Authors: Michelle Woodward
“No father? What have I done?”
“You tell me.”
A guilty Isabel groaned in frustration. “Stop playing these games. You said yourself you’re tired of playing.”
“You’re hiding something. I know.”
“Then just tell me what I have done wrong.”
“You didn’t meet the girls at the Women’s institute.”
Isabel rolled her eyes while she let out a groan. “I did.”
“Miss Black sent a telegram to the institute... asking if the picnic was sufficient... they told her there was no picnic.”
“As cunning as a fox that woman.”
Albert stood toe to toe with Isabel, towering over his daughter. “You see... we give you the trust and independence you crave. And all you do is abuse it.”
“I went to West Kirby for a picnic.”
“You did not picnic alone... did you?”
“No, with Edward.”
“Hurrah!” Albert threw his arms in the air. “Finally, the truth... oh how I have missed the truth.”
“Stop it, Father.”
“No. You shall stop it.” Albert wagged his finger in front of Isabel’s face. “This is reckless behaviour which could sour the family name.”
“We only chatted... he is a gentleman.”
“I have nothing against the boy. But this is cruel for the both of you.”
“Why?”
Albert paced towards the bay window with his hands behind his back. The spatters of rain on the pane were a sign that the balmy summer evening had given away to a thunderstorm. “Because it is not to be.”
“But why not Father? Why not?”
Albert continued to look out into the storm where flashes of lightening illuminated the bay. “I’m a charitable man who sponsors generously the sciences. My employees are fairly treated... you only have to ask them and they praise my name.” He then turned to face his distressed daughter. “But I didn’t spend my entire life building a shipping empire, just to give it to a man who drives horses for a living.”
“But it’s me who will inherit the company..? Not whoever marries me. That’s why I have been working hard to learn from you. Father, I live and breathe the company... just like you.”
“Even so, you need a man who fits within the family... you’ll not just make yourself a laughing stock, but me too.”
“Father!” Isabel stormed toward the double doors of the music room. “When you use such words, you make me lose respect for the father I love.”
“It just frustrates me that I have searched high and low for a good man for you, only for you to turn up your nose. Then, lo and behold you fall for the bloody driver.”
Isabel opened the door to leave. “When mother died, you told me not to cry too much because you will love me twice as much. Well... I don’t feel you love me at all.”
“Isabel, of course I do. That’s why I will find you the perfect man.”
“I have found one.”
“You’re not capable... clearly.” Albert grimaced as the door slammed behind his daughter. He sat back on the piano stool and slumped onto its fabric cushion. “Stubborn... Just like her bloody mother.”
Chapter 6
Albert slowly paced around an ornate boardroom lit by natural light from the large bay window. A long polished oak table, lined with leather padded wooden chairs, dominated the mahogany panelled room. He walked amongst the fine artwork that depicted strange beasts that hung side by side with archaic maps of long lost civilizations. Upon reaching a showcase he rubbed his clean shaven chin while his beady eyes ogled certificates that celebrated his geographic society’s success.
Albert’s raised his bushy eyebrows as he inspected his gold plated pocket watch. Slipping the time piece back into his breast pocket, he paced to the bay window. He then gazed across the rolling greens of the manicured lawn that stretched down to the cold gray waters of the river Mersey. The sight of a steam ship bearing his company’s crest on its funnel caused him to nod in approval. “On time... just.”
A sudden knock on the door snapped Albert from his timekeeping. “Enter.” His face lifted with a smile as his star employee entered the room. “George... as dapper as ever.”
“A house with vies of the river just so you can inspect your ships... sometimes I wonder why you didn’t just move the office into this house. There’s enough room in this place.” George reached out to shake Albert’s hand. “I would have got lost if it wasn’t for the housekeeper.”
“Crossed my mind to move the operation here... but something about working from home just didn’t sit properly with me. What can I do for you?”
“I must say old Boy... I’m a man with much on his mind.”
“Please, take a seat. So tell me, Son....” Albert pulled back the chair at the head of the table, and then sat. “What is on your mind?”
“I have had a proposal.”
“For what?”
George could feel Albert’s intense stare, but remained determined. “I must admit, Old Boy... it’s one I find rather tempting.”
“Stop dancing around my totem pole, George. You might be the master of five languages...”
“Seven.”
“Seven... but when talking to me. Talk in English.”
George pulled out an envelope from his inside breast pocket. “Lord Craven... He has written to me.”
“Craven?”
“Yes.”
Albert ground his teeth. “I’m guessing it wasn’t a bloody love letter.” The mere mention of Lord Craven’s name caused a deep lying anger to swell inside Albert. “What did that scoundrel want?”
“My signature.”
“I heard he has planned for a polar exhibition. He must want your expertise.”
“Indeed, he wants me to head it.”
Albert thumped the table with his fist. “How dare he? How dare he piss in my pond?” He took a deep breath, and then drew his hand across his chubby cheek. “Did you sign?”
“Not yet... but like I said. It’s more than a little tempting.”
“Can I read the letter?”
“Of course, Old Boy.”
George recognised the handwriting of that of his old business partner. The betrayal still burned him like hot wax. “Why... the sneaky little toad.”
“No need to call him names now. We’re all gentleman, Albert.”
“He’s not a gentleman.” Albert screwed up the letter and threw it at George, hitting him between the eyes. “Neither are you. Judas... bloody Judas!”
“Albert... you’re being hysterical.”
“I made you. I bloody made you. And you treat me like this?”
George felt like shrinking. But knew doing so would only encourage Albert’s temper. “I know you made me.”
“I’ve sponsored you from the moment you left public school. I would have thought the belief I had shown you over the years would have instilled a level of loyalty.”
“Of course it has. I have named lakes and mountain ranges after you. There is a collection of Greek marbles named after your estate.” George stood from his chair then pointed towards the showcase. “I mean... look around this room, all the artefacts you proudly display... most were discovered by me.”
“You got there on my ships, spending my money. Let’s not forget the three ransoms I paid to get you out of trouble.”
“There was something lost in translation between me and the mogul’s daughter.”
“Yet, you’re as loyal as a Soho jezebel.”
George did his best not to make eye contact until Albert’s rage had run its course. “I could have easily named the marbles after myself.... So with all due respect, don’t talk to me about loyalty.”
“I have always treated you like a son.”
“If you did, then why do you refuse me a place on the board of the society which I made famous?”
“It’s not my decision alone. The board decides; we make all our decisions by committee.”
George felt Albert’s anger wane, so decided to put forward his own agenda. “Anyway... I have recently changed my demands.”
“What are they now? What will it take to retain your services?”
“Your daughter.”
“Isabel?” Albert felt himself slip into shock.”My Isabel?”
“Word has it you’re struggling to find her a suitor... well look no further.”
“The audacity! I should use your ungrateful corpse to de-barnacle my entire fleet.”
George winced then raised his open palms. “Albert, please. No need to use empty threats.”
“They’re not empty. Believe me... What’s more, once I’ve finished removing the barnacles, I’m going use what’s left of your body as fuel for the boilers of my tramp steamer.”
“Look. Since I arrived back from the Zambezi, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Isabel has grown into a quite a woman. I saw her at the church service. Stunning.”
Albert shook his head in disbelief before resting it on his clenched fist. “But you’re as famous for your drunken womanizing as you are for your survival skills. Every man would want you as his pioneer... but never as a son-in-law.”
“You know as well as me that you shouldn’t believe what the tabloids say. Plus a lot of my carnal conquests were just to fit in with the natives.”
“The mogul didn’t give you a ringing endorsement. Neither did the sheik nor the Zulu chieftain. Come to think of it, is there a civilization you haven’t pissed off?”
“At the end of the day, as one of the most famous explorers in the world, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people I encounter want to make a name for themselves by causing a scene involving some make-believe scandal. I make them famous.”
Albert shook his head. “But still. Sometimes one thinks you spend your time mapping bedrooms than exploring the unknown.”
“But now I want to settle down.”
“You don’t know how to settle down.”
George took a deep breath as he expressed his plan. “I’m tired of travelling. I’d be happy to take a more sedate position in the geographic society.”
“Boardroom?”
“Yes. An advisory role. You know, train the next generation of explorers. With my eighteen years in the field, I could consult. How does that sound?”
Albert’s expression suddenly lightened. “I’d be able to keep my watchful eye on you as well. But why the change of heart? Craven’s offer was for more fieldwork... not a boardroom job. My daughter isn’t that beautiful to give up the life you have enjoyed much success.”
“I have travelled the world... from one horizon to the next. Trust me... nothing is as beautiful as Isabel.”
“But you’re old... Twice her age in fact.”
George displayed a confident grin. “I am still young enough to plough the most stubborn of fields.”
“Christ, steady on, Filthy Frolics.”
“That feeling of disgust that you feel right now, that’s exactly how I felt when you called me old.”
Albert pictured his young daughter, and then slipped into a nostalgic daze. “She’s just graduated from finishing school... I was hoping to find someone her own age.”
“And have you found one? No... Plus, all girls grow up. I’m sure she’ll be excited to live the life of a proper lady of the house.”
“I think you’ll be surprised by her temperament. Isabel is quite unique. She’s more interested in engineering than anything to do with woman’s duties. I think she’ll see herself more as a business partner than your wife.”
“An independent spirit... sounds a challenge.”
Albert groaned as he ran his hands across his face. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this.”
“Look, Old Boy - you want me to hang around? Then I need rewarding.”
“I’ll reward you handsomely. But not with my own flesh and bone. Not with my only child.”
“You make me sound like a blood thirsty Aztec who’s going to sacrifice Isabel to the sun God. All I’m interested in is finally having a loving, committed relationship.”
Albert folded his arms across his chest. He breathed heavily while staring at George. “I’m a protective father, that’s all.”
“I want to make her my wife. I will cherish Isabel. So much so, she’ll think she is a queen.”
“I will pass on your interest. And return to you with Isabel’s thoughts. But if she says no... I want you to respect her decision. If she says yes, I want you committed to me, to the society, but above all... to Isabel.”
George couldn’t hide his smile as he reached across the table and firmly shook Albert’s hand. “Of course, Old Boy... we’ll be family.”
Chapter
7
Albert sat behind his large desk while scribbling his signature on the bottom of a handwritten letter. After placing the pen back into the inkwell he leaned forward then softly blew onto the damp ink. A heavy double knock caused Albert to raise his eyes towards the oak panelled door. “Yes?”