Angus reluctantly said that he had to get back to Marseille that afternoon. He and the remaining crew said their goodbyes to all. It was agreed that Mustafa would stay with the Lafayettes.
Angus thought that they would sail in two days’ time and he had to oversee provisioning the ship for the journey home. Marie told him that a wine maker would be coming to see him with an offer of a large amount of wine. Angus was pleasantly surprised at the good price he was paying for it.
After all of the farewells, the four carriages wound their way along the driveway, departing to Marseille. Ian and the rest of them stood waving good bye until the carriages were out of sight.
***
Alandra craned her neck with interest to see the sights as the carriage wound its’ way through the streets of Almeria. With her in the carriage were Celita and her Mother. Seated next to her was Philippe’. He was doing his best to narrate facts about the sights as they came to them. There was a festival in progress and they were approaching that area now. Fireworks were planned for after sunset. There was a constantly changing symphony of music and sounds of merrymaking as the carriage wound its’ way through the streets. Ahead of the carriage carrying Alandra was another one carrying Alandra’s father and little brother as well as Philippe’s father and mother. They were truly enjoying the sights and sounds. The entire entourage was escorted to preferred seating near to the orchestra.
Soon the concert started and it was magnificent for a city the size of Almeria. As it went on, the sky darkened and stars came out. The fireworks started up as the concert ended. ‘Oooh’ and ‘Aaah’ were heard constantly as the happy crowd reacted to the show. Alandra looked up at the stars after the show concluded and sighed, thinking of standing on the deck of Tico with a tall Scottish sailor explaining in his unique low timbre voice and Scottish burr how he could navigate across an ocean in the dark. She felt a pang in her heart, but she forced herself to engage in conversation and to participate as best she could manage.
Chapter 32
The next day was when Ian began his blood fast training. He would have to endure the faint spells and painful final body adjustments without any blood. This would give him the power to resist the need for it and it would condition him to be able to function at his best when he had the least nourishment. Marie again stressed this as a vital part of becoming an adept. She and Henri were astounded at his tolerance to sunlight for this long. Neither had ever seen or heard of such a thing before in their lives.
Ian trained with Li doing all manner of advanced Kung Fu techniques and they practiced with pistols a good part of the day too. There was a weak spell that lasted for an hour and was very painful so he merely rested in a shady place until it passed.
They passed a pleasant day, taking the children fishing below the waterfall and later that evening, Ian read from the Bible for the children. Later after they had gone to their beds, Marie began to teach Ian to play her harpsichord.
The next day found them all in two carriages bound for Marseille. They arrived at around nine o’clock and found Elsie being loaded with casks of wine. Fresh fruit and provisions of all sorts were being loaded aboard for the voyage to Amsterdam. Marie and Henri had said their goodbyes earlier and had gone to take care of some errands and to check security and the official version of events at Angels’ Care orphanage. Ian had a painful ride into town, and it only subsided as they neared the wharf area.
Aboard Elsie they sat down to eat lunch together for the last time. Li and Mustafa had come with them. Angus asked the blessing and it was somewhat solemn because these men had known Ian for most of his life. They had spent a pleasant morning and had gotten to dine together. It was time to say goodbye. With some eyes brimming and husky voices the men bid each other goodbye until they would meet at either Amsterdam or at Edinburg. Li shook hands all around, and embraced some of his closer friends. Cosette kissed each of the officers and Angus one last time. Angus took both of her hands in his and said “May our God bless you as well as Marie and Henri for your part in all that has happened. May God grant you both long life and happiness unbounded and keep you safe until we meet again.” He ended with giving Ian a mighty bear hug and they parted company on the gangplank.
Shortly Elsie’s Cloud cast off all mooring lines and was pulled to the end of the twin repair docks by the two teams of six draft horses used for that purpose. Ian and Cosette stood with Mustafa and Li, watching her turn with the aid of three longboats and oarsmen. She then unfurled sails and made her way gracefully towards the horizon. Cosette squeezed Ian’s arm with her intertwined arm and laid her head on his shoulder, sharing his sadness at their departure.
They stood there until the ship was barely visible and only then did Ian turn to her. Taking her shoulders gently he peered into her eyes. In a voice husky with emotion he said “I know now that only for you am I standing on this shore watching my ship and my life sail away. But you’re worth it to me. Only you could take me from that life. I can’t live without you.”
“Oh, Ian!” She wept tears of joy while gently drawing his head down to kiss him tenderly.
***
Within an hour of the Lafayette’s visit to the King’s Gendarmerie, a man walked in and asked to speak to the Chief Inspector. There was some delay, so the man asked the young gendarme to tell the Chief Inspector that Monsieur Aldric Moreau wished to see him.
Inspector Claude Rousseau overheard the conversation in passing by. Shortly the Chief Inspector came out and beckoned to Monsieur Moreau, smiling broadly. The door to the Chief Inspector’s office closed behind Moreau. Rousseau shrugged then went back to the boring paperwork he was catching up on. Shortly the Chief Inspector opened his door again and came to Rousseau’s desk. He seated himself across from Rousseau and leaning towards him said “Claude, I need that file about the two girls kidnapped from that orphanage. What was the name of the place?”
“Angels’ Care, sir.”
“Very well, please find it and bring it in to me quickly.”
“That won’t be necessary sir. Here it is.” he said, handing the file to the Chief Inspector.
“Ah! Thank you, Claude.” he said as he went back to his office.
Rousseau watched until the door was closed. He had just finished talking to Madame and Henri Lafayette about the case. They had only wished to make certain that the King’s Gendarmes were no longer looking for the girls. The Lafayettes confirmed the report from the headmistress of Angels’ Care that the girls had been found, having run away. They were only too glad to be back at Angels’ Care having been without food for several days. Rousseau thought it odd that someone else would be interested in such a minor incident.
Shrugging, he returned to his boring paperwork.
Shortly the man emerged from the Chief Inspector’s office and left. Rousseau thought there was something strange about him, but couldn’t put his finger on it. He had pale blue watery eyes and blonde hair. Rousseau would have taken him for Dutch or German although he had a French name. Tall and muscular, he wore a really wide-brimmed black hat with a peculiar feather in the hat band and also wore gloves.
Within the hour, the same man stood outside of Angels’ Care looking over the building while walking around it. He stopped when he saw a scaffold erected at a gable end of the building. The window there had been removed and the opening was being filled with brick and mortar at that moment. One mason and one helper were even now working on it.
The man stood watching the workers for over ten minutes as if lost in thought. He turned abruptly and departed in an expensive looking carriage.
Chapter 33
Several days passed uneventfully at the Lafayettes’ chateau. Ian had seemed to have gotten past the worst of the weak spells, but his final body adjustments had to be endured until his blood fast time was up. They were very painful without the blood, and Cosette ministered to him as needed to help him endure it. He told no one, but
he had begun to notice that after several hours in the sunshine, he craved shade. Ian and Li had continued to be barefooted, shirtless, and wearing shorts as much as possible, only changing into long pants and shirts for the regular evening social gatherings.
Ian told Li about the danger of him losing his ability to make love. He informed Li that Marie had taken the liberty of hiring a professional courtesan to keep him company during his imprinting. Li as usual was impassive, but he did show keen interest when told that part of his life would forever vanish without imprinting it now.
Ian then went on to caution him regarding his strength and how serious it was to be sure not to harm the woman in any way whatsoever. He took a lot of time explaining in detail how Li was to engage in lovemaking with a human so as not to hurt her.
The woman, a dusky Sicilian-Arab wench, arrived that very evening. She was pretty, and only two inches shorter than Li, with cascading wavy black hair, large dark brown eyes, and a sensual mouth. Li and the woman took up residence in the caretakers’ house. His story to her was that he was hired to teach martial arts and was being kept there for a short while. The woman, Sophia, was told that she was a part of his contract with the Lafayettes. She was visibly impressed the first time she saw Ian and Li sparring. The speed and effectiveness of the fighting were nothing like the drunken brawls she had witnessed for half of her life.
All were careful not to use their vampire powers in front of the children or Sophia. She seemed to like the routine and the love she saw displayed daily. Having had a hard life in Marseille, she had taken care to not be under the control of a pimp at any time. It was a life that paid well enough, but was empty. This life she was seeing was a different thing altogether, being vibrant, spontaneous, rich, happy, and exuberant. The coarse rude vulgarity that she’d been around all of her life wasn’t to be seen here in this home. She had never imagined that life could be this way. Daily she watched and bit by bit was drawn by the life of loving and caring that these people shared.
She was surprised that the Lafayettes let her join them for their evenings and at meal times too if she desired. She would have expected to have to stay near or in the caretakers’ house the whole time. Li was what she would term a preferred customer and was never selfish nor did he ever mistreat her even once by word or deed. He was unlike the majority of her customers, instead being considerate, gentle, and kind. She began to actually look forward to their alone time together each night. A bath and massage was always the beginning of their evenings together.
He had come to really look forward to that as well as to making love to her. In their lovemaking, he soon began to ask her exactly what she wanted and then would try to do that in order to please her. He openly admitted that he had very little experience in that regard. She had never ever encountered such behavior and over time she began to desire him, as opposed to only accommodating him.
One day Henri came to Ian and said “You and I have some business to attend to in Marseille today. I want you to shave your beard now and leave only some broad sideburns. I’ll be in a disguise.”
Ian’s curiosity was aroused, but he told Cosette and went to see Marie for a razor and mirror. Marie also applied makeup to make his hair gray on the sides of his head. A bit later when he saw Henri, each could scarcely believe the changes in the other.
A few hours later they were in the office of the King’s Gendarmerie and both wore their sun glasses. Henri introduced them both as Laforges to inspector Rousseau, expressing a desire to meet with Rousseau at the Blue Oyster Inn after he was through for the day. He promised to make it worth Rousseau’s while and that there was nothing illegal in their business with him.
Rousseau met them there that evening. Henri told him to order what he wanted. He and Ian ordered dinner so Rousseau did too. The proprietor Pronovost never recognized Ian with his beard gone and with his sun glasses on.
“Monsieur Rousseau. I was most impressed by your work and inspection of the incident of the two missing children at the Angels’ Care facility.”
“I only did my job, sir.”
“Most wouldn’t have bothered to do as thorough a job as you, monsieur. Not for missing orphans anyway. We think that you’ll go far in government and we want to help you do that. If you make the right choice this evening, you will soon become chief inspector for Marseille. You may choose your replacement. We’ll be watching you and you’ll be promoted from time to time.”
‘How can you know that? You’re not officials, are you?”
“We’re not officials, but we know many who are, and monsieur Rousseau, they do listen to us. You will be promoted, and it won’t be the last time either.”
He sat sipping his wine as he pondered that. “I’m honored to be considered, monsieur’s but I must ask first, what do you want in return?
“We want you to always be as thorough as you were in handling the affair of which I spoke. There may be a favor asked of you from time to time, but you’ll not be asked to commit sedition or treason against the crown.
“In no way will I be a party to any criminal activity.”
“Good. Because that would be most unfortunate for you. We won’t be asking you become a lawbreaker, or to involve yourself in theft or anything that would compromise your position. Mostly what we want from time to time is information., and sometimes help.”
“I can do that monsieur, but how do I know who I’m helping?”
“You only have to know and remember the name Laforge. You’re never to divulge our name to anyone, even to your twenty-four year old wife of four years and three months, Louise. To do so would be to risk your career at the very least. We’re not seekers of publicity of any kind, especially unwanted publicity. Later in your career, a private bank account in a friendly country will be given to you. It is to supplement your retirement and to help you with your familial obligations, such as when your three years and seven months old daughter Alicia might marry. You’ll be given full access to it when you retire. It will be generous, I assure you. Until then, you’ll be able to draw only a set amount from it, once a year. If more is needed, we’ll know and will provide it. Extravagant living won’t be permitted unless you come into a lawful inheritance. Once you enter this agreement, it is binding for the rest of your public life as an official of the government of France.”
Henri handed a signet to Rousseau. “This is our insignia. It’s made in to appear as a piece of women’s jewelry, as if for a necklace. It’s not a valuable piece, but you should memorize every detail. If we write to you, this insignia will appear on our communications as a way for you to know that you’re reading our own words. It can just be put in a box and put away somewhere, or if you discard it, destroy it with a hammer. Any written communication from us must be read and then burnt. Failure to do that is a breach of our agreement and will be dealt with as such. You’ll be demoted quickly to an obscure post and will lose your private bank account too. If all goes as it should, when you retire from government service, you’ll be very well off financially and you’ll be through with us. It will be as if we never met. It’s that simple.”
He sat in thought for a while. My God! What do they not know about me? Still, I feel as if they are… trustworthy, and what an opportunity! He raised his eyes to meet Henri’s gaze and then said “I can do that, and I am most grateful.”
“Then let us drink a toast to seal our bargain. “To your career, monsieur Rousseau.” They drank to that and then their order came and they dined in pleasant conversation, artfully steered by Henri. They parted company around dark.
As they returned to the Chateau, Ian asked “What was that all about?”
“That’s one of our new men inside of the government. We’ll be grooming him over the years to advance to a high position. When we make our generational move and leave the chateau we will leave the name Lafayette behind too. We’ll be the Laforges. And we will have another grateful ally
in the French government to assist us as we take up life as the Laforges. There are others and there will be new ones added, but I wanted you to see how it’s done.”
He was more than impressed. “Henri, I’m impressed by what I’ve seen and heard today.”
Chapter 34
One evening a courier came bearing a letter for Marie. She opened it and quickly assembled everyone.
“I’ve received notice from Caryn Rochelle in Paris. She’s your aunt, Celeste. She wants for you to live with her in Paris.” Celeste smiled sweetly, then said “I am so grateful, Madame. I’d be just as happy to stay here though with all of you, if only you’ll allow me.”
Marie looked distressed, and looked to Henri. She said “Celeste, we can’t keep you if your aunt wants to raise you. It is the law in France.” She held her arms open and Celeste came to her embrace. “You’re a lovely girl and we would love to have you stay with us forever, and I know that Ian and Cosette feel the same way. There’s no reason to be sad or afraid. Your Aunt is a famous fashion designer and lives quite well. Paris is a beautiful and exciting place to live. I’ve met her and she’s a very nice person. I also have a young friend living there who is an associate of your aunt. She is very nice and you’d like her. You’ll attend the best schools and I’m going to see to it that you get voice training to enhance your lovely singing. You might even become a famous performer someday.”
“I’ll do as you wish, Madame.”
Ian spoke “Cosette and I are going to the Netherlands, and to my home in Scotland. We can take you to Paris. We’ve wanted to see it and would love to see it with you.”
Coming to sit next to him she said “Oh Ian that would be so nice.” He hugged her warmly and held her head to his chest, saying “We wouldn’t want to see Paris without you.” Cosette nodded her assent, smiling sweetly. Celeste leaned over and pillowed her head on Cosette’s shoulder with a sweet smile.
Unnoticed at the end of the table, Sophia sat, her eyes brimming with tears. What’s happening to me? I’m almost at the point of tears. I never knew that people live and care for each other this way. The love she was seeing was melting the hard veneer that she had created to insulate herself from the harshness of her life.