Her thoughts drifted
over Andy's behaviour and how it had changed over the last few weeks.
She'd seen him morph from a young man with promise, to an excited
boy taking on adventure, to a lost youth and then – having given
him direction once more – into an excitable adventure seeking youth
with sense of his own infallibility. With that combination, cast
away in France, it was no wonder he had fallen.
She mused over the
behaviour James had re counted. Why, she wondered, would he have let
Andy go to find himself in that kind of state. They must both have
been drunk and utterly foolhardy. It was an interesting reflection to
muse briefly on the similarity of the two Andy's – their youthful
fervour and sense of adventure over any kind of affinity or
responsibility for home. And both, she thought angrily, had been
turned into drunk fools and losers by this awful time.
She heard James once
more despair over how it was his fault that Andy had fallen and how
he should have predicted that, or at the very least somehow got him
out before disaster fell and something within her snapped.
She began berating him
and shredded every aspect of his character. He was, she declaimed,
thoughtless, feckless, irresponsible ad foolish. He had been there to
protect Andy from himself and the French and yet both had been in
such a state that one of them had died. Was that night of fun worth
it she enquired? Did you laugh as Andy made a fool of himself before
the French? Did you think it was funny that he could walk into that
situation with no backup while you sniggered outside? The words
poured forth like a torrent. There was no s=escape for him and, in
honour to him he took it manfully.
At first he bowed under
the weight of her accusations but as each lacerating missile word
found it's target he began to absorb them and accept them. Fro
sulking under her gaze he began to acknowledge the truth of her words
(although once the tirade had passed it would be a while before she
could forgive herself for the harshness she employed) and then he
began to grown before her eyes.
He looked around at the
luxuries on the table and pushed his plate and glass aside. When her
tirade ceased he responded quietly and humbly. He acknowledged that
the loss of their mutual friend was his fault. He had a job that he
had failed in and in so doing had strengthened the French against the
British army. He had known enough about arms and armaments to know
that the work in the smith y they passed had been giving the musketry
of the French a new kind of rifling and the test dummies bore witness
to increased accuracy over longer distances.
There was nothing in
his eyes or face to hint any more at the failures of the last few
days. Instead he saw the need now to extract the scientist. It was no
longer fun and he no longer wanted to risk anyone dying. The known
people in his life at risk had decreased from four to three, but the
unknown people in his life at risk had escalated by thousands. In
that context he was able to let go of his ego and become, as the
modern world would call it, a team player.
From that day, he drank
only for form at the society parties of the English. He never overate
and spent at least two hours a day developing his physical strength
and combat abilities.
He never told her why.
The truth was, when he
had seen Andy walk in he had thought it an excellent joke on the
French. He had never encountered a soldier before: although he had
seen many men in regimentals and assumed they were the same thing. He
did not realise the consequences of Andy's talk and had, as Melissa
suggested, been sat sniggering outside. When the shots started he had
been shocked. He had never dared creep in to see if Andy was even
alive. Instead, he had taken to his feet and sprinted as far from the
town as possible. Fleeing across the country had been difficult. The
soldiers around Paris had quickly heard of the English spy who had
been shot, and they were on the lookout for his compatriot who they
had seen together.
James kept to small
towns and byways for as long as possible. He had initially headed
straight for Paris but a horseman had reached it first and he had
seen the posters containing his likeness and requesting his arrest.
After two nights he began to steal to move more swiftly. He was
caught more than once and had to fight his way out of each situation.
When he reached the yacht, he had essentially collapsed and
instructed them to set sail. The posters he had read confirmed Andy's
death and he felt no compunction to confess the full shame of his
cowardice to Melissa when making his report. Once clean, dressed and
fed however, he became more self judgemental. When Melissa had begun
her attack he had converted his guilt into a sense of outrage but,
either due to the strength of her passion, the duration of her rant
or his own innate sense of justice and fair play he found himself
acknowledging that she was confirming everything he had suspected
about himself and his own attitudes.
There was only so much
time he could spend lying to himself and pretending he had acted in
the best mores of the British Empire. Now that crisis point had come
and he responded superbly. He would never be a soldier – his self
indulgence was still too prevalent for that, but from that day forth
he was a responsible member of society. He contributed instead of
leeching and he had found a purpose.
Once Melissa had
subsided he apologised quietly. His tone was very different to
previous speeches and she was surprised by it. Looking at him sharply
she detected a note of sincerity which had hitherto been lacking
although it was not noticeable for its absence. There was a brief
pause as he began to express his hopes that she would allow him to
continue in the future to contribute to her cause and that he would
do everything within his power to smooth over the impact his presence
in her home had on her good name.
She smiled, the merest
flicker, as she contemplated the truth of her good name's value.
It was worthless in
this world as she had broken every social law before she arrived, and
a few criminal ones. Now, however, as she was trying to blend in, she
suspected it might help.
It was two days later
before she saw Lord Penthvere again. He arrived on her doorstep,
fashionably dishevelled, and expressed every courtesy. There was an
air of apology and understanding about him and it was not long before
the purpose of his visit had been revealed.
James had been true to
his word. After meeting with the other boys he had retired to his own
apartments (which were now under observation and had been since that
moment of toasting their success in public) and the next day
identified and located Melissa's visitor with the aid of a
description from Mary and a n intelligent guess that he might
possible be a government staff worker. Lord Penthvere was, it
appeared, aide to a leading member of parliament and close friend and
confidante of the Royal Family. Feeling a slight trepidation, but
bolstered vy the knowledge that this was something he must to, James
presented himself at Lord Penthvere's club while he was known to be
lunching there.
Requesting a private
discussion he had apologised to Lord Penthvere and confided that he
was here purely for the sake of Melissa. It wouldn't be right for
Lord Penthvere to think anything inappropriate had happened. She did
what she did for the good of the British Empire, but she couldn't
prove her interests. She was also conscious, James insisted, that the
role of women made it impossible for her to be known to contribute
towards the British cause.
Lord Penthvere was
silent, but not untouched. When James leaned forward and confided his
observations of the weaponry developed by the individual they were
seeking to release how whole demeanour changed. He cursed and sprang
out of his chair. Marching to the doorway, he called out to George,
the waiter, and instructed him to collect provisions so he could
begin writing notes.
Within a few more hours
He had sent several men with various orders all to the same purpose.
The man developing weapons for the French was to be assassinated.
He informed Melissa of
this, of his appreciation that he had wronged her by assuming that
the presence of James in her house, clad as he had been, implied
anything other than a business arrangement and his desire that she
stay out of international affairs.
She waved him into a
seat and calmly informed him that every attempt to assassinate this
man would fail, that while she appreciated that he acknowledge he had
no right to judge her she would rather he be aware that held true
regardless of the nature of her relationship with James or any man
and that finally, she was within her rights to concern herself about
the extraction of one man from an undesirable situation where she
found it possible.
He sat and listened to
her claims with the same aura of confidence and the sense that he
knew more than she as she did. It was that mirror of herself that
prevented her from being offended. She had extra knowledge but
couldn't possibly confide it, whereas he may also be hiding things
from her. To be offended by his disbelief in her was ridiculous:
whether he was operating from a source of evidence or bigotry the
result was the same – he was acting on the same basis as she was
and to condemn him was to condemn herself.
Accepting that he
needed some form of evidence before she could change his mind, she
dropped her side of the argument and moved to more frivolous items.
For the first time their conversation was sociable and generally
friendly. They were getting along surprisingly well. They were both
well informed about current affairs and politics and he seemed to
enjoy hearing her opinions while she delighted in his acerbic wit and
observations of the people he knew intimately that she had only ever
seen referred to in newspapers and occasionally on the lines of some
society function.
An hour later he rose
and reluctantly left her. The two of them had never before had the
opportunity to fare well so cordially and she slipped into her habits
from her old life and reached out to embrace him as he left. He was
hugely surprised and confused, but once again did not reject her or
freeze in offence. Instead he accepted her salutation and the two
parted as friends.
When she sat by herself
at a later hour, she felt mortified as she realised the perception of
intimacy such an act had in this day and age. Even so, he could not
regret it. It had been a sincere gesture with no subtext of
seduction, manipulation or coercion. She had simply wanted to bid him
adieu as a friend and he, to his credit, did not appear to have read
anything more into the circumstance.
She spent several hours
that night working on a plan to release Andy. The intervention of
British assassins made it more likely that Andy would be moved again,
and the watch around him increased. It would be more difficult than
ever to extricate him. Added to this the fact that apparently the
device only gave Andy the guarantee of survival – if she dived
into the furore, she was at risk of death herself. She mused over the
various angles of the problem and the next day called the boys to a
conference.
When they were gathered
together the mood was subdued. In comparison to the previous events
which had been conducted with an air of lightness and fun, this was a
serious sombre affair. James was profoundly affected by his
experience and the other boys responded to that although they had not
quite reached that stage themselves yet.
Melissa herself was
more confident in her decision making process and consultation. She
described the outcome of their recent effort and the effect that
would have on future attempts. She also pointed out the additional
dangers in the situation – attempting to rescue a man marked for
assassination by the British would not look good. There was a general
agreement, but all three men were now aware of the French
developments in artillery and each had a sibling, cousin or friend
out in the field of battle that may fall as a result of this Andy's
work.
When Melissa made her
instructions known, she was expecting some resistance. Although they
fed back on the aspects of her plan that were unworkable within the
confines they were operating, they were overall very supportive and
agreed to give it a go. Michael pointed out that they needed an extra
remember to the group for it to work properly, and James recommended
his own cousin who, while not the most adventurous young buck, had
the resources and physical attributes required and could generally be
relied upon. He agreed to bring this cousin to Melissa the following
day for inspection and induction into the group.
The next day the
induction process duly occurred. Melissa was introduced to the
cousin, John Harper, and asked to speak with him privately. It was
important to her that she knew his personal feelings about working
under the instruction of a woman. At first he had acted as a man of
fashion; offering her a mild flirtation. When she ordered; not
requested, specifically ordered; the other three to leave, he had
been surprised. When the three obeyed without question or hesitation,
he was visibly shocked. He watched them as they left and then turned
questioning eyes towards her. She had presented the situation to him
clearly – that she was to give instruction and he would obey. Did
he feel that was an improper position for a female?
He was startled and it
showed. His heavyset shoulder and craggy features gave him the
illusion of a bullish mentality and for a moment she was afraid, but
his words countered the aura he emitted. “I would not blindly
follow any commands, madam, unless I had grounds to implicitly trust
the commander. To expect anything less is the mark of an arrogant
dictator and that is the mentality I would least choose to represent
or follow.”
His wordy response took
a little unravelling in her mind but she liked the gist and smiled.
“We have a problem. Your cousin believes you can contribute to a
successful resolution.”
