My sister then went on to speak about having met Mr. and Mrs. Campbell at the Alexander family ball. She spoke about how she found Mr. Campbell to be an agreeable person and how Mrs. Campbell was a lovely lady who seemed to know much about everyone. Had Miss Jane not been in the room then I would have felt free to tell my sister the characters of the Campbell's without any reservations, but I felt that her perception of them was quite accurate.
"They have children I suppose?" Alice enquired.
"Two sons, Christopher and Phillip," I responded. I looked at Miss Jane as I mentioned Christopher and I saw her eyes look down at the floor and her hands began to fidget.
"Are they good men?"
"I can say with confidence that they are. More so, as pleasant and courteous as their parents are, though I believe Christopher and Phillip will soon outshine them. I am particularly fond of Christopher as he reminds me of a younger and more carefree me," I responded.
"Christopher Campbell? Well then, I am very eager to meet this person," my sister said.
Miss Jane kept her eyes fixed firmly on the carpet and did not dare to look up out of fear that her face would betray her emotions.
"What is the matter?" my sister then asked as she noted that the atmosphere in the room had changed and Miss Jane had become more inverted. Her attention darted between me and Miss Jane.
"A young love has blossomed between Miss Jane and Christopher Campbell," I said to my sister.
Miss Jane's face turned red with embarrassment, but she also seemed shocked and appalled that I would reveal this secret to the lady of the house. I repeated the words to reaffirm the statement and Miss Jane's eyes narrowed and she looked irritated. She thought that I was betraying her and Christopher after having promised to help them and after her giving me such a thoughtful gift. My intention was not to betray her and her lover, but instead to help them as I had sworn to do.
"Speaking honestly, I have seen them together and they are a perfect match. However, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell do not think such a connection is appropriate therefore Christopher Campbell has been courting Miss Jane in secrecy. I promised I would help them be together and convince the parents that such a partnership would be advantageous, I still plan on fulfilling this promise."
Miss Jane's face eased up gradually as I spoke. I once again confirmed my pledge to help the two young lovers and that seemed to pacify her.
"You have been busy, Monsieur Levasseur," my sister said with a tone of sarcasm in her voice that was not picked up by Miss Jane, but it was by me. "And how do you plan to help Miss Jane and Mr. Christopher Campbell?"
"Well now as it seems that I am to take immediate leave to Birmingham and then Liverpool, I was hoping that you would be able to assist in the matter. After all, Miss Jane is your governess and your place in high society makes you almost infallible when it comes to strong connections."
"If you are asking me, Monsieur Levasseur, then I will do it," Alice responded.
"I am asking you to please help with this situation. Two young hearts in love should be tended to like flowers and the love should be allowed to blossom."
"Miss Jane, it is your heart that we are discussing here. Is it true you love this man?" Alice then asked Miss Jane.
"Yes, my lady," Miss Jane responded.
"Before I will help, I want to meet Christopher Campbell and make sure that he is a gentleman and worthy of your attention like Monsieur Levasseur suggests. If he is, then, like Monsieur Levasseur, I will do what I can to make the connection materialize."
“It is unnecessary,” Jane responded to the lady of the house.
“That is nonsense! Aunt Tilney treats you like a daughter, therefore we are practically cousins, and as such we must aid each other when possible. Although you are the governess of my house, and it is a role you are newly positioned to, I hope in time you will see me more as a friend and confidant,” Alice responded to Jane, which made me proud.
Jane's face beamed with delight and her eyes sparkled brightly with joy. The irritated stare which she gave me had evaporated and any discontent that was in her mind minutes ago when I first told Alice Cromwell about her love for Christopher was gone. She thanked Mrs. Cromwell, the lady of the house, numerous times for her understanding and compassion. She then thanked me for my continued efforts of turning the lovers' fantasy into a reality.
"You say you will go to Birmingham and Liverpool?" my sister then repeated the two places where I said I had business to attend to. The significance of these places was that they were the locations of Edward and Charles, as James Cromwell had told me at the ball.
"Yes, I have two pieces of business that I must attend to and they are in those cities."
"I understand, perhaps I can convince you to delay your departure from London for a couple of days. I think it would be appropriate for me to host a small dinner event at my house with the Campbell family and a few others before you leave. Unfortunately, Mr. Cromwell will be absent but it will give me the opportunity of meeting young Christopher Cromwell. I would also like to spend more time getting acquainted with you, Monsieur," Alice said to me.
"If you think it is appropriate then I can certainly wait a day or two before setting off on my business task, Mrs. Cromwell."
"Yes, I insist. I also have some letters which are to be given to people in those respective cities. If you could deliver them to the addresses I write on the outside of the letters, then I would be much obliged."
It was not difficult to follow my sister's train of thought. I knew exactly what she was saying to me in code. She was aiding me in my endeavour. I think if Miss Jane knew more about my situation then she would have also been able to decode my sister's cryptic message. The addresses she spoke of writing on the front of letters were the places where Charles and Edward lived. Being the wife of James Cromwell she had access to that information. I nodded and thanked her and keeping up the charade I said that it would be an honour and give me great pleasure to serve her.
"I will send out invites this afternoon. The dinner will take place here tomorrow evening. I will meet Christopher Campbell and decide whether he is worthy of Miss Jane's affection and I will give you the letters that I would like to be delivered," my sister said, thus concluding the business.
It was not until I left the Cromwell house that I truly realised what had just transpired within those four walls. I was reunited with my sister and I found her to be the same gentle soul that she was when we were both younger. Furthermore, I learned the truth concerning her marriage to one of my enemies. She married James Cromwell as a tribute to me, but now that I was back and my absence and plotted demise rested on his shoulders, I was certain that Alice would soon see James for the complete scoundrel he was and she would think any punishment he got would be too lenient. James Cromwell had no redeeming qualities and I hoped my sister would see that, despite being her children's father.
There were many things that I had wanted to ask Alice about but I did not get the opportunity. My rehearsed lines had vanished in the instant that I first saw Alice sitting on the chair in the room and the topics that I had wanted to discuss with her were all erased from my memory when she revealed she knew who I was. For instance, I did not get to ask her about our parents and our older brother. I had planned to find out where they lived so that I could go see them, but I had forgotten to ask in all of the confusion and frenzy that rolled about my mind like a thunderstorm.
A benefit the meeting, other than seeing my sister and learning that she still loved me and cared for me, was the development in the romance between Miss Jane and my friend Christopher Campbell. Now, that Alice had said that she would help in the matching of the two young lovers I was certain that its success was only a mere matter of time. The dinner party that Alice had decided to throw the next day was a testament to her will and power when she wanted to do something or wanted something done.
That evening Christopher Campbell came by to the hotel lobby as he always did. I knew that he had vi
sited Miss Jane at the Cromwell home before making his way to meet me so I was unsure what his reaction would be. Thankfully, he walked in with a smile on his face and had a stride like a man who had a purpose. When I went to greet him I stuck out my hand to give him a handshake, but instead, he put his arms around me and hugged me. He was extremely pleased with my work and his embrace was evident of that. However, if I had been still in doubt about how Christopher Campbell was feeling, then his words would have soon cleared it up.
"Monsieur Levasseur, I am not a great believer in fate but I believe you were sent here to help me from God," he soon said after releasing me from his grip.
"You are too kind with your compliments. I did not do anything that exerted too much energy."
Christopher Campbell then told me that when he went to the Cromwell's house and waited for Miss Jane to go out into the garden to speak with him, he was interrupted by the presence of another person. Instead of Miss Jane going to the garden, Mrs. Cromwell made her way along the flower beds and over the well-trimmed lawn to the corner of the garden and the large brown fence where Christopher Campbell was waiting on the other side.
"There is a small hole in the fence which I use to look through. I heard footsteps and the sound of someone approaching. I used the hole and saw that Mrs. Cromwell approached the meeting spot at the designated time when Miss Jane and I were to meet," Christopher Campbell began.
"Did Mrs. Cromwell speak to you?" I enquired.
"Yes, she certainly did. Miss Jane had told her that we were to meet in the garden and that we had talked to each other every night there since Miss Jane first took the position of governess in the house."
"Tell me," I said. "Was Mrs. Cromwell angered by this revelation?"
"Not at all, quite the opposite. She spoke to me at length with her in her garden and me on the other side of the fence, before she told me to go around to the front door of the house where I would be admitted entrance."
Christopher Campbell told the story of how a butler opened the door for him and then led him to a room. Inside the room were Miss Jane and Mrs. Cromwell who were both awaiting his arrival. Upon entering the door, Mrs. Cromwell introduced herself pleasantly and he responded in kind. Tea and bread were prepared and a conversation ensued. Mrs. Cromwell told Christopher that I had visited her house in the afternoon and that I had told her about the romance between Miss Jane and Christopher Campbell. She also told Christopher that she had willingly signed on to help the secretive love if he was deemed a suitable match for Miss Jane. The conversation in the garden confirmed that he was a well-suited man for Miss Jane.
"Mrs. Cromwell is a lovely woman. She said that each night I go to see my dear Miss Jane, I can knock on the front door and Miss Jane and I can speak in private in one of the many empty rooms in the Cromwell's house. Mrs. Cromwell said that as long as the romance between Miss Jane and I did not interfere with Miss Jane's duties then she was happy to continue the arrangement like this."
"That is good news. Soon the weather will worsen as the seasons start to change. A protective place that offers you heat and good shelter is an important thing," I said. I was happy that my sister showed such compassion.
"And..." Christopher Campbell said, continuing his praises of my sister. "There is to be a dinner tomorrow at the Cromwell house. Mrs. Cromwell has invited me and my family, the Alexander family, you, of course, and Miss Jane. She said that with you and her both piling heaps of praise on the good merits of Miss Jane and talking about connections and societal issues between different circles, then my parents would sensibly come around to our idea of thinking.”
There was no whiskey or tea drunk between Christopher Campbell and me that evening. There were no drinks at all as time did not permit it. On most evenings, Christopher would stay with me between one hour and two hours, but tonight he only stayed for twenty minutes. In those twenty minutes, he spoke so much and so rapidly that if I had offered him a drink he probably would have refused it as it would have only slowed him down.
"I must go and inform my parents about the dinner event. Mrs. Cromwell said that she had sent her servant out to hand-deliver the messages, but that he had not returned yet. I would hate for the servant to not have met my parents and for my parents to miss such an event," Said the elated Christopher Campbell.
With that said, the young man then left the hotel and me alone. On exiting the hotel, Christopher clasped my hand and shook it tightly. His farewell gesture was more in character with himself than his former gesture, but I could still see a high level of excitement on his face.
Chapter 21 - The Banquet
The day after reuniting with my sister, and the day I was to dine with her and the Campbell family and Jane, I packed up the travelling trunk in my hotel room and settled the bill with the hotel receptionist. I arranged with the management of the hotel that I would be checking-out of my room the following morning at eleven o’clock and when I was asked what my plans were, I simply told them that my business affairs would now take me north to Birmingham and Liverpool.
I had already organised and booked a stagecoach company to take me as far as Birmingham. I had decided that Birmingham city would be my first stop and whoever resided there between Charles and Edward would be my first victim. I had partially planned out my next twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hours. However, first I would need to attend the dinner party that my sister had organised.
It was seven o'clock in the evening when I arrived at the Cromwell house. I arrived by carriage as I thought it would be more appropriate than walking and would visually generate a grander arrival. I chose this mode of transport because I wanted to keep up the appearance of a wealthy French man. Regardless, of the mode of transport that I used to travel, it was futile because when I arrived at the house there was no-one outside to greet me and no other members of the dinner party saw me get out of the carriage. There was just the large door of the Cromwell house there to greet me. I knocked on the door and it was opened to reveal a person ready to formally greet me.
"May I take your coat, sir?" the servant who opened the door asked.
"Yes, please," I responded as I took off my thick black coat and handed it to the servant.
I did not know how many servants, cooks and other workers my sister employed, but the servant was one that I had not seen before. I knew the Cromwell's had a significant amount of money, treasure money that I was entitled too, but I did not know how many helpers they had inside their household. After taking my coat and hanging it up, the servant then led me to the drawing-room of the house where the rest of the party was already there and waiting. My eyes immediately fell upon my sister who I saw talking to Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Alexander. I then saw Mr. Campbell and Mr. Alexander who stood near a cabinet full of books at the far end of the room. Lastly, I saw Miss Jane, Christopher, Phillip Campbell and Christina Alexander who were sitting near on the sofa and chairs in the centre of the room. The three groups meshed into one to greet me and I, in turn, said my greetings to each of them individually. It took a while, but after many handshakes and complimentary words, we were all re-accustomed with one another.
"Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, it is delightful to see you both again," I first said. "And of course you too, Miss Christina Alexander."
"It is good to see you too, Monsieur Levasseur. We hope you had a good evening at the ball, we had been meaning to write to you to make sure that you were okay after your abrupt exit, but we didn't know where you were residing," Mr. Alexander responded.
I apologised to them for my fast exit on the night of their hosted ball and said that a sudden illness came over me, one that I had since recovered from. I said that I had been so careless in my inactivity to send them a message of thanks for their hospitality and that I hoped they could forgive my thoughtless ways.
"We were happy to have a man like you at our ball. Your presence left an impression upon many people," Mr. Alexander responded again.
The conversation went on like this
for some time. It was customary in the high social circles of London to be polite and courteous. People rarely spoke what they were thinking in their minds through fear that they would offend someone or that their prestige would suffer as a result of saying something unsavoury. Although the rest of the party were spectators in the conversation, Mr. Alexander and I did the brunt of all the talking. Mrs. Alexander and Miss Christina Alexander both stood next to the patriarch and nodded their heads at everything the man of the household said, but they did nothing else to contribute.
Mrs. Alice Cromwell, the lady of the household and my sister, then said that dinner was ready to be served when we were ready. She suggested that we make our way from the drawing-room to the dining room. A servant was then delegated the duty of leading us to the room where we would eat. The dining room contained more servants and waiters who waited patiently by the chairs at the long table. When we approached to sit down at the table the waiters pulled the chairs out and helped us sit. The order of the seating was also already selected for us and little folded paper at each table-setting contained the name of the person who was designated to that spot for the evening's festivities. My sister had arranged the seating positions with Miss Jane and Christopher Campbell in mind as she had them sitting beside each other at one end of the table and Mr. and Mrs. Campbell sitting away from them at the other end of the table. I was placed next to Alice and directly across from Christina Alexander. Phillip Campbell was seated across from his mother and seated at the other side of Alice. Mr. Alexander sat to my right and his wife sat next to him, the pair of them sat across from Miss Jane and Christopher Campbell.
In truth, it was an oddly organised table. I am sure those that did not know the about Miss Jane and Christopher Campbell would have thought that there was an error in the seating arrangements, however, I knew my sister had planned it accordingly.
"Now, all that is left is to say grace before our dinner. Monsieur Levasseur, as a guest to our country perhaps you could do us the honour?" Christina Alexander said as her face beamed as she stared at me. Her skin was smooth and her hair hung down straight. I got distracted for a moment as I looked at her.
Revenge of an Englishman Page 19