section7mfu | The 'Avignon' Affair - Parts X

Part X - Clermont-Ferrard

The trek by merchant wagon wasn't very fast, but it was steady and legs other than their own were doing the work. Plus part of the pay for Waverly's aid included meals for them both - mostly consisting of hard bread rolls and soft cheese, but neither of them minded that. Waverly had driven a few teams when he was in his teens and soon remembered the nuances of it. This sort of activity was totally new to Millicent, but as she wasn't expected to drive, it didn't matter a bit. Especially since it turned out the Monsieur Doucet was more wanting for company than for actual manpower. He was a very social creature and had hated the thought of making the long drive all by himself with no-one to talk with. And talk he did.

Monsieur Doucet spoke of Cerise, the daughter he had back at home who was Mademoiselle Cheval's age - which he placed at fourteen, much to Millicent's delight. He asked them a few questions about their own family and they were both careful to listen to anything the other gave as an answer to avoid contradicting one another, but they really didn't have to worry about that too much. Monsieur Doucet did most of the talking and proved to be an entertaining storyteller. Stories about his family, his goods and the country they were passing through made them feel that they had known him for quite some time. By the time they made camp that first evening, he was already asking them to call him Uncle Lucien.

Beyond the surprisingly pleasant company that was helping make the time pass, they had another reason to appreciate the deal that had been made on the second day when rains began to fall. The showers only lasted a couple of hours, but that amount of time would have gotten them thoroughly soaked had they been on their bikes. The protective covering that was put up to protect the driver's area didn't keep all of the water off, but it did keep off the majority.

They were fortunate to find a dry area to park the wagon that evening and 'Uncle Lucien' even brought his guitar out from the back of the wagon. Waverly didn't think much of his own voice, but the other two seemed to like the way he carried a tune well enough so they passed a pleasant evening singing several old French folk songs.

They arrived at their destination by mid-morning on the third day. By the time the wagon was unloaded, money passed over and goodbyes said, it was early afternoon. Now that they were alone again for the first time in three days, Millicent brushed herself off and gave Waverly a smile.

"Uncle Lucien was wonderful company, but I do believe I've learned more than I ever desired to about camping out by sleeping under a wagon, Alexandre."

He chuckled at that, picking a bit of grass from his own coat.

"We both could do with a good dusting off, I think. Shall we consider remaining here for a day or press on?"

Millicent took a good look at herself, then Waverly.

"Much as pausing a day sounds heavenly, do you think allowing the hounds extra time would be the best idea?"

"Probably not. Well, if nothing else, the wagon camping extended our funds and the work added a bit to them. We can check out the cost of tickets between here and Avignon, if you like."

"We still have over a hundred and fifty miles to go, don't we? If we can manage the train, that would be nice."

"I have to agree. Seems to be a bit of a crowd there. Why don't you wait in the shade and keep an eye on our cycles while I see what we can manage?"

Arrangements took longer to arrange that he cared for, but Waverly was rather pleased with the results. They would have a bit over three hours before their train left and that should give them enough time to clean up a bit.

When he returned to where he'd left Millicent, he saw the cycles, but not her. That didn't worry him at first. He had been gone longer than expected and there was a good chance she simply couldn't wait longer to find a powder room.

Getting closer to where she had been though told another story. There were signs of a struggle. Three hours. Waverly had just three hours to find who had taken her, where they had gone and find a way to liberate her. A daunting challenge even if he knew this city, which he most certainly did not.

Part XI – Mob Scenes

Two things Waverly knew for certain. One, he had to keep a clear head. Two, he needed help and there was only one man that he knew in this city. If he was still here.

Waverly took their bicycles to the train station and had them tagged as luggage, then immediately went to the last place he had seen Lucien Doucet. When he saw the familiar wagon, he picked up his pace looking around for the man, finally spotting him haggling with one of the other merchants.

"Uncle Lucien!"

The man's head turned immediately and apparently he could read that something was wrong by Waverly's approach. He waved him over.

"Evard - this is one of my nephews. Alexandre'? What is wrong? Where is Millicente?"

All of the agents that they had seen looking for them so far had been British, so Waverly took the chance and made a guess.

"I was at the station buying our tickets – Millicente was waiting for me in the shade because of the crowds. Some English men forced her to go with them while I was too far away to stop them."

The man Lucien had been speaking with became agitated at once, speaking about a group of rude men (even for Englishmen) who had come into the area and had already been complained about for laying their hands on young French girls, claiming to be looking for a runaway. Lucien became incensed to the point that Waverly wondered if the man had forgotten that they actually weren't related to him.

"My niece is no runaway, Evrard. Where can we find these men? They must be shown that they cannot accost the young ladies of our country."

The raised voices had drawn first the attention and then the indignation of other surrounding merchants and Waverly suddenly realized that the equivalent of an anti-British mob was forming. Despite his normal pride in his country, at this moment, he was quite content to be considered a Frenchman. Especially when the local gendarmerie joined in. Waverly watched in amazement as he witnessed just how quickly a group with a shared grievance could be spurred into action even if the trigger had nothing to do with them personally.

In the rooms that the British agents had rented, they had their hands full with Millicent who had decided that her best option was to cling to the identity of Millicente Cheval, aged fourteen and fully ignorant of the English language. The sudden banging at their door startled all of them even before the gendarmerie began shouting for them to open the door.

If it had not all been so serious, Millicent would have found the entire play of events after the door opened to be hilarious. The last person she expected to see at the side of the gendarmerie was Monsieur Doucet, but she didn't hesitate to call out to him from where one of the agents was trying to hold her back.

"Uncle Lucien! Thank goodness you have found me! These men have been hurting me!"

That was all the gendarmerie needed to hear. Under loud protest, the British men were arrested and drug off while being pelted with things likely best unknown at the hands of the gathered French populace. The same people cheered Millicent's release to her 'family' before they disbursed back to their usual routines. Once he could speak to them privately, Lucien gave them both a long studying look.

"I do not know or care why you are on the run, but I would side with the two of you any day over the likes of them. Someday, contact me again and let me know how you have fared, little Millicente. Take care of her, Alexandre'."

Waverly's hand was protectively around her waist.

"I will certainly do my best, Uncle Lucien."

Lucien gave Millicent a kiss before giving Alexander a pat on the shoulder and heading back to his haggling.

"You reacted brilliantly, Millicente."

"I was terrified out of my wits, Alexandre'. I do think the only thing that helped is that not all of them were completely convinced that they had the right girl. Apparently, they grabbed another blondish girl just yesterday to ill effect."

"Clumsy on their parts, but it made it easier to get you away from them. If they try to trace us again, hopefully I'll have them off the scent. I managed to buy us tickets through to the Nimes station, but we'll get off at Avignon. Do you want to risk one last telegram before we take the train?"

"Yes. My best hope of the three, but I hesitated to contact him because of his position in the government."

"One of ours or another country?"

"A member of the House of Lords, though his wife has ties to Germany."

"Come then. Let's get that one sent off and go catch our train."

Part XII – His Majesty's Discretion

Author's note - While this chapter ends this particular story, there is a follow-up - a WIP - that will goes under the name of The 'Correspondence' Affair

The train ride to Avignon was pleasantly uneventful, but getting off at the station brought on an unexpected surprise. The Lord that she'd sent the telegram off to was there and waiting. Which meant, of course, that he had already been in Avignon before she had sent word.

Despite the change of hair and clothing, he had no problem spotting her and came straight over. Millicent saw no point in pretending otherwise and greeted him as warmly as he did her as Waverly kept a polite, but wary eye over the reunion.

"Snezhinka, I've been worried about you. Has your escort treated you well?"

"It is good to see you again, Uncle William. And yes. He couldn't have taken better care of me if he'd been my own brother."

The man offered his hand to Waverly then, still apparently taking the measure of the young man.

"Alexander Waverly, isn't it? I believe I had the occasion to work once with your father, Jonathan."

"Yes, Your Lordship. He had mentioned that he had that honor to me."

"Very good, very good. Well, Millicent, my child? I found out about the rather underhanded way you'd been treated when I went to inquire about your well-being after the funeral. I've never held with all this nonsense, as you well know. I went straight to the palace and got a few things – and people - straightened out."

He paused then and reached out to take her hands.

"You know where your mother had intended for you to go?"

"Yes, Uncle. To a Swiss boarding school until my eighteenth birthday. After that point, she said I would be old enough to make my own mistakes as I jolly well pleased."

He chuckled at that.

"That does indeed sound exactly like something your dear mother would have said. Are you still willing to follow that path? There are good schools in England as well you could attend."

"Mother wanted me to finish my education on the continent. I have no disagreement with following the path she chose for me."

"Excellent. I will finish the arrangements. Mister Waverly, you've seen Miss Kildare along this far and, more importantly, have her trust. Would you be willing to escort her the remainder of the way to Switzerland?"

"If that is in line with her wishes, Your Lordship, I would be most pleased to escort her there."

"It is very much in line with my wishes."

"Very good. All settled then. I'll arrange for rooms for the next few days until we receive confirmation from the school and then we'll get you on your way. Between now and then, we'll need to see to your wardrobe and other necessities for starting your studies, my dear."

It was while they were in Avignon that word reached them of the tragic fate of the ship that they had spent several hours on. It seemed unbelievable that a vessel of the magnitude of the Titanic had been taken down by an iceberg. The enormity of the loss was staggering when they remembered all of the sights that they'd seen as they'd toured the ship and heard the numbers of those that had been lost at sea.

In another touch of serendipity, their last day in Avignon ended up being April 21st - Alexander's twentieth birthday. As Millicent had said they would were they able, they celebrated it together by having their final dinner in France together.

"It seems odd thinking that this time tomorrow, I will be at the place where I will be spending the next six years of my life."

"Second thoughts, Millicent?"

"No, not really, Alexander. I think I will welcome having a bit of stability for awhile. I don't know about six years worth of it, but I will try and make good use of my time. As Mother said, I shall have plenty of time once I pass the age of eighteen to do other things. Will you write to me?"

"If you write to me, I promise I will answer each and every letter that you send me."

"In that case, you may open your present."

The box Millicent pulled up and laid on the table wasn't very large, but it was beautifully wrapped. Picking it up, he didn't immediately open it.

"While very thoughtful of you, I -"

"Please just open it, Alexander. I will have to admit up front that I asked Uncle William to get it for me."

He hesitated just another minute, then began undoing the wrappings. Under the paper was a wooden case and inside the case was a handsome burl wood pipe.

"You may never use it but I thought it was rather ornamental. You're the sort of man that will have his own desk one day and when that day comes, I think it would look quite nice there."

He chuckled at her enthusiasm as he pulled the pipe from the case to take a better look at it.

"You wouldn't find it odd for a man that didn't smoke a pipe to have one on his desk?"

"Not a bit. I've known some men that have library shelves full of books they've never read or intend to read. Seems a bit silly, but I've been assured that it is quite usual."

"It's quite a handsome thing. Thank you, Millicent."

"You are quite welcome. Happy birthday, Alexander."

The next day seemed to pass in a blur. The train trip was only a little over five hours followed by an hour trip by coach to take them from the station to the grounds of the school. The surroundings of the school were very scenic and the school itself well-established. A chaperone stayed with the pair as they allowed Waverly to take a tour through the classrooms as well as the personal room that would be Millicent's until her graduation. When it was nearing the time for him to be taken back to the station, the pair were allotted some privacy in the gardens.

"It may be silly, but I feel like I've known you so much longer than I have, Alexander."

"Shared experiences will do that. I feel much the same."

"I do know it is a quite a way in the future to make arrangements, but I hope you will come when I graduate."

"Six years isn't really all that long, Millicent. Hang on a minute."

He reached into a pocket and withdrew a silk pouch. As she watched with undisguised curiosity, he opened the bag and took out the dragonfly broach.

"How lovely."

"It was my mother's. One of the few things I have left of hers."

As he was speaking, he carefully reached over and pinned it to the left side of her blouse.

"Hold onto it for luck, Millicent. I'll come back for it when you graduate in 1918."

"Alexander - are you sure?"

"If I were not sure, I would not be loaning it to you."

"I don't know what to say."

"You needn't say anything. Just keep that promise to write to me."

"I will."

He smiled down at Millicent, took hold of her hand and kissed her forehead in a chaste manner before pulling away and heading for the coach. She stood at the gate and waved as he and the coach receded into the distance.

Eyes still on the road, Millicent's fingers traced along the dragonfly broach as she whispered softly to herself.

"I shan't be twelve forever, Alexander."