Calvin and Julien had spent a pleasant morning as well, replenishing their own wardrobes. Calvin had adopted a decidedly old-fashioned style of dress while attending Eton, and had not changed his look much since then. He preferred wool to denim, and tweed to t-shirts. He was often teased by his friends for his fustiness, but the look suited him, and nothing they said could convince him to appear anywhere in public without his favorite cardigan. Uncle Julien did insist that he buy a rather dashing fedora, and he wore it with great aplomb on the walk back to their hotel. His uncle had found everything he needed in one rather posh menswear establishment, and had made the proprietor of the shop a very happy man.
Upon returning to their temporary home at the hotel, they met Natalie in the lounge for lunch and to discuss their future plans. Julien ordered a Manhattan, and Natalie raised her eyebrow at him before shrugging and getting herself a Campari and soda. It was barely afternoon, but they’d had a trying couple of days, and tacitly decided they could use a stiff drink. Calvin usually ordered ale, but Julien’s urbanity must have rubbed off on him, because he broke tradition and ordered a martini. They settled comfortably in the lounge’s armchairs sipped idly at their drinks.
“How do you propose we get to Paris from here?”Calvin asked his uncle, at length.
“I could rent a car, I suppose, but I’m pretty certain they will require a credit card and identification, and I doubt a bribe will be appropriate in such a case.”
“I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to take the train either,” Natalie remarked. “I don’t have my passport.” She looked at her brother. “Do you?”she asked. He shook his head no.
Uncle Julien pulled a large wallet from his jacket. “Oh, don’t worry about all that. I’ve got any travel documents we might need with me. While we were still at Richard’s house, I saw your passports on Richard’s desk and took the liberty of pocketing them.”
Natalie and her brother looked at their uncle in amazement. “Surely you couldn’t have foreseen our need to flee the country?” she asked with incredulity.
“No, I did not imagine we’d be running from blackmailers,” he said, rubbing his chin, “but as I told you before, I felt something was amiss when we left Richard’s house the other morning. I retrieved both the manuscript and your passports. I took the necessary precautions one would expect in an emergency situation, and as it turns out, I was right!” he finished smugly.
Natalie smiled. “It’s our instincts protecting us again. Uncle Richard was right in telling us not to underestimate them.”
“Too bad his own instincts didn’t urge him to flee like we have done,” Calvin remarked bitterly. “He’d still be with us, if he had.”
“Richard was never one to run from a fight,” said Uncle Julien. “In fact, he relished a good brawl. It’s why he joined the Navy.” Julien shook his head sadly. “But I agree with you, Calvin. He should have protected himself better, even if it meant he had to go on the run. He shouldn’t have given his own life so little consideration.”
“Well, in any case,” Natalie added, “I don’t think we should be flashing around our passports any more than we need to. There must be a way to get to Paris without leaving a trail of official breadcrumbs.”
“I have an idea!” Calvin cried suddenly. “Couldn’t we pay someone to drive us there? That way we wouldn’t have to use any identification.”
“An excellent idea, my boy. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, and I doubt we’ll have to pay if I call on my good friend Kieran Beaulieu, the man I spoke of last night. I’m almost certain he’ll be amenable to spending a day or two in Paris with us in exchange for a ride there.”
That settled, they returned to their suite to change. Julien called his friend and they were subsequently invited to dine with him and his wife. “He’ll pick us up here at 7:30,” he told his niece and nephew, after hanging up.
“What luck!” Calvin said cheerfully. “A home-cooked meal!” He rubbed his stomach in pleasant anticipation of gastronomic delights to come.
Natalie shook her head at her brother. “You’re always thinking with your belly,” she said playfully, and poked him.
~
At precisely seven-thirty, the front desk rang up to tell them a car was waiting for them in front of the hotel, and everyone descended the lift in their new finery. Uncle Julien examined Natalie’s outfit and smiled. “Cherie, your style is beginning to grow on me, though I think very few women can get away with wearing the things you do.”
Natalie was sporting black-and-white striped leggings with a long red shirt worn as a dress over it. Cinched around her waist was a Moroccan leather belt encircled with silver medallions. She’d bought some Campus boots as well, because she thought they would go with anything.
Calvin complimented his sister, saying, “I think you always look smashing, but I don’t think I can be so adventurous in my tastes. I’d feel too conspicuous.”
“You’re adventurous in your own way,” she told her brother. “I don’t know many people who run around the Serengeti with lions and wildebeests.”
Uncle Julien smiled warmly at his niece and nephew, reflecting what charming young adults they had turned out to be. “My brother did a superb job raising you children,” he told them unexpectedly. “Your parents did right in choosing Richard as your godfather. If I had raised you, you’d probably be spoiled little jet-setters by now.”
“I doubt that, Uncle,” Natalie assured him. “Your morals are much stricter than Uncle Richard’s in lots of ways. You may be more free with your money, but you’re infinitely more civilized.”
“That’s true,” Calvin added. “Uncle Richard practically let us run wild, so long as we did our schoolwork and chores.”
“I most certainly would have enrolled you both in boarding school,” Uncle Julien said, teasing them. “And definitely catechism.”
“Yikes!” Natalie yelped playfully. “Close call.”
A black Mercedes waited under the awning in front of the hotel, with a handsome gentleman in a black wool pea coat leaning on it nonchalantly, arms crossed. When he saw them emerge from the lobby, he rushed forward to greet them.
“Julien!” he cried. “It’s been far far too long!” Kieran Beaulieu kissed Julien on both cheeks and embraced him warmly.
“Kieran, monami, what catching up we have to do!” Julien introduced them, and they shook hands enthusiastically.
“I’ve heard a lot about you both. Julien is one of the proudest uncles I know, and has told me how singularly brilliant his niece and nephew are.”
“Oh dear.” Natalie turned a little pink at such extravagant praise. “Uncle Julien is too kind, as well as biased.”
“Nonsense,” Kieran returned, “I’ve read two of your books, Natalie. And I’m also very familiar with Calvin’s efforts in Africa. I admire your commitment, both of you.”
They mumbled rather embarrassed thanks and stomped their feet, trying to warm them. The night had turned frightfully cold and the air smelled as if it might snow any second.
“Well,” Kieran said briskly, “let’s get in the car where it’s warm. I have a delightful meal prepared, and I’m starving!”
“I’m all for that,” Calvin replied with readiness.
Kieran drove them through the streets of Calais and towards the Place D’Armes. When they passed an ancient stone watchtower, Kieran explained that the monument dated all the way back to 1302 and had miraculously