by Grant Eagar
The corners of her mouth turned up as she slid into the seat next to Henry. She winked at him and whispered, “You just want me to sit next to you. Admit it.” He returned the smile.
After Johnson had boarded the ship, Henry said, “Okay, put your goggles and parachutes on, and we’ll soon be on our way.”
It took twenty minutes for the steam engine to heat up enough to get the ship airborne; soon the gentle movements of the wings lifted the ship off the ground like an enormous bird. Henry glanced over at Sophie who had a broad smile. “This is fabulous; your vessel is flying wonderfully.”
He glanced back at Johnson who took the full blast of the wind with scowl on his face. “This part is my own invention,” said Henry pushing a lever which slowed the ship while minimizing the shaking. The ship now smoothly soared through the air like an eagle. He then filled tea cups from water in the boiler which he passed to the others. “My greatest invention is not only to create a cup of tea while flying, but to make the trip smooth enough you can drink it without spilling.”
She smiled and slid the goggles on. “How marvelous, your ship makes tea.” After handing back a cup to Johnson, she took a sip of the mint tea. “I’m impressed. The tea is quite good.” She handed out biscuits and jam from her basket.
Johnson quietly downed the cup and said, “May I suggest traveling due south. I like the lay of the country in that area and I feel Sophie would enjoy the view of the cliffs above the channel.”
“As you wish,” said Henry taking two control sticks and gently turning the ship until the compass pointed as desired. After they had traveled several miles Johnson asked, “Is this all you have done with the ship? Making the flight smooth sailing to drink tea by? Are you not the grandson of one of the great military minds of our day? Is this all you can muster? Sophie, I feel you’ve vastly oversold this fellow, or is he is holding out on us?”
Henry glanced over his shoulder and offered a grin. “It is not always speed and glamour; sometimes the value is in comfort and simplicity. The Royal Air Core's ships shake so much that after an hour their pilots are worn out. While with this ship the pilot can survey the troop movements and take in the lay of the land for four or five hours at a time.”
Johnson rolled his eyes and snorted and sat in silence as they flew.
Sophie glanced at Johnson and took on a pensive look. “Henry, you mentioned something about an increase in power. Could you by chance see how high the ship flies? I daresay a ship which can stay out of cannonball range would be a great asset.”
“Yes, with the larger boiler, we should be able to fly higher.” Henry adjusted the pitch and increased the boiler pressure a bit. The craft buoyed skyward until the air thinned and houses looked like tiny toys. Even the farms appeared to be pieces of a patchwork quilt.
“Well done. I feel we could fly over the Alps at this height,” said Sophie.
Henry leaned over the side. “I think now would be a good time to turn back, we’re approaching the English Channel,”
Johnson pulled a pistol out of his jacket. “An excellent demonstration, but you’ll need to continue across the channel. Count Von-Friedrich requires the use your ship. Thank you for contributing to the war effort.”
Henry looked at him in surprise, but Sophie calmly considered him. “Captain, you’re a Von-Friedrich Spy? I would never have guessed.”
He smirked at her and said, “Sophie my dear you have a choice to make. Either come with me to Count Von-Friedrich’s camp and join in his glorious cause, or you’ll perish.” It’ll only be a matter of time before the Count has control of all Europe. It’s time to put sentimentality aside and join the victors.”
Sophie said, “I would be willing to join the cause as you put it, if you spare the boy. He’s quite harmless, there is no use getting him involved in this.”
“You want me to let him go, knowing who I am? My days as a spy would be over. I would be required to go the front and enter the conflict. I’m sorry, but that is nonnegotiable. Also it would be foolish indeed to leave England with such a brilliant mind.”
Henry asked, “Brilliant mind? Well thank you for the compliment. I may not be the most loyal Englishman, but I do have my limits. I’m sorry to say I’ll not be going with you.”
Sophie turned and faced Johnson with a pouty face. “Sorry my love, but the affair was fun while it lasted. It’s such a shame to be on the opposite sides of things. She pulled a derringer out of her bodice and turned back and pointed it at Johnson. “I have no intention of joining Von; therefore I feel we’re in a bit of a standoff here.”
Johnson raised his eyebrows. “Not so. You have two shots and I have six. Farewell my love; I agree it was a pleasant affair while it lasted. Unfortunately, I must now shoot you.”
“My dear Mister Johnson, it only takes one shot to kill you and I have access to your complete person while you only have access to my head because of the seat back. No matter how poor my aim is I’m going to seriously injure or kill you so I have the advantage.”
“Not so, I’m a trained marksman ...”
While they spoke, Henry pulled the pins on his and Sophie’s seat belts and pushed the boiler valve to full steam. “Johnson, I’ve had enough of your company.” Henry pulled a lever, which caused the ship to roll upside down.
Sophie screamed as they fell through the clouds.
An upside down Johnson attempted several wild shots in their direction while yelling, “Death to tyrants and long live Count Von Friedrich.”
They fell for a ways, the wind whipping their clothes.
Johnson yelled after her, “You bloody fool; we could have been fabulous together! What a waste.”
Her bonnet flew off as she glanced at him. The initial shock of her fall gone, she was enjoying herself. “It’s a shame to leave your airship after you put so much work into fixing it?”
He grinned. “The ship was mostly finished; which is all I cared about. I think it’s about time we made use of our parachutes.”
Henry took her hand and pulled the ripcord as did Sophie. His chute blossomed and filled out, but hers broke apart. “Sophie, hold on to me!” He pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around him as her chute disintegrated. “Put your legs through my harness.”
Her chute collapsed into a fluttering, useless tatter above them. She struggled for a second or two before getting her legs into Henry’s harness then released the remains of her chute.
“It appears I need to find another supplier of parachutes. I plan on logging a complaint when next I see them.” He glanced at her. “You had a love affair with that villain? What kind of a job do you have which requires one to associate with such black guards?”
“Can we talk of this later? I suggest you concentrate on getting us over land, I’m a bit concerned about taking a bath in the channel.”
You hold me tight and lean with me while I pull on the rigging, and we’ll try to swing the chute in the direction of land.” After they had changed course he gave Sophie a mischievous grin. “It’s grand having a captive audience. So Johnson wanted you to join him in his spy work. I knew you had to be a spy or something with all these officers you have about.”
“Just because he’s loony, doesn’t mean everything he said was true. If I was an agent, and I’m not saying I am, I wouldn’t be able to tell you about my mission anyway. Now let’s concentrate on the direction we are going.”
An explosion went off above them and Henry looked up. “There went the boiler. I doubt Count Von Friedrich will be getting a new ship after all. Apparently Johnson didn’t find the control valve in time. It was there in plain sight.”
Off in the distance, Johnson’s parachute blossomed.
“I’ve crashed enough airships that I’m getting quite accomplished at this parachuting thing. Miss Sophie, is this sufficient adventure for you?” He glanced at the fireball of a burning airship disappearing into the channel and sighed.
She grinned. “This is a fine adventure as adventur
es go; I thought the faulty parachute was a nice touch. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you orchestrated this whole mess. Since you now have me at your mercy, what are you going to do with me?”
He reddened. “You act as if I planned this whole thing just to kiss you. How absurd, I’m just as much at your mercy. A true gentleman would not take advantage of the situation.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I never thought of you as a gentleman.” Her eyes brightened. “Are you planning on kissing me? I did tell you I’d continue your education of a sort in the art of kissing.” She raised her eyebrows. “Very well, get on with it. We don’t have all day. If I am the secret agent you speak of, then kissing would definitely be in order.” When he hesitated, she rolled her eyes and kissed him.
Henry pulled back and took a deep breath then glanced down at the ground. “That was swell, but I think it’s time to concentrate on the landing.” He raised his hands to hooks in the parachute which controlled the direction of their decent, heading towards a grassy knoll off in the distance.
She wrinkled her nose. “That was swell? What kind of a description is that? No fireworks, no magic, no wondrous kiss from a goddess; so much for making the most of the moment.”
He said, “W-we could try again; sometimes a bit of practice is in order. I’m just a bit distracted.”
“Practice is in order? You definitely are not helping your cause.” She kissed him again.
With her soft lips against his, and the wind rushing by and all the while gliding on the air made this surreal. The crash of the surf against the rocks below pulled him out of his reverie.
“Now that is fireworks,” said Henry. “You hold on tight and I’ll try and swing us so we can make for the grassy cliff top rather than the rocks.” She put her arms around him, leaning to assist with the swing of the parachute.
He flared the chute so they swung wide in an arc, which pulled them out of the path of the rocks. They tumbled end over end in the soft grass and finally ended up with Sophie sitting astride him.
She grinned and said, “You’re quite comfy. This was a fine landing as far as landings go.”
“Thanks, I appreciate being of some use to you, I hope I softened the landing a bit,” said Henry, pulling grass out of his mouth.
After rolling up the parachute she adjusted her hair and set off at a brisk walk in the direction of a small town. “So was Johnson correct? You modified this ship and it has no weapons, little speed, and all those modifications just to make tea?”
Henry ran to catch up and gave her a broad grin. “We can’t all be soldiers. Is there no greater invention than a fine cup of tea?” When she did not smile, his face took on a serious look as well. “I’m not a complete fool. I realize this war with Count Von Friedrich is serious and England needs any advantage she can muster. I now also realize there are people who intend to steal my inventions. That part I don’t understand. I would think they’d be concentrating on inventions that were actually successful.”
Sophie bumped him with her hip as they walked. “You’re daft. Even though your inventions don’t work, they have such incredible promise. One would think with a bit of tinkering they would be miraculous.”
“Thanks. With a bit of hope, you can sell anything.”
They walked in silence for a ways.
“Henry... I don’t desire to cause you undue pain, but you must remember just because a girl kisses a boy in passing, he shouldn’t read too much into the kiss. Sometimes, we must appreciate the moment. If you see me with other men, you shouldn’t be too wounded. I realize you’ll be a little wounded, being in love with me and all, but you should put on a stiff upper lip and soldier on the best you can.”
He smiled. “You have oversold my feelings, I do appreciate the moment. I felt the kiss was quite splendid. I don’t consider each kiss a lifelong commitment. I have no expectations of a love affair considering who I am and who you are.”
She grimaced, colored, and took a moment to regain her composure. “I’m glad you perfectly understand; now we can maintain our friendship without any uneasiness or tension regarding what has passed.”
They looked off into the distance at a plume of smoke rising from the crashed airship over the channel. “Sorry about your ship. It was quite nice and it did make an excellent cup of tea. I hope Johnson made out all right.”
Henry raised an eyebrow. “He tried to kill us. Why the sudden regard for his safety? He’s our enemy.”
Her face twisted up in pain. “I hate this war and the awful things we must do in the name of defending our homeland. There is no one involved in this mess who does not have blood on their hands. At the very least we now know Johnson was a spy. One less viper to have to worry about.”
Henry looked at her pain and reached to touch her, but withdrew his hand.
“I felt this thing you do with the officers was just an act, but you do have feelings for them.”
She turned to him. “You feel uncomfortable when you must play the fool to sell dresses. What if someone must play the fool to root out Count Von Fredrick’s spies? This deception is life or death, while yours involves a few jilted ladies. I feel I’ve lost my soul and there’s no getting it back.”
Henry touched the bruise over his eye and offered a smile. “If my deception is so much less significant than yours, then why do I have all the bruises?”
She gave him a mischievous look. “Because I deal with the egos of zealots and you deal with the fragile heart of the human girl: a much more dangerous creature.”
CHAPTER 7
The Life of the Party
Upon returning and telling his grandfather what befell the airship; the Colonel had not been as angry as Henry had supposed, but remained silent. There was not even a scolding from Tilley regarding the china, she and the Colonel were just happy Henry was safe.
Several days after the flying incident, Henry was led into the barn by his grandfather. The retired officer gestured at an old beat up flying machine and asked, “So Henry, what do you think of it?”
Henry walked about the ship and ran his hand over the battered wings. “Where did this thing come from?”
“It is none of your concern; it’s simply yours to do with as you please. It’s an effort to recommence you for the loss of your other ship. I'll leave you to your work.” He then left the barn.
Henry walked over to the ship and pushed the rudder back and forth then cleared away Matilda’s ivy which covered the front wing of the ship. “Matilda, it appears someone intends me to continue my work on airships, so are you in the mood for more work on a ship?”
She shook her flower head. “I agree with you, I’m weary of the airship business myself. Before I begin work on another ship I think I’ll first finish something for once and silence all the cynics. I’ll make something for Mum’s show.” Matilda nodded enthusiastically.
He spent the next week working on the picture box laying out the wiring then creating a generator to activate the picture. He harvested enough dark energy to take the picture. During this time there had been several hints about the need for him to continue to work on the flying machine. When asked by his grandfather, Henry just told him he was working out the design of a remarkable new ship.
One evening Sophie showed up as he screwed in the fasteners for the two panes of glass which contained the dark energy. The panes separated the two chambers of the picture machine. She said, ‘Hi Henry how goes the invention business?”
He glanced up at her then resumed the attack on the screws. “Could you hold the glass in place, I think Matilda’s attention span has about met its limit.” Matilda made a few uncouth gestures and slunk away.
After they had finished the installation of the two pieces of glass, Sophie asked, “Hasn’t the camera already been invented and isn’t this rather large for a camera? Anyway when are you going to continue your work on the airship?”
He glanced at the airship which he had neglected and smirked. “The ship doesn’t seem to
be mine; just something someone parked here in the barn. I keep waiting for them to retrieve it.” He then glanced in her direction. “Sophie, are you the one who brought this?” She turned away. “I guess this is just more straw for me to turn into gold. They keep stealing the thing then returning it when they realize I haven’t made any changes to it. “Seriously, why would I invest my time and energy into something for someone else to steal? I’m taking a bit of time and working out the particulars on the design of my new ship.”
She looked at him intently. “You’re in a dower mood today.” She glanced at the picture box, “so when will this monstrosity be completed?”
“Monstrosity? Oh in about a week, maybe two; my goal is to perform some elaborate tests to minimize the disasters.”
She gave him a pensive look. “Henry, I’m sorry to have to remind you, but there is a war on and we need your help. If there is concern for security I can make some arrangements for a guard to be posted here in the barn.”
He glanced up. “You shame me, I’m sorry I’ve neglected the airship. I suppose I can finish this today and begin work on the airship tomorrow. After all, how much testing does a picture box need? It’s just that the Colonel has been encouraging me to do more preliminary tests on my inventions.”
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, though the real reason I’ve come is to give you an invitation to a party tomorrow evening. It will be at the manor and I’d like you to attend.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t socialize in the circles of society you do.” He then glanced at her again. “Isn’t this invitation a rather last minute thing?”
She laughed. “Henry, you don’t socialize at all. You give the girls the impression you’re such a playboy, but every evening you go home to your inventions. A party will do you good. I don’t want to hear any more excuses. Here is a formal letter of introduction.” She handed him a card and he placed it on a table then went back to work. She glanced at the mess of drawings and notes on the table and grabbed the card and shoved it into his shirt pocket. She smirked, “now you have no excuse for forgetting. I expect to see you tomorrow.” She then climbed into a waiting carriage.