Forever Young The Beginning (14 page)

He was most attentive and very
appreciative of the update. One gave him a copy of the local paper
with the story, and more recent issue containing a copy of the wild
animal attack, which said that Ian McCloud was missing and feared
dead.

The officials allowed him to
read the account as they continued to discuss how he had been found
alive and was recuperating well. They also spoke of the fight at
the
Red Dolphin
and that there were rumors that LeBlanc might bring charges
against Ian McCloud. They were both surprised that the young
McCloud could best such a man in a fight, as LeBlanc was both
feared and infamous as a fighter of renown in the wharf area of
Marseille.

Vasquez interrupted them for an
explanation. After repeating the whole thing, they said the uncle
had already recently departed to see his nephew this very
day.

Boarding his ship he encountered the
captain who welcomed him aboard. The captain then handed the
Ambassador the letter for Alandra. The captain said “I think it
might be from the second in command, the same one attacked by a
wild animal who now has been found alive and well.”

Ambassador Vasquez pulled
the letter from his pocket and regarded it frowning in thought. He
asked the captain to delay his departure for an hour. Then he sent
his personal valet with money to buy a sumptuous assortment of the
finest delicacies to be delivered to
Elsie’s Cloud
for the entire crew
that very day. He hastily wrote a personal note of thanks to both
Ian and Angus in English, and had the valet to take that for
inclusion with the food delivery. It was an open invitation for him
and his officers to be guests at the Vasquez home any time, and to
never fail to call on any member of the Vasquez family for help in
any situation. He then took the carriage he had arrived in and went
to an attorney he knew. Explaining the situation he left money with
the attorney extracting a promise to visit McCloud’s ship. He would
be telling him that should LeClerc take him to court, he, the
lawyer, would defend Ian McCloud. The lawyer assured him that
message would be delivered to their ship that day.

Less than an hour later, the
ambassador departed for Barcelona. As he stood on the deck, he
thought more about the letter to Alandra. Opening it, he read it
quickly, and his frown deepened. He stared at the horizon, lost in
thought for a long time. Finally he resolved to give Alandra the
letter and the two newspapers declaring Ian a hero and Ian being
declared missing after the wild animal attack. He would let her
think that Ian had died. If McCloud did take him up on his
invitation while he was in Barcelona, he would just act as if he
was as happy to hear that Ian was alive as anyone else. The local
newspaper likely would have the story of Ian being found tomorrow.
Could he be blamed if the newspaper hadn’t yet even heard of his
being found? This could work very well to his advantage. He’d have
no part in helping his headstrong daughter to marry a foreigner.
Likely this foreigner wasn’t even a Roman Catholic. Besides that,
he was a merchant seaman, an adventurer, who lived in a country far
away that even now occupied Gibraltar and some of the Balearic
Isles of Spain.

Satisfied that he’d reached the only
logical and wise decision for his daughter’s future and for his
family’s sake, he folded the two newspapers together with the
letter and tucked them into his pocket. He was now simply looking
forward to being home in Barcelona again.

The carriage departed with Alyssa and
as Ian came onto the veranda, Marie came to him and they linked
arms, walking into the house together.

“
What now,
Marie?”

“
What you’ll do is to strip
to your underwear and get outside in the back yard. We’ve work to
do. You’re still way more human than vampire, so we’ll work on
building your tolerance to sunlight. And while I’m thinking about
it, you shouldn’t wear your boots outside.”

“
Why not?”

“
Your feet are calloused
well from being barefoot at sea. Cosette and I saw that when we
washed you. Do you know how many pairs of shoes a vampire goes
through? Cosette, Henri, and I keep the cobbler busy just by
ourselves. You’ll one day find it convenient to travel great
distances on foot. After all, we run far faster than horses do, and
we barely tire at all. Shoes will be one less worry for you. We
often run without them, but you will be able to do that always. You
can carry them in a rucksack and put them on as needed for
appearances instead of wearing them out in three days of
running.”

“
Marie, you think of
everything.”

“
Come, let’s try something.”
She took a basket of eggs and began to toss them to Ian one at a
time, then faster and faster. He broke two and she stopped. “You
must learn to control your strength. You must catch these eggs as a
human would, with a bit of give in your hand. Try again. This time
Ian only broke one, then he caught over twenty without breaking
one. “That’s the idea Ian. Do you see the difference?”

“
Yes.”

“
Now again, all of them.”
They tossed eggs back and forth until the eggs in motion had become
a blur and none were broken.

“
Marvelous! Fine control.
Let’s walk to the woods, and then we can see how your running is
today.”

“
Why walk?”

“
We mustn’t be seen running
at vampire speed, remember?”

“
Ah, of course.”

They did a good deal of cross-country
running and she took him to where there were a group of rock spires
that the two of them would climb and then leap from the top of one
to another. Two hours later he felt as if he was well able to judge
just how far he could jump, whether into or out of a tree or over
an obstacle.

Speaking to Marie he said “Well, I
hope some French hunters don’t see me running and leaping around
these woods in my underwear today”

Marie threw back her head and laughed
saying “I’ll race you to the pasture behind the chateau.” She took
off and Ian followed arriving not more than some ten seconds after
she did. At the pasture, she took out her long gloves and a floppy
but broad-brimmed hat from a lightweight rucksack and donned them
before stepping out of the woods into the sunlight. Ian likewise
changed into long pants but left his shirt off.

“
Marie, I want to have
Spearmint leaves included in my salads.”

“
I’ll see to that, but
why?”

“
Who knows where I’ll be in
this world some day? I may be where I can’t get cinnamon and
clove.” By the way, I have a surprise planned for you.”

“
Oh?”

“
Yes, you’ll like it, after
you get past the surprise part. Really there are two surprises, but
one won’t be seen for a while. I see that you’re having work done
on the caretaker’s house too?”

“
Yes, we’ll have need of it
soon enough. Oh listen, what do you hear, Ian?”

“
A carriage approaching,
four horses I would say.”

“
Your hearing has improved
too. Those are my horses. Cosette, and the others are here. I must
hasten to dress properly as must you.” They ran, but like two
humans the last bit of distance to the house. Ian thought
she can hear the difference in her horses from
others!
The servant staff had arrived
shortly after Ian and Marie had gone running. The meal was in the
process of preparation, and their clothes were laid out on their
beds. Once each got to their respective bedroom, they washed and
dressed at vampire speed.

***

Michelle had been sitting by
herself all that day, apart from the other girls who were playing.
She again pondered what had thought she had seen last night. Night
had fallen on Marseille and at the
Angel’s
Care
orphanage, the children were all
settled in their beds. The staff had retired too. The place was
quiet with only the slight nighttime noises associated with such
institutions. The one hundred twelve children there were all housed
on the second floor for security reasons. The staff living area,
office, records and files, kitchen, infirmary and front desk were
all downstairs. A thump on the roof went nearly unnoticed, being as
there was an attic between it and the second story of the place.
Shortly, there was the delicate tinkle of broken glass, then the
return of near silence. A slight skittering sound might have been
heard if someone had been listening. One had been listening after
the thump had stopped her from dropping off to sleep. She heard the
glass tinkling just as she started to drop off again. Then there
was the skittering sound and a shadow with glowing eyes darted
silently across her field of view. It hovered over a bed nearby for
a while, motionless, head swiveling in the dark, listening.
Suddenly it bent and there was a flurry of movement, but hardly a
sound. Then looking like it was larger than before, the shadow flew
straight up some twenty feet to a cross-beam. It then seemed to
flit to the broken window and pausing only shortly, seemed to
vanish. The little girl lay still a long while, and then she
gradually relaxed. Sleep finally came.

In the morning after breakfast, the
headmistress was notified that one child was missing at the
breakfast assembly. The place was searched from top to bottom but
the child wasn’t found. The headmistress sent one of the workers to
the King’s Gendarmerie to make a report. A report was duly filed
and given to a young inspector, Claude Rousseau.

***

Rousseau visited the place a day
later, and could find no way a child could climb out. He did notice
broken glass from a window high up on a gable-end wall. It was
inaccessible from the floor by an adult, let alone a child. He
dismissed it as due to a bird strike, knowing of a church window
that had been knocked out that way once. He never did find a dead
bird here though.

Questioning all of the staff it was
apparent that no one could recall any disturbance the night before.
His report was inconclusive, and he duly filed it as an open case.
The headmistress posted a letter to Madame Lafayette notifying her
of the incident, concluding that the child had run away before
being secured at bed time and hadn’t been missed by the staff who
had done the mandatory bed count. How else could it be
explained?

She put in an order to be
sent to a glazers shop for the window to be repaired. It was
summertime and the window being broken would not pose a real
problem with the weather being so balmy. Since no one could reach
the window from the floor, no one noticed that the sturdy catch had
been ripped from the woodwork. So even after the glass was
repaired, it would require installing a new latch, and a new piece
of trim to mount the latch. But there was no way that anyone could
know that for now. Things returned to normal for the occupants
of
Angel’s Care
.

The carriage drew up before the
veranda just as Ian and Marie came down the steps, arm-in-arm. The
doors opened and Cosette was assisted by Ian who smiled over her
shoulder at the others inside. He kissed her hands, murmuring “I’m
so glad you’re here safe.”

“
I missed you, mon ami.” she
said, reaching up to lay her hand upon his cheek. Ian took her hand
and raising it to his lips, kissed it tenderly, fastening his eyes
on hers, and allowing a slight pulsating glow. She felt a tingling
like electricity go through her body and allowed her eyes to
respond very slightly with an answering glow.

Angus was first out of the carriage,
wrapping his arms about Ian in a great bear hug, and kissing both
of his cheeks. Lowering his voice then he said “By Heaven Ian, I
was worried unto death until this dear lady came yesterday to calm
my fears. God has smiled on you laddie, but he moves in ways that
we canna understand.”

The other two piled out and each gave
Ian a bear hug, smiling and slapping him on the back. He gave them
the warmest greeting, taking each by the shoulder and gazing into
their eyes. Then he said “I have someone who also is very dear to
me whom I want you all to meet.” Turning then to Marie, he made the
introductions.

Each of them bowed to Marie, saying
“Enchante’ Madam.” She curtsied and returned “Honored Monsieur” to
each, then stepping forward to hug each one of them and to give
each a kiss on each cheek. “Whoever is friend or family of Ian
McCloud is a friend of the Lafayette family. Come now. Dinner will
soon be served.” Ian had helped the driver unload the long crate
strapped to the back of the carriage along with the luggage, being
only three seaman’s duffels. Four of Marie’s domestic staff took
the crate and bags into the house.

They all turned towards the Chateau,
the three men clustered tightly around Marie, and Ian could hear
Angus complimenting her on her beautiful home as they made their
way up the wide brick walkway. Ian turning to Cosette with a smile
reached down and took her hand in his. Their fingers intertwined as
they looked deeply into each other’s eyes, then slowly smiling at
each other they started up the walk after the others. Both of them
felt an electrical thrill at the contact.

“
Where is Louis?”