Page 20 of A Family Of His Own
Both were certain. Both were resolute and sure.
Slowly, she nodded. “All right.” Briefly, she returned the pressure of Adrian’s fingers, then slipped hers free and looked down at Rupert the Bear. Now that she’d made her decision, her mind started to function with something approaching its customary efficiency. “Let me get my sewing kit, and we can resecure the dispatches in Papa’s chosen hiding place.”
Toby silently released the breath he’d been holding. He said nothing as Diana bustled past him on her way out of the kitchen. When she’d left, presumably in search of her sewing kit, he met Fellows’s eyes and nodded in acknowledgment of the man’s help.
Fellows nodded back. Now the moment had passed, he slumped lower in the chair, as if the interlude had drained him.
Leaving him to recuperate, Toby took the oilskin packet and rounded the table to where Diana had stood. The bear lay face down, its back gaping. Carefully, Toby reinserted the packet into the space it had previously occupied, padded on all sides by the thick wadding inside the bear.
Diana returned, and he stepped away and waved at his handiwork. She set down a small bag of supplies, inspected the bear, then nodded briskly. “That’s a good fit.” She pulled out a chair, sat, and drew the bear to her.
While she threaded a needle and started to sew, Toby drew out a chair nearer to Fellows, sat, and started to plan.
After a moment, he ventured, “We need to leave as early tomorrow as possible. That’s definite. If we can get out of the city without being seen by any of our potential pursuers, they’ll have a much harder time picking up our trail.” He paused, then went on, “That said, we have to plan for the possibility that they will, at some point, catch up with us. They may not, but we have to allow for the eventuality—we need to give ourselves the best chance of being able to lose them again. Consequently, whichever way we go, we should select our mode of transport, our route, and intermediate destinations with an eye to flexibility.”
Adrian frowned. “I would much rather you didn’t tell me or anyone here which route you plan to take. While I’m sure the staff would never reveal anything knowingly, an unthinking comment at the market or similar is always possible.”
Toby inclined his head. “In reality, other than our ultimate destination being somewhere in Britain, which route we take is going to remain uncertain until we’re on the very last leg, heading to some British port.”
Sitting seemed to have restored Fellows’s energy somewhat. He nodded almost eagerly. “So, to how best to leave Vienna, then. What are your options?”
Toby listed them—train, riverboat, carriage—and a discussion ensued as to which would best suit their needs, given they would be traveling with children.
Diana’s observations were both practical and sensible. Toby took them as a sign that she’d accepted the inevitable and was, now, committed to the journey.
Nevertheless, it was Fellows who insisted that their safest way forward lay in posing as a family traveling through Europe. “On holiday, seeing the sights.” Fellows looked from Toby to Diana, then back again. “You’re both old enough for Roland to be your eldest son. If Helga goes with you—and I’m sure she’ll insist on doing so—the image you’ll project will be the obvious one people will expect.”
Toby could see that. Slowly, he nodded, then looked at Fellows. “Will the children play along?”
“I would think so.” Fellows looked at Diana. “I suggest that all the children need to be told, at least to begin with, is that you’re taking them to stay with my aunt in England. I’ve already spoken with them about them needing to go there.”
Diana looked unhappy, but Fellows seemed sure. He turned to Toby. “The children already know that I’m dying and that I won’t be with them for many more days. I’ll speak with them and ensure that they’re resigned to leaving with you in the morning.”
Toby couldn’t imagine the emotional strength that would take and was grateful to Fellows for offering to pave the way on that front.
Diana cleared her throat and drew the discussion back to their mode of transportation. “If we’re to travel as a family, what will be best?”
“The train?” Fellows looked at Toby.
He shook his head. “The train’s too obvious and also too restrictive, at least to start with. The same applies to going by river. Once on a boat or train, we’re stuck and can’t step off until the next river port or station.” He stirred. “In this instance, I suspect that, for us, leaving by carriage will be safest, not least because any potential pursuers will view traveling by carriage as the last option I would choose.”
He caught Diana’s eyes. “They’ll assume that once I lay my hands on the dispatches, I’ll make for London by the fastest route, essentially fleeing ahead of them.”
Fellows was nodding. “I can offer you my traveling coach, horses, and coachman for however long you need them.”
“You mentioned a Helga.” Toby arched a brow. “Is she the children’s maid?”
“Yes,” Diana replied. “She’s the maid who was with us in the gardens when you found us.”
“Helga was my late wife’s lady’s maid,” Fellows said. “She’s English and is devoted to the children.”
Toby nodded. “An extra pair of sensible hands that the children trust would be a good thing.” He wasn’t sure he could manage three children with only one other adult for support.
He and Fellows thrashed out the details of coach, horses, and the coachman, Gunter, a local. “When we have no further need of the coach, I’ll send Gunter back here, but I have no idea how long it will be before he returns.”
Fellows waved the caveat aside and turned the talk to funds.
Although Toby assured Fellows he had more than sufficient, Fellows insisted on sending with the children all he had in the house. “For when they get to England. Speaking of which”—as if galvanized, Fellows pushed up from the chair—“I must write you an introduction to my aunt and her household. One to take with you.”
