18: THE DRUMS OF WAR

 They had returned to Philadelphia in time for the celebration of American Independence. The story of the event's foundation bothered Evelyn, as she was British. But the music, the bunting, the loud songs and parades, and all the joy that brought forth in that celebrating helped heal her physically from the long winter, sad spring, and voyage home, and it also helped relieve her of the emotional pain of the loss of her father.

Since almost the time of nation-building, Philadelphia had been wrought with racial tensions against blacks, both free and those from the South. It was part of the North but was close enough to the South that Southern sentiments were always just below the surface.

Also, there was the eternal spectre of religious animosity and even hate. The elitist founding fathers, the Pilgrims, and most early settlers were proud and staunch Protestants, Methodists and Episcopalians, and hardworking German Lutherans, and none of them welcomed the predominantly Irish Catholics now flooding onto America’s shores 

This led to a long, drawn-out period of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic riots. In Philadelphia, various gangs controlled their neighbourhoods, and violence was a widespread occurrence. A group from one set of blocks in a neighbourhood would taunt and fight other gangs. These fights often led to vandalizing properties and even firebombing businesses. And that only further complicated things as fire brigades were privately owned and usually controlled by gangs of one particular nationality. One neighbourhood would not assist another area if the fires were in their enemy's land.”

Most of this divisiveness was eliminated, and the
Issues were resolved with the Act of Consolidation in 1854, which expanded city control over Philadelphia County and reorganized police and fire brigades under one central control.

 

After just two years of returning from England, Jonathan and Evelyn moved beyond the city's western edge to an area known as Penn Valley. Evelyn resisted this move, but it was necessary as they were becoming quite well known in the old city, and this would grant them some leeway in distancing themselves from anyone who may notice their continuing youthful and unchanging appearance.

Country life agreed with both of them. Evelyn was reminded of her youth in the Lakelands district in England, and Jonathan raised and rode horses. He garnered quite a reputation for thoroughbred Arabians.

Over the next few years, Jonathan’s stud farm and breeding business was booming as both the Army of the United States needed more horses to ensure a strong westerly drive to the Pacific Ocean and the fulfillment of the dream of American Manifest Destiny. The idea was that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. President Andrew Jackson first mentioned the notion of Divine expansion, but the term was attributed to an Irish-American journalist and lobbyist, Jane Maria Eliza Cazneau.

The second point of interest concerning his wealth was the demand for horses to move settlers to the West and make that dream a reality.

During that time, Orlan Marcano often visited Penn Valley. He was now an industrialist in the ironworks industry around Richmond, Virginia. His small firm manufactured only two products, which would be vital in the next decade: steel for the spikes used in constructing railways in the South and high-quality steel for rifle barrels.

During his visits to the North, he always boasted to Jonathan that he had ridden up to Pennsylvania on steel created in the fires of his forges, that Jonathan’s horses were all out west, and that they would soon be rendered obsolete in the age of the Iron Horse across America.

On his visit in the spring of 1861, he brought his second wife up to Penn Valley to meet Jonathan. For the previous five years, he had a tall brown-haired wife, Ophelia, whom he recently divorced and sent off to San Francisco with a large packet of money and her dignity intact. He then immediately married the blonde, Adrianne.

The Authentic had requested, or more aptly, forbid him from turning any Standard into a Devi. So, he gladly accommodated her wishes and decided to entertain a new wife every five years or so. 

As the evening weather was unseasonably warm, they all sat on the veranda, discussing the day's subjects, primarily the secession of the Southern states from the Union.

When in the distance, the sound of pealing church bells could be heard. This was unusual as it was a Monday, and none of the churches held events or services that day. The date was April 15, 1861, just three days after the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter. The bells were calling for an assembly of locals to hear the news that President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling the state militias to increase to 75,000 troops to suppress the rebellion. He appealed “to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honour, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union.”

The war no one wanted and was almost avoided seemed to be at hand.

Orlan and Adrianne set out the following day to return to Virginia. The station was full of Southerners heading north and Northerners heading south. If there were to be war, it would divide the nation and pit state against state and brother against brother.

There was no formal declaration of war, only an escalation of raids and minor provocations.

In the weeks following Lincoln’s call up of more militias, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee seceded from the Union. Lincoln then called for an expanded army. The war's first significant battle happened during the second week of June 1861.

The main road between Philadelphia and the state capital, Harrisburg, passed adjacent to his farm. He opened up his paddocks for travellers to stable their horses and ran a coach line into the neighbouring city with five-eight-person covered carriages. Still having the freight wagons from the dry goods store, he ran a haulage company down to Wilmington, Delaware, and then north to Trenton, New Jersey.

With the war effort underway and materials needed, the Union Army requisitioned St Croix’s horses and his freight and haulage company for a fair market value. One-third of the payment would be made immediately, followed by small installments over the next five years, and the remainder as a single payment within six months of the cessation of hostilities.

With no recourse, he accepted and appointed the long-established London law firm of Baxter, Narrows, and Tyrol as his agent.  

As the arrangements were made, he and Evelyn sold the land and prepared to move on.

 

17: SIR CHESTER

But that was all to unfold in the future. On the Fourth of June, St Croix and Marcano set sail for Marseilles and then trained northward to Paris. They had received a request to enlighten the Authentic on the workings of Constantinople.

“Jonathan, it is wonderful to see you again so soon. And you, Orlan, it is always interesting. I was disappointed to hear of your failure with the Russians. Well, I apologize. It was not your failure as much as that of the intransigent fools in St Petersburg. We are without any presence there, or not one of value. Last winter, there was a food riot and several attacks on merchants and the gentry. Three Devi were lost, and we have not been able to adequately employ new individuals with credentials to associate with those close to the throne. You two are exempt from consideration as you are now known entities there.”

“My Authentic, could it be that we stand back for this soon-to-be conflict and allow the fates to dictate the outcome?”

“Why, Marcano, do you think that would be a course of action? We have always observed war and wars from the field and given sway and influence. This is one of our traditions.”

“Begging your Grace’s pardon, the world as we know it is not the world we knew. Countries and kingdoms undergo less change; Monarchs live longer. The world is getting smaller with railways, and the seas are smaller with steam-powered iron ships. Telegraphs in countries like America spread news in minutes, not days. And even the breach between the new world and the old may soon be closed as I hear that interests in England and North America think that a cable for telegraphy could quickly be in place.

The world could be joined, and news and information could be shared momentarily, the length of a thought.

 It is more difficult for Devi to travel between locations. Perhaps, and I only say this as your servant, maybe the age of hiding we have had for so long to be ourselves is coming to a close. There are very few places like the land of the Ottomans where we still have universal safety; perhaps we should involve ourselves more in making nations than we already do?”

“Brave words, Orlan, brave words indeed. If this were 1200 or even 1500, I would have you flayed. What you said would be treasonous against who we are and, more importantly, what we are.

But I understand what you are saying. The times they are changing. I have seen this and felt it being exclaimed by others. Some, by some, I mean a few, have expressed similar sentiments. In the last century, we have seen the Standards change science, religion, thought and the world more than they did in the previous thousand years. We may need to change, and how that will happen and where it will lead. I do not know, but now is not the time.

I have seen much—perhaps too much—but I am not too old to keep our ways.

Perhaps in the next few years, I should call for a conclave of the Colettes to hear their opinions and views. Although I am the Authentic, I can listen. But that will be then and without any bother from you two.

As for you two, Orlan, I wish for you to go to goods in their southern states. We will provide you with the means. Jonathan, you desire I would gather to continue to England and reunite with your lovely wife, rescue her from her father, and return to Philadelphia. Europe may be at an age where she is tired. America is a nascent dream.”

If you two wish to stay the evening, I can have Isabel arrange your meal and set your accommodations.”

Both men agreed, and at the meal, they were joined by no one but their thoughts.

“Oh my God, my darling, I have missed you so much. I love you. It has been almost six months, and I think I have grown to love you more over your absence.”

“I love you too, my sweetheart; let us get you into the manor.”

Jonathan had forgotten how deceptive Harwood’s estate, ‘Elmvale’ was. It had a narrow profile, and trees flanked that facade. Behind those trees, two long wings ran away from the observer, and then, on the far end, the two wings joined again. It was like a long elongated “O.” It was very much unlike other manors and estates across England and Europe, which always present an imposing width.

“Jonathan, I am so glad you are here and have not been delayed. Further, Father’s health has taken a turn for the worse. He was out doing spring riding when the horse slipped, and he took a dreadful fall and rolled down an embankment into a small creek. Fortunately, he had a riding partner who could assist and return him to Elmvale.

He asked me to bring you to him as soon as you arrived. I believe he fears he does not have much time.”

Sir Chester lay in a massive canopied bed. The large posts were carved with cherubs, dragons, and birds, all intertwined in long leaves vines. The room itself was heavily draped in purple velvets and white silks. The floor recreated a Roman mosaic, and light entered the room through a massive stained glass window depicting scenes of knights slaying dragons and castles with jousting pageantries.

“St Croix, my son, I have always loved to sleep. I even believe that both sleep and dreams are the finest state a man can reach, so I have indulged myself in a sleeping chamber worthy of that highest of endeavours.

Come here, sit beside me. I have willed myself to remain on this Earth until I can speak to you again.”

“Yes, Sir Chester, I am here; do you have some wisdom to impart, or are you seeking an answer?”

“Questions, not one but a few. My daughter, your wife, Evelyn, has told me a lot about you and your kindness. As well as how the O.T.I.D. served you and how, in turn, you support us and our Earthly goals. I wish to know how and what you have granted my daughter. How it works and what she can expect.”

Jonathan recounted a brief commentary on the Devi's origins to his father-in-law. Then, he discussed being sustained in life by the emotional joys and grief of others.

“When a man dies, there is a power that both leaves the body and remains present. Some may think of this as a soul or as a form of life energy.

We can see this: a faint yellow or white glow. If someone is ill, that glow appears flickering. And when an individual dies, that energy fills the room and beyond.

This, we believe, is a life force that is not used. Using the Christian Bible as a guide, Psalms 90:10 says, ‘seventy years; and if because of strength, they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.’

 If a man is destined by fate, nature, or the grace of the gods to live to reach the age between 70 and 80, and illness, accident, or war cuts him down beforehand, that energy, those unlived years, must go somewhere, and it is we, the Devi who can use those years. If a man were to die in my arms at age fifty, I would, in all cases, gain a few of those years, but perhaps 7 or 9 or even up to twenty. And if I keep myself in good health and avoid accidents and war, I will live out those years. 

We do not seek the death of others, nor do we kill out of malice, spite or self-service. We can see life's energies and use the years that others lose.

The same is true for joy, but we use it differently. Joy heals us. It removes illness and plague from us. If Evelyn were to have a distemper or a fever, she would recover quickly if I brought her to a joyous event.”

“Well, young man, you will not gain any vigour from me when I pass. I have lived longer than my allotted time. But I thank you, in a way I cannot understand, for this unusual gift you gave my child.”

Within a week, Sir Chester passed. His death was attributed to consumption. His lungs and breathing were weakened by his fall from the horse into the cold waters, and then it spread to take over his body.

Having only one child, Evelyn, the estate passed into her name. Before returning to America after a brief grieving period, she, adhering to legal form, sold the estate to a purchaser. However, that was a ruse to cover her offering it to Devi, to be used as another waystation in Devi's cycling worldwide through the ages. 

The “purchaser” was the son of a Swedish business magnate in the shipping industry and his wife.  

16: THE OTTOMAN

 As soon as the ship arrived at the quayside in Haydar Pasa, a carriage and a troop of the Sultanate Guard met it.

Abdülmecid was said to be a mild-mannered monarch. He was an active reformist who introduced many European ideas and technologies into the Empire. His hope was twofold: first, to modernize the Empire.  and second, to forge a friendship and bond with the great powers of Europe. He was educated in Paris, spoke French, and was interested in literature and classical music.

Four days after their arrival, St Croix and Marcano were granted an audience with the Sultan. He asked his guests if they wished to converse in French or Arabic. They deferred to his power and authority and replied, "Arabic."

“Gentlemen, I have spoken to the envoys of France, Prussia and The Austrians, and they all say that war may be imminent with the Czarist forces to my north.

Alexander wants to exert more freedom, which means controlling the Dardanelles and Bosphorus. He also wishes that I proclaim his Eastern Orthodox Church, the rightful protector of all Christian sites in the Levant, which are now under French Protection.

We cannot fight his forces alone, and since the crisis a dozen or so years ago, we have not been a great power.

Gentleman, I know that you and others have helped the Empire and the occupants of the Topkapi Palace for a very long time.” 

Both of his European guests knew that those occupants, although often wary of outsiders and foreigners and even those within their own families, had always trusted the Devi.  It was even known that the long lines of the Sultan were aware of the longevity of the Devi. Mehmed II constructed this agreement for Devi's assistance with information and tactics, which led to the Ottoman ‘liberation’ of Constantinople and the end of the Eastern Roman Empire. As part of this, in exchange for that advice and counsel, the Devi were free to live anywhere in the Empire and granted protection.

“We are here to serve and advise you as best we can, your Excellency. We live by the pact of our forefathers,” Marcano spoke softly.

Pointing at St Croix. “Are you the envoy here on behalf of her graciousness, the Lady Victoria? Are you not?” Before Jonathan had a chance to answer, the Sultan continued. “The rolls in the archives say that you had met Mehmed I? Is that true?”

“Yes, your Grace, that is true. I vaguely remember that time, but I was here for that siege. I had met with the Exalted Mehmed often, and he unworthily credited me with the idea of the construction of a road of greased logs across Galata, which bypassed the Great Chain of the Golden Horn, and the defeat and destruction of many Genoese ships.”

“Where did you get such a marvellous idea as a road to draw ships across?”

“I do not know how I knew of that. But it was in my memory, a part of that I can no longer recall. Since then, I have found out that the Vikings, Norsemen, or those the Palace here employed and called to be the Varangian Guard employed a similar tactic in a raid on Paris.”

The Sultan brought his hands together, forming an arch with his fingers. “Strangely, the Byzantine rulers and the Italians were not aware of such a tacit, as I am; it was noted in European histories.”

St Croix agreed and added, partly to appeal to the Sultan. “Your Empire is greater in size than all of Europe, and Europe is divided and often fighting against each other and their brothers in faith and others of differing faiths. There are a dozen kings and kingdoms, and there is no unity. Here, one-man rules all of your Empire, you, your excellency, under one flag and one faith.”

“You appeal to my vanity. I may be thirty, but I have learned that being blinded by vanity and one’s opinion is an excellent way to meet with a scimitar wielded by a friend or a family member. 

After being dismissed, the two felt like they were under house arrest. They could go almost anywhere in the palace and throughout the city, but they were always accompanied by at least two guards and four when in the city. They thought that this was unusual until an attempt on the life of a French diplomat occurred.

During the first few days of March, all the events of that week would turn the world, or at least Europe, on its head.

On March 3, Menshikov arrived in Constantinople with demands to see the Sublime Porte or the Ottoman Porte, the Court of the Sultan.

The Russians insisted on private negotiations with the Sultan. France and England advised against meeting that demand. Nonetheless, talks ensued through secondary parties in short hallway conferences and walks in the gardens.

The tensions and fear throughout the city were palatable to both Devi. There was also an air of uncertainty and, with others, a sense of buoyancy. The city was the crossroads between Europe and Asia; every diverse cultural group had a different hope for the future.

Talks began with difficulty and stalled until the third week, when Menshikov suddenly began to be more than receptive to all points of view and all parties. April was looking like a promising month. For most of the month, compromise and honest negotiation began on all fronts. The Russians now wanted to deal with all matters as independent issues without linkage or quid-pro-quo. 

With news of the progression of the talk leaking out of the palace, a group of Moldovan nationalists attempted to kill several Russian officials and attack a pro-Russia print shop, killing two people. Taking this as an open provocation, the more militant in the entourage with Menshikov once again pushed for a more aggressive and pro-Russian outcome of the talks.

On the 21st of May, Menshikov broke off talks and returned to St Petersburg. Ten days later, Russia delivered an unworkable ultimatum to the Ottomans.

A week after that, an English fleet approached the Dardanelles, and a month later, Russia invaded Moldova. Turkey declared war on Russia in the first week of October; six months later, on March 28, 1854, France and England, standing by the Ottomans, declared war on Russia.

15: ORLAN MARCANO

The train service to the city was faster and more comfortable than the trip south to Philadelphia. It had been a few years since they had been in New York, and it seemed much bigger and louder. They noticed outside the train station that there were men poorly dressed, not quite beggars, as these men were active. However, their activity was to aimlessly walk about wearing placards stating things such as “The End is Nigh” or “Repent,” or the one that caught Jonathan’s eye: “Unnatural men and demons are walking among us.”

Jonathan reached into his pocket purse and gave the man two fifty-cent coins—perhaps more money than the man had seen in weeks. 

After twelve days at sea, not the ten days they had expected, they disembarked in Portsmouth. It was not an easy crossing, as the spring weather made the seas rougher than anticipated.

They went ashore to spend one night together before Evelyn took a train to her father’s estate, and Jonathan crossed the channel for a longer ride from Brussels to Ljubljana, where he would take a short overland carriage to Trieste and then a ship to Constantinople.   

“Father, I missed you so much. I love you, and I am so grief-stricken that I was not here for Mother’s passing. I hope that you will forgive me. It has been too many years.” Hugging her father, she could feel that the years had taken away much of his vigour and strength. She was shocked at how much he had aged in the last few years.

“My dearest daughter, I love you and have missed you so, but I have been told that the circumstances that have kept us apart have been unusual. I know that, but I do not understand any of it. My eyes may be fading, but my mind is as sharp as ever, so I believe you look as young as you did the day you married your beloved.”

“Yes, Jonathan sends his love and regrets. He would have loved to see you, but it seems his duty calls.”

“Your letter said that he was off to see the Ottomans again. He does have quite a connection to those people, and after all these years and living in America, he finds himself still in the employ of the Crown. Strange, yes, strange indeed.”

After a short rest to refresh herself, she joined her father for a late supper.

“Father, what do you know about Jonathan and who and what he is? In truth, there are no secrets between him and me. I know of your meeting with him at the Church of Magnus the Martyr, and you know well of our fateful trip to Dublin and the Stokers. So, what do you know of Jonathan.”

“I only know what the man has presented himself to be. A traveller, a merchant, somewhat of a diplomat, and the man who saved my daughter’s life in some manner and stole her and carried her off to the Americas.”

“Do you know much of his diplomatic ability and past?”

Harwood hesitantly raised one hand to touch the O.T.I.D. pin on his lapel.

“Yes, Father, I know of the O.T.I.D., and I understand to a degree what it is and how it works, and that my husband is a member of that group and the group which it assists,”

“He is a Devi! The man is a Devi, and I had no idea. I do not understand exactly what or who they are, but I would have encouraged your marriage to him sooner.”

Evelyn was taken aback. “Father, I beg your pardon. Encourage our marriage sooner? What do you mean?”

“When I was in the House, I had hoped you would marry a man of note and stature. I was a bit dismissive and wary of you marrying a merchant. But I had no idea he was a Devi.”

Evelyn turned a brilliant shade of red and was on the verge of throwing something across the room or at her father. Until Sir Chester added, “I knew he was a good man and would be a good husband to you. It was only my vanity and my delusions of being able to control your life. You are a strong and independent woman. You are and always be my little daughter, but you are an adult and woman, and I am a selfish old man.”

“No, Father, you are not a selfish old man; you only wanted the best for me, and that is the best thing a father can want for his daughter.”

 Harwood reached across the table and said, ‘I am sorry I said that, and I will love you forever.”

“I love you too, father.”

Throughout the evening, Evelyn relayed the events in Ireland to her father, downplaying the severity of her injuries and points about her ‘recovery’ in Wicklow. She briefly mentioned meeting a woman in Paris with an active lineage of European royalty back before Charlemagne.

Her father was very interested in the issue of the continuance of barbaric slavery in America and very much enjoyed the stories of both their involvement in the Underground Railway in their efforts to assist runaway slaves to become freemen. He commended her if she had helped one person achieve freedom; it was more in the eyes of God than all he had done with his life.

“Evelyn, if I may ask, what can you tell me of the Devi? I hope Jonathan would not mind or that he will allow you to speak of them.”

Evelyn felt a bit rankled at her father’s use of ‘allow,’ but she understood from where her father spoke.

“To be concise and to the point, the Devi are an old organization that, many years ago, thought it best always to have communications between various crowns and thrones as well as empires and kingdoms. Within the last one hundred years, during the campaigns of Napoleon. They ensured good conduct between Russia, the Austrians, the Spanish, the French and ourselves. As well as during the Seven Years' War or the so-called French-Indian Wars in America. Dialogue was maintained between Paris and London. Even when the American colonies rebelled against us, the Devi helped negotiate and resolve the troubles.

There is the French term ‘eminence grise,’ or Grey Eminence; we call it the ‘power behind the throne.’ Perhaps not power, but a robust set of advisors and councils operating secretly and unofficially.”

“You have done well, my daughter; I always knew you would be special.”

Later, the conversation turned to reminiscences, life in London and her mother.

Over the next several weeks, Evelyn lived like a queen on the Estate, doing as she pleased. She enjoyed the mid-winter air and the silence. She felt like herself, even going to the point of ignoring Jonathan’s advice to not go to London. She did heed his warning about frequenting the same shops and areas she had years ago.

Although Jonathan was always foremost in her mind, at times, almost forgetting that she was a very different person from who she was the last time she was on the estate. After a while, she realized why she was so free and happy and felt so liberated: no people around her, no seething masses overwhelming her senses. And she realized that concerning her senses, with her sight, hearing, and sense of smell all being heightened, life in the country was raising her response to a level of almost religious ecstasy.

Jonathan departed Portsmouth to travel by rail coach for six hours to Folkestone, leaving England for France. The channel crossing was surprisingly calm for the winter conditions.

In Folkestone, he joined the South East Railways boat train service to Boulogne-Sur-Mer and continued to Paris. Then, he would travel south to Lyon and Turin in Italy and finally through Venice, Austria, to Trieste.

 

In the dining carriage, south of Lyon, perhaps halfway to the Italian frontier, he thought he heard a familiar voice; as he turned, he was greeted by the sight of his older former travelling companion, Orlan Marcano.

 

The Spaniard grabbed him with both arms and hugged him, almost lifting him off his feet. “I do not believe I have seen you since Havana, except for that brief encounter thirty years later in Tripoli. That was indeed a close call. We did not know the Barbary pirates were that good with cannon shots. It was a good thing I was there to save you.”

“Indeed, that was close, but we have always had luck, and I believe I cut your binding to set you free outside of that camp.”

The Spaniard waved to the steward and ordered a bottle of wine. “Let us not quibble over details. Dare I guess why you are on this train? Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov?”

“Yes, we have a notice that the Czar is sending him to meet and make demands with the Ottomans. Demands that are unfit to the needs of Her Majesty at this time. As well as the ambitions of this new Emperor, Napoleon III, and his proclaimed Second French Empire. My life seems always to be a literal crossing of swords with some little Kremlin toad.”

“It was Alexander the I who caused you grief with Napoleon. He was a bit of an unkempt Czar. This new Czar, Nicholas I, seems much more reasonable and may be able to keep the peace in the Balkans.”

Jonathan looked at the glass of wine before him. “This wine is red, like the blood I saw on the battlefield against the Russians. I hope it is not a harbinger of what is to come. And another point of melancholy, I fear that there will never be peace in the Balkans.”

“Enough talk of war and death. Jonathan, what did you need to leave London with such a dispatch? Do not get me wrong, I enjoy the trappings and social life of a gold exchange merchant, but to leave in such a hurry, why?”

“Love. I left for love.”

“So, Jonathan, you are a fool. Our kind cannot truly love in the way others do. We should not love. For those we love are always left behind; they grow old and die, and we move on.

“Not this time, my friend. My beloved is one of us. In a moment of tragedy, I turned my wife, and she is one of us.”

“What indeed. What have you done? Does the Authentic know of this? What am I saying? The Authentic knows everything. Did she banish you to the Americas? Is that why you left London?”

“Oh, no, my friend, that is not the course that events have followed. Evelyn had an event in Ireland. I acted in haste, and the Authentic summoned us.”

“You met with the Authentic, and what, did she also meet with this woman, your wife?”

“Yes, in her apartment for a few days in the autumn of that year. It was all very unusual, but then with the Authentic, what is normal or natural?”

“That cannot be true. There are rules; there are protocols for her. The Authentic has never met with any Devi under one hundred. You are jesting with me?

“No, Orlan, I speak the truth, as the truth of our bond. We met, and dare I say, we even laughed and shared a simple meal. I was surprised by what the Authentic said about protocol, but enough was said about that. The Authentic told Evelyn that she saw and felt something special about her and did not even know what that meant. And that was pleasing to Evelyn, but to me, it was unsettling. As you say, the Authentic knows everything.”

“Jonathan, I must meet this woman of yours. And maybe I should ask. Does she have a sister?”

After hours of talking and boasting of personal exploits, they retired to their berths for the evening, only stopping at the Austrian border. The guards were thorough, checking all the travellers' passports with names on lists they carried. They removed three individuals and a family of four from the train; the family's father attempted to protest, and the guards had little issue with removing the man with force.

When inspecting St Croix’s and Marcano’s papers, they appeared flustered and called their captain to look at their documents. He looked at them, handed them their papers, and apologized for any inconvenience or delay.

Marcano looked at Jonathan. “I believe that the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs have made concessions towards one another and that the Sultan will welcome us and our assistance?”

“We have always served their interests, and they, ours.”

The train steward and porters ensured that both men received the highest meticulous service standards for the rest of the trip to Trieste.

Once onboard the ship at Trieste, they would travel almost 1,200 miles to their destination, although on a globe, the distance was only three-quarters that of the land route, which would take three times the time.

The smaller ships they were on would have better speed, but they would call in ports more often, from Trieste to Pula, Split, Durres, Korfu, Corinth, and finally, Athens. Then, a long dash across the treacherous Aegean to Bozcaada, Canakkale, Gelibolu, Marmara, and finally, their destination. It sounded like a list of cities visited by St Paul, but between the two men, they had visited most of them with their travels. 

14: PHILADELPHIA

 New York was louder and brighter than London. The buildings, though not of stone, seemed more robust. Although London had more than two million inhabitants, New York seemed larger despite having less than one-quarter of the population. Everyone moved faster and was in a more urgent state of mind. Jonathan mentioned all this to Evelyn and asked why she thought that was the case.

He was surprised by her answer. New York is new and alive, like a youth, full of vigour and strength. London and the Old World are not necessarily more sedate. Perhaps the Old World moves slower because it is old.

Their stay there was brief, and they boarded a train from the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company. They shared one of the luxury carriages with half a dozen other travellers. They had hoped their journey would be uneventful, and for the most part, it was, except for a delay in transit due to several cows on the track in the area of the quaintly named town of Spotswood.

They were met at the train station and taken to their new residence on Delancey Street. 

She interrupted his narrative, sat up beside him, and looked out across the sea. For a moment, she had more vigour.

“Cows, I had forgotten about the cows. Such a strange first memory of America.” She said, slowly reaching up and brushing Jonathan’s face with her hand.

“My dear, indeed, it was an adventure. Then, with all that we did, my printing business and you tending to the house and working with the abolition movement.

We were two of the leading members of polite society for a short time; for others, that was an adventure. I believe that was when the mayor, who was it Swift… John Swift wished for me to enter politics. Our plan was for twenty years, but then came the war.”

“It was, as Collette said those years ago, that we do not start wars, but war finds us.”

“My dear, do not talk. Save your strength, and I will continue. 

Forcing her words, she looked back at the sea, “No, John. The story you told has, in a manner, revived me, although we talked of the past very often. I remember Philadelphia for the music; every park had a bandstand, and every neighbourhood had a theatre. The weather was wonderful, and I saw my first snowfall, a real snowfall with cold and ice. I loved that until I did not.”

She coughed with a hard, cracking sound as she tried to laugh. Jonathan wiped her face with two fingers, where a tear would be if she could cry.

“Evelyn, we did many things those first years. We did find so many new things in what you call the rebel colonies. A phrase you gained from your father’s father.

We spent fifteen or more years in America, witnessing the awakening of a new empire. With all the land, resources, and drive, America was the land of hope. Its size and weight were beyond anything the old Kingdoms of Europe could have envisioned.

The expansion of their railways into the west. A journey that would have taken many weeks or months was then done in days with those iron giants. The news of politics, war and victories, shared across the land by telegraph and the power of iron-clad ships driven by steam, drove their economy.

Then shortly thereafter, from sea to sea, Boston to San Francisco, almost equal to the distance from Paris to Moscow, could be travelled in five days. Napoleon could not have imagined such a wonder.

There were many Devi there, in America, A new life in a new land, able to blend in and move about in the expanding American nation. But we left just as another war began over slavery and money.

You tried to help, and you think you may have helped many. I recall the hugs and tears of those fugitive people who were finally free. You said you felt their warmth and energies, and I think that if they had known how their energies and joy affected you as they did, they would have granted you more.”

Another weak smile crossed her face, “Back then, you, Collette, and others had only mentioned the power of pain, but I felt so much of the power of joy of those people being set free.”

“We sailed off and left as the war between the states and between brothers began. I am glad you mostly remember the joy of that time and not the power of loss.”

Throughout her first few years in Philadelphia, Evelyn stayed busy aiding the Underground Railway, which moved runaway slaves to safety, organizing small private clothing drives, and raising funds. Working with Quakers and other white sympathizers, she found them a source of a great deal of positive and forceful energies.

Johnathan often found himself working late in the print shop. His primary sources of income were for Pennsylvanian political propaganda and anti-slave information, along with freedom articles and pamphlets of what the southern states called ‘inflammatory rhetoric.’ The money made from this endeavour was more than satisfactory in maintaining a standard of living that they both enjoyed. Any excess funds were sent off to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to the ‘American Collette’ to aid in transferring the identities of the Devi, both entering and leaving both the United States and British North America to the north.      

After 1850, the introduction, passage, and implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act allowed slave catchers to pursue their quarry into free states, and it removed other protections freed slaves had enjoyed, such as safety from arrest in states that had passed personal liberty laws, such as Pennsylvania. 

This new law increased their involvement as it required considerably more effort. The abolitionist movements railed harder against these injustices.

Slave-catchers now also enjoyed the blessings and assistance of the federal government. The law further stipulated that people caught housing, feeding, or helping freedom seekers faced fines of up to one thousand dollars or six months in jail. In Philadelphia, many of Evelyn’s friends and associates quit the movement. Johnathan had made it known that he would no longer be aiding the abolitionists to avoid any federal charges. However, he secretly printed the notices and an anti-slavery newsletter, as he had bought the building adjacent to his print shop. A dry goods store with a large secure stone cellar. The cellar was capable of holding a printing press. The pamphlets were moved out of the store in sacks of flour and sugar.

In further aid to the cause, Jonathan owned three large wagons that often transited to and from the store. The wagons had hollow spaces in the cargo decking planking that could accommodate a person hidden beneath the cargo.

  Fear grew among the free black communities that they could be arrested and sent into enslavement in situations of mistaken identity or even out of spite or revenge. In a cruel twist of irony, the federal government forces had rented out a floor of Independence Hall to use as a federal courtroom, jury room, clerk's office, and U.S. Marshal's office. The fugitive slaves often awaited their hearings, sometimes waiting for days, detained in the Marshal’s office. 

A year earlier, a Baptist preacher, Reverand William Jackson, upon hearing that one of his parishioners had been arrested and was being held in Independence Hall, organized a group of men who then stormed the Hall and rescued the man. The liberators were disguised as women and dressed in clothing provided by Evelyn. On the second night of his release, the parishioner spent the night in Jonathan’s secret workshop, waiting for the Marshalls’ office to assume that he had made his way out of the city. He eventually made his way safely to Canada.

Life for both had settled into an uneasy routine, not between themselves but with those around them. The political divisions and partisan nature of the issues of slavery and the direction of the national economy were beginning to divide not only the country but all the elements of higher Philadelphia society. At this time, Jonathan received a note from the American Collette in Plymouth.

His services were required for the interests of Devi, and just after the start of the new year, he was to leave for New York and embark on a three-week journey to Constantinople, where he would remain for several weeks before returning to Philadelphia.  

“Why Jonathan? Why now?  We are in America, far from the petty problems of Europe and even further from the issues of the Turks. Why now? It is so far.” Evelyn almost pleadingly was asking Jonathan.

“My love, why I must go there, I do not know. I only know that I have to go if the Devi need me to deal with the Ottomans.

Do you recall the day I met you, or as it was, when you met me in the church of Magnus the Martyr? I assisted the Crown by discussing Ottoman matters with Abraham Stoker.

I shall not be gone more than three months, and as I have been called, the matter must be vital for us all.”

“But what am I to do? You will not be here. I will be lonely.”

Jonathan walked to her, placing his arms around her. “You have wanted an opportunity to return to England; this may be a good time.?

“But what of my family there, my acquaintances there, I have not aged a day in fifteen years?

“Recall the evening of the day we met. I dined with your family. Your father wore a lapel pin with a distinctive red lion. It is the symbol for a group of men, a special and secluded group that dates back to Elizabeth in England. The group is called the ‘Orbis Terrarum Imperium Sub Deo’ or ‘World Empire Under God.’

They are facilitators, or perhaps you could call them a bridge between the Devi and the world. We assist them, and they help us. Your father is a member of this organization.”

“What are you saying? My father knows who we are.  What we are??”

“No, he likely does not, as he is only aware that the Devi are a group. He likely does not even know our name. But he does know that we are an old, powerful group, and in England, we are traced back to the great John Dee. The astronomer, researcher and by some accounts a great magician.”

“A magician? Do you want me to believe in magic? I am not a fool or a child.”

No, my love, you are a long-living person, perhaps an immortal, with gifted strengths and insights. You heal from wounds quickly, you never get ill, and you are immune from all manner of fevers. And you thrive on the fears and loves, the guilts and pleasures of others. So, of course, I do not think you should believe in magic.”

“Why have you never told me about the O.T.I.D. or whatever? Why did you not tell me about my father’s involvement? How many other secrets are you keeping from me?”

“I am not keeping secrets. The matter was never of any importance before now. There are many layers to the life of a Standard, and there are many, many more times when you are Devi.”    

Why a name like the ‘Orbis Terrarum Imperium Sub Deo’? World Empire Under God sounds like an unreasonable goal and impossible expectations.”

“I would assume that if the Devi were to appeal to influential people and those in power, the name would aid in their acceptance and participation the higher and loftier the goal.

Devi means goddess, a term used to describe a female deity in Hinduism. The motto does not define which god or goddess; people see whatever they want to in the inclusion of the word ‘god.’ As I may have mentioned earlier, Collette is a name of French origin that means "victory of the people."

So, as I said before, everything has a hidden meaning in terms of power and authority.

You should post a letter to your father about your visit. We do not have to leave for New York until Tuesday after next, so we have ten days of company for one another.”

 

13: THE AUTHENTIC THREE

Many years ago, we did have children in our communities. As those communities were often far from trade routes, roads and other cities, the children would grow and mature and age. Our practice was to keep the newborn away from outside influences and emotional feed sources for the first twenty-five to forty years.”

“What, you imprisoned children for half their lives!”

“No, of course not ‘imprisoned,’ we just kept our young isolated from the outside world. And as for half their lives, that is nonsense. You are looking at things as a Standard would look at life. Jonathan here is at least four centuries old. The first thirty years of his life are only a fraction of what he has lived and will live.

I am twelve hundred years old, and 30 years is a sliver of my life.”

Without asking if they wanted more wine, the Authentic filled their mugs.

“We did this to prepare the young ones for their long life. They were taught multiple languages, various arts, songs and music, skills and trades and all the life crafts they would need to walk about the world. The Standards, in essence, lock away their young for more extended periods. With schools and learning, if privileged, more schooling at places like Cambridge, Oxford, or the University of Paris is needed. And then we say, ‘Young man, you are prepared to face the world.’ And that is after they have spent perhaps one-third of their lives being prepared. We only prepare our children for less than one-tenth, or one-twentieth, of their lives. So, in that way, you should not see us as villainous.

In some cases, if we can sense something with an individual or young adult, we adopt or take in as wards or bring in foundlings and raise them as our own. In the distant and not-so-distant past, we had brought individuals, and if any had proven themselves worthy and up to the tasks and rigours, we would reborn them and set them out into and onto the world.”

“You bought slaves?”

“Slaves, serfs, peasants, indentured servants, call them what you will, almost at once we granted every one of them freedom. Because a man cannot flower, bloom, and reach their full potential under either heel or threat.”

Jonathan interjected. “Evelyn, as I have told you, we do not seek power, but often we influence those in power, and just fifteen years ago, we worked in the shadows, and that is how The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 was moved through Parliament. We had no voice in the chamber but could whisper in many ears.” 

Alpaida continued, “Now, perhaps a full one-half of our number are ‘reborn,’ like yourself. And at your similar age. You can cut or change your hair, gain or lose weight and alter your appearance to age for a generation before moving to a new life.

Jonathan, tell your wife how many languages you speak and what skills you have?”

“At least nine, maybe ten languages. I have not used some for many years. And as you know, a goldsmith, banker and diplomat. But I have also been a cooper and a wheelwright. I have sailing skills. I have been both a brewmaster and a vintner. A butcher and farmer. And many times, I have been a soldier. I can adapt, and I learn.

As the female Devi has the gift of being aware in contact with other females over distance, our males develop a skill of learning crafts and trades, languages and arts at a seemingly accelerated rate.”

“Milady Collette, I have found this to be an amazing set of stories and a more amazing narrative. Well, since I have been in your presence, I feel more honoured, and I hope I am worthy of being a Devi and shall do the honour and justice.”

“That remains to be seen, and I will be watching you from afar as I sense something in you and the bonding between you and Mr St Croix.

But I must bid you adieu and ask you to leave before Isabel comes rushing in thinking that perhaps you have throttled me and have escaped with all this wealth.”

As they were leaving through another door, Isabel entered from the throne area and said, “Madame, you have matters to attend to this evening.”

Then they heard the Authentic regain her composed stature and say, “Yes, with this life, there are duties others cannot attend.”

Back in their chambers, Matheu was waiting for them. “It has been requested that I relay two messages to you. The first is that whatever the Authentic has said to you in her chambers, you are not to share that with any Devi. The second is that you are to move out of here immediately.

Arrangements have been made for your new accommodations, and you will find many francs there. Transit papers for America, a letter of introduction and such. It also includes a collection of trunks of clothing and items that would appear to an observer as personable belongings—papers of ownership for various properties in Philadelphia. Travel to Saint Nazaire is being completed as we speak, and you will be sailing on one of our ships from there to the port of New York. You will likely leave for Saint Nazaire in two days.”

Awaiting outside the Rue de Conte door was a classic three-horse-drawn Fiacre, which took them to their new location, the Hotel de Vendome. This was a little ironic and humorous to St Croix in light of their upcoming travel to America, the hotel as, until a few years earlier, the edifice was the official Embassy of the Republic of Texas.

“Jonathan, how can the Authentic accomplish so much in such a short time? We have not even been in Paris for a full day, and we have all that we need, and I am sure we have things that we would never have thought we would need.”

“Her organization is vast, resources are unlimited, and with aided communication, all is possible. That said, She or we as a group have contingency plans and existing stock of wares and materials for all events and circumstances.

I am sure there will be a price for all of this. At some point in the future, someone or some people will knock upon our door, as we did with Abigail O’Leary, and we will have to extend all possible aid and assistance to the needy party.

With that sort of tit-for-tat reciprocity, the benefits far outweigh the required duties.”

12: THE AUTHENTIC TWO

  “Damn, I hate the confines of protocol. I may have created some of the madness, but I did not act soon enough when more was added and then more. In the end, A never-ending set of rules and responsibilities is nothing but "fumée et miroirs" and "une grande illusion."

People are always asking me to do this and that, to fulfill their needs and wishes, to cover mistakes, and to help with whatever they require. I am just a woman. I was not born for this job and did not ask for it or its responsibilities, but that is fate.” 

Jonathan was unsure what to do or say, as all of his former dealings with the Authentic had been curt, official, polite and without any sign of the Authentic being vulnerable or showing any vestige of emotional humanity; she was always distant and aloof.

Isabel and Jonathan warned Evelyn not to react to anything said and only to respond when directly requested. She was trembling. 

The Authentic looked at them partly in shock, firstly because of what she had said, and partly in awe that she had created fear in others by the power of her authority.

“Jonathan, who is this young woman?”

“Authentic, her name is Evelyn Harwood-St Croix, and I…”

“No, be quiet… you lady, who are you, where are you from, what should I know of you? Why are you here, or why do you think you are here?”

Evelyn looked at Jonathan and hesitated. 

“Young lady, damn it, I asked you questions, and I would like answers before sundown.”

Evelyn regained her composure and more. “It is like this.” She then gave a brief history of her birth and family, her life in England, and a concise report of everything that transpired after her first encounter with St Croix.

“There, that was not that difficult. Come with me behind this stupid chair and through these curtains, and let us talk. You will be the first non-household staff member here since, well, I guess Louis, before he ascended to the throne. That was a time to be alive.”

Neither of the guests asked which Louis. They just let her continue.

“Great Authentic, do this and do that. No one has called me by my name since the Crusades. I cannot recall which one; it may have been a later Crusade, but it was a Crusade.”

Jonathan looked at her. “The Crusades?”

“Yes, that is just what it feels like. Centuries!”

Evelyn looked at Jonathan and then the madame. “Is your name not Collette?”

She laughed. “No, dear child, that is part of the title.” Collette is a name of French origin. It is a diminutive of Nicolette, a feminine derivative of the Greek masculine name Nickolas. Its meaning is “victory of the people.” The Authentic is a title, meaning the True or leader of all the Colettes.

So, I am the True leader taking our people to victory, and I do not know what that means.”

“But my lady, you have always led us, and we all look to you and the other Colettes for answers.” Jonathan dared to inject.

“Other Colettes?”

“Yes, Evelyn, a Collette. Well, other Colettes are regional leaders and appointees during times of crisis.”

“What is your name?”

“Alpaida, not the queen but of the same family. My father, I believe, was Pepin of Landen. I was a bastard daughter. I had two half-sisters, Gertrude and Begga. You may know of Gertrude of Nivelles. She is the patron saint of Cats.

Begga, her older sister, is also a saint. I think she is my younger sister and the grandmother of Charles Martel. He was the first of the great Frankish kings, and Martel was the grandfather of Charlemagne. I avoided that pious distinction by becoming Devi and fled Metz and the Frankish lands at an early age.

Unlike most other Devi, I was cursed with a much greater ability to sense others. I was recognized for that ability, and the myth of the Authentic Collette was born.

“You are twelve hundred years old?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“But you can recall all that and remember all your earlier lives. Jonathan says he cannot recall anything from the past four hundred years when he thought he had become Devi.”

“Another part of the curse that I do not care about is that I remember everything: everyone and every face.

“And Isabel? What of her?”

 “She has travelled with me for a long time and is, or was, a daughter of one king or another. The Holy Roman Empire was not all that “holy,” nor Roman or an Empire… but assuredly not ‘holy.’” 

Collette led them through a heavy curtain and opened a plain but ancient wooden door, indicating they should enter. As they walked by her, she said, “This is who I am, and I have this room to keep my connection to the past and keep a connection to myself.”  

Unlike the appointments of the last room, this space was shockingly… the only word Jonathan could think of was ‘decrepit.’ Evelyn almost began to back out of the room.

The walls were bare, and the wood was weathered in many places. Other planks looked heavily lacquered. The floor was a mix of uneven slate and other stones, patched with crumbling mortar.

To one side were some roughly hewn cabinets. Above those were small stacks of pewter or wooden bowls. A straw mattress was raised slightly off the floor on two timbers in one corner. In the center of the room was a heavy-set table and three mismatched chairs.

A crude desk and rows of neatly arranged books and journals were displayed on the opposite wall. On the wall above the desk was a small window with a thick woollen drape pulled to one side. Other than the weak stream of outside light, the only other light source was two candles on the table.

“I want you to look at this. This is from where I came from and where our kind came from. It is the fabric of who we once were and still are. Madame St Croix, you may think this is not where a fine English lady like yourself has roots. So, I ask you, ‘How did your father’s, father’s, father live? Was he born and bred into the lap of luxury and with fine linens? Or did he smell like cow shit and reek of his urine?

I have seen peasants rise well beyond their birthright and become chevaliers, Barons, Lords and Kings.

 Likewise, I have seen monarchs and kingdoms fall.

Two things that unite us all are piss buckets and death.”

She threw a log on the burning fire in the corner opposite the bed.

“I may be speaking frankly and directly to you, but that does not sanction you to talk to me on familiar terms or imply that we are of equal status. With a mere thought, I could have people rush into this room and kill you. Your blood would add to the filth here

Why this room, why do I have it here, and why does it look as it does? It is close to a replica of where I first lived after leaving Pepin’s palace in Austrasia.

Come. We will sit at the table, and I will tell you, woman, what you need to hear. And I will pour you some wine, France's poorest efforts of her grapes.”

They sat at the table, and the Authentic poured out three large amounts of wine, which was not a good wine but not nearly as bad as they feared.

She spoke of the early days of her life. “It was much easier for the Devi to blend in with the Standards and how, with most Standards living for forty-five or fifty years, there was no problem moving to a tiny town or city a day or two away and not being seen by anyone from your former residence. Then, to another city, and in a generation or two of Standards, you could return to your original town. Now, with the bureaucracy and the rising powers of nation-states, with censuses and tax rolls, the ability to move and to settle quickly is no longer an option.”

Because of that civility on progress, she suggested a methodology for the Devi to thrive and prosper in the light of society and gain leverage over their affairs. 

“Jonathan, there was a gold merchant until recently, and now the Spaniard Orlan Marcano has bought the business. Another Devi bought Marcano’s enterprise, and another bought his. This affair and all these transactions should not have happened for another five to seven years. But that is the way of life, nothing as planned, especially with the young. The Latins had an apt phrase: Dementia Praecox, the insanity of youth.

I believe Philadelphia would suit you two. It is new, industrious and we have an opening in the newspaper business. Is there anything you need to know or want to know?”

“What should we call you in this room?”

“Alpaida, as I am addressed in this room, young lady, but say it respectfully and keep your questions brief?”

“Alpaida, how could you accomplish all of this in such a short time since my accident? Such a short time ago and off in Ireland.” 

“I assume your loving husband has not fully explained a Devi. We take our name from an ancient goddess from the Hindu faith in India. Perhaps that is where we first lived. Devi is considered one of the most powerful beings in their pantheon. She is often depicted as having many names, faces, talents, and tasks. And that trait, or those traits, suit our kind well.

She is a warrior who kills demons, which ties in with the derivatives of Nickolas, Nicollette, and Collette.

But to answer your question about how I or we knew, Devi is also known as the embodiment of female energy, and all Devi women develop an ability to hear and sense one another. We can communicate over distances, not by words or phrases, but by sensing ideas, images, and situations. So, I was made aware of this state of affairs almost as it happened.”

“Jonathan mentioned that he could feel others nearby. Is that the same thing?”

“Yes, but no. We believe it is the same sort of thing, but the female power is a thousand times more. Speaking of your husband here, did he mention what could be called our feeding or lust?”

“He had mentioned the need to feel great pain, love, or other emotional sentimentalities.”

“Yes, we grow and live and thrive on the feelings of others. We feed empathically, and it is not like we cause pain, eat flesh or drink blood. We feel the sorrow or joy of others, which feeds and refreshes us like the sun fed the grapes that made this wine. Perhaps using these grapes as an analogy is not the best representation of our identity.

We feel the grief of a mother as her child dies, and if one or two or three of us are there, we all feel the energy. It is not as if we all would take in one-third of that woman’s grief, but like the grapes on the vine in the sun, they all take in full measure.

One person's joy or sorrow may fill a room this size. The energies of a carriage crash, a family lost in a fire, a great wedding, or some grand event may be felt at a greater distance. We use the energy of sorrow differently than the energy of joy.

The man who travelled here with you, Matheu, was in the Great Fire of London, and the pain and loss there may have nourished his being for a hundred years or more. The emotions and loss were so great then, even here in Paris. Although we could not see the flame, nor could they even be closer as in Normandie, we could feel some slight tinge of fear and loss during those days of September 1666.  

We are creatures of pain and love. We try to cause neither, and yet we often gravitate to the land of wars and the fields of conflict. Your Jonathan was with Napolean and, as I mentioned earlier, in a rebellion in the lands of New Spain, and his first recollections were of the fall of the Second Rome, Constantinople.” 

I am in France, a land of many wars and fabulous love. For myself, La Révolution and the Reign of Terror was fraught with danger, but in my soul, regardless of how I felt in my heart, I felt like I was held in the closest and firmest embrace of the gods, and in every part of my being there was a great warmth.” 

Jonathan looked at the Authentic and then to Evelyn, “Yes, Evelyn, I mentioned that to you in a way, but you may not have understood it as you may have still been suffering in an ill manner to the abuse that was served upon your head. When we arrived at the O’Leary’s home in Wicklow, she shortly met with some other local female Devi to relay our plight here to Alpaida.”

“Alpaida, if I may ask, why are all the Devi, or at least the ones I have seen or met, all about the same age? They all look like they are near or just under the forty years of age mark. Some older, some younger. Are there any children?”

“No, we no longer have any Devi children, or very few, perhaps 12 or 15, in the last two hundred years. The problem with children is the same as the need to move and hide in plain sight. We do not age; you can understand how that would be problematic for a newborn. 

11: THE AUTHENTIC ONE

 Three days later, Jonathan, Evelyn and one of the young men from Abigail O’Leary’s household boarded a small schooner. The man remained reticent to any conversation other than saying his name was Matheu.

The ship flew a flag unknown to Evelyn: a blue field with a chalice and stars. Jonathan informed her that it was the ancient flag of an old kingdom in Spain, Galicia. Since the recent suppression of an independence movement, a few small ships flying the Galician flag have been transporting materials and goods that certain persons may have wished to avoid paying an excise tax on. In the Western Mediterranean and all along the coasts from North Africa to Ireland, these ships also smuggled people for a fee. 

The captain, who by his appearance seemed like he would be a most unaffable man, treated them with the greatest of dignity. He bore a tattoo of the same flag on his right forearm. 

For three nights, the ship tossed and rolled on the Celtic Sea and the western waters of the English Channel. The sky was grey, and the cold mists and fog often joined the water and sky as a single colourless wall.

St Malo was a moderate-sized town, almost a small city, with about 10,000 souls. It was a fishing town, so it smelled like one. Evelyn was unaccustomed to her heightened sense of smell and was almost sickened by the stench. Matheu helped Evelyn off the ship and tended to the group's possessions as St Croix left the dock to make arrangements to get to Paris.

It was three hundred miles to Paris, and if the weather did not turn foul, they could complete the distance in five days, six if the weather worsened.

Along the way, Matheu rode with the driver, and the two passengers made the best of an unpleasant situation.  

Along the ride, St Croix explained to his wife various ways she would need to adapt to society.

He said that with the fish smell in St Malo, she should breathe through her mouth, not her nose, and in such situations, she should take tiny, shallow breaths with her teeth closed until she was accustomed to being Devi, that she should wear a broad-brimmed hat to keep the sunlight at a minimum and gloves to lessen tactile responses. Throughout the days, he regaled her with short stories of his good and bad exploits. She was starting to believe him. Partly because his stories seemed too fantastic to be fiction and partially, to a greater extent, because she loved him, but that love did not stop her from raising an eyebrow at some of the points he mentioned.

 They had been making better time than they had expected. This was because they took a longer route on better roads: southeast to Le Mans and then slightly north through Chartres to Paris.   

On the fifth night, at nightfall, they arrived at their destination: a four-story apartment block on the Rue de Conte, just north of the Luxembourg Gardens in the Odeon.

A woman of indeterminable age met them at the door. Her countenance was brisk, stern, and abrupt, but she had gentle eyes and raven’s black hair drawn back into two buns on the back of her head. She exuded an air of sophistication, tinged with a touch of resignation.  

“St Croix, you and the woman go to the third floor. There are two baths set out for you. Also, there is a small repast for you afterwards. Clean nightwear and clothes for you to meet the Madame have been laid out. You shall meet her precisely at Noon. Matheu, you know what you must do. So come in, be silent, and do not leave your room.”

The room was spacious; it was more like an apartment. Outside from the street, it seemed to Evelyn that the building looked like any adjoined rowhouse one would see in London. But a number of them must be interconnected on the interior, as the hallway they walked down was quite long.

Their baths were in separate large, ornately decorated tubs, the interior of which was red porcelain. Both appliances had a side table stocked with a stack of towels and linens. The meal was more than a repast. She expected cheeses, crusted bread, and a bottle of wine when she heard the word. But there were a dozen cheeses, cold meats such as chicken breasts and legs, dried fish, slices of beef, noodles, bread, fresh berries and cakes. There was a bowl of apples and smaller bowls of sweet cream pudding—a choice of aperitifs, three carafes of differing wines and a decanter of brandy.

The bedclothes were brilliant white silk with a slight embroidered pattern on the hem and collar. The clothes they would wear the next day were quite formal. A black suit with tails for Jonathan, and for her a long red dress with a low-cut front, which was filled with a delicate lace infill, and to her surprise, the dress had no back. It would expose her from her shoulder to the small of her back, which precluded wearing any undergarment on her upper torso.

After the litany and diversity of the exceptional events of the past three weeks, both of them were asleep moments after pulling up their covers.

Breakfast was no less of an affair than their evening meal. They had bread, croissants, an array of fruit, steamed crushed oats with clotted cream, cold chicken, and a strong black tea.

They watched one another disrobe and redress for meeting the house matron. Evelyn had scores of questions running through her head. Still, she refrained from asking Jonathan any of them, as Isabel, the woman who met them at the door last evening, had told them again not to make any unnecessary noise or conversation. And when looking at Evelyn said. “Remember, speak only when spoken to. The Authentic will explain everything you need to know, as you may need it.”

They were taken to a broad staircase leading to the fourth floor. Then, they were taken down a long hall with floor-to-ceiling windows on one side and a large mirror on the opposite wall. This created the effect of walking outside and high above the street. At the end of the hall were massive wooden doors inlaid with gold cherubs and flying horses or Pegasus.

Isabel barely touched the doors, and they summarily silently swung open.

Ferns and large exotic plants filled the room, interspersed between large marble columns of gold-veined white marble.

Birdsong filled the space, from the soft coos of morning doves to the sharper and louder squawks of Caribbean and African parrots.

Two-thirds of the way down the room, a woman sat in a large throne-like chair, the gilt work on which shone in the sunlight from the massive overhead skylight.

The woman that Isabel called the ‘Authentic Collette’ was a woman who appeared just a few years older than Evelyn,

She had raven-black hair, dark to the point where it seemed to show flashes of a deep wine violet or a midnight blue. Eyes were as dark and deep as the blackest coal. Above the eyes were thin, highly arching brows that perfectly matched the arch of her cheekbones.

A long, delicate, perfectly ‘imperial nose’ and small, well-shaped lips completed the lower half of her face.’ 

She was dressed in what looked like an open leather corset over top of a long deep violet robe, which bore a slit up one side. This allowed her to show off her very long, perfectly shaped legs. Evelyn, for a moment, was stunned by what looked like ink marking on the outside of her upper thighs, similar to the ink marking on primitives of the Pacific Islands that Evelyn had seen in illustrations.

The only adornment she wore was a matching deep violet choker on her neck, which was adorned with a pendant containing a ruby almost the size of the end of a man's thumb.

Isabel stopped before her and lowered her head in a sign of respect. Jonathan and Evelyn also lowered their heads. Isabel walked off to one side, and the couple remained where they were. 

“Jonathan St Croix, I have not seen you since you came to the city with a troupe with that young Bonaparte gentleman. When he established the Directory with all of his problems at the horrid mish-mash of a dream of an Empire. Yet, here you are with a ‘Bachcha’; you only visit when there is an issue.

Orlan Marcano will be acquiring your London Exchange. You should recall him from Vera Cruz when both of you needed to be removed because of the failures in the Siege of Havana.

You will have a choice between Syracuse in Sicily and The American town of Philadelphia. Either way, I hope for your Bachcha that she likes trying new types of food.

Recently, with London, Paris, St Lucia, which we will not mention, and Mexico and Lisbon, you have become quite an adventurer.  You are not the most confusing or difficult of my charges, but you are one of the most colourful, and of course, I love you dearly.”

Evelyn let out a small giggle at those words, drawing a rebuking stare from the Authentic and an “Ahem” from Isabel standing in the wings.

Jonathan, once again, lowered his head toward the throne, and Evelyn immediately did likewise.

The Authentic reached over and picked up a glass of amber liquid, presumably brandy. She held the glass with the stem between her middle finger and thumb and slowly swirled the liquid. She stared at the glass for what seemed like an eternity to all in the room.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she tossed the glass toward Isabel, and the glass smashed at her feet. “Leave me now!”

The startled woman walked towards Jonathan and Evelyn.

“No, I said to you, leave me.”

“But… madame, I…”

“Now, leave. While you are still in my good graces.”

The older woman bowed her head and walked silently and swiftly to the door.