by Grant Eagar
Fear then anger flashed across her face then after regaining her composure she smirked. “Touché, well played, you’re not so out of my league as you imagine. You did rattle me a bit though, so what else do you know about me?”
He smiled. “I have told you everything I know about you. Just bits I picked up here and there on the dance floor. Now what do you know about me?”
“I know Sophie Thomas was your assistant at the variety show. I know she now has a long lost sister who returned from god knows where. I know a certain Mister Johnson, a war prisoner, claims to have gone back in time in the airship which he stole from you. I know you supposedly put human essence into a plant.” She then glanced at Sophie who had been watching and quickly turned away. “I know you’re madly in love with Sophie Thomas.”
At this point Henry knew he was in trouble. Whatever he said, he would be giving away something. So this is why Sophie gave him no information. He pulled the woman close and kissed her full on the mouth. She pulled away and slapped him then dropped her hand and the corners of her mouth turned up. “Well done, well done indeed, I now have the information I needed; thank you.” She then grabbed the back of his neck pulled him close and kissed him long and hard. When the dance ended she winked at him then sauntered away.
Henry looked after her and scowled. It’s obvious I’m a simple tailor not some master spy. I hope I didn’t make matters worse.
IN THE LADIES POWDER room Sophie touched up her makeup using a hand mirror. I’m supposed to not only watch Henry dance with those other woman but encourage him to do so. Ugh, this is the seventh hell. This job has no redeeming qualities. Well his kisses are not bad, but the rest I could do without.
She heard a movement and glanced into the hand mirror at a form behind the curtain. Bloody Hell will this never end? It looks like duty is calling again. “My dear scoundrel come out; come out where ever you are.” She smashed the top half of the mirror on the table top, leaving just a jagged edge of glass. She wrapped her free hand with a towel. She spun around; just when a figure with dark clothes on stepped out from behind the curtain with a large knife and lunged at her. She just avoided being impaled by the blade. She pinned the blade with the towel, kneed the man in the groin, and used the jagged edge of the hand mirror to slit the man’s throat. She opened a window and dumped the thrashing body out and tossed the bits of mirror after it then slammed the window shut.
She stood there shaking and took a deep breath and splashed water on her face from a basin full of scented water. She cleaned a few blood stains from her dress, the walls and the floor then glanced into the wall mirror and noticed a familiar adversary walking towards her. She groaned, justice has descended upon me, I just hope she’ll be gentle. A hand grabbed her hair and forced her head down onto the counter top. “Little trolip, you’re finally going to get what’s coming to you,” said Angelica.
“Good evening Angelica, it’s good to see you too. I assume it’s time for my comeuppance. Well get on with it, I'm sure it’ll do you good to get it out of your system.”
“Don’t you know it; this is going to be incredible. I’ve so looked forward to some much deserved payback.”
After a half dozen swats Angelica stopped. “Now sweetie this is how you give a proper spanking.”
“Well my precious, I’ll have you know I’m not enjoying this ... much so get on with it.”
“Well I’m enjoying this immensely and I’m just getting started.” After two dozen more rather hard swats Angelica released Sophie's hair, turned her around and adjusted her dress.
Sophie took a deep breath and rubbed the sides of Angelica’s arms. “Thanks, that helped clear my head. I need someone to hold me for a minute, do you mind?” Angelica raised an eyebrow then shrugged her shoulders. Sophie then embraced her.
“What is wrong?” asked Angelica. “This is a bit odd?”
“I can’t say, just... I feel I’ve lost something, something which I may never get back; a part of me is gone. Sometimes what I must do is more than I can bear.” After a minute Sophie stepped back and gently kissed Angelica on the cheek. “Thanks, I feel better now.”
Angelica straightened Sophie’s disheveled hair with her hands. “How can you stand to let the countess dance with him so?”
Sophie reached up and wiped away a tear from Angelica's cheek then rubbed her own backside. “Why are you the one crying, I'm the one who got the spanking. You could’ve been a bit gentler about the whole thing; I don’t think I was that harsh with you, though I guess I got what I deserved. And regarding my feelings for Henry, I don’t feel I possess him which mostly works. I know there is nothing between Henry and the countess, but I can tell there is still a fire burning inside you for him. It bothered me much more to see him dance with you than with her. I'm sorry for your pain.”
“I’m sorry as well; I got a bit carried away with the whole spanking thing. Well it’s supposed to be over between Henry and me, but it doesn’t feel like it’s over to me. It’s hard to get the Henry obsession out of your head once he gets inside you.”
Sophie offered her arm. “Let's go, I think you need some support.” Angelica took her arm and they reentered the great room.
LATER THAT NIGHT AS he rode home with Sophie, Henry asked, “Why are you so pensive? I have the feeling I botched things up terribly. I had not planned on dancing with Angelica. I feel I gave the countess much more information than I had planned on? Is that the reason you’re so quiet?”
Sophie sighed, offered a wan smile, and pinched his cheek. “You were perfect, I knew she would get the information out of you, I knew you would act as you did. That is who you are. The game is now afoot and we'll see how they respond. And regarding Angelica, she is your friend, why should I be jealous of such a lovely lady? Okay to be honest, I am a little jealous; I think you were foolish not to ask her to marry you when you had the chance. She’s incredible, but you don’t have a clue about what’s in your best interest.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And you do?”
“Touché, I’m as lost as you are, though I’m confident we’ll figure things out given enough time.”
CHAPTER 18
Bait
Henry woke early and spent the day on his latest invention, a steam boiler which would heat the tailor shop. It was his hope with the new inventions he would once again get on the good graces of Mister Badger. He would create a piping system which would provide steam to the machinery. He was going to take a sewing machine and modify the foot trundle to be a steam powered trundle.
He took a wrench to a small boiler, when suddenly the lamp went out and the room filled with gas. He staggered towards the doorway and collapsed before he reached the door. He looked up at hazy masked figures approaching him with a bag and then all went black.
Later Henry awoke. As the room came into focus the pain in his head increased in magnitude until he was ready to scream. Taking his thumbs he found some pressure points and applied compression. After a few minutes the pain subsided. From the constant movement he realized he was on a boat, a little light filtering in though portal windows. From the gentle movement he ascertained it was a large ship.
Glancing about the room he felt he must be in the brig of a cargo ship. Was he on board an English ship or one of Count Von-Friedrich's ships? What have I gotten myself into? What did Sophie say about the game being in play? My head feels like it’s being kicked into play.
The door opened and three soldiers walked in along with a Sir Rothschild. “Good morning young man, it's good to see you’re awake, we thought you weren’t going to come around for a few days. I must apologize, it appears Geoff has used too strong of a dose of gas. He does feel bad though, don’t you Geoff?”
A large man missing his front teeth offered a broad grin and pounded his chest several times.
“He doesn't appear to have much regret,” said Henry. He rubbed his head and attempted to stand, but when the room started to spin again he decided it best to lie back down. I real
ize times like these being a hero would be a great asset, but being the pansy I am I must think of another way out of this.
“Young man, I’m sure you’re starving so we've brought you dinner,” said Sir Rothschild.
Henry considered the men and said, “God save the queen!” There was no response, just cold stares. “So you don't work for the queen after all?”
Rothschild offered a wan smile. “We support the cause of conscience; the Count Von-Friedrich’s quest for freedom. My response to God save the Queen would be death to tyrants.” This was repeated by the soldiers.
“How is taking over most of Europe a quest for freedom? It appears to me you’re doing just the opposite. Why not be honest and say you’re all about conquering and pillaging? Gangues Cong didn't spout this bull, he was honest enough to be the monster, he was not a monster masquerading as some form of a saint. This is just blarney used to help the weak minded fools justify themselves when they switch sides.”
Rothschild scowled and said, “With the count in power, there will be a level of peace and prosperity which has never been known. For you it’s always about the haves, but little regard to the suffering of the poor.”
Henry ignored him and asked, “Do you have no honor? Why am I a prisoner of war? I’m not even a combatant, I’m a civilian. How can you take me as your prisoner?”
Rothschild said, “Count Von-Friedrich feels your presence would be beneficial to the war effort. You have been flagged as one of England’s greatest assets, in fact you were scheduled to be taken by the English secret service tonight; we just beat them to you.”
Henry chuckled. “Lucky me, its fortunate you got me just in time. Forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical, but my own government is going to kidnap me? I think not.”
“It really doesn’t matter what you think, enough chatter. I’m sure you’re starving, eat your dinner and we’ll return and speak with you later.”
After they had left Henry glanced at the beef and potatoes dinner, he felt famished. His stomach growled and the food looked heavenly. Why were they treating him so well? He took a sniff of the food. They were just being hospitable, why should he be so skeptical? But he was a captive after all. He sniffed the food again and noticed a faint odor of something different. Had the food been drugged with some form of truth serum? He realized once he ate the food they could ask him anything. What exactly did he know which was worth hiding? He considered the dark energy, Riana, the picture box, and the time machine. He had a lot to lose and they had much to gain. Maybe he could get them to focus on some of his other inventions instead; He then remembered what the countess had asked him. If she knew about what he worked on then Rothschild knew as well. He shrugged his shoulders and then picked up the fork.
Twenty minutes later he had finished his meal. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and drank from a water tankard. He felt warm inside and a little woozy. So this was the drug, he hadn’t even got the last drug out of his system. The last drug? He glanced over at a one of the gas canisters they had left and popped it opened. The greenish gas once again filled his cell. He brought the canister to his nose and breathed deeply then shoved the canister out of the barred window. Let the bastards have some of their own medicine. He opened and tossed out the window three other canisters and could soon hear coughing and choking outside and the sound of men hitting the deck. He slumped to the floor and lost consciousness once again.
When he awoke he lay on a table and Rothschild stared down at him. He was accompanied by a woman with a note pad along with several soldiers. “That was foolish indeed to gas yourself; you have to wake up some time. Now stop making it hard on yourself and answer my questions.”
Henry sat up and nodded. The last time a room had swam like this was when Angelica had hit him. He thought of her and felt a pang of guilt. He could feel the cocktail of drugs inside him. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. She had so loved him and was so excited for him to make her an offering of marriage and he had gone and broken her heart. “I don’t deserve to live I am unworthy of her.”
Rothschild looked at him in confusion. “Which young lady are you referring to?”
Henry then thought of Tess and her flying wedding dress. “She had so wanted a lovely wedding and I ruined it, I will forever be shammed by her father and her fiancé wanting to shoot me. Go ahead and shoot me, it’s what I deserve.”
Rothschild was now red faced. “Stop this babbling and answered me some questions. Now tell us about this plant?”
Henry put his head in his hands and wept. “Oh you had to bring up Matilda, the poor thing. I forgot to water her and with just a tiny bit of sunshine she almost died. Oh the wretch that I am; just kill me now. Why oh why did you have to bring that up.”
The woman who took notes asked, “Sir-Sir, am I supposed to be taking this down? He’s incoherent.”
Rothschild slapped Henry several times. “Wake up and concentrate. Now what is this time travel machine which Johnson spoke of?”
“Johnson? He stole both my ships and crashed them; the retched bastard. Don’t talk to me about him.” Henry thought of Sophie’s grandmother and howled. “Nana, poor Nana, she's gone. We had her back for a moment and now she’s dead. Oh Nana please don’t leave us again. Come back, come back.”
Rothschild stalked about the room. “Obviously the combination of drugs is making him loony.” Then turning back to Henry he added, “I have one more question. What did you use to duplicate Miss Thomas?”
Henry covered his ears and rocked back and forth. “Oh the pain and suffering I have caused, Riana I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I’m sorry for what I put you through. You are not a monster, I am the monster, I am the monster!”
Just then the door burst open and in ran Sophie and twelve special agents. They subdued Rothschild and his men and put them in manacles then led them away.
As Rothschild was led past him, Henry grabbed his leg and held it fast. “I’m so sorry, I know you so wanted me to tell you about my inventions and I was no use to you. You are just attempting to take over the world. I know it’s for a good cause. Please forgive me.”
Rothschild kicked to release his leg. “I don’t feel I can stand this raving lunatic another minute, get me out of here.”
Sophie raised an eyebrow. “What have you done to the boy?”
The woman said, “I think there was a bit of mix up with the truth serum and the sleeping gas.”
Sophie helped Henry to his feet and led him to the cot. She sat next to him and held him close. “Sophie, I’m so sorry for everything I’ve put you through. I know I’m unworthy of-”
She covered his mouth and shushed him then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. “Henry my dear, just relax it's alright. You were brilliant; mixing the drugs was a stroke of genius. That said, you’re lucky to be alive.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek then held him until he regained his composure.
Twenty minutes later he sat up and turned to her and asked, “How did you find me?”
Sophie glanced around at the now empty cell and whispered, “We dropped the hint to a mole that we were going to capture you and they beat us to the punch. We then followed them and found the ship.”
LATER AS THEY TRAVELED in Sophie’s carriage, she gave him a thoughtful look. “It's quite advantageous they gave you truth serum.” A mischievous grin played across her face. “So Henry I have a few questions which I’d like to ask you.”
He said, “You’re despicable, is that the reason you didn’t remove the manacles? Well I must first warn you I’m not responsible for anything I say.”
She gave him a wounded expression. “You were delirious; leaving the manacles on was just a-a precaution for your safety.” She then winked at him. “A girl has to press her advantage; don't act so self righteous. Now please tell me the truth: after I spurned you, was it your intention to create another version of me or was Riana truly an accident?”
Henry raised an eyebrow. “You spurned me? I-I don’t
remember making any advances.” He then struggled against the drug and said, “Well on occasion I would make it a point to come out when you were in the shop. You’re a villain, this is terrible. I watched you dance at your ball and longed to dance with you. You’re vile. I would occasionally ride past your place on the way home in hopes of seeing you out in the garden. You’re a demon.”
Sophie smirked. “This truth serum business is extraordinary. Now the question which I have been waiting to ask you; when exactly did you see me naked?”
“Oh bloody hell; you had to ask that one. Let me think, the last time was when you slipped on the shirts for the bindings. There was a mirror on the opposite wall. I may have glanced at it once or twice or five times. There were the occasional times when you dressed at the shop as I walked past the divider, then there was the picture box and the time when Riana was preparing to become human again, she -err desired to kiss me before the change and it got out of hand.”
Her eyebrows rose. “With Riana? Well did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, you-she had a fine set of-”
“That will do. And how far pray tell did things go?”
Henry grinned and said, “I never took you to be that sort of girl, you are perverse. If you must know, she wanted to experience a kiss before her essence was lost, I obliged her, kissing became rather hot then she exposed her bosom and the small part of me which is a gentlemen decided that was plenty, unfortunately.”
“Why do you say unfortunately?”
He scowled. “Because the large part of me which is a pig squealed to high heaven.”
Sophie reddened with embarrassment. “Perhaps I should get back to business, when I would come into your shop with my beaus what were you thinking?”
