Marie came inside and walked up to Ian. “You sure made a mess all over me Ian.” She was all wet, having jumped into the horse trough to wash off the gore.
“Well is that the thanks I get?” he said as he reached to put both arms around her and picked her up from the ground with a hug.. He laughed and kissed her cheek saying “What a tigress you are Marie!” She laughed then as Ian put her down and Henri said “That’s the truth. She wanted to rip that one’s head off when he made that remark about little girls.” He then pulled her close and held her, kissing her.
“Deiter and I will go clean up the mess. We’ll search the house for any clues. There could be others we can track down while we’re here. Why don’t you and Henri go to get those children, Marie? You can question them to find out where their families might be. We’re going to be ready to go by then. Come on Deiter.”
Ian led the way back into the house. Leaving Deiter and pulling his sword he descended into the cellar. Looking about, he saw nothing of any importance, but then he noticed that the cellar door to the outside was lying open. He went out of it and attuning his hearing to its most acute he stood rock still for a half minute or so. He could hear nothing out of the ordinary. Getting down on his hands and knees he cast about for a scent at the basement doorway. Finding one he followed it to a nearby creek where he lost it. Unable to pick it up again, he rejoined Deiter and they cleaned up the mess.
Later on, they all gathered together. Ian spoke then and said “Do any of you recall if the cellar door to the house was open?” No one answered at first.
Sophia said “It was closed.” Deiter and Henri then said that they remembered it being closed too.
“I hate to say it, but someone got away then.” He related what he’d seen in the cellar regarding the door to the outside and that he had tracked his scent to the creek. Everyone then agreed that one or more had definitely gotten away. Several went to investigate and took up the scent only to lose it at the creek. Consensus was that there was nothing now that could be done about it, and that whoever it was didn’t recognize them being that they all wore the black hoods. There was nothing to do but to leave the place. The three children would be taken to the city by Marie and Sophia since the children would likely never see the two of them again.
The rest of them would change clothes and make it back to the city on foot and then everyone would rendezvous at Wilhelm’s’ home.
Chapter 68
Arnaud Moreau, the younger brother of Aldric Moreau had finally quit running. He rested on the riverbank and reflected on what he’d seen and narrowly escaped from. Just as he was coming from the cellar he heard pandemonium break loose upstairs and had peeked out of the cellar door that opened into the kitchen. He’d seen black clad figures armed and ferociously attacking his brother and all of his companions and they were even pouring into the fray through windows and doors. He had fled back down the stairs and out of the cellar hatch into the night and hadn’t stopped running. Using good sense he was careful to make for the creek and to stay in it for a good distance to avoid being tracked by these killers. To him it seemed that an army of well-armed vampires had descended on the house. He knew without a doubt that his brother and his companions were dead. Sitting there he pondered it all. Who the hell were those others? Such a vicious and well-planned attack from two directions at once! Lucky for me that Aldric sent me to the cellar to look for rope. Had I returned a minute earlier I would have been in there too, trapped with my brother! He sat on the riverbank in the darkness recalling the shocking and violent event that had cost his brother his life and nearly taken his too.
***
They stayed with Wilhelm for three days. He came back with a newspaper which had a prominent story about three missing children being returned and that Gypsies were suspected. None were known to be in the area, but Moreau’s lie had served a useful purpose after all. Earlier disappearances were unsolved, but the return of three with a feasible explanation gave a type of closure. The events would not grow into a widespread official alarm, so the mission was a success.
Li and Ian gave both Deiter and Willy some basic instruction on hand-to-hand combat and both firearms instruction and swordsmanship as well. Henri persuaded Ian to show his skills with a pistol, shooting aerial targets. Willy and Deiter were speechless, having never seen nor heard of such accuracy. They never knew that a pair of keen vampire eyes watched from a tree a good way off, however Ian’s prickly alarm went from prickly to icy a few times as they sparred. He took it to be due to the fact that he was sparring with Deiter or Willy and paid it no mind at the time.
***
Arnaud Moreau only managed to hear a couple of names. One was Ian and one was Henri. He filed that away for future reference. He had arrived after hearing the gunshots cease. Seeing the skills displayed there in fighting hand to hand, he guessed that this had to be a part of the party who had invaded the house. He knew that his older brother Aldric was dead even though he had been well-connected among Adept vampires. Arnaud also knew that a very powerful, important and well-connected vampire lived in this estate. His brother had told him that much more than once. That had brought him there, hoping to learn more.
He resolved to learn more about the group that had destroyed all but him. He had no doubt it was in retribution for the kidnappings, and he was filled with dread even as he pondered how they could have found their location. From what he had seen, he had nothing but the utmost respect for this group, whoever they were. Even so, now being alone in the world he was becoming more resolved to avenge his brother’s death.
***
While Ian and the others were his guests, Willy shared some lucrative information concerning an upcoming purchase of firearms from a manufacturer in Prussia by the Austrian government. He advised them to invest in the firm before it became known that this would happen. He offered to buy a share of the company in their names if they would accept that as a token of gratitude. They did so, Henri and Marie saying to buy the shares in the names of Li, Sophia, and Ian.
They said their goodbyes and departed, taking the same route back but taking seven days returning. They had no human contact the entire time and all were glad to be home at the chateau. They unwound from the rigor of their travels with the usual past times including spending lots of time with Louis and Mustafa. Ian realized again just how much returning to the chateau and being with his family meant to him. He pondered all of that. Just look at how this clan has become a substitute for my family. My life has become a strange one, but not a bad one at that except for losing Cosette.
***
Ian had taken Celeste to Scotland again to visit his family. Alyssa hadn’t been able to accompany him, but he had stayed at her place while in Paris. He had truly enjoyed Alyssa’s company. Her bubbly personality help to offset the more grim happenings in his life like the incident in Vienna. He had confided a bit of the purpose of his trip to Vienna to both Alyssa and to Celeste. Alyssa was most appreciative that Ian felt close enough to her to share such things, and she told him so. She’d gotten some international notoriety with her visit with the Royal Family of England and her business had really taken off
Ian had long since made a point of killing Claude LeBlanc, the brother of Red Dolphin former owner Erin LeBlanc. One of the ledger books of the Satanist Francoise had yielded information regarding how to find him. He had been a part of the Marseille kidnapping ring. The authorities said that it seemed he had fallen down some stairs at his home near Lyon and had broken his neck. It was surmised that he was drunk at the time of his death. After finishing the last of the LeBlancs, Ian used his ledger book and tracked down the two men who had been hired to transport the girls to Lyon for the LeBlancs. They lived above a warehouse that they owned in Marseille and Ian killed both of them the night after he killed LeBlanc. He simply slit each one’s throat and ransacked the place to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Ev
ery member of that kidnapping ring was now dead.
Word came for a request to perform for the most influential family of the Canton of Bern in Bern itself. Ian readied his schedule to accompany Celeste there. Alyssa would accompany them along with Marie, Henri and the boys. Celeste was eighteen and her schooling was finished. Although she still lived with Caryn, she could come and go as she pleased and spent an equal amount of time at the Chateau as well. It was an idyllic time for both Ian and for her.
At Bern her performance was preceded by her sharing of the story of her humble beginnings. She thanked Marie and Henri who she asked to stand while the audience applauded. The audience was told that she had been taken in at one of several orphanages that the Lafayettes operated in France. She also thanked Ian McCloud for saving her life and being her best friend, asking him to stand up. He stood awkwardly for a moment as everyone applauded. Ian hadn’t known that was coming and just turned to his right and left briefly and nodded to the crowd.
In the audience was a lady with sandy hair done up in a tight bun. She had clear beautiful blue eyes that were riveted on Ian. She kept her Italian-made opera glasses trained on him nearly throughout the performance. Noticing the sheer joy on his face while watching Celeste she noted that he was in the company of a stunning petite brunette who clung to his arm nearly throughout the performance. He raised the woman’s hand to his lips once near the end of the performance and turned to smile lovingly at her as she smiled at him in return and leaned her head on his shoulder. She saw Henri and Marie and the two boys, Louis and Mustafa and noted how they had grown.
Later that night at her suite Anna Fellman broke down in tears and just couldn’t stop crying. Andre, the younger brother of her personal maid Liridona came to her part of the suite when he heard her sobbing. “Madame Fellman, what is it? Shall I get Liri?”
“No. She can’t help me with this.”
“Madame, you sometimes don’t eat. I’ve found you crying like this at times. This reminds me of when you sent Ian away. I’m worried Madame.”
“Oh Andre, I’ll get through this all right.”
“Madame, I’ve stayed healthy since I got better from the Wasting Disease. I made a promise to Ian to keep a secret. Now that I’ve lived and not gotten sick, I can tell you. Ian didn’t mean to spill the blood, Madame”
She lifted her head and fastened her gaze on him “What do you mean by that, Andre?”
“I saw him the day he left. He had some blood on the front of his clothing. He is always so careful. I promised him I wouldn’t tell, but he didn’t mean to spill the blood. Three years ago he gave me his blood and cured me of the wasting disease. I’ve not even had a runny nose since then, Madame. The doctors had told you that I’d die. Ian thought so too, but he asked me if I would trust him to try to help me. As soon as he gave me his blood, my body got warm all over inside. His blood saved my life Madame.”
The color drained from Anna’s face as she gasped in disbelief. She demanded to know exactly what happened and Andre related it all to her. She got up and paced the floor without comment. My God! Has this boy been infected now, and if so, with what? And what of that girl, Celeste? She says that Ian saved her life. Was she infected too?
“Andre, do you ever want to eat different things now? Different things than you used to eat before you were sick?”
Andre thought a bit then said “No Madame. I eat the same things that I always did. But I do like vegetables and fruit more than I did. Ian told me to eat more of them to stay well. He also told me to be sure to get as much sunshine as possible especially in wintertime.”
Anna stopped her pacing and sat down, relieved. What have I done? I sent away a man who I loved and who loved me without even giving him a chance to explain. He did try to tell me something that day we made love for the first time, but I was insistent and cut him off she thought.
“He sat on the ground and begged me for a chance to explain and I wouldn’t hear it.”
“Excuse me, Madame?”
“Oh Andre, I am just thinking out loud, that is all.”
“Ian did tell me something before he left, Madame.” She raised her head and fastened her eyes on his. “What was it?”
“I ran out the front door and followed him down the driveway. He heard me coming and I think he hoped it was you. He said that he’d failed you by trying to protect you. He said that it was his fault. Then he said that both Liri and I were always to help you in any way that we could and to always love you and to be loyal to you for as long as we live, Madame.”
Her face must have suddenly looked stricken because Andre said “Oh Madame, what have I said? I am so sorry Madame. I’m so sorry.”
She had begun to weep then and couldn’t stop.
Chapter 69
Alandra was a little curious as to why Tom McBride had wanted to see her today. He’d been working diligently at the Barcelona House since he had appeared there that day and was happy to stay in the custodian’s quarters
Tom was working as always and she had to find him. He stopped when she approached and took off his hat as was his custom whether she or Celita approached him. Alandra had learned to appreciate Tom McBride even more than she had in the days that they were on the same ship. He spoke to her then saying “Alandra, I’m going to ask Celita to marry me.”
“Oh Tom, that’s wonderful. The two of you are a wonderful couple. I’m happy for you both. Is there something I can do for both of you?”
“Yes.” Pointing up the hillside to a home he said “I’d like to know who owns that small empty house there behind Barcelona House and if it could be bought. Will you help me?”
“I’ll learn what I can about it. Do you know when you’ll ask her?”
“No. I don’t want to ask her until I know that I have a place for us to live. I won’t try to take her to Scotland. My family is all gone, and she’s so happy here with you. I like Barcelona a lot and we’ll make our home here for the rest of our lives.”
“Tom that’s wonderful news. I’ll keep your secret, and I’ll let you know about that house.”
“Could I ask you if you can get this letter sent to Marseille?”
“I’ll send it for you. Who is it to go to?”
“Lorn Barnes at the Red Dolphin Inn. He was a shipmate of mine. He moved to Marseille and married a girl there. I wanted to tell him my plans. It may be that he and his wife could come to our wedding. I have no family.
“I remember him. I’ll get it sent tomorrow.”
***
Ian had just learned that the share of that company in Prussia in Essen was worth nine times what it had been when Willy Hoffmeister had bought it for him. It seemed that a human named Krupp was a junior associate of Wilhelm. He had come up with a small but ingenious metal stamping method that took a good bit of the labor out of small arms manufacturing. Shortly after that, governments began to learn that they could buy pistols and muskets of high quality for a lot less than anyone else could produce them. The Krupp Works couldn’t make enough it seemed. The Turkish government wanted to place a large order and Romania had already placed a large order along with Greece.
Henri advised that Ian sell and directed him where to re-invest in yet another up and coming ceramics industry in France. Ian was moderately wealthy now. As long as there was trade, he had a steady commission income from the fees generated by the draft honoring process. His financial future looked bright.
It seemed that Celeste and Louis were falling in love now. It was really hard to miss and he was happy and content for them. He wistfully thought Ah, Cosette, if only you were here to see this!
One day he was in Marseille on banking business and stopped at the Red Dolphin to visit with Lorn and Corinne. Lorn told Ian that Corinne was going to have another baby.
Ian hugged both of them and said “By Heaven Lorn, that’s wonderful news. I guess it’s a good thing that the upstairs apar
tment in this place is a big one.”
“That’s not all of the news, Ian. Tom McBride is marrying Celita. He only wants to get a small house for the two of them before he asks her. He’s been living in Barcelona for some time now.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He wants to buy a small house behind the Barcelona House children’s hospital. He says that it has a front porch with a red flowering vine of some sort and that from it he can see the Mediterranean and the harbor. His letter reads as if he’s pretty excited.”
“I remember now that you told me he’d gone there.”
“He’d like for us to come see him get married.”
“Well, why don’t you do that? You could delay re-opening this place a while longer. I’ll buy passage for all three of you. Och! Or is it four of you now?” he said laughing at his own joke.
“Ian we couldn’t accept that.”
“Well, you’ll accept it anyway and stay as long as you want. He took a small bag of gold coins and tossed them on the table. “I insist. Tom has no one to be there for him. I need to go to the Chateau now. Good bye.”
At the chateau he told Marie that he was going to Barcelona and was going to buy a house for Tom McBride. He said he’d travel to Madrid while he was there to present a draft-share proposal to a bank there. Henri had told him he would like to partner with the Rodriguez bank. It was a new bank, started by a wealthy merchant of Almeria. Henri had learned of it while talking to a banker in Versailles.
He said good bye to the boys and to Marie. She expected Henri home within a very few days and would tell him that he’d gone to Spain. Celeste was now in Paris with her aunt and would be there for a while. It seemed a perfect time to go. He decided to buy passage on a ship bound for Barcelona and go that way. It would be good to sail again.
The next day he embarked for Barcelona on a Xebet with his own private cabin. The time passed quickly and they were at Barcelona in a few days. Ian said his goodbyes to the entire crew before disembarking. He asked for and got directions to the Barcelona House. Seeing where it was located, he walked about a while until he found an inn only a mile from it. He made arrangement to lease a horse drawn carriage for three days. It was one with a top that folded down which was Ian’s favorite style. Being a small one, it only needed one horse to draw it. He donned his broad-brimmed hat, put on his sun glasses and gloves, and went driving about Barcelona. The view of the Mediterranean from so many places in the city appealed to him.
Forever Young The Beginning Page 38