It was suggested by Ian that Thomas might want to adopt the boy they rescued. He asked if there was another place which would be more private for imprinting since they had to help Jennifer through that. Robert offered his summer home to the west of London, near Oxford and overlooking the Thames. It was a four thousand acre estate with a home as big as the chateau near Marseilles. He furnished information about where the firearms and their supplies were kept and promised to send Thomas out to take them there and open the place.
He went on to reaffirm that his three Adepts would take care of the cleanup and would see to it that the carriage was repaired and returned. In conclusion he told Ian that he knew of an abandoned quarry upcountry that would serve as a place to dispose of the bodies of the two men. They parted company then, agreeing to meet later after Jennifer’s imprinting was completed.
***
As Ian came in the door, Aimee heard him and jumped up into his arms kissing and hugging him. Alandra was next and they had a long kiss and he held her while he answered questions that the others asked. Alandra sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the way his bloodstained shirt was cut about his shoulder and asked about it. He said “If not for Jennifer, it would’ve been worse than this.” Jennifer came to him then with a smile and took both of his hands saying “Thank you again.”
“How did you manage to fool that vampire?”
“Aimee told me to. When you came in to my cell, he was hiding there near me. I played sick like Aimee said to do. He tossed something across the cell so that you’d hear it and turn away. When you turned and he made for you, I jumped on him.”
“Well, by Heaven, I’m glad that you did, Jenny!” He turned to Aimee and said “Aimee, you helped keep me from getting myself really hurt. I’m very pleased with you, little one. Come here.” He gathered her into his arms once again and kissed her and held her close as the others came around and praised her.
After a bit, Ian took Henri and Marie aside for a brief conference as the others all congregated about Jennifer and Aimee. Coming back to Jennifer, he gently took her by the shoulders. He held her back from him so they could look into each other’s eyes, and smiling he said “Jennifer, you have a decision to make.”
‘What is that?”
“You don’t have to decide today, but do you want to stay in Britain, or come with us to France?”
She put both hands over her mouth as her eyes widened and looked around at the others then, saying “Can…can I come with all of you… after I m through imprinting?” She saw only smiles and heads nodding in agreement. She began to cry then. Marie hugged her and comforted her.
“I’m sorry for crying so, but I was an orphan and have never had a family. Wherever you go, I’ll go too. I’ll miss Thomas though.”
Marie said “We can talk about that later, Jennifer. Right now the sun is shining and we have work to do.” Throwing her a bundle of clothes she said “You’ll put these on now and meet us all outside.” A few minutes later she was outside barefoot, wearing very short pants, and a brief sleeveless blouse, which was very open at the top. Her imprint training began in earnest and she was never alone except to rest for the entire time.
That afternoon, Thomas came by and he spoke with Jennifer for a half hour. He had the boy with him and the lad was happy and curious about everything, like a normal child of seven. Thomas was too much the gentleman to even mention the unusual and brief clothing that Jennifer was wearing.
He took Ian and Alandra out to Robert’s summer home about twenty five miles toward Oxford, to the west of London. Perfect for imprinting, it would be perfect for firearm training too, being so private and isolated. They stayed overnight and did a bit of readying of the place for the others.
While they were there, Ian offered Thomas a choice of coming with them to France with the boy, or staying and working for Robert. He gave him a sizeable bag of gold coins then. Thomas’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Ian said “Thomas; it was because of you that we learned the two kidnappings were linked and because of you that we were able to find the kidnappers so quickly. I’m a rich man, and I’m grateful to you. This money is yours no matter where you decide to live.”
“But Ian, this is more than I earn in ten years!”
“Well, put it in Robert’s bank and invest it where he tells you if you stay in Britain. Thank you my friend. You’ll never be a stranger in France or wherever we all are.”
By the next afternoon, Thomas had dropped Ian and Alandra at the London estate. He agreed to think about Ian’s offer while they were all gone to Robert and Margaret’s summer home.
***
The thing was aware of activity nearby. Sounds filtered down to where it lay. There were indeterminate periods of silence and they became more and more to be punctuated by periods of mechanical sounds, grating and clattering at times, but always muted and very far away. The sounds intrigued the thing because they were different from the sounds of the water which periodically trickled through its’ lair. It didn’t so much wonder what the sounds were as it did just to notice that they were different sounds than it could remember. It seemed that the water sounds and the skittering sounds of insects and raspy sounds of snakes passing through were all that it could remember. The new sounds were something to attune to, to be curious about. Curiosity itself seemed to be a new experience for the thing. It sometimes puzzled over that at the times when the new sounds weren’t present. At other times of silence, it rested comfortably and was unconcerned about anything outside of its lair. It didn’t think that it needed anything at all to exist because it did exist. It knew it did and the different sounds when they came confirmed that. It couldn’t recall even thinking about whether it existed or not prior to hearing the sounds. It rested comfortably in the secure belief that it had always existed and that this was just something new.
Chapter 102
At the evening gathering, Mustafa stood up and said “I’ve an announcement to make. Liri is with child and we have decided that I’m going to cross over tonight.” Before anyone could comment Louis stood and said “I have an announcement too. Celeste is with child and I’m crossing over tonight too.”
There was silence, and then the others rose from their seats and came to the two and offered hugs of support. Their wives were both smiling so it appeared that everyone was in agreement. Louis said “After what happened to Aimee, we’ve all decided that we might just as well do it now because who knows but what we may have to defend one of ours again?”
Mustafa spoke then “We both felt so bad and so helpless when Aimee was taken. But then we were always going to do it someday.”
Celeste spoke then saying “Liri and I both wanted to have a child before crossing over, so we’ll cross over next year after our babies are born and weaned.”
Everyone came to them then and hugged the women, talking excitedly about their being pregnant. Marie had already guessed that the two were pregnant but had kept that private except for telling Henri. She brought wine then and toasts of congratulations were made. Louis and Mustafa both wanted Ian to do the honors that night.
He was humbled by their request, but agreed to do it. All witnessed it, including Alandra and the newcomer, Jennifer. Later Ian spoke with the two alone, counseling them in great detail about how to engage in love making with a human without causing injury.
Little Aimee spent a lot of the evenings sitting alongside Jennifer holding her hand and leaning on her shoulder at times. The contact was an extra touch of warmth that Jennifer treasured as she grew to know these people. She could already tell though that she was going to love every one of them, each in a special way. She had her third faint attack that evening and Aimee produced a flask for her right away.
She had long since realized that she was in the best place with the very best people she could be with for what was happening to her. The most amazing part of it all to her was not its supernatural aspect, but the rega
rd that both humans and non-humans had for each other. Not to mention that Ian himself was married to a human. In time, she thought she would ask more about that. For now though, she was happy and contented but at the same time puzzled that she could feel that way given her bizarre circumstance.
The next day, Ian and Andre left early to lease two carriages with horses for a month. By mid-day they were all enroute to Robert’s summer home.
The day after that they got into the training in a serious way. Jennifer was introduced to both hand to hand combat and firearms instruction the same day. If she was not involved in that she and the two men were eating all manner of fruits, vegetables, and varieties of meat so as to imprint them into their diet. If not that then they were tossing eggs back and forth, learning to control their strength. She was constantly reminded to use her left hand for everything that she was taught to do, which puzzled her until it was explained to her.
The time passed more quickly than she thought it would, and she understood the reason for the comprehensive training in fighting techniques owing to the circumstances of her rescue. The spells of pain that wracked her body were also experienced by the two men and she was able to bear it better it seemed because she could see them suffer at those times too. She developed sensitivity to the sun at the end of her first week and was forced to tolerate it to the point of tears, as had been done with the others. There was never an incident whether it was a bout of pain or a fainting attack that one of the family members wasn’t there. Andre and Aimee were always hovering nearby to help her. Every single aspect of her conditioning and body changes was explained to her patiently.
Aimee took the opportunity to train with firearms herself with Ian supervising. The entire family felt that she’d earned their trust since coming to live with them and none objected. Everyone there was impressed with Aimee’s enthusiasm, especially Jennifer. The two were constantly together, just like two sisters, chatting about one thing and another, and laughing at Jennifer’s first attempts to use a pistol.
Evenings were especially wonderful for Jennifer. She was used to going home to an empty room over a repair shop. She had bonded with Aimee very well, and for her part, little Aimee looked upon her as a kind of big sister. The entire experience of belonging to this family was like unrolling a rich tapestry of constantly varying color and pattern. Each little bit she saw next was both unexpected and wonderful. She finally felt that for the first time in her life she was where she belonged.
The imprinting was done then, and she had managed a four day blood fast, as had both Louis and Mustafa. It was time to decide whether to all go to Scotland or to split up and meet back in Paris or at the chateau. Alandra wanted to go to Barcelona to see everyone because she wanted to go to the Swiss Confederation for the winter and to take Aimee. So they decided that after they visited with the McClouds that they’d book passage to Barcelona by sea, via Gibraltar. They would come to the chateau in the fall then and leave from there to go to Lausanne for the winter.
The entire group went back to the London estate that Robert had originally secured for them. While they were gone, Margaret had been approached by a very influential friend who was a big supporter of the opera. It seemed that they knew that Celeste was in Britain and were begging for her to come and sing there. They hoped that she could make it because the opening was in two nights. She accepted and the entire family including Jennifer was taken to Robert’s box and another adjacent one that he was able to get besides. Thomas and his boy were brought along too.
Jennifer was thrilled beyond her wildest expectations. Never had she even seen the opera house, let alone been inside one and to see a performance like this no less. She was in heaven the whole evening and couldn’t get over the fine clothing that Marie had matter-of-factly given to her as she sat with Andre on one side and Aimee on the other. Celeste was as popular as ever and the audience gave her three curtain calls.
***
Robert had made good on his promise to look for an investment opportunity. He sat with Ian, Henri, Mustafa, Louis, and Andre one evening at the estate.
“I’ve learned that Crowe & Barnard foundry will be chosen to provide the new cannons for refitting the royal fleet. It was a sure thing for another long-favored firm, but I have unimpeachable information that the favored firm will never get this contract.”
Noting the twinkle in Robert’s eyes, Henri said “I sense that there’s a story here, Robert.”
Laughing then Robert said “Oh, you can be sure that there is, my friends.” Lowering his voice then so that the women wouldn’t overhear he continued, as the others leaned forward in their seats. “It seems that the owner of the foundry which was a shoo-in for this thing has been caught in a compromising situation with Lord Ames’ wife. Now this is no new thing on her part, but poor Ames has dallied with various ladies for years, thinking that his wife was ignorant of his trysts. He has just learned what has been going on behind his back for years and he is the man who makes or breaks any such government contracts in the House of Lords. Hell will freeze over before that contract goes to the original firm!”
At that, everyone laughed a long time. Robert said “Now you all know how fast juicy stories like this circulate. You must buy into Crowe & Barnard Foundry no later than two days hence. The facts will become apparent after that and the price to buy in will go up. This is a good thing for holding for a longer term or for selling in say, six months, and yes, I’m buying a position for myself tomorrow. I can do the transaction through a friend at the exchange, and can hold the shares for you for as long as you want. I can sell them for you too. I want nothing at all for this. To think that I had a coven of eleven rogue vampires only a few miles from my own house! You’ve done me a great favor with this vampire problem, and I’ll not be forgetting it either.”
Henri thanked him then and made arrangement to buy a very large number of shares the next day first thing. Ian put up well over half of the money. The shares were held in the names of Mustafa, Louis, Andre, Li, Angus McCloud, Armando, MacCarr, MacLamb, MacGregor and Ian. It was a sizeable purchase and in itself drove up the asking price in one day alone, fueling speculation that something was afoot with this family-owned foundry. The best time to sell for the greatest gain was left to Robert to determine.
Henri then went to get the ladies and brought them all back into the parlor. He nodded to Robert, indicating for him to proceed.
“Henri and I are going to partner, starting a new bank in America. We’re certain that the British will continue to be the dominant force in the new world. We doubt that France or Spain has a chance of ever taking North America from them. So for those reasons, this new bank will bear my name.”
Henri continued then. “The British won’t interfere with an established British bank that is known to be loyal to the crown. So we believe that our new bank will be secure even if war really breaks out everywhere in the colonies, which may have started already. We’ve only to be wary that we don’t become seen as an enemy to the colonists. We think that they’ll make a move for independence from Britain well before this century ends, and in fact this may be starting now in Boston. We want Ian to establish this bank in New York and in Philadelphia. Boston is an alternate choice. He’ll take the funds to America when he goes to do this. We’ve drawn up the papers already and signed them with both French witnesses and British witnesses at Robert’s office, as Margaret, Marie, and Ian already know. It only remains now to determine when. Do any of you have questions?”
There was some discussion then about the means of communication from America to stay in touch. Henri then spoke “Robert, Margaret, Marie, and I have had a code that we’ve used for around ninety years. It works very well and can be quickly learned by an Adept vampire, but would be difficult for a human to even learn, much less decipher.
“It all depends on the date at the top of the letter or document. Once that is known, any Adept that knows and
has memorized the code can easily translate its hidden message. Marie has already taught it to Ian. He’ll send all dispatches to Robert in care of his bank. Robert will communicate with us through Banque de Lafayette couriers.
“Louis, Mustafa, Li, and Andre should all learn this before we depart from Britain while we’re all together. If the ladies want to learn it, then that’s fine too. We’ll teach those of you who want to learn it tonight and will practice encoding messages during the next day or so.”
Everyone agreed that it should be known by all in the family. Aimee pretended not to be interested and even fidgeted a bit when she thought that Robert or Margaret was watching her. She dozed off later that evening.
***
Two days later, Henri took Ian aside to inform him that he’d sold his shares in the German government dock and navy modernization effort. He and Ian had made five times what they had invested in it. With that and what he had done earlier on Willy’s advice, he had increased his net worth by forty five times from back when they had first gone to Austria. Ian McCloud was a wealthy man indeed, and he was helping his friends and his family now that he was able to.
It was decided that since they were now a group of fifteen counting Thomas and his boy, there were too many to take to Edinburg with any hope of housing all of them. Ian and Alandra with Marie and Henri would go to Scotland to visit the McClouds while the rest of the group would stay at the summer home of Robert and Margaret. Margaret would be teaching Jennifer as well as Mustafa and Louis several languages. They would be practicing the adjusting of their hearing and of their heart rate. Louis and Mustafa would be training both Margaret and Robert and any Adepts he wanted to include in swordsmanship and marksmanship. Li would teach fundamentals of hand-to-hand combat.
Jennifer knew that she’d be a well-trained Adept, able to live or travel comfortably in Europe before they sailed back to France. Other languages and musical skills would follow. She was eager to begin her new life. Aimee had wanted to go with Ian and Alandra to Spain, but she wanted to help Jennifer assimilate too so she stayed with the group. They said their goodbyes then one morning and departed in a four-horse carriage courtesy of the Bank of Edwards and Milliken.