All present wanted to hear their story, so Ian just let Cosette tell it. He watched Angus as she told the carefully rehearsed story of their meeting and falling in love. There were lots of questions about France and about Marie and Henri too. The conversation went on for some three hours until Mary called a halt to it so that everyone could sit down to eat supper.
At the table Ian got to catch up on the local news. There were all sorts of news tidbits to share. Ian spoke at some length of life at sea and of life at the chateau. His brother pressed him to tell of the pirate battle so Ian told a detailed account of that, carefully omitting any reference to Alandra other than to say that she and Celita were captives of the pirates. He also told them about the storm and how he and the others made it through safely. They were enthralled at all of the things that he had gotten to experience. Ian thought If only you knew the parts of my adventures that I’m not telling you!
***
“So you did find the house where the five girls were being held?
“Yes. There was no mistaking it. There was a cell built in its cellar. I found some blood, so there had to have been force used to get the girls away from whoever was keeping them. The house did belong to LeBlanc, the man found drunk and lying at the bottom of his steps with a broken neck. He was a notorious drinker, so that might indeed have been an accident. It took several days of looking through tax documents at the courthouse hall of records to find the place.”
“But the house you found, there were no ‘accidents’ there?”
“No Lord Francoise. Force was used to get the girls away from that place.”
“What do you make of it?”
“I think that someone involved might have slipped up and said something while drunk. That could have gotten back to one or more people who would find kidnapping offensive enough to go and do something themselves. Lacking any other information, it seems at least credible that it happened that way. The good news is that the King’s Gendarmes think that the girls ran away and were found.”
“Where did they get that notion?”
“The headmistress at the orphanage they were taken from turned that report in to them.”
“Does she know the real truth?”
“It seems not. She just reported that someone she didn’t know brought them back to the orphanage.”
“There is more to this story than that.”
“Likely so, sir.”
Francoise tossed a hefty bag of gold on the desk and said “Get me a name and I’ll triple that sum.”
“You want to know who it was that claims to have found them, sir?”
“Yes. That will be all, Moreau.”
Moreau knew already that it was the Lafayettes behind it. He could just wait a few weeks, then come back and give the Lafayette’s name to him to make a lot more money the easy way. He would surely back down when he heard the Lafayette name. This would recover his recent gambling losses with some money to spare. It was easy to make money when one was as smart as Aldric Moreau. It was risky but easy. He was once again pleased with his cleverness.
Chapter 39
Their visit went quite well. Some days Cosette remained at the McCloud home if it was sunny and other cloudy days she was out all day seeing the sights with Ian. Ian asked Angus to take a proposal to the Bank of Edinburg for a limited partnership with the Lafayettes, so Angus agreed to do that while he was there.
One night after everyone went to bed, Cosette said “Aren’t you going to take me to see the highlands and mountains?”
“Yes. Do you want to go now?
“Yes, let’s run in the hills of Scotland.”
They did just that. In an hour they were sixty miles southwest of Edinburg and running full out. They leaped gullies and streams laughing like children. Cosette caught an unlucky fox and they paused for a bit to take nourishment.
“Ian it is wild, windy, and beautiful just as you said. I can see why you love it here.”
The days flew by only too fast it seemed. The entire family was so completely taken with Cosette that she felt as if she had been one of them for her whole life. The McCloud home was one filled with love, as was the chateau of Marie and Henri.
Only too soon though, they were packing and saying their goodbyes to all. Three weeks had gone by like three days.
They sailed from Edinburg to Dover in England. Cosette had never seen the white chalk cliffs of Dover and marveled at them. They disembarked in Dover for two days, and then they took a large packet boat across the channel to Calais where they began unhurriedly looking about at the sights.
***
It was late night in Paris. At the Angels’ Care orphanage facility outside of Paris the children and staff had long since gone to bed. Except for the usual sounds of a large building with many occupants, the place was still. An occasional cough might punctuate the silence, or the sound of a nightingale in the woods nearby. Certainly the sound of a properly working window in the bowels of the place did not intrude on the stillness of the deserted hallways. Nor did the sound of a properly working door make any impression. The whisper of stealthy sure feet along tiled floors could not be heard from either the sleeping quarters of the staff or the dormitories. Two shadows flitted along deserted corridors as if only two puffs of smoke blown on an errant wind.
At times they would leave the floor of the corridor to instantly rise steeply up and over a wall of iron bars and just as quickly drop silently down to the floor of the corridor in the same heartbeat. If there had been human eyes to witness their passage, the human might well have rubbed his eyes to clear them thinking that surely they had just imagined what he saw in that brief time.
Little Chloe lay sleeping on her bed just inside of the dormitory entrance. She slept the sleep of an innocent child, dreamless and deep. Suddenly she came awake but couldn’t scream for the filthy rag jammed into her mouth. She was held in two hands that felt like two steel bands. As she was snatched from her bed, she was aware of the slight sound of her bedding being pulled from her bed, a whispering sound. She was rapidly taken down the hallway to be laid on the floor next to the tall iron gate at the end of the hall. She heard the sounds of cloth shredding and was rapidly and tightly bound.
Then as if she weighed nothing she was lifted to be thrown across a shoulder. She then rocketed upward and down again nearly as fast and the stairs she was descending went past as a blur until again she rocketed upward and back down once again in a heartbeat. The sides of the dim corridors flashed by in a blur, and then she went down some stairs more narrow and nearly in blackness. She rapidly approached a dim square of light and flew through it and upwards at a dizzying speed.
She sensed that she was outside and seemingly instantly she was at the end of the long brick wall of the facility and then stopped, still lying draped over a shoulder. The sound of iron quietly being dragged slowly interrupted the sound of her heart hammering. She sensed a shadow rocketing towards her, but then she rocketed away herself still slung over a shoulder. The grounds of the facility flashed by at an unimaginable pace and in seconds she was among trees, flying through the forest. She thought she heard the gentle sound of water trickling as she became airborne for a second, but other than that was only the sound of two pairs of feet running swiftly.
It wasn’t long before she was out of the woods but in seconds was flying through the air in the moonlight and aware of a two very soft thuds as she seemed to see a structure like a house gable looming overhead. She was instantly inside of the structure and passed down a flight of stairs like the wind and then paused for a door to be opened. In a flash, she was at the bottom of the cellar stairs and was lying in some straw in a corner with some other warm and squirming bodies. She could hear panicked breathing and something like a whimper.
***
Ian and Cosette had had a leisurely stay in Calais and they bought passage on an established carriage service that ran from Calais to Paris. The
y went by way of Boulogne, Le Touquet, and Amiens and in a few days they had arrived in Paris.
They checked into the same hotel as before on the Champs Elysees. The concierge stopped them as they were about to go to their suite.
“Monsieur, you and Madame have a message.” He handed them a folded note. It was from Henri and Marie. They were in Paris and were at the home of Caryn Rochelle today.
Instructing the Concierge to have their baggage taken to their suite, Ian and Cosette requested a hansom to take them to the Rochelle home. Within the hour, they were there, knocking at the door. Celeste answered it, and her pretty doe eyes widened in joy as she threw herself into Ian’s arms kissing his cheeks and then stretching out to Cosette to kiss her repeatedly. They stood like that in the doorway hugging and kissing each other.
Warm hugs and greetings and kisses were exchanged all around. The group then sat in Caryn’s ample parlor. Henri, Marie, and Caryn wanted to hear all about their trip. Ian related some of it with Cosette filling in here and there. Ian assured Henri that all documents were safe at the hotel and that he had drawn up and had extended a partnering proposal to the Merchant’s Bank of Edinburg as well. Henri was surprised and impressed.
They parted company for the afternoon. Henri and Marie wanted to visit their orphanage, the Angels’ Care facility of Paris. They would meet with Ian and Cosette this evening at their apartment near the Hotel. Henri gave Ian the address. Ian, Cosette, Caryn, and Celeste decided to visit a park which had skiffs that could be rented to paddle about on a small reservoir there.
While they were approaching the vendor to rent a skiff, Ian’s neck prickled and didn’t stop. He casually looked about, and suddenly he spied Li and Sophia walking towards him. They looked great together, her arm linked in his, both of them smiling.
Greetings and hugs were exchanged. They passed a pleasant afternoon. Cosette told the two what an attractive couple they made. Li smiled broadly as Sophia laughed and blushed prettily. She had truly come out of her hard shell and had bloomed into all that she could be. She seemed to adore Li, and for his part, he was most attentive to her and smiled more than Ian could ever remember. Cosette and Ian both thought that they made a marvelous couple, and told them so again. Once again, Sophia laughed and blushed, which was a complete change in her character from the hardened fatalistic woman of only weeks earlier. She was giddy with happiness at being included in the trip to Paris and was overcome with gratitude at not yet having to return to her former life in Marseille.
They parted company late in the afternoon and it was agreed to let Celeste spend the night with Ian and Cosette.
Later they were surprised a bit to see Li, Henri and Marie waiting for them in the lobby. They looked strained while Li was deadpan. Celeste said “Something bad happened two nights ago.”
When they had come together, Marie said “A child is missing from Angels’ Care. We must go there in the morning. Celeste can come too. We looked around really good and we couldn’t find a clue. We’ve reported it to the King’s Gendarmes.”
Ian went to their suite and retrieved their knives, rucksacks, pistols with powder and shot, and their excursion clothing. They all took a carriage and went to Henri and Marie’s suite. It had two guest bedrooms so Celeste could spend the night in there. Soon Celeste had bathed as had Cosette and after Celeste kissed everyone good night she and Cosette went to the guest room. Henri had given a handsome sum to the concierge for sending someone to a good friend to discreetly get five sabers and seven pistols. The weapons would be waiting for them when they left the hotel.
Henri, Marie, and Ian sat up all night talking over possibilities. Li had gone back to join Sophia in their room. She was to be given some money and told to either wait at the hotel, or to take a carriage to Caryn’s place and that Li would rejoin her when he could. Sophia had been so happy to have such acceptance with this unusual group, that she never even raised an eyebrow. She didn’t want to do something to bring her association with these people to an end, nor could she now stand the thought of leaving Li.
The family talked only a short time when Ian said “Is it possible that Francoise has placed a new order with another kidnapper, and that the orphanage has unknowingly furnished one of the girls wanted?”
It was dead quiet, and then Henri said “That’s as plausible as anything we have mentioned so far. They may not know details, but they’re guilty because from what we learned from LeClerc, he was the one who was supposed to receive the other five girls. We know that they paid at least in part for that delivery.”
Ian said “Let’s get Celeste up early and go to the orphanage. She may be able to help us.” All agreed and Henri went to get the weapons. They put them all with Ian and Cosette’s weapons. Soon they departed, Henri already having placed an order for a carriage with four horses. They got Li and within the hour, they were underway. The sun was just coming up.
It took three quarters of an hour to get to the orphanage. It was a part of a farm south of Paris, near to the road to Versailles. The facility grew its own food and the children were taught agriculture and animal husbandry. They helped operate it and kept the costs of the orphanage down while learning practical skills. They made their own clothing as well, being simple uniforms of white shirts or blouses and dark blue pants or skirts. It was a well-run place and both Marie and Henri were sure that there was no laxity on the part of the staff.
Marie went immediately to the headmaster’s quarters and had him take them all to the dormitory of the missing girl. The girls were just now sitting down to eat breakfast, so the dormitory was empty, beds all made. The headmaster took them to the bed of the missing girl. It was immediately inside the entrance. Marie thanked him and dismissed him. Ian took Celeste and led her to the bed, saying “Sit here please Celeste. Tell us if you think of something.”
Looking at Li and Ian, Henri said “Let’s take a tour through the place.” They observed that there was a barred wall at the end of each dormitory hallway. It could only be opened with a key and the door was not damaged. It was supposed to be locked after bedtime to keep the children from running around the facility at night. It was some twelve feet tall, but the ceiling was nearly eighteen feet above the floor. They all looked at each other, nodding. The iron bars were no barrier whatsoever to a vampire. They found stairs going down and took them to see that they led to the building cellar but they didn’t see anything in there out of the ordinary.
Going outside, they walked around the facility looking at all of the windows, especially those which were high up on the building. They saw nothing out of the ordinary there either. As they walked, they passed over an iron grating that covered a cavity surrounded on three sides by a brick retaining wall and the building foundation wall made up the fourth side.
Ian peered down and saw a hatch of sorts. He quickly plucked up the iron grating like it was nothing, and dropped down some eight feet to look at the window. It was very dirty and dusty, but where the handles were, it was fairly clean looking. Henri thought the thing might be for bringing firewood inside the place. The building was heated by hearths or stoves in each room. Ian easily opened it and peering in, dropped to the dirt floor some six feet down.
In under two minutes he found his way to the central staircase. He quickly went outside and trotted around the building calling to Henri. Li and Henri put the grating back and joined him.
“A vampire could easily have gotten the girl going this way.”
Henri said “Let’s go see what Celeste may have to say.”
They came into the dormitory room and saw Celeste had been walking about. As they walked up to her, she turned her head to Ian and reached up to him. He took her hands and she sat up on the bed and reached to Cosette. Holding both of their hands she looked at Ian with her large doe’s eyes and said. “The Bad Man took her. He is like the others.”
Chapter 40
The Rodriguez f
amily would be coming to Barcelona before too long. Alandra and Celita took a day and went to the waterfront marketplace that was such a favorite haunt of theirs. They stepped down from the carriage and made their way through the throng. There was to be an afternoon concert today and they wanted a good seat for it. Seeing that it was so early to worry about securing seats, they opted to stroll along the various docks. It wasn’t dangerous at all in the daytime and Alandra liked the atmosphere there. She supposed that it reminded her of Ian to be around ships.
Hoping that they wouldn’t meet that arrogant Carlos Chavez again, Alandra shared with Celita that she had since heard that he’d killed two men in duels. That was quite a thing for a man not yet thirty years old. Celita shared her opinion of the man and said that he scared her when they stopped to watch a puppet show. Later they stopped to watch a juggler as they kept working their way towards the dock area. Celita suddenly exclaimed “Oh look Alandra, it is the Tico!
Alandra looked where she was pointing and sure enough, there was the Tico tied up to a large pier. Could Ian have sailed it here after having it repaired? Her heart racing she hastened that direction. Within minutes the pair was standing out on a pier gazing upon Tico. Alandra noted the new mast, sails, and rigging and the extensive cosmetic repairs to the railing that had been so splintered by musket fire. As she stood there, her mind was flooded with memories sweet and poignant. She actually felt flushed recalling their first kiss on Tico’s bowsprit.
“Oh Celita! This is taking me back to when Ian first kissed me.” She turned and saw a look on Celitas’ face that gave her pause.
“Celita, what is it?”
“I’m thinking of Tom McBride.”
“Oh of course you are!” She turned and hugged Celita, holding her. Then the two walked slowly to her bow, peering intently at her as if the objects of their desire might suddenly appear from behind a mast or step from the forecastle entrance. They walked arm in arm along the pier to Tico’s stern, each lost in her own reverie. After several minutes the pair turned to go see the harbormaster. They saw a gentleman approaching them with a puzzled look on his face.