"All of it? Monsieur, that is far too much."
"No, it is the amount you deserve and the amount will be more than enough to bypass any hurdles Mr or Mrs. Campbell will put in your way. Now you must promise to share it with Christopher Campbell."
Yes, I promise. I will share it with him and love him until the day I die, just as I have loved him from the moment I first set eyes on him."
"Good," I said as I stood up from the table where we were sat. "Unfortunately I must now go. I will say my goodbyes to Alice and then leave. Hopefully, I will see you again before long."
"Yes, Monsieur Levasseur," Miss Jane said rising from her sitting position as I stood up. "Words cannot express what you have done for me today. I hope to see you every day so that I can thank you daily for your kind gesture."
As I got up to leave, Miss Jane embraced me and hugged me tightly. I felt warm inside knowing that I had changed this girl's life forever. I was now certain that Christopher Campbell and Miss Jane would get married in the not too distant future and I was pleased that I was able to ensure that their love for each other would be able to blossom in the sunlight.
I searched for Alice in the restaurant for quite a long time but I was unable to find her. I asked several people had they seen her and some responded that she was present a few minutes earlier, but no-one was certain where she was located. I waited for a considerable amount of time for her to return because I didn't want to leave her without first saying farewell and making sure that she was alright. However, once an hour passed by and I still hadn’t seen her I decided to quit the funeral party. I assumed that Alice must have exited the party, when she had a free moment and wasn't being harassed by the many people who crowded around her and gave her their condolences.
"I will use the hotel's night porter later to send a letter around to her house asking for a meeting between the two of us and then I will see her again and get to talk to her like siblings once more. She may be angry with me now, but that will soon fade," I thought to myself.
I took a carriage ride back to my hotel and while I was seated in the back of the carriage I rummaged around my suit pocket and removed the contents within. I still had eight bank slips, a purse full of coins, and even more money back at the hotel room from the slip I had previously exchanged for cash so that I could buy the funeral suit. Now that my revenge was finally completed I could allow my mind to wander and I could start to think about how I could use my money efficiently. I was also allowed to finally think about how I could spend the money. Perhaps if I were to ask Miss Christina Alexander for dinner one evening, she would enjoy some fine dining restaurants around the centre of London.
"First, I shall have a warm bath. Then I will think about the future," I said to myself.
When I arrived back into my Mayfair hotel the receptionist on duty stood up to greet me. He addressed me by name and hoped that I was having a good day. I responded with a warm response and friendly gesture as I had seen this particular member of staff on duty a couple of times before.
"Did you get that item you were looking for, sir?" the receptionist asked me just as I was about to leave the lobby and retire to my room.
"The item I was looking for?" I responded perplexed.
"The item you sent the woman to come and retrieve," the receptionist responded. His response only perplexed me further.
Suddenly, the words hit me like a thunderbolt. I left the lobby and briskly walked to my room without responding to the receptionist. The bedroom door had been left unlocked and when I went inside the room I saw that many of the objects within had been rearranged. The travelling trunk which I had stored away under the bed now lay on top of it and open. The contents of my desk papers had all been rearranged and the wardrobe where my clothes all hung had been left open and rummaged through.
I quickly searched the room to see what was missing. The money was all accounted for and the clothes were all still present and only a little creased. I searched the trunk and found Francis Farewell's pistol still there and the ammunition pouch that came along with the weapon. However, there was one item that was missing and it was the most important item that was in my possession, seemingly no longer in my possession, and that was my journal.
The journal contained all my darkest secrets and past deeds and I had last written an entry into it just the night before. It was clear to me who had come into my room and stolen it on account that there was nothing else in the room missing. It was obvious who the thief was because only one other person in existence knew about it and that was my sister, Alice. Being short of breath I sat on the hotel room's floor and lay against the side of the bed. My heart was beating a hundred beats per minute as I sat motionlessly and tried to contemplate what would happen next.
"Alice," I breathed heavily and spoke aloud. "What are you planning to do?"
Revenge of an Englishman Page 29
