Revenge of an Englishman

by Kevin Patrick

  “Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are sorry, but they forgot that they have an important event to attend that night. They send their apologies and hope that another day could be selected,” the servant usually said in some form or another.

  “Please, tell them that it is perfectly fine,” I would respond.

  A time and place was eventually scheduled for me to meet the Campbell family. The servant had been telling me all along that Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had been making preparations in their home for a banquet, though a restaurant was selected to be the place where we would dine together. The servant also told me that the Campbell's had intended to invite other members within their society to the dinner so that they could introduce them to me, and they wanted first to know if that was an acceptable term for me. I told the servant that an acquaintance of the Campbell's would be a most welcome acquaintance of mine.

  The final productive thing that I had done throughout the six days, and perhaps it was the most time consuming, was to write a detailed account of my journey over the past three years to the present day. It was a diary that outlined my struggle and the obstacles that I had to overcome to survive. I pledged to continue writing a daily record, in the hope that it would someday prove fruitful to me in some way.

  The day that I was set to meet the Campbell family for dinner was also the same day that my family was set to return from their trip. At least that is what their neighbour's butler had suggested to me almost one week before. Therefore I had to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of attending the Campbell's dinner instead of visiting my family, and then do the same with visiting my family rather than attending the Campbell's dinner so that I could figure out what my best course of action would be. Although I was extremely keen to be reunited with my parents and siblings again, I concluded that I could put off the reunion for one more day. It seemed that by meeting the Campbell's and their associates I would be able to establish new connections and gain entry into the places and meetings with the people that I so desperately sought. Therefore dinner with the Campbell family took precedence over my family and on the evening of the selected day I went to dinner with the Campbell's.

  The restaurant that was selected by Mr. Campbell for the dinner was in Waterloo. The restaurant was along the riverfront and the bridge, aptly named Waterloo Bridge, was visible from the entrance of the restaurant. It was a posh looking establishment and I imagined that this restaurant was one of only a few remaining worthwhile restaurants in the city that I had not yet visited. Had the dinner date not been proposed and agreed to then I suspected that I would have graced the place with my presence in the coming days. The restaurant, too, was named Waterloo after the area, which was named after the bridge, which was name after the battle where Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated. History was an important part of the city of London and the city was proud of its heritage and history. I was proud to have been born and raised in such a place that despite its problems still always managed to recover, to rebuild and to prosper. The Waterloo restaurant was an example of the victorious spirit of the city.

  "What name is the reservation under?" a waitress asked me when I entered through the front doors of the restaurant.

  "I believe the party has been named after the organisers of the occasion, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell," I responded.

  "You are the first to arrive, sir," the waitress said when she had finished confirming that the party name corresponded with the organisers' names. "Would you care to wait here or would you rather be seated?"

  "I would like to be seated, please. I'd rather find comfort in a seat than have to stand."

  "Certainly, sir, please follow me this way."

  The waitress walked in front of me and directed me through the restaurant. She turned around from time to time to see if I was still following her. The reason why she felt the need to do so, I don't know, the place wasn't that big. She brought me through a room were diners were eating their dinner and speaking in hushed tones and led me to a walled-off box at the end of the room that had a large table and chairs and offered a lot of privacy. The box-shaped area was almost like a separate room as it offered privacy from all the other diners in the restaurant. There was also a curtain that ran across the entrance to the box so that if the Campbell's so wanted, they could draw the curtain completely closed so that we would be completely undisturbed.

  "Will you be ok here on your own until the other diners arrive, sir?"

  "Yes, I most certainly shall," I responded to the waitress.

  She left me alone at the private table and although the area could provide privacy to those who were seated inside it, as soon as the waitress left I was immediately disturbed. Not once or twice, but three times I was bothered. Each time it was by a person who wanted to say hello to me. They said that they had seen me enter the restaurant and wanted to pay their respects to me. They all told a similar story that they had met me on a previous occasion at some other restaurant and that we had had an interesting conversation and exchange in pleasantries during the encounter. One of the men looked familiar, but I could not name the men or the places where I had met them.

  "It is most good to see you again. I hope our paths cross many times in the future and hopefully, each time will not be as short and brief as this evening. Thank you for coming over and it is certainly good to see a warm and welcoming face," those were the sorts of words I spoke to end the three brief interruptions. It was polite but pointed. There could be no misunderstandings that my words conveyed an ending to the engagement.

  After the interruptions, I was left on my own in the secluded section of the restaurant for forty minutes before I was joined by anyone else. I had arrived early, five minutes early, meaning that the rest of the dinner party was late. Had my Aunt Tilney been in my position, and left waiting, then she would have left after ten minutes had elapsed. The thought of leaving had crossed my mind after the first fifteen minutes had gone by and I was left with only the company of my shadow, but as agitated as I was I knew that the dinner party had a lot of potential opportunities for me so I bit my lip and waited impatiently. When I was finally joined at the table it was a duo that came to offer me salvation from my boredom. I smiled politely at them and shook their hands and they did the same. The duo was Christopher and Phillip Campbell, the two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell.

  There was a brief conversation between the two sons of the hosts and myself, but nothing of substance. I asked them how they enjoyed their time in Bath and how the return journey to London was for them and they said both were adequate. They asked me if I enjoyed myself the night of the ball and I said that I found it enjoyable, adding that it was something that I had not experienced in a long time. When I commented on how well Christopher danced with Miss Jane his face reddened a little but he thanked me for the compliment.

  It was only the three of us at the table for a further ten minutes and the two Campbell's apologised on behalf of their parents. They said that a prior engagement had kept them occupied, but that they were well aware of the dinner.

  "Our parents are so fond of you. Our father always comments that you are a man of stature and my mother always tells us that we should carry ourselves with the same air of authority and dignity that you do," Phillip Campbell said to me.

  "Your parents are too kind and they do me a great honour. However, if I can speak a little on the subject, you two boys are now gentleman in the eyes of the world and everyone in it, except perhaps your mother, you should behave in a manner that is most appropriate and suitable for you. Don't let the world dictate its terms on you."

  "Try saying that to our mother," Christopher jokingly said and I laughed out loud at the remark.

  Mrs. Campbell wanted the best for her children like most mothers do, so the fact that she was overbearing and maybe a little too critical about their behaviours was not something rare. My mother had always behaved similarly and it was the unspoken role of every mother to be overly involved in their children's lives. I passed that knowledge on to
Christopher and Phillip.

  "Having to listen to your parents' criticism can certainly be challenging sometimes," I added to the conversation.

  "Very challenging, almost unbearable," Christopher added, to which I then conceded.

  "Would you rather face your parents' criticism or another highwayman?" Phillip then asked me. There was a smirk present on his face as he asked the question.

  "So you are asking me which option I would prefer to choose, is that correct?" I tried to clarify.

  "Yes," the short response.

  "Then I would happily select neither," I commented which brought more laughter to the group. Phillip waited a moment longer for another response but I just shrugged which garnered more chuckles and laughter.

  When the laughter eventually stopped there was the unmistakable sound of footsteps growing louder. Some people were coming towards where we were sitting. Initially, I thought that it might have been more diners who had saw me enter the restaurant and had wanted to come over and say hello, or they had seen the two Campbell boys and wanted to do the same, but I was mistaken. The footsteps belonged to the rest of the dinner party. There were eight of them in total and they all arrived together. Leading the way of the new arrivals was Mr. Campbell who was closely followed behind by Mrs. Campbell.

  "Apologies for the lateness, there was some business that had to be taken care of first. I cannot say sorry enough. Please say you'll forgive us for this terrible incident," Mr. Campbell said first before he even reached the table.

  I told Mr. Campbell that there was no problem with his lateness, and although I did hold a small grudge for having been made to wait, I did not want him to know that. When he finished apologising then his wife began.

  "Monsieur Levasseur, I am very sorry. I hope we weren't keeping you long," Mrs. Campbell said to me in a soft tone.

  "No, I arrived later than I had expected to. Please, don't worry there is no problem. Besides, Christopher and Phillip were great to have here for conversation. You should be very proud of your two sons," I said to Mrs. Campbell while glancing over at Phillip and Christopher. They returned the knowing smile to me.

  Mrs. Campbell beamed with delight at my comment and then began talking about the great accomplishments of her two sons and how she admired their hard work and efforts, though, she also said that at times she felt they could do some things better.

  "I told them to keep you as an acquaintance as your elegance and good manners will no doubt rub off on them," Mrs. Campbell then said to conclude her long-winded monologue.

  "Speaking of acquaintances, I see many new faces here tonight and I am delighted to make acquaintances with every one of them," I said manoeuvring the conversation away from the Campbell's and back to the evening's dinner party.

  The six new faces were made up of three men and three women. They all appeared to be in the tail-end of their thirties to mid-forties. Upon first glance, it seemed that the six people consisted of three couples. This assumption of mine turned out to be accurate.

  "This is Mr. and Mrs. Jones," Mr. Campbell said introducing me to the couple. We shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

  "This is Mr. and Mrs. Clark," Mrs. Campbell then said, taking over the duty of introductions from her husband.

  "And last, but not certainly least, this is Mr. and Mrs. Trevor. They have just returned from a trip this evening so that is why our arrival was somewhat delayed."

  Handshakes and smiles were given and received and that finished the necessary introductions. After that, all eleven of us took a seat at the great dining table and Mrs. Campbell ordered a waitress to close the curtain that led into the secluded area so that we would be completely concealed and to ourselves in our private boxed area. Mrs. Campbell also ordered the dining guests to sit in the seats she allocated for them, although she referred to the act as instructing.

  Despite their late arrival, it did not take long for the guests to order their food or for the waitresses to deliver the drinks. It only took around an hour from their arrival until the entirety of the ordered meal had been consumed. I must say that the food at the restaurant was delicious. However, the conversation between the guests was a little dull and not very exciting. Even the Campbell's who had been enjoyable on two occasions in Bath city did little to stimulate me.

  "A delicious dinner," Said either Mr. Clark or Mr. Trevor. Over the hour, I had forgotten which surname belonged to which man. All of the guests were wholly interchangeable in my view.

  "Yes," said all the guests, in a chorus of agreement.

  "To think, that Mrs. Alexander did not want to join us this evening in this fine restaurant before her obligations. She will be most disappointed when we tell her that the food here was delicious," Mrs. Campbell said.

  "She most certainly will. Mrs. Alexander enjoys a hearty meal more than most," Mrs. Trevor responded.

  The exchange between Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Trevor piqued my interest. They were the only words spoken throughout the engagement that I had found interesting. Alexander was the name I had heard the people in the park speak about just a day before when they were discussing James Cromwell. I felt a surge of excitement race around my body. It was a topic that I was hoping to discuss, but one I had not yet been able to bring up. Now, by good fortune, the name had been presented to the group by another source.

  "Mrs. Alexander," I began. "I heard someone speak of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander just yesterday. What a strange coincidence."

  "I trust you only heard good things about them, they are marvellous people," One of the women said. It was either Mrs. Jones or Mrs. Clark.

  "It was all compliments, of that I'm certain."

  "What were they talking about? Mr. Alexander is a reputable banker so he has many different types of business that he regularly needs to see to," Mr. Campbell then asked me.

  "You can't ask such a question as that, Arthur. It may be a private matter," Mrs. Campbell said, scolding his behaviour for letting his nosiness get the better of him.

  "I apologise," Mr. Campbell said recomposing himself.

  "It was something about a ball that he had organised," I answered in an attempt to steer the conversation back to where I wanted it to be.

  "Of course, that makes sense. I'm sure many people have been talking about it for the months leading up to it, and I'm sure when people wake up tomorrow they will talk about all that transpired during it," one of the women said.

  "You mean it is this evening?" I asked trying to hide my surprise.

  "Yes, it has probably just commenced. I daresay that they have not gone past the third dance yet."

  My excitement gave way to nervousness. It was understood that James Cromwell, one of my wrongdoers, would be in attendance at this ball. Somewhere in London, he was standing in a room. I wanted to set my eyes on him and I wanted to rip out his heart.

  "I would have very much liked to have gone to that ball," I said without thinking.

  "Are you serious? You want to attend another ball so soon after the one in Bath?" Mr. Campbell said a little surprised.

  "Arthur, hold your tongue. Monsieur Levasseur is not married yet so of course, he would want to attend a ball and see all of the belles. You mustn't forget that he is not as old as you or as attached as you are."

  "No, Monsieur is neither of those things. He is a lucky man," Mr. Campbell responded. The dry humour was lost on almost everybody at the table, but I understood.

  Mr. Trevor then said that as he was so intimate with both Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, he was certain that the arrival of the dinner guests to the ball would be warmly received. He said that the ball was set up to benefit the daughter of the Alexander family, as well as a couple of their nieces and nephews who were visiting. Mr. Trevor said that three young, healthy and strong bachelors would be a welcome addition to the festivities that were happening on the other side of town.

  Initially, there were moans and objections from a few of the couples that dined with us in the restaurant as they said that they
were inadequately dressed and not prepared for such an event, but Mrs. Campbell's face soon lit up after hearing that her two sons would be welcomed to such an event. She also seemed to like the thought of my association with them.

  "Nonsense, your clothes are impeccable. You all have great style and I am envious. Now I think that this ball, no matter how short notice it may be, would be a fantastic way to close out the evening. Besides Monsieur Levasseur is our guest in England and we should show him hospitality and go to the place where he wants to go would make amends for our late arrival to the restaurant this evening," Mrs. Campbell said to the guests and then finished her speech looking at me for confirmation.

  "Yes, it would," I agreed.

  The conversation raged on for a little while, but it was ultimately settled that upon leaving the restaurant we would go in three carriages to the location of the ball and make our presence known. Mr. Trevor's initial comment that we would be welcomed into the ballroom with metaphorical open arms had to be retracted a little as he admitted he did not think the plan would proceed. He did, however, say that although he could not guarantee that we would be admitted into the ball he believed it was more likely than unlikely we would be warmly received.

  Chapter 15 - My Oldest Rival & Dearest Enemy

  After all the members of the dinner party exited the restaurant, we got in three separate carriages and we made our way to the much talked about event held by the Alexander’s. I was allocated to the third and last carriage, and I was to travel and arrive with Mrs. Campbell. She insisted that I take the last carriage with her and her two sons. It was extremely apparent that she wanted me and her children to form a bond. The other dinner guests divided themselves up and took the first and second carriages to the location of the ball. Mr. Trevor left in the first carriage as he wanted to be one of the first to arrive at the ball to inform the hosts of our impending arrival and ensure that we would be welcomed and would not be intruding on the festivities.