Chapter 10
Lunch was very good. We were served a half chicken per person, something like scalloped potatoes but better tasting, green beans, and a salad served with a dressing that had to be tasted to be believed!
Conversation was polite during lunch and I was asked about my life. I gave them the fifty-cent tour of my life; without the time travel capabilities, of course. They expressed sympathy for me when I had mentioned my mother's recent death. I had the feeling they already knew.
"So you're taking computer programming as your major, and finance as a minor?" Mrs. Avery-Smythe asked.
"Well, the finance is not a minor, so much as a way to learn to properly handle my money. I have been fortunate with my investments, and I want to keep it that way," I said modestly.
"I should say so. As you may know, I looked into you, prior to your arrival in England. I wanted to know whom I was dealing with. You have been a very fortunate young man indeed," Lord Avery-Smythe told me with a piercing look.
I nodded. "Dad was ever a frugal man, and advised me if I ever came into money, I should invest it. I always listened to my father. He had the experience of years behind him. He was a very wise man," I said a bit sadly.
"Yes. Ones parents are a good place to learn certain things. Family history, secrets, that sort of thing," he mentioned casually.
I was not fooled. He had noted the similarity of those drawings to me, and was very curious about a stranger returning property back then, to a stranger returning yet more property a hundred years later, who was also the spitting image of the first benefactor.
Finally the meal was over, and the three of us headed to another room for drinks. This room was done in earth tone colors. Several paintings hung on the walls, and there were chairs and couches spread throughout the room.
It was a ridiculous looking room. What I mean was, it was long; very, very long, and narrow. Peculiar. Again, a fireplace took up almost the end of the room. What was it about huge fireplaces? This was the second huge one I had seen since I arrived.
There was a very well appointed bar set up along one side of the room. 'John' as he kept insisting I call him, 'and my wife is Evelyn'... John poured us drinks. I had professed not to be much of a drinker, so he chose for me. It was actually very good.
"Now then, Tom, I am sure you noted the likeness of you to the drawings in the family history room. Would you care to comment?" John asked casually.
"Well, either it is a distant relative, or someone who had the good fortune to look like me," I said, tongue in cheek.
Evelyn laughed.
"He's got you there, John" she said, still chuckling.
"The likeness between the two of you is uncanny. You say you don't know if it is a relative or not?" he asked me.
"I really have no idea. I am not at all sure of my family history back that far, sorry," I answered.
I was relieved when he didn't keep after me. I was sure he either thought I had a relative that interacted with his family for some obscure reason, and I was continuing the tradition; or I had a time machine. Or I was the same person, somehow, perhaps long lived.
We talked a little more. They wanted to know my plans. I said I had come to England last year with my mother, and intended to do some touring prior to going back for school in a couple of weeks.
I wanted to take in some of the more famous churches and castles of England. I told them I had developed an interest in history; and now that I was here, I was wanting to go look at historical sites.
John gave me a few ideas, and said that there were several places of interest local to this area that had significant historical meaning.
"John, they have meaning only because they involved your family! The sun does not rise or set on the Avery-Smythes, you know," Evelyn chided her husband.
John chuckled. "Well, you can't blame a fellow for having family pride," he ended and we all lapsed into an awkward silence.
I looked around at the ceiling, the floor, the walls, and the width and length of this room. It still puzzled me. It was all out of proportion.
"John, will you tell him what this room used to be? I can see it is driving him to distraction," Evelyn said.
He smiled. "While it has been changed a bit over the years, it was actually an armory at one time. It held pikes along this wall," he said pointing at the wall that was against the corridor, "And crossbows were along the other wall, as well as the odd sword, lance, and longbow. That wall," he said pointing at the opposite wall, "Was moved from its original position about a hundred and twenty years ago, to make the grand ballroom a little larger," he said in an amused tone.
"Come to think of it, that was about the time the mysterious man from the past returned the journal to us," he added
"Well, it's getting late. Perhaps I should return to my hotel. I want to thank you for a very nice lunch, and it was my pleasure to return the sword and maps to you. Family is very important," I added with a sad sigh. I had no more family left that I knew of, with the exception of that half sister from Dad's affair.
"Of course. I will send for the car. Feel free to drop in if you're ever in this part of the world again. For some strange reason, I feel a connection and fondness for you," he said with a twinkle in his eye.
A few days later I had found a costume shop, and converted some money into older English currency from the late 1890's. I was going to take a short tour of England about the turn of the century. Well, London, anyway.
London, in 1898, was a busy city. Buckingham Palace was still there, but not nearly as many tourists were. The police were friendly enough. They were called Bobbies, and were not even armed. Everyone seemed to respect them. If they said something, you listened. This was the way it should be. How had our world lost this respect for its police?
The currency I had bought was not all that rare. I had brought a thousand pounds of the appropriate currency with me, which was a goodly sum for the times. The best thing about my ability to travel in time, was that I always returned to the time of my departure. So, I could spend weeks, months, or even years here. Vacations were a bit longer for me, than for the average wage earner.
I found a boarding house, and paid the lady running it a month in advance. Meals were included if I was there for them. Meals were served promptly, at specified times. If I missed them, that was my problem.
I sampled the nightlife of the times. I went to the Thames and watched barges and boats. I took in an opera, and I am not really a huge fan of opera. Still it was a fun time. I made several acquaintances and would meet with them at a local pub. That's like the local neighborhood bar, in our country.
I was headed back to my boarding house one evening, and somehow took a wrong turn. I was about to back track, when I noticed furtive movements down the street. I stopped and leaned against the wall, fading into the shadows of the night. I watched to see what was going on.
Shortly, a horse drawn cab pulled to a stop up near where I had seen the furtive movements. The driver got down, went to the door, and opened it. A burly man got out, who pulled a weakly struggling man out of the cab with him.
I could hear murmured words, but not what they were saying. I slowly worked my way towards them. There was definitely something wrong with this picture. The man who was struggling got a punch in his stomach for his troubles.
"Quiet down, or I'll sap ya," said the big guy.
At about this time, they saw me. The driver and the man who had been waiting, started towards me. I relaxed myself and got ready for a fight. I recognized the signs. They didn't say a word to me, didn't warn me off... nothing.
As they got closer I said, "Nice night, wasn't it?"
The burly guy who still held the weakly struggling man said, "Take care of 'im. We don't need no witnesses," and went into the house where the cab was parked.
"Now, gentleman, surely we can come to an arrangement? No need for violence," I said as they separated.
One came straight at me, the other went to the side, trying to flank me. My martial arts instructor said there was a time to talk, a time to retreat, and a time to fight. This was a time to fight. He had also said if it was a fight, to take it to the opponent, and finish it first and fast.
I moved forward, and turned slightly sideways. I delivered a side snap kick to the of the man in front of me. He screamed and went down, as his knee snapped with a sickening sound.
I turned just in time to dodge a hand swinging at my head, holding some sort of object. It hit my left shoulder, which hurt like hell! I gritted my teeth, and throat punched the guy. He had no idea of how to block a punch. Two down, and an unknown number inside the house.
I kicked the guy whose knee I broke in the head and that stopped his screams. The throat-punched guy was choking and gagging. I grabbed him and put pressure on his carotid artery in such a way as to produce unconsciousness. All in all, it took me maybe 25 seconds to disable the two.
I cautiously entered the house, and heard a loud thump from somewhere in the back. I stayed close to the wall, and walked as softly as possible down the narrow hallway. As I neared a door in the back I could hear the voice of someone not very educated.
"We is definitely going ta get a pretty penny for ya. Don't make me hurt you to bad. Jus' sit there, and this will be over wit in a cuppla days," the voice rumbled from inside the room.
I tried to open the door slowly, but it squeaked. Ok, plan B. I kicked it open, and looked inside. An old fashioned bed was against the wall a few feet away, and the big guy had just tied a young man to a chair. Both looked startled as the door flew open.
I'll say this for the big guy, he sure could move fast! He jerked on the rope of the guy whose hands were tied behind his back, and then launched himself at me. I sidestepped, and chopped at his throat. I missed and hit a muscular neck, instead.
We circled each other slowly, looking for an opening. He grinned at me, reached into his coat, and pulled out a fairly long knife. I heard a sharp inhalation of breath from the prisoner. My opponent was now armed.
He fainted a few times at me, then made a serious lunge that put his whole arm within my reach. I sidestepped the lunge, caught he arm, and twisted his wrist. Thus causing him to turn sideways and drop the knife.
I twisted a little more, and he bent forward, trying to ease the pressure. I kicked his face. Nothing! He snarled at me, and started to untwist his arm. Damn, this guy was strong. I went with him and twisted the other way, but since I had the momentum, I went far enough to break something in his wrist.
He howled and jerked his arm, and I lost control of him! Damn! This guy was a gorilla! He was looking around the room, for something to use against me no doubt, and I dropped him with a leg sweep.
I picked up his knife, and raised it as far above my head as possible. I buried it in his calf, driving it through the muscle and into the floor, effectively pinning his leg to the floor! He howled. I got up, and kicked his head again. This time I caught him correctly, and he slumped into unconsciousness.
I went over to the prisoner, and removed the gag. I then started untying him.
"Thank you! Thank you very much! I was sure I was never going to see the light of day," he said gratefully.
"Glad to help," I replied.
He seemed surprised. "American?" he asked.
I nodded. "Born and raised there. We better get out of here. I left his two friends outside, and they might not be very happy with me at the moment," I said, helping him up.
That was when several constables burst into the room. They took in the man on the floor, the man I was helping, and me.
"Here now. What's going on? Who put that knife into this man?" a constable asked.
We all went down to the local station house. There had been a witness to what I had done to the two outside the house. Having witnessed the event, this gentleman took himself to the nearest constable to report what he thought was a crime in progress. There was a crime, but the witness thought I was the one doing it!
The young man in question was the victim of a kidnapping. He reported who he was, and where he had been when he had been kidnapped.
I was stunned!
I had just rescued none other than Carl Avery-Smythe, the heir to the Avery-Smythe name and title!
Edited by TeNderLoin
Volentrin