
present she first invited them to lunch and, when all had accepted,
sent the directions to the kitchens knowing that a late arrangement
for five places at lunch would have every hand in the household hard
at work for at least an hour. In that time she would ideally be able
to answer every question the men presented her with. Once the
luncheon preparation was underway, she retrieved the device from her
bedroom and displayed it to the men.
This, she explained was
the source of the problem. The man the French had captured had been
discovered with one of these devices upon his person. There were, she
said, only two devices in the world. When the French had taken the
device, they had not realised what it could do, but when they
identified its purpose they would be able to immediately distribute
their troops anywhere in Europe they wished, eliminating transport
and supply concerns and ensuring a fresh supplement of soldiers to
any battlefield, massively swinging the war in their favour.
A strategist like
Bonaparte would be able to rule the world with such a tool, she
observed. The three who had experienced the device in action remained
silent as she spoke and their response was simple evidence of their
realisation of how close to the collapse of the British Empire they
had become. John alone disbelieved her claims. Understanding his
scepticism, Melissa offered to demonstrate. This time she took him on
a brief trip to Hyde Park where they appeared briefly to the milling
throngs and then immediately returned to her home, partly due to the
shocking cold she felt appearing outside in her light house dress and
no coat.
Returning to the house
John gazed at the device in stupefaction. After a moment or two, one
of the younger three enquired if they were planning to use the device
at all. John's head snapped towards them in shock, then back to her
enquiringly.
“It happened.” she
assured him. “It seems to be a side effect of the device that when
you arrive in a location or depart it, anybody present cannot witness
it. I've no idea why.”
John nodded. “If I
had seen someone disappear and reappear, I probably would have
disregarded it as impossible, myself.” His comment was a little
dry. She smiled and nodded.
“Where do we stand
now?” John's query reminded her that she hadn't brought him up to
date on the specifics of their latest expedition and she quickly
recounted the general overview culminating in the assurance of both
James and Michael that they had delivered the device into the French
prisoner's hands.
“Your endeavour rests
wholly on the presupposition that the man was not working for the
French willingly. If he was willing, he can now demonstrate the use
of the device to them, which may have endangered us all.”
“I think not,”
James' observation was spoken with conviction. “The situation he
was in was not a comfortable one. If he was willing to sell out to
the French, he would have done it already for a better set of living
conditions. He was not happy; they were definitely holding him
captive, despite his freedom to drink.”
“When we gave him the
device,” interpolated Michael, “he recognised it immediately and
was utterly delighted. Mindful of your warnings we immediately
departed and there was a significant hue and cry that followed us –
as you saw, madam.”
“The crowd following
bore all the hallmarks of one who were seeking an escaped fugitive.
Their most likely belief is that he did not simply disappear, but
that you spirited him away with you.”
“In which case,”
mused Paul, “it is most likely the chase was called off to be
replaced with hunting dogs. Fortunately, our trail went cold the
moment we knew they were no longer following.”
“Can we have any
confirmation?” John was persistent in his concern. Melissa thought
for a moment then smiled and nodded:
“Of course.” All
four men looked to her. “Lord Penthvere will have received a report
from his assassins of the disruption in the French camp and the
disappearance of the wanted man. It is likely that such a report will
also mention our involvement at the time. Upon receiving such a
report I would expect to see the gentleman upon my doorstep
momentarily.”
“And if you do not
receive a visit?”
“We may have to once
again presume upon your friendship to establish if the man is known
to have been lost by the French.”
He nodded. There was a
few moments of silence and then the talk returned to the probable
success of their mission and the particular experiences each had.
Melissa felt no need to recount hers and was happy to listen to
Paul's description of those few days; James countered with a humorous
description of the time they spent ingratiating themselves with
Phillip's men and Michael restricted himself to discussing the
rigours of the channel crossing.
When lunch was called
the conversation became more general and Melissa described her latest
charitable effort to Paul who, although blessed with a decent and
reliable income, was not sufficiently wealthy to be able to support
indefinitely a stable of 6 horses (when the new four were added to
the two he had already). She was a little concerned that he might
take offence, but he appreciated the gesture in the style which it
was meant. It was a peculiar character trait of his, as James later
informed her privately, that he would accept nothing for himself
without feeling patronised, but when the same gesture was made for an
animal to benefit he would accept without grudge and with a smile on
his face.
They were not adhering
to formal rules as they ate and so John picked up the conversation
from across the table asking how her agent responded to her request
for aid setting up a charity. Melissa laughed a little and explained
that Starke had been assigned her agency after her difficulties
attempting to convince nher first agent of her charitable interests.
Thus begun, the
gentlemen were able to urge her into confiding her particular
interest in caring for the young women of London who were condemned
to a miserable existence. The gentlemen were surprised to hear a
young lady even acknowledging the existence of such people let alone
feeling pity for their plight and it was only the explanation of
Mary's past as a nurse to such females that reconciled them to her
having such knowledge. She was disappointed in them a little, but had
grown to have sincere affection for them and their placid acceptance
that this was something she was doing turned rapidly into endeavours
to help. When she explained that her greatest difficulty was finding
a doctor who would commit to treating her girls, James exclaimed
something then hesitated and looked to John for guidance.
John frowned slightly,
chewing through the mouthful of game pie that he had taken while
Melissa was describing her need. When he swallowed, he nodded towards
his cousin and turned to address Melissa. “We may be able to help
you there. Allow me some time to look into it, but I think there may
be a gentleman who works in the country that is willing to help your
girls. Whether he would be a part time supporter or willing to move
to London I could to take it upon myself to say.”
“I would happily pay
any of his expenses including travel and lodgings for his time in
London. Obviously I would also pay full rates for any medical
equipment required for him to do the work. I am not expecting or
requesting a charitable contribution from him – this would be
fairly recompensed work. Please make that clear to him when you raise
the matter.” She leaned forward and spoke passionately, causing
John to relax his usually grave features into an affectionate smile.
He had, without realising, begun to regard her in the light of a
younger sister and her obvious enthusiasm made him want to help her
all the more.
