Forever Young The Beginning (22 page)

As they sat at a large table
surrounded by the wonderful smells of bread warming and soup
heating in a pot, Marie looked at Celeste and said “Celeste, tell
me everything that happened.”

“
I was the first one taken.
I was there for five days before Juliet and the others began to be
brought in. Babette and Cilia came together tonight.”

“
And you say you knew that
we were outside before the men came in to get you?”

Celeste nodded.

“
And your… angel told you
each time another girl was coming and what her name is?”

“
Yes.”

“
Why did you
scream?”

“
I knew Ian was coming and I
got everyone to scream so that the Bad Men wouldn’t hear him come
in.”

Marie and Cosette exchanged looks of
wide-eyed wonder.

The soup was ready so Cosette and
Marie served the five girls, adding a glass of milk for each of
them.

Then she admonished them to
never speak of the incident for fear that the Gendarmes would make
her close
Angels’ Care
and take them away to another place to live. She then asked
them if they would want that to happen.

A chorus of “No.” was the
response.

“
Good. Then it’s our secret
forever. The Bad Men will never return, ever again. Now that you’ve
all eaten, let’s get you into bed.”

“
Marie, may I stay up
please?” said Celeste.

“
Why, dear?”

“
I want to see Ian again
before I go to sleep.”

“
Very well. You stay here
with Cosette and I’ll take these four to their beds now.” She
ushered the four girls out of the big kitchen and up the stairs to
their dormitory.

Cosette turned to Celeste saying
“Celeste is such a pretty name. What is your last name?”

“
Rochelle.”

“
How old are you,
Celeste?”

“
I’m twelve.”

Cosette regarded her closely. She
looked to be more like nine than twelve.

“
You’re a remarkable girl.
Have you any family?”

“
Yes. My Aunt lives in
Paris. Mama died of typhus and Papa was drunk and was killed in a
fight. I was living on the streets when the Bad Man found
me.”

Moved nearly to tears Cosette took
Celeste in her arms and said “You won’t live on the streets again,
Celeste. We’ll find your family.” About then Ian and Henri came
into the kitchen. Celeste ran to him and wrapped her arms about his
waist. Ian hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Then stepping
back he looked at her tenderly. “Well hello again, Celeste. You
smell a lot better now.” She giggled as she stretched up to pull
him down to kiss his cheek.

Cosette kissed Ian and said “Marie is
putting the other girls to bed, Henri. Where is Li?”

“
He went to tell Angus that
it’s over so they can all get some sleep.”

Marie entered the kitchen and Henri
went to her and hugged her, kissing her. Celeste was just finishing
answering all of Ian’s questions.

“
Well, Celeste, are you
ready to go to bed now?”

“
Yes Madame.” she said, as
she gave Ian a hug and then. went to Cosette, and Henri, hugging
each one. And then taking Cosette’s two hands in hers she said “I
hope your wedding is as wonderful as you two are. Good
night.”

Ian and Cosette stared at each other
stupefied.

The next day found them all aboard
Elsie’s Cloud again. After talking with Cosette, Marie had
dispatched a courier to Paris to inquire if Celeste was related to
Caryn Rochelle, the fashion designer. She had notified her that she
would keep Celeste safe until she could locate her family in the
event that Miss Rochelle was not related to Celeste.

Henri had taken the carriage that the
vampires had used and had left it and the horses at the King’s
Gendarmerie with a plausible story.

Ian, Henri and Li were
talking with Angus about what he saw while hiding near the
Red Dolphin
. Marie and
Cosette were looking at all of the progress made in readying
Elsie for the wedding. Ian excused himself and
beckoned for Cosette and Marie to join them. He had a package in
his hand and a mysterious smile on his face.

“
I have something for each
of you” he said opening the package. He handed each a small package
enclosed in heavy felt with a button and matching buttonhole to
keep the flap closed. They opened them and saw glasses with dark
green glass where the lenses would be. They looked up just as Ian
donned his.

“
What are these for,
Ian?”

“
They’re for each of you
when you’re in bright sunlight like right now. Try them on. You can
bend the ear pieces to make them fit better. Let me show you.”
Taking Cosette’s glasses he put them on her, then took them off and
adjusted them.

“
Here, try them
now.”

Cosette put hers on and looked about,
exclaiming “Oh Ian, these are wonderful!” Shortly Marie and Henri
also had theirs on after adjusting them as they had seen Ian
do.

“
Ian, these are marvelous!”
exclaimed Henri. “I can get better glass from Italy. I want to make
these things and sell them.”

“
You’ll be interested to
know that I left a small piece of ivory at the jeweler. He is to
make two more. They’re for Cosette and Marie. It will take time to
cut and carve the ivory. I left him a drawing. They’ll be too
ornate for a man to wear, but should look almost fashionable for a
lady. Certainly far better looking on a woman than these wire
frames.”

Marie said “The glass distorts things,
but I do like the way my eyes feel right now. Oh, Ian, they really
are so very useful and I love them. Thank you so much.” She stepped
to him and put an arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
Ian then handed a pair in their felt container to Angus saying “You
might like these to prevent banging your head when you come in from
the light to go below decks.”

Angus put his on and shook his head in
amazement. “Thank you Ian, I will treasure these. Now about what we
saw last night.” He reported that they had seen a spacious carriage
drawn by four horses pull up and wait in the alleyway behind the
inn not long after midnight. They had seen LeBlanc come out once.
Then he went back inside with the two men. Li had told them that
the girls had been recovered and had taken over the watch and sent
Angus and the crew back to Elsie. The second time was only an hour
before sunrise and he had sent them away.

Li then spoke, saying “I
have something else to report. LeBlanc had an…accident…last night.
It looks like he fell down the steps of the
Red Dolphin
and broke his
neck.”

The words hung there for a moment.
Then Henri nodded, saying “Good riddance. I trust that the King’s
Gendarmes will conclude that it was an…..accidental death then? Li
nodded grimly. “There is more. I searched the place and found no
record of any dealings related to this. I also found this.” Here he
stopped speaking and lifted up a small strong box. Angus fetched a
pistol and shot off the lock. Inside were a few jewels and fine
pieces of jewelry. There was no small number of doubloons as well.
Ian whistled and said “Li, that’s a handsome sum, I’ll
wager!”

Henri told them to divide it among
themselves.

Li said “I followed the carriage to a
warehouse in the wharf district.” He then described to Henri where
it was. Henri said “I’ll inquire about who owns or is renting it.
Good work Li.”

Ian’s mind went back to a disturbing
memory of the raid. Earlier he and Henri had returned to dispose of
the vampire remains out behind the house, leaving them in the open
where the sunlight would consume them. The two heads had been taken
to another place after sunrise. When Ian had pulled them from the
bag to toss them out into the sunlight, he was horrified to see
that both the eyes of each were open and that their mouths moved.
He could have sworn that each looked at him as he tossed them into
the sunlight. They had burst into flame a few seconds later. Henri
had put a hand on his shoulder and had said “I ‘ve never quite
gotten used to that.” The grim episode was past, and everyone was
glad to be only concerned with the upcoming wedding.

Marie had wanted to bring
Celeste to their home to stay, but she and Henri were concerned
about the danger of her learning too much just by being near them
for an extended stay. They just didn’t know what to expect from her
regarding her uncanny intuitiveness, and whether she would be
willing to keep what she knew to herself either. They had two
vampires in their imprinting phase to deal with and be responsible
for. If there were any untimely public revelations concerning even
the suspected presence of vampires, the
Supreme Council
would certainly make
an inquiry. That was something to be avoided at all costs. Henri
and Marie were undecided whether to have her come to the chateau
for the wedding celebration. They had never revealed even the
existence of the
Supreme Council
to Ian, Li, or even to Cosette. What might Celeste
be able to learn if invited to the celebration?

***

Alandra heard the lookout call out
that the port of Almeria was sighted. She strained to make out
details from the distance, and eventually could make out the
faintest details of the city.

Within an hour they were disembarking
and the porters were busy carrying their belongings to the part of
the wharf reserved for arrivals. Two carriages were hired and soon
the Vasquez family was on their way to the home of the Rodriguez
family

The Rodriguez’s were a
wealthy merchant class family whereas the Vasquez family was of a
noble line, but a small and obscure one. They entered a grand
driveway to a sumptuous villa, easily as large and opulent as
Alandra’s home in Barcelona. There was a beautiful view to the
south and the Mediterranean could be seen, occupying most of the
southern horizon. The trees and all foliage were even more tropical
in nature than in Barcelona. It was a splendid location for a home
and Alandra was impressed. She felt herself lifted somewhat from
her melancholy mood and actually anticipated seeing more of the
place and even felt like eating as well.
Maybe I’ll stop crying myself to sleep each night
she thought.

As they got to the villa, they saw
that the servant staff were all assembled to greet them, standing
behind Mr. and Mrs. Rodriquez and Philippe’. Warm greetings were
exchanged and the staff bustled as they unloaded the considerable
baggage that the Vasquez family had brought along. Celita and a
valet had accompanied them on this occasion and Alandra was very
grateful to have a girl both her own age and a dear friend
there.

As the servants took their bags and
belongings to their quarters, the Vasquez family was escorted to a
veranda offering a commanding view of the sea. Alandra’s father and
Mother presented gifts to Philippe’s parents. Her father presented
a finely crafted gold inlaid pistol to Philippe’s father and her
mother presented an exquisite shawl, finely embroidered and with
pearls attached along the edge of the garment. Both of the
Rodriquez’s were very impressed and pleased with the gifts.
Philippe’s father and Alandra’s father both loved firearms, and
loved to shoot for sport. For his part, Philippe’ could hardly take
his eyes away from Alandra. She felt her spirit lifted somewhat.
Her manner and conversation never revealed though that her thoughts
were memories of a simple Scottish seaman.

The day of the wedding had come and
Marie had gone early to Angel’s Care to get Celeste. She had
brought with her a complete outfit for Celeste to wear. It had been
but a small obstacle for Madame Marie Lafayette to have dresses
made for Cosette and Celeste. A team of seamstresses had worked
nights and days to finish both.

When asked if she would like to
participate in the wedding, Celeste’s hands had flown to her
cheeks, and she began to jump up and down, saying excitedly “Yes,
yes, yes, Madame Marie. Oh yes!”

“
Well then child, let’s tell
the headmistress that we will be gone for two days or more, and
we’ll be off.”

“
Oh, Madame Marie, thank
you! I’ll have a chance to meet Louis, Mustafa, and Angus! Thank
you so much!”

Marie stopped and turned to Celeste,
saying “Celeste, you seem to know a lot of things before they
happen.”

“
Yes, Madame Marie. I’ve
always been that way. Mama told me never to tell things to
Papa.”

They resumed their walk to the rented
carriage and after they were on their way, Marie turned to Celeste
again and said “It must have seemed strange that night when we came
for you. You must have seen… strange…happenings.”

“
Yes Madame. I saw that Ian
was as fast as the Bad Men and as strong too.” Turning to Marie and
leaning toward her, she lowered her voice and said “It is good that
they’re dead too.” Marie turned and fastened her eyes on the eyes
of Celeste. “Do the other girls talk about this,
Celeste?”