I''ve had quite a conundrum on my hands. Well, an Andith conundrum anyway. RL is just... a mess right now. But that's all very boring so I won't go there. Back to my point, I have two stories brewing right now in Andith world. There were three but I managed to merge my thoughts on two of them and create a wicked twist in one. Both stories are in the works and I've been itching to post. So then the obvious question is which story to begin posting. This one is a bit father along and I have a clearer idea of where it is going so this was my choice. I'll try to post at least weekly but I make no promises.
This one is different for me. I don't think I've ever written Andith in the modern world. I've had to stretch some facts to make the plot work in the parts that are already written, so I hope you'll just go with it. The first chapter is really more of an introduction that I hope will hook you. Anthony's job was inspired by the bit of trivia that he was actually considered as a candidate for Bond once upon a time.
Anyway, happy reading...
Anthony Strallan knew who he was and what he was. With his light hair, fair skin, and mild mannered disposition he'd been called vanilla more than once in his lifetime. The one thing that stood out about him, besides his height, was his striking blue eyes. He'd used his eyes to his advantage in his younger days, attracting the young ladies with them and then losing their attention with his lack of wit and style. It seemed he almost always became tongue tied in the company of beautiful women. He'd only managed to get past all that once in his lifetime when he'd met and later married Maud. But she was as lack luster as he so it hadn't really surprised anyone when the match was made. Other than Maud, his success with the opposite sex had been dismal until …
Anthony had just arrived back in London after spending the latter half of the summer at his estate in Yorkshire. Locksley wasn't as grand as it had once been and wasn't nearly as grand as its immediate neighbor, Downton Abbey. But then, there weren't many estates in all of England that were as grand as The Abbey. Still, Locksley suited Anthony and had done so for generations of Strallans, dating back farther than he cared to think about. It was his hide away, a safe haven of sorts, his favorite retreat. But now he was back in the city, back to his life and his work in London.
His work was one area where being vanilla had its advantages. Although his height and his eyes had gotten him into trouble on occasion, his ability to fade away had served him well for the most part. But that had been when he was in the field. Now that he was over one branch of the organization, he needed to be more visible. That was the part of his job that bothered him the most, after a lifetime of being a wallflower.
He sighed as he entered the building knowing that Grace, his assistant, would have a long list for him this morning. After all, the head of his particular branch of intelligence should have an eye and an ear to everything that was happening and being in the country had made that more difficult. On the other hand, if he was to be effective in his job, he needed the time away. But it always meant a full plate when he came back.
"Good morning Grace," he said to his assistant as he strode through the door to his office suite, maximizing the advantage of his long legs. "I trust all is well?"
"Sir Anthony, so glad to see you back," she said with her customary smile that had little warmth.
"Yes well, judging by that stack of mail on the corner of your desk and the thickness of the folder in your hand, I'm not so certain I am glad to be back," he quipped as he made his way past her desk and crossed into his office.
Grace, of course followed him, as all good assistants do. "Yes, right. Would you prefer to begin with the post or the list of phone messages? And then there are the notes from the meeting that took place while you were away and Mr. Sinclair wishes you to stop in sometime this morning. Oh and, Dennison is just in from Arabia; he'd like a word with you as well."
Anthony smiled at Grace's term in referring to that part of the world; it was as if he should expect Lawrence himself to come visiting. He dropped into his chair, sighed again, and then waved his hand at Grace. "Start at the top, I suppose."
Most of the post was dealt with quickly. There were a few pieces that would require more attention and Anthony stacked them neatly on the corner of his desk to be dealt with as his day allowed. The phone messages were varied, some more urgent than others and two more stacks formed on his desk. "Call up to Sinclair's office and see when I might be able to slip in. In the meantime, where is Dennison?"
"He should be back by now. He was here earlier and I sent him on an errand. I'll just go and check. Shall I send him in if he has returned?"
"If you must," Anthony replied as he picked up the top paper from the post and began reading. He lready hated his first day back.