Forever Young The Beginning

by Gerald Simpkins

  There now was no doubt that she was connected to the people who lived in this magnificent home. She had wandered the grounds while hunting and she had discovered an enchanting place in the deep woods surrounding the place. It was a small river which had a waterfall. At its base was a natural pool and she was drawn to the place by something. She concluded that she had been there before and that somehow the place held memories of good things in her past. Then there was the smaller home to the east. Its gray stone walls and slate roof sheltered memories of good things in her past too. She was certain of it.

  Today she would go to the waterfall and stay a while to see what memories would return. Later she’d go to stay at the gray stone home to the east. Surely some more memories would come into focus if she just spent enough time at the two places. She was drawn to them as strongly as she was to this chateau.

  As she crossed the veranda, she was aware of four distant figures running swiftly toward the chateau. She tensed, and then began to relax. Although they were running as fast as she could run, she didn’t feel threatened. Her keen vampire’s eyes locked momentarily onto each one as the group neared her, rapidly approaching up the well-shaded driveway. They seemed to be familiar figures.

  The smallest one of the four was a petite brunette. As the foursome neared her the small brunette called a name. Was she calling to her?

  “Cosette! Cosette! Thank God you’re alive! Cosette! It’s Marie!”

  Like a flood her memories all returned, and with them came instant recognition of the four people. An indescribable thrill ran through her. It sprang from the core of her inner being as a golden fount of light, warmth, and love. Marie’s arms were held wide as she neared Cosette, who bounded off of the veranda some forty feet and hit the ground running towards the group herself. Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy. This was her family! Praise God, this was her family! They fell together kissing one another in unrestrained joy, weeping and laughing all together.

  ***

  The merchantman New Hope forged its way through the Atlantic, bound for New York City in America. In addition to the cargo it carried, the ship’s manifest recorded two passengers, being Ian McCloud and James Barrow. They were listed in such a way as to receive preferred treatment at New York by authority of the Crown itself. They were agents and officers of the firm of Edwards & Milliken Bank of London. Their own personal papers bore the symbol of that bank and a seal of authority of the Crown itself, authorizing one or more banks to be established in the colonies.

  Captain Andrew Norris thought they were quite young to be the type to establish a bank. He had transported a pair for another larger bank two years earlier. Both men looked more the part, being middle-aged, pale, and paunchy. These two looked to be lean and fit. One was so bronzed by the sun that he almost looked like he could have been native to one of the Mediterranean countries. They appeared to be more like his own sailors or like some of the colonists he had seen in Boston. He noticed that when the tall bronzed Scot walked about the deck, he instinctively moved with the roll and pitch of the ship, never needing to grasp at anything as landlubbers normally did. The captain noticed that he looked at things which he would normally look at if he himself was making an inspection. He was sure that one had seen a lot of time at sea, and resolved to query the two that evening at the officer’s mess.

  As the days passed, Captain Norris came to like the pair, and he’d gotten to see just how good a seaman the McCloud fellow was. It turned out that he was the McCloud that had been involved in a scrape with pirates in the Mediterranean years ago. There was a maritime legend of a Scottish crew who had saved an ambassador’s daughter from pirates and had weathered a record-setting storm in that part of the world. Until one night at supper, Norris had always doubted the accuracy of the account.

  His navigator had asked McCloud if he knew of the story and McCloud had revealed that he’d been a part of it. They’d all been spellbound by the testimony of one who had been there. They learned then that the true story was more fantastic than the legend, being that they captured a rich prize and sold her and her cargo. This enabled the owner of the ship to completely recover her construction cost in one voyage. That was a feat never before heard of anywhere.

  They’d encountered a nasty storm recently and were having a time of it. McCloud and Barrows had simply come on deck barefoot, each wearing only seaman’s pants. Both just pitched in and began to help. The tall Scot would tell the other one what to do from time to time.

  When a man aloft had slipped and become entangled in the rigging, he cried out for help. McCloud swarmed up the rigging like a monkey with its tail afire and had easily helped the man free himself. He stayed with the man then and worked alongside him to furl the rest of the sails on that mast. The ship had begun to pitch so violently that the captain had ordered all hands down.

  McCloud simply descended to where he could swing to the adjacent mast and in seconds was there, ascending to tie down the sails that the others had abandoned. He clung to the wildly swaying masts like a spider and calmly lashed everything in place and checked the other sails, edging out onto the slippery spars to do so. The men below stopped to watch the whole thing. When he was done, he descended so rapidly that he seemed to flow down the ropes like water.

  When the crewman who he had saved came to him, he had flashed a bright smile and had clapped the man on the back. Several of the crew and the captain himself came to him to thank him. Norris had never seen the like and he knew that everything that McCloud had told him about the pirate rescue legend and the storm was true, and that likely there was a lot more that he wasn’t telling. He’d never have believed the rest of the story though.

  The crewmen would talk about how he liked to walk the decks at night and would borrow the navigator’s sextant and check their course. Many times he would stay with the helmsman and talk, helping him to stay awake. Often in the daytime, he would go aloft to the crow’s nest to take a skin of water or an apple to the lookout and would stay a while there. He was as at home aboard a ship at sea as anyone Norris had ever seen, including himself. The pair of them were very well-liked by the crew.

  Norris had been intrigued when Ian had asked permission to teach his companion James some techniques of unarmed combat. He had allowed them to use the foredeck for that at certain times of the day, and he’d seen things since then that he couldn’t have imagined. Warfare of any kind was best conducted as a science, and after watching the first session with McCloud teaching Barrows he saw that hand-to-hand fighting was a science as well.

  The two were so well liked and accepted by the crew and officers, that the peculiar experiment involving the herd of goats and their special food didn’t cause a lot of comments. Certainly there were no negative comments made about the pair, and they were already accepted as if they were a part of the crew, even if a bit peculiar. McCloud even took blood samples and regularly looked at them under a microscope, even showing Captain Norris what blood looked like when magnified. It had something to do with wanting to know what effect being confined at sea had on animals and there was a vague mention of doing a favor for a friend at the London Royal Academy of Science. The goats had been a last-minute thing which had been insisted upon by none other than Robert Milliken of the bank of Edwards & Milliken who had financed the refurbishing of the ship. No doubt the bank was doing a favor for someone at the Academy.

  No one thought too much of the fact that the younger one, James nearly always wore a broad-brimmed hat and gloves. Both men sometimes wore sun glasses as well. Captain Norris had never even seen or heard of them before and had been told that they were made in France.

  Fourteen days out they had become becalmed, or nearly so with only a light northeasterly wind. That was an unusual thing to happen on an Atlantic crossing, being far more apt to happen in the Pacific. It was evening and Captain Norris was taking a final turn about his ship. He had invited Ian to walk with h
im. They had become good friends and had talked of home and of family. It was then that Norris had learned of the recent death of Ian’s wife. He thought that it explained a lot about why a man would pick up and go to a strange place. The captain was kept busy at times fielding questions about the American Colonies.

  Finally he went to turn in for the night, leaving Ian alone on the deck. Not distracted by anything now, he turned his gaze to the heavens. His mind drifted then to where he didn’t want it to go. He thought of a beautiful green-eyed lady who had stood with him many times on the deck of a ship at sea and had gazed with him at the magnificence of a night time sky that can only be seen at sea. His thoughts then turned to a beautiful lady with lovely wide-set gray eyes who had lain with him in the wilds of the Scottish highlands and other places on nights like this. His ghosts had accompanied him after all, and were only waiting for the planned distractions of the day to cease, in order that they might once more invade his heart and mind.

  He contemplated the ghostly orb of the moon as it seemed to sail rapidly through storm-tossed cloudy seas. It was a marked contrast to the relatively calm seas and light winds they were experiencing. The light breeze in the rigging whispered to the stars above, seeming to mock him, saying ‘they are gone… they are gone.’

  Chapter 115

  A large galleon sat tied to the pier in Edinburg on an overcast day. A broad gangplank connected it to the dock. On it was a herd of eight goats being driven by two seamen upwards toward the deck. Each of them wore a brand new extra-wide leather collar. Two cargo booms worked hoisting cargo aboard. It was a busy scene as the crew bustled about their business. The cargo hatches had been changed to allow sunlight and air below through a grillwork. Hinged caps made of copper could be lowered and clamped over the grillwork in foul weather to keep the cargo hold dry.

  Later in the afternoon, all was in readiness. The captain had done a walk-around and had seen to the cargo being lashed into place. Double-checking the provisions he had checked that his entire crew was present as well. He gave the command and the crew swarmed aloft to ready the sails. Workers on the pier stood by, ready to free the lines from their moorings. Twelve crewmen stood by with poles ready to shove off from the pier.

  Thomas Lawrence, his adopted son, and his new bride, the former Caryn Rochelle of Paris stood on the pier watching. He had just finished a skilled carpentry job on the guest cabin of the ship two days prior to her loading. It was a duplicate of a job he’d done in London on the galleon New Hope some six weeks earlier. This ship was larger, being around 600 tons, but the job he had recently finished was exactly the same dimensions as the one he’d done on the New Hope. He had no idea why he’d been hired to do the modification, but he knew the people well who’d hired him, and had never asked. They were good friends and had they wanted him to know more, he would have been told. They were there too, a superbly dressed group watching the final preparations. A little girl with wavy hair like spun gold and a face like an angel was with them, and two of the women carried babies in their arms. The two women and their babies were the only ones not wearing sun glasses.

  The captain made his way toward the aft deck, having done a final inspection. As he walked he looked up at the aft deck at the woman standing there and thought six years hibernating under a pile of hearth and chimney stones and she still looks like she did the first time I ever saw her! And if someone hadn’t needed those stones for a foundation for a new building, she’d still be sitting under that pile of rubble hibernating. No wonder that no one believes in vampires!

  He made his way up the steep steps to the aft deck and walked toward the helm. She turned from the aft rail, a beautiful young lady above medium height, with wavy hair the color of light honey with pale golden highlights. Gracefully she walked to stand beside the tall lean captain at the helm. She had a wide-brimmed hat that hung down behind her on a blue ribbon. Wearing sun glasses, exquisitely made long gloves and carrying a folded oversized parasol, she stood out drastically against what would normally be a masculine backdrop.

  The captain gave one last look around and then shouted “Cast off! Unfurl sails! The lines were loosed as the sails dropped with a series of ‘whump’ sounds. The westerly wind caught them with a series of snapping sounds as each sail filled. Elsie’s Cloud began to move majestically to the east, away from the pier and out into the Firth of Forth toward the North Sea. The lady standing next to the captain waved toward the receding pier. The entire well-dressed group walked to the end of it, waving back at her. The little blonde girl could be seen jumping up and down waving.

  Cosette turned to Angus McCloud and said “I wish that they all could come with us.”

  Angus turned to Cosette and said “Now lassie that would be quite a feat. And just where would we keep all of the goats needed for that bunch?”

  Cosette looked out to sea and laughing her marvelous laugh, she linked her arm through his and said “Then it is onward to America, Captain McCloud.”

  The End

  Dear reader,

  Thank you for taking the time to read ‘Forever Young The Beginning’. This is the first novel I’ve ever written. It is my hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

  If so, please do use the links below to write a short review and tell why you like it.

  https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Young-The-Beginning-ebook/dp/B008PKQH3Q/ref=sr_1_1?=digital-text&ie=UTF8&gid=1344894396&sr=1-1&keywords=forever+young+the+beginning

  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19247283-forever-young-the-beginning

  My second book explores the life and adventures of Ian McCloud as he arrives in America when war with Great Britain is starting. He will continue to cut a wide swath as he forges ahead and becomes drawn into the American fight for independence in my already-published novel ‘Forever Young Birth of a Nation’. For a look at this vampire clan in the 20th century, read already published ‘Forever Young Irina’. Don’t hesitate to write to me if you know of any way I could have improved your reading experience. I’m a work in progress.

  Gerald Simpkins

  gsim@tds.net

  These books are available in print at Amazon books, and as e books at all vendors.

  Glossary of characters

  Aimee: 6 year old girl rescued from coven of vampires.

  Alandra Vasquez: 17 year old girl taken prisoner by pirates.

  Aldric Moreau: Villainous Inquisitor, adept vampire.

  Alyssa: 20 year old woman, friend and protégé of Marie Lafayette.

  Andre Amsler: 12 year old boy, younger brother of Liridona Amsler.

  Andrew Norris: Captain of merchantman New Hope.

  Angus McCloud: Ian’s uncle, captain of merchantman Elsie’s Cloud.

  Annaliese (Anna) Fellman: 40 year old widow of Swiss banker.

  Armando: Portuguese navigator aboard merchantman Elsie’s Cloud.

  Arnaud Moreau: Vampire. Self-serving, villainous younger brother of Aldric Moreau.

  Aurelio Vasquez: Uncle of Alandra Vasquez, killed by pirates.

  Adolfo Vasquez: Uncle of Alandra Vasquez and high official in Spanish Government.

  Babette: Little girl kidnapped from Angel’s Care Orphanage.

  Carlos Chavez: Villain. Evil master swordsman and son of Spanish Crown prosecutor.

  Caryn Rochelle: Parisian fashion designer and aunt of Celeste Rochelle.

  Celeste Rochelle: 12 year old girl kidnapped from streets of Marseille.

  Celita: 17 year old Maidservant and childhood friend of Alandra Vasquez.

  Charles Bourbon III: King Charles III of Spain.

  Claude LeBlanc: Villainous kidnapper and brother of Erin LeBlanc.

  Claude Rousseau: Inspector of King’s Gendarmes of Marseille.

  Charlotte of Mecklenburg: Queen Charlotte, wife of King George of England.

  Clifford Edwards: Pervert, wealthy senior partner of Robert Milliken

  and o
lder brother of Miles Edwards.

  Corinne: Tavern Wench at Blue Oyster Inn at Marseille. Lorn’s girlfriend

  Cosette Bouchard: 20 year old Vampire woman who saves Ian’s life.

  Damien Girard: Suitor who courts Alyssa.

  Donatien Francoise: The Marquis de Sade, brother of Marcel Francoise the Satanist.

  Eduardo Vasquez: Father of Alandra Vasquez, Spanish ambassador to France.

  Elsa Von Brandt: Vampire and wife of Karl Von Brandt of Liechtenstein.

  Elsie McCloud: Ian’s mother and namesake of Elsie’s Cloud merchantman ship.

  Emile: Villainous vampire who lost a foot fighting Ian at the Francoise mansion.

  Enrique Chavez: Father of Carlos, and villainous Spanish Crown prosecutor.

  Erin LeBlanc: Villainous owner of Red Dolphin Inn and kidnapper.

  Ernesto Chavez: Uncle of Carlos and brother of Enrique Chavez.

  Esmeralda Bourbon: Widower and daughter of King Charles III of Spain.

  Esmeralda Vasquez: Mother of Alandra Vasquez.

  Geraldo Perez: Florist and cemetery caretaker of Barcelona, Spain.

  Henri Lafayette: Vampire Adept, banker and entrepreneur and husband of Marie.

  Henrique Pronovost: Proprietor and owner of Blue Oyster Inn of Marseille.

  Heinrich (Heini) Von Steuben: Vampire, judge of Supreme Council.

  Ian McCloud: 23 year old seaman, adventurer, first mate aboard Elsie’s Cloud.

  Jan Vandenoever: Grandfather of Ian McCloud and wealthy Dutch Trader.

  Jean Pelleau: Villainous blacksmith of Paris and kidnapper.