Sat, May 19 2012
The room became dark and Phileas looked around, to realize he was laid on his bed. The room was now not so dark as the gray light of the snowy morning was to pass through the curtains of his bedroom’ windows. He rubbed his eyes and scratched his rough chin trying to clear his mind of what he was of remind of the night, visited by four ghosts, he shaken his head on that idea like that was to sound totally insane even if the words was not said aloud. He stays there laid on his back, looking on the ceiling and pondering unsure if all of that had not been only a dream. Visited by Erasmus, his father, Saratoga and that Arago, he thought septic, “Only a dream, it’s all what that was.” He said to himself and moved to sit on the edge of the bed while to remark his still booted feet. He sighs to his lack of judgment to not have take them off before laid on the bed and grabbed the right one to rid himself of that. The leather was wet and the sole stay dirty.
Phileas scratched his temple and stand up. How his boots could be stay wet when he was certain to haven been in the house since the afternoon of the day before. They would have got more that enough time to dry up. Phileas went to the door of his bedroom where Erasmus had been to stand and he touched the carpet, which was wet too. Phileas cursed to himself and he rushed to the parlor. He went straight to a certain spot and he touched the carpet, which was stay to wear a wet stain of thick red liquid, “So that was not a dream! Or then the most vivid one I never got!” he said aloud to himself to try to understand and to fit those no sense in his reality as Passepartout walked in the room carrying a jug of hot water and some other items to his master’ shaving.
Phileas was stay knelt on the side of his desk looking on his fingertips when Passepartout stepped in the study and was on all-evident concerned but stay to seem angry with his master’ behavior toward his son, “Master?” the man said simply with an intonation meaning all his worry to his master just as his curiosity to see if any sing of guilty was showing in his master’ behavior. So Passepartout watched intensively what his master he was doing. Phileas looked on his fingertips and next on his manservant with a puzzled expression on his face, “Passepartout!” he said realizing he was not alone and he stand up to take back to his usual composed self-behavior, “It’s only a stain Passepartourt, and perhaps you should scrub that clean later.” Seeing what the man was to carry, “Ah! My shaving, yes, really good, we can go on that right now.” He said only too happy to have a way out.
But Passepartout stepped to look on the said stain, “Yes, master, Passepartout will only look on that stain before….” He said and looked where his master had been to look on but stopped his sentence as he saw nothing, he touched and feeling noting neither so he looked on his master who had moved back to inspect the suspect stain when he had heard that nothing were to be found on the carpet, “There is no stain on the carpet, master, but if you wish Passepartout can look for clean that today.” But Phileas looked on him and again on the carpet, Passepartout was right the carpet was not to wear any stain. Phileas’ puzzled expression came back and he asked for his shavings right away as for avoid any question to come and to get away of that stay no sense. Passepartout stay stand were he was to watch his master walk away, “Well, Passepartout is sure and certain that master is not to feel any guilty toward the young master. But today, Passepartout would not bet even an old sock on master’ sanity, it’s so far of him to get worry for the carpets, for his clothes yes, but never for the carpets. Better to get Master shaved, right now.” He said to himself and gets upstairs to get on his duty as professionally that he always did by hiding deeply his own feeling.
Later that same day, Phileas had get bathed, changed and shaved so he went out to a walk under the pretext to do his last minutes shopping but the fact was that his mind was flooded by words echoing in his head. He could see his brother’ concerned face say, “Three other ghosts will visit you tonight. The first one will be there on the first chime of midnight and you will be forced to follow it in what it will show you.” He could see his father’ stern one,“ I came back to help you to open you eyes on what is surrounding you and that you not see because you're hart is too closed up and that you're the one that poison your own life that way. Not only your life but also the ones of all the peoples care for you as well.” He could see Saratoga’ lovely one with her sad gaze say, “You gave me happiness when I was no happy anymore. I hope you will understand than there is a happiness available for you, all what you have to do is to open your hart to that. We were not mean for one other but Rebecca and you are, Phileas. You’re not alone and there are people who love you, it’s on you to do what it need to be happy.” Those faces were dancing ones with the others repeating each their own message over and over.
That dance and song were to maddening him and he stopped as for breath deeply and winds his mind. He was to feel in need for a drink, a strong one. But looking on his surrounding saw only shops and shoppers as his walk had brought him far of his club or any of his gentlemen’ place and he would be forced to step in one of those public pub or coffee shop for a drink. Denying that to himself, his gaze stuck on a shop’ window to a detail reminding him the scene he saw the night before when his own son had murdered him to the darkness league’ benefice. He takes off his top hat and rubbed his face as to erase that sight from his eyes and stopped when a man dressed all in black came out from that shop and stopped at some steps from him. Phileas looked on the old man, that was the named Arago, Jules Verne’ former mentor. The man looked on him with his face somehow friendlier that the night before repeating his own words, “It’s the reason you were visited, to open your eyes and your hart to the people who are care for you and to who you should be. All of that can be avoid, but all what is to be done for that rest on you, no one else. You got all the information you should need to change the future you saw for yourself and for the people care for you.” Phileas takes another deep breathe as for swallow with that the man’ word and nodded in understanding as Arago’ figure faded.
They were all right, even Rebecca, his dear Becca. He could be so blind, so deaf and so stubborn when he was to wand being. “I missed my luck with the bracelet so long ago, when you didn’t understood all the importance you had for me then”, she had whispered to herself ignoring he could see and heard her if that had been effectively something she had already said being alone, but then that would mean she also had been blind, deaf and stubborn on the occasion. Had he not said her a day when she had got that silly idea to challenge his authority, when in fact that was concern for her well-being and fear to lost her, “When you’re not there, there is no light.” They had each almost saw lost of the other. Him, when she had almost been killed in that fight with that spider queen to save him. Her on several occasions where he had been implicated but more especially when the darkness league had almost used him as a living bomb to kill the queen. They had seen others and worse ones, but each one would have got a hard time to go on with their live without the other in that. Just like the jalousie were present when one of them was in company of someone else.
Phileas smiles touching the bracelet, “Yes, there are people care for me and to who I need to be, so on me to manage to be happy and make sure that stay that way.” He said to himself on a low tone and walked to some shop to get his last minutes Christmas shopping done before the shops’ closure on Christmas eve, because that was stay Christmas eve, by what the enthusiasm Passepartout had said him on all the tone and almost all the language to improve his mood while his shaving just as he had mentioned the trip they had all to do for be at Shilingworth in the evening as promised. Phileas remind that he had effectively promised to his cousin, to his friends, to the staff and over all to a little boy by giving his word as a gentleman that all would be reunite for Christmas. The little Ralph had learned at the hard to trust a gentleman’ word given as promise so like a father he could hardly take that back and forget about without need next to work again harder to get the broken trust back. So he walked on the street, as the memories of his night would well serve him for now.
Later that day, the Aurora landed to Shilingworth magna after a too quiet trip. All but Passepartout haven’t said him a word in all the first hour of the flight, so that was evident for Phileas that Rebecca and Jules were stay to hold grudge with him from their argument the day before even if he had not seen them until they all meet in the Aurora before the leaving of the airship for the countryside. So he leaved his armchair and passed the rest of the trip on his cabin laid on his bed trying to made sense to all what he had lived since the afternoon before. When the aurora begin it’s landing’ process, the staff came wait out to greet the travelers as they would do each time the lord of the manor; his cousin and their friends were back from a long trip. So Once the Aurora’ grounded, Phileas walked out followed by Rebecca, Jules and Passepartout as they two last ones were to carry wrapped gifts for put under the Christmas three. Someone was missing, the fact was remarked by everyone of the travelers just like by each one of the staff’ member. As no one had seems to know were the lad was, Phileas get worry and each one close enough could head him said to himself, “No, that cannot be happen.” And the gentleman rushed upstairs followed by puzzled Rebecca, Passepartout and Jules. But once the three of them found the second floor, Phileas had his ear stick on the boy’ bedroom door and only made them a sign to stay quiet and to avoid noise as he could hear the sound of different things being moved together from a place to an other. Phileas waited as for give time to the boy to get the fruit of his rob back in its hide before knock lightly to the door and came in when he got the permission to do.
The three observators watched him unsure what the man was up, but would wait to see him came back downstairs or wait to see father and son coming back to them. The discussion upstairs was a long one and the good cook who had worked so long on her meal was worry that everyone would be hungry and denied to see them waiting longer because the lord of the manor were busy. So she takes on herself to serve her meal while that was hot and eatable keeping two plates for the two missing people. When the discussion was seems perpetuate, Rebecca takes on her to send McIver to announce to them that the meal was served and that they were waited. But few minutes later, McIver came back alone saying that the two gentlemen needed more time. Rebecca sighs heavily and looked unhappy just as her curiously were eating on her to be leaved outside that so long discussion and she would do all what would be asked to get to hear on what those two were up. She didn’t waited long as she heard the steps in the stairs. The little boy went to the parlor as the man stopped waiting for his son.
The both of them came next in the dining room and they all could see the boy was under a mix of emotion. Jules, Passepartout and Rebecca got all three the same idea, surely Phileas had once again forget he was the father of that little one and that was stay to not have done all what he should for that little boy. Rebecca frowned and shared a gaze with Jules as if the both of them were to mentally look for see who should talk first. On a quiet agreement Rebecca nodded and looked on Phileas while he sits down. He was to ask for his plate when he remarked his cousin’ frowning gaze on him. He was about to answer when his son saw the gaze put down on his father and the one of Jules as well, so he was the one to stand up and to say his mind to defend his father of those gaze of anger, and Phileas was too well to know that had a strong link with the long chatting they had just shared. Before the boy said too much on his father’ intention, Phileas stopped him and summed him to sit down, without use much that his usual tone of voice, the boy’ name and by staying sit on his seat at all of what the boy sit down and didn’t added a word.
Rebecca just as her friends and the member of the staff present stay stunned by the scene and didn’t added a word, so she finished her meal and leaved the dining room followed nearby by Jules. They went to the parlor while in the kitchen; McIver and Phileas shared few words. “Does the box I asked you to put in the safe is stay in that?” McIver nodded at the remind of that small box with it’s so precious contain that his employer had even deny touched when that had been hold out by the solicitor for him after the former lord of the manor’ last will reading, “Yes, Sir, no one touched that.” Phileas’ lips moved in a small smile, “Good. Can you bring that to me please?” McIver’ lips moved in a larger smiles, “Yes, Sir, right away.” The majordomo said and walked right to the study and get the asked box from the save sure to know what the new lord of the manor had in mind and smiles to Passepartout who was for once totally out of the understanding of the event occurring in front of him. Once the box put down in front of him, Phileas takes that in hand and inspected the contain what permit to Passepartout to finally understand and smiles really much friendly to his master when theirs gazes meet. Phileas closed the box and rose followed at distance by few people and a little boy but all managed to see but without manifest too much their presence.
Rebecca and Jules were stay angry and were to talk together in the parlor when Phileas steeped in that, a small box in hand. Rebecca remarked him first but not what he was to carry preciously in his hand and rose and get ready to unload on him her anger for his behavior toward his son as well that toward her and their friends. The first harsh words out of her lips stoked on him like a heavy hammer. Phileas blinks his eyes and looked on her his free hand up pleading that way to her to stop. “Rebecca, I understood.” he said on a low tone without mind for Jules’ presence just like the one of the people stay out of sight but present not less for heard and be witness of the scene as the asking for the box had run in the house like power in the wind. He looked on her as her gaze of anger leaved its place to one showing her uncertainly about the truthfulness of his words. He was too well to know that gaze of hers and sighs to add, “We were both in need of time. Him to get in his new live in a house where he had not to always answer himself to all his needs and to remind what is was like to be only a child. Just like I was in need of time to adapt myself to his coming in my life and to found out what is like to be a father.”
Rebecca turned her gaze out of his eyes as if she was not to believe him or if she was to wand lets her hanger go just now. He watched her done but put his hand on her arm, “We talked together, long time, to settle things and we wand erase the last year and go on a new one, a better one. One were no one should be lets out, neither Passepartout, nor Jules and certainly not you.” Her gaze came back on him when after his sentence his hand takes hers. “Rebecca, you’re probably not the only person that stay to me now, but you stay really precious to me. I don’t wand lose you. I love you, since always. You’re my light. Rebecca, do you wand give me your hand in wedding?” he said the box open now in her sight. Her breath was hold way at the sight of her uncle and aunt wedding rings, his parents’ ones. That was to mean so much. Rebecca wiped her eyes threatening to let go down joy tears and looked on him, “Oh! Phileas!” she said and bring her arms around his neck, to kiss first his cheek and next his lips.
Jules was stay watching the scene, as those two had never being mind to have spectator close not matter if that was for a sharing of affection moment or an argument one. His anger had leaved him and happiness had filled his heart. A smile had even appeared on his face. And amusement came within all the spectators as the kiss broken and that as no “yes” had been said Phileas used that to convince an already wined Rebecca, “Well, Rebecca, do you agree the proposal? You know all the matchmakers of London, Lady Ashton, Finnegan and Winthrop, would say you that I’m a good party. You would be well lodged as I bring estates like a London town house, a manor in countryside, well-furnished stables, and the best of the mean of transportation that is the Aurora. I forget the so good staff. And I would not forget to mention that you would get all the advantages of the family without all the inconvenient with my ten years old son: not so long nine months of pregnancy, no so hard labor to get through, no so numerous nights without sleep, no feeding bottles to get ready and no diapers to change.” Rebecca chuckled, “Yes, Phileas, I agree to marry you!” She said amused and happy to kiss him back and next whisper with his ear something that made him react with some frown, “We will see about that, for now we go more that enough to think about.” He said her as the hide people stepped in the room to share their happiness.
That was stay Christmas Eve and at distance the wind carried the song of chimes of midnight announcing Christmas. Ralph had turned his gaze away when his father and his soon-to-be-step-mother had shared an other kiss, on that moment the young Randolph Aristote Fogg could have bet to have seen through the window, even if that was night and snowy outside, that there had been four people standing at the window to watch that happy scene occurring in the parlor of the old manor and had shared the joy and happiness of the occupants. One of them, the younger man, had waved to him to kept that sight to him and blinked friendly when the lad had moved to call for other to look on the window. Another, the beautiful lady, had sent him a kiss. One of the elder man, the bald one, had looked on him with so much pride and made him some form of a military salute as the last one made a good bye sign and their four forms faded in the darkness to him to see only his face mirrored in the glass and he run back to the celebration keeping for himself what he had saw in that window. So that year, the holidays were the happiest ones the old manor had not seen since so long and that had not been the only ones but the first one of a long line.
The end.
Chapter 4 | Chapter 5