The Phoenix
Part I
Chapter One
6th May 1897, London, England
The sound of the clock on the mantelpiece was the only thing the broke the silence in the comfortable living room. There was a beautifully carved wooden fireplace where flames lit up the room, the carpets were accurately laid and looked absolutely elegant. The furniture looked comfortable and showed the comfort and relaxation that the room could provide and would ultimately make anyone feel at home.
A man sat in one of the armchair's by the fire staring up at the many books crammed into artistic carved bookcase. He looked to be a man of wealth with his neatly trimmed brown hair as well as moustache, he wore a grey suit which was accompanied by golden buttons and didn't seem to have anything out of place.
He smoked a cigar as he sat in silence; he could hear footsteps above him and could hear screaming being muffled due to the heavy wooden floors above him. His wife had been in labour for hours and he couldn't help but be nervous as his first born child was in process of entering the world especially since him and his wife had been trying for a long time.
Finally the screams stopped and were instead replaced by the cries of a new born baby echoing around the house. The door to room opened and a man with grey hair and wearing a smart black suit complete with a grey waistcoat entered.
"Mr. Harkett, you have a son sir" the man informed
Edward Harkett put down his cigar on an ashtray which sat on the table next to his armchair, he gave a sigh of relief and his mouth broke into a beaming smile. He walked forward and shook the other man's hand causing him to be a bit surprised as it was not considered proper for an upper class man to shake the hand of his servant.
"Thank you Thomas, now show me my son" he replied
Thomas led Edward up the stairs to the houses master bedroom where they knocked before entering. The first thing they saw when they entered the room was a beautiful woman lying on the bed, her red hair draped across the pillows and in her arms she held a beautiful new born baby.
"Alice" Edward said
The woman looked up at him and gave him a lovely smile, her eyes were a beautiful emerald green and Edward still had trouble believing that she was his wife. He walked past Mrs. Cole who was the housekeeper; she was a short woman with curly grey hair.
"Edward meet your son" Alice said passing the child wrapped in a white blanket to the father
Edward took the baby into his eyes and watched as his son slept peacefully all tired out after his journey of birth. He looked back at Alice and gave her another beaming smile, she smiled back but she looked exhausted.
"He's perfect" Edward whispered with a smile
"We still need a name for him" Alice added
Edward walked over to the window his eyes not leaving the face of his new born son until he reached the window. He looked up at the sky to see the stars that were present; he then looked out across the city of London which was visible from the window.
"When I was a child, my father used to tell my brother and me stories about William Wallace. He was a man who defended the Scottish against the English; he was courageous and heroic and is still considered to be a national hero of Scotland today" Edward explained
"William, I like it" Alice said with a smile
Edward smiled at her and then looked down at William again, he had high hopes for his son and he knew that he would grow up to do great and incredible things. Edward himself was a member of the British Parliament and also a former soldier. He hoped that maybe one day William would follow in his footsteps.
22nd December 1911
Soon William was joined by his younger brother George who was born in 1899 and his little sister Elizabeth who was born in 1904. The Harkett family was a well-respected family in the upper class society, with Edward Harkett as a Member of Parliament and Alice Harkett who was a well-known suffragist for Women's rights.
So on a cold December day twelve year old George Harkett was running through the streets that hosted the market near Bedford Square, he was running as fast as his legs could carry him and finally stopped when he entered the market. There were many people going about their business and paying no attention to him, he began to ran again searching everywhere.
He ran past an office building and stopped dead at seeing the boy he was searching for kissing a girl up against the wall of the building. George hurried over and stopped as the couple continued to kiss.
"William"! He shouted.
Fourteen year old William Harkett pulled away from the girl he was kissing and turned around to glare at his little brother. George took a nervous step back from his brother's glare.
"George, what do you want"? William demanded
"Mother and Father will be home soon, Mrs. Cole sent me to get you" George explained.
William just shook his head and turned back to the young girl who was watching the scene before her, she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. William stroked her cheek with his thumb which caused her to blush.
"Sorry about him, he has a talent for interrupting people" William said making sure George could hear him.
The girl giggled as the embarrassed George hung his head at his brother's teasing; William gave the girl one more kiss before he started to walk through the market as George hurried after him.
"George I swear you were born to be nothing more than a nuisance to me" William said harshly
"But I was sent to get you" George replied
"I don't care George, I was in the middle of something very important" William responded angrily
George didn't speak after that but just followed his older brother through the market; they walked through the alleyways until they exited into Bedford Square. The square was one of the most famous ones in London and was well known for housing the rich and famous.
They walked through the park in the middle of the square passing many of its residents out walking with their children or walking their dogs. William continued to one of the many houses where a black door and a big gold knocker with a Lion's head greeted them.
William knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes until finally the door opened and a short elderly woman opened the door and glared at the two boys.
"Where have you been"! The woman shouted
"I just out for a walk Mrs. Cole" William replied in defence
"I swear one day you'll be the death of me William Harkett"! She yelled
William just rolled his eyes as she moved out of the way to let him pass, George followed him into the hallway of the house. Many paintings were hung along the walls, each painting was of a male in military uniform; these were the Harkett ancestors.
William and George didn't look at the paintings as they passed, they continued to the comfortable living room where their mother and father sat in the comfortable armchairs next to the fire. Alice was knitting a piece of clothing while Edward was reading the London Herald newspaper.
They looked up as their sons entered the room; Edward put the paper down and smiled straight at William. George smiled but his father did not pay any attention to him, nobody else noticed that as a young woman walked into the room holding the hand of a little girl.
The little girl ran and hugged William as soon as she spotted, however William pushed the little girl away. She looked crestfallen at his behaviour; however George walked forward and placed his hands on her shoulders in comfort.
"Not the time Lizzie" William said not looking at her
George hugged her and glared at his older brother, William had never been the kind and supporting older sibling he should have been. Edward nodded to the young woman who had bought Lizzie in and she nodded back.
"Thank you Emily, you may go now" he said
Emily the maid exited the room leaving the Harkett family to have its privacy, once the door was closed Edward nodded to Alice who pulled out three parcels and handed them each to her children.
The three of them each took the parcels and opened them to reveal two new suits for the boys and a lovely red dress for Lizzie. Edward and Alice smiled and then instructed their children to sit.
"Now you three as you are aware we will be having our annual Christmas Eve party on Saturday and this year there will be some very important people coming" Edward explained
"Who father"? William asked
"This year the Prime Minister is coming along with his wife"
William nodded and smiled at that, he knew his father was trying to make stronger ties in the government and being on good terms with the Prime Minister would create more benefits for their family.
"Who else father"? George asked
"Winston Churchill" Edward replied
"Who's that father"? George asked
"He's the First Lord of the Admiralty, you're so stupid" William snapped at him.
George just hung his head once again, Alice gave her son a sympathetic look but Edward failed to notice as his eyes were firmly on William. It was obvious that William was the favourite child in the eyes of Edward.
"So now that you have your new clothes I want all three of you looking your best and want you all to be on your best behaviour, especially you George" Edward said finally looking at his second son.
George nodded and then hurried out of the living room and up the stairs to his room, Edward and William started talking about the political figures which will be attending the party, however Alice and Lizzie knew that George needed them right now and followed him up the stairs.