Henry and Sophie

by Grant Eagar

  Henry said, “Pardon my delinquency; I was tied up with pressing business. I do appreciate the honor of your invitation though; now how may I help you?”

  “You’re a smooth talker, I’ll give you that, obviously your cobra charm is what blinded my daughter to your other faults. Let me get right to the point. My daughter Priscilla has informed me she is expecting an offer of marriage from you any day now. She has rejected three other very promising proposals in the expectation of receiving one from you. So before you go and make a complete fool of yourself, let me inform you that you’ll not do. I’ll cut her off without a penny rather than have you as a son in law.”

  Henry sat in a green leather chair and put his hand on his heart and offered a wounded expression. “My dear sir, you do not even know me, what kind of a man is angry with someone they have never met?”

  The older man scowled. ‘The newspapers are full of your mischief; magical foolery with naked women, a father who ran off, and a mother who is a show girl. You now feel you can catch a wealthy young woman to solve all that?”

  Henry gazed out the window for a moment then finally met the gentleman’s eyes. “Sir, you have spoken hard things against me; harsh things, harshest still because they are all true. I must inform you my father will return and demand his share of my fortune as soon as I have made my fortune by marrying Sophie.”

  The father turned bright red with a vein throbbing in his neck “M-my daughter’s n-name is Priscilla not Sophie.” He then stepped to a side door and said, “Curtis, Ramous, and Brown, come in here at once and have a seat.”

  Three black clad men emerged from behind a partition brandishing a shotgun, a brace of pistols and a mace. After they were seated the older man continued. “Son, this is the Candle Valley Assassin’s guild, now look at these miscreants carefully for they are my assassins and if I ever hear of you proposing to my daughter I’ll unleash them upon you.”

  Henry considered the three men who were dressed in black ill fitting attire and it appeared to him they struggled to maintain their icy stares.

  A masked figure moved away from the drapes and sat down next to Henry. It was clad in black like the other assassins, but this one had on form fitting attire. “I am Henry’s assassin; I too am here for the killing.” The father and the three men in black went rather pale. Sophie continued, “Really sir, these are not proper assassins, this is the gardener look at the dirt on his hands. And this proper gentleman is your butler and this boy smells of horse manure, he is obviously your stable boy. You’re trying to get rid of Henry on the cheap; this is beneath you.”

  Henry gave Sophie a confused look. She went on, “I’ll have you know the going rate for paying off Henry is one-thousand pounds. Now you can’t bully him with these imposters, he'll not accept a penny less.”

  “This is highway robbery, you say a thousand pounds? I don’t feel he is worth fifty pounds.”

  She said, “We have not even spoken of whether Priscilla was an acceptable match for him. If he is standing in the way of a match where she will be united to two hundred thousand pounds would one-thousand pounds be such a burden?”

  The father glanced at his servants and they nodded in agreement. Reluctantly he went to his desk and counted out the bills and extended them to Henry. Sophie stepped forward and took the bills “I represent Henry in this matter. We deeply appreciate your understanding.” She then strode through the door and was gone.

  The opposite door burst open and there stood a red faced Priscilla with a fire poker. “Henry, you filthy coward, you did not even ask him. You want a thousand pounds? I’ll give you a thousand poundings with this.”

  Priscilla’s father said, “My boy, if you know what is good for you, you’ll run. I’ve seen that look in her eyes before.”

  Henry thought, justice has come and is exacting her due. God please let my death be quick and painless, long and painful is no way to die. He moved to put a table between him and the angry girl. “Dearest Priscilla this is not what it appears, it was a simple misunderstanding.”

  She smashed the table and Henry ran through the door then down the hallway down the stairs and out the front door.

  As he left the manor he glanced about and there was no Sophie to be found. He mounted his horse and quickly left the estate at a trot. A mile down the road she galloped alongside him. “Sophie, you thief, hand over my money.”

  She removed her mask and grinned broadly. “That was great fun don't you think. No this money is mine, I earned it. If it had been up to you he wouldn't have given you a nickel. Anyway we wouldn't want you to get the reputation as a gold digger. No it’s better if you don't have the money. Anyway there is the matter of Riana's upkeep and allowance; you should pay your part after all.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Conclusion

  A month later-

  Henry slipped off his horse and handed the reins to Sir Thomas’s groomsman. As he made his way up the stairs he asked a servant, “How is Riana?”

  “Come see for yourself.”

  Henry walked into her bedroom and glanced at the girl. There were two gentlemen taking turns reading to her and on the bedside table there were numerous bouquets of flowers.”

  She smiled at him and the young man who read scowled at Henry. “I think she has plenty of company at present, shove off.”

  Riana cleared her throat. “Gentlemen, could you excuse us? There are drinks down in the parlor; if you could give us a few minutes.” After the suitors had left the room with looks of annoyance and agitation she turned to Henry. “It’s good to see you again.”

  He took her hand and smiled. “It’s good to see your charms haven’t left you.”

  She gave a modest smile. “Some of my talents in my previous life help out with my new position.”

  “So you’re with the ministry now?”

  “Of course, after I’m fully recovered I'll be busy as ever Sophie was. Now that the Count Von-Friedrich is gone there are plenty of other villains afoot. The ministry accepted me in light of her resignation and all.”

  Henry gave her a warm smile. “I miss your help with my inventions and hope you manage well, this agent business is dangerous and I can't lose you. Have you seen Sophie of late?”

  Riana said, “I think she's traveling, she comes and goes.”

  He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead then turned to leave. “I'll leave you to your attendants. I assume there are no agents on my case a present.”

  She gave him a coy smile. “Why Henry I'm an agent to the crown, discretion is my middle name.” She winked at him. “I fear we’re occupied with mopping up what the count left behind.” She then waved and added “Fare thee well my dearest tailor.”

  THE NEXT MORNING HENRY was once again in the tailor shop and he was attempting to patch the pants of a very large gentleman who was much too big for his clothes, but who was much too cheap to replace his wardrobe. Henry had used a super strong thread he'd developed. This should keep the walrus trussed up for a bit. He noticed a pretty girl winking at him. If I could help her fabricate a pretty dress, I wonder what her doppelganger would be like. He heard a scream and looking up he saw a red faced Sir Trinidad.

  The gentleman yelled, “You've sewn my pants into my buttocks!”

  Henry quickly stood up and avoided several swings from the cane. There was a tap on his shoulder. Henry turned around and there was the father and fiancé of Tessa. They each slapped Henry with their gloves. “I demand satisfaction,” said the father.

  “No, I will be the one to shoot this scoundrel,” said the fiancé. “I’m the one to demand satisfaction.”

  “Aren’t you married yet?” asked Henry.

  The fiancé scowled. “After your disastrous flight she has become quite the free spirit and now won’t have anything to do with honorable men such as myself. She is training to be a pilot.”

  A servant tapped Henry on his shoulder then handed him a card. “Sir Schofield wants to speak with you regarding your pursui
t of his daughter Beatrice.”

  Henry returned the card with shaking hands. “Did you say her name was Beatrice? Let her father know I’ve given up my pursuit of Beatrice.”

  He looked down and noticed a carnation flower attached to his chest, he looked around and saw the familiar figure of a young woman disappearing into the crowd, he was tempted to call after her, but instead he turned back to his work. “Now who was next in line?” A young lady in a linen dress quickly stepped up to him. “I'm next.”

  He gave her an appraising look. “First things first, there will be no wedding proposals forthcoming, I'm already spoken for. Second I promise not to duplicate you if you behave yourself. And finally no wedding dresses.”

  The End

  If you enjoyed this story I’d be grateful if you took a few minutes to write a review on Amazon. When you post a review, it makes a huge difference to help new readers find my books. Your review would make my day!

  Thank you,

  Grant

  Angelica the Barbarian: Mountain Witch

  A great tale of magic with a relatable man character ...Very satisfying ... a pacy read, with lots of humor. - Clare

  More than Angelica, I loved the imagination. The story never pauses. It keeps you on this fast, fun ride. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments paired with the edge of your seat action. - Jordan

  Angelica, a witch, is determined she will not be a lady-in-waiting to the princess. Her brilliant plan is to speak out against the war in front of the king. The good news is that she is not hung. The not so good news is that she gets a day in the stocks and the lowly position of a maid.

  She begins her new life in service to the princess, but when kidnappers attempt to take her royal highness, Angelica turns the princess into a pig in a last-ditch effort to rescue her.

  The only problem is, Angelica doesn’t know how to turn the princess back.

  Armed with only her on again/off again magical powers, Angelica needs to thwart the kidnappers, end the war, and save the princess. If she fails the princess will be eaten or worse yet given to the enemy by the kidnappers.

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  About the Author

  Grant Eagar is a Spaceship Design Engineer who enjoys writing young adult fantasy, vampire stories, and steam punk. Over the years he would take the stories he told his children at bed time and transform them into a series of short stories. A graduate of the Philadelphia Writers' Workshop. He is published in the San Diego Writers, Gears of Brass, These Vampires Still Don't Sparkle, Under a Brass Moon, and Ghosts Cast no Shadows anthologies. He calls Tehachapi Ca. home.

  Read more at Grant Eagar’s site.