Usual disclaimers, no rights to any characters portrayed and this is neither the real world nor a Disney Princess tale. There will probably be changes in the first hour or so as I proof read it as well.

They were happy that both weddings went off well, even though Andy's father's attitude had dampened the mood of his and Ellie's a little, but the happy couples didn't have long to bask in their wedded bliss before they all had to dive into the mire of Kathleen's divorce proceedings.

The General who had been offering Uncle Sam's apologies at the two weddings (General Sherwood) had actually been sent to New York by the President to offer the official government testimony for the Barton party, and to ensure that sensitive government secrets were protected. Uncle Sam had only added the wedding apologies to his duties when he found out about the weddings.

They were fortunate with the divorce hearing actually, because not only was the lawyer that Alan Waterman had chosen to engage an overly ambitious hack with delusions of grandeur, he'd also managed to earn the judge's ire right from the offset by opening with a demand (not a request) for an adjournment so that they could get a proper accounting of the assets his client was entitled to.

The judge had just looked at him for a minute before saying. "So your client does not question that there are grounds for a divorce here then?"

Waterman's lawyer looked excited. "Not at all your honour, we will show that there is clear evidence of infidelity on Missus Waterman's part, starting from the time that her daughter's father reappeared! On top of that, she has been denying my client his marital rights ever since these people" (waving at the Barton party) "turned up."

The judge looked over at Kathleen's lawyers as he tried to stifle the response that he craved to give this fool, only to see them smiling almost eagerly at the prospect of tearing this fool and his client apart. He knew these two, and knew that neither of them would take on a case unless they had enough evidence to almost guarantee a win. Indeed, the only times he'd seen either of them lose was to each other. With that, he smiled to himself and addressed Waterman's lawyer.

"Request for an adjournment denied, proceed!"

"But…"

"Denied!"

Waterman's lawyer started his presentation by calling Waterman's friends to the stand to tell the court how Kathleen had thrown herself at John as soon as she saw him when he arrived at the function with his Chinese 'companion'. Sarah saw John's fists clenching when he heard what was being insinuated in the way that they described Mei and Kathleen (and her, Ellie and Hattie for that matter), so she reached across to put her hand on his to calm him, that brought him down from the brink and then Mei took his other hand to settle him.

Kathleen's lawyers didn't break a sweat as they discredited Waterman's so-called 'witnesses', and then they called the General to testify, on behalf of the government, as to the character of those who made up the Barton party, because the other lawyer's case seemed to hinge on portraying them as a pack of reprobates and loose women that Kathleen had abandoned her husband for as soon as they'd arrived in town. Waterman's lawyer was getting increasingly frustrated when every demand that he made that he be told just what these people did 'for the government' was ignored, and his aggravation wasn't abetted at all when the General stopped to say.

"Are you hard of hearing son? I'll try to explain this one for you more time. Colonel Casey here was honourably discharged from the Army after the war and he was made a United States Marshal at that time. Colonel Barton" (indicating Chuck) "was also honourably discharged, with the Medal of Honor mind you, at the end of the war, and he went back to university after that as he was still a young man, being hired by the government once he'd graduated. Major Paterson and Captain Dent" (waving to Tom and Andy) "are currently serving and highly regarded Army officers on a special duty assignment with their platoon. Mrs Barton, Mrs Dent and Mrs Paterson, as well as Miss Kuang and Miss Petit" (waving at Sarah, Ellie, Hattie, Mei and Adele in turn) "are all highly valued individuals working for the government, and that is all you are entitled to know."

Waterman's lawyer turned to the judge and demanded (he appeared to have trouble understanding the protocols of the court, or courtesy, in that he never requested anything, he demanded it as if it was his God given right) that he order the General to tell him what he wanted to know. The judge looked at him with scorn and said. "I believe that the General may have a point, son, there's obviously something wrong with your hearing. He's told you more than once that what these people do is government business and not a matter for discussion here."

"But, what of the fact that 'Casey' there faked his death to desert the Army, and then changed his name so that he could fight for the Confederacy against the United States?"

"You'll refer to him with proper respect, as Colonel Casey or Marshal Casey, or I'll have you thrown out of here! But….." He looked at the General.

General Sherwood nodded. "As for the accusations being made in regard to Colonel Casey's history, all I can tell you, your honour, is that the report of how his troop left after they saw him shot off his horse and presumed killed in the Indian action in Nevada is on file in the Army's records. As for how he managed to get out of the wilderness and across the country after he'd lost everything when he was injured and left for dead with rampaging Indians all around him, I couldn't hazard to guess, because I just can't conceive how he did it. But as far as the war goes, well he would have hardly be honourably discharged as a Colonel from the United States Army and be immediately sworn in as a United States Marshall if he'd been a rebel turncoat now, would he? Other than that, all I can say is that he was definitely working for the Union in the war."

"No. Sorry your honour, that's not correct. I can also tell you that there are official records of Lieutenant Alexander Coburn's marriage to Kathleen McHugh in Nevada just before Missus Waterman's father was killed, and also of her capture by the Indians, the fact that Lieutenant Coburn was refused permission to mount any attempt to recover her multiple times, and the fact that she was advised that he was dead when she was recovered from the Indians after his reported death. I have been advised that Missus Waterman's lawyers have transcripts of all these records here if they are required."

Waterman's lawyer had to admit defeat on that point and went on to what they believed was their strongest argument, that Kathleen had gone off with Colonel Casey to enrol their daughter in school at some undisclosed, secret location, and was suspected of having committed adultery with him while they were away.

When the judge looked at Kathleen's lawyers, he knew from their grim smiles that they had this covered. Once again he smiled to himself, so far this was the most interesting divorce case he'd ever presided over, or indeed witnessed.

Kathleen's lawyers first called the Watermans' neighbours to the stand to describe who it was that they had been introduced to and been informed that Kathleen would be travelling with when she took her daughter off to be enrolled in boarding school. As the neighbours' testimony did nothing at all to help his case (it rather trampled it, actually), Alan Waterman's lawyer tried to misdirect at this point, ignoring the neighbours' testimony and instead trying to portray the Barton party as a wanton group heading off for a few days of debauchery. He also questioned whether Chuck and Sarah were really married, as claimed, and implied that Mei was John's mistress or whore.

That last had John on his feet in a rage, but the judge respectfully asked him to take his seat, before advising Waterman's lawyer to be very careful of what he said, and ordering him to apologise to Miss Kuang for his words in a markedly different tone. When John had regained his seat and Waterman's lawyer had made a half arsed attempt at an apology to Mei, the judge looked balefully at Waterman's lawyer before turning to ask Kathleen's lawyers whether they had anything on hand to address the question of the legitimacy of Barton's marriage, or the other claim? That actually drew a big smile from the lawyers and one responded. "Yes, your honour, do I have permission to approach?"

The judge nodded, but his eyes went wide when he saw the witnesses' signatures on the Bartons' (or rather the Bartowskis') marriage license. He held up the document as he looked at the General.

"General Sherwood, I presume that you are aware of what is on this marriage license document?"

The General nodded. "Yes, your honour."

"So there is no question as to the legitimacy of the document then?"

"None what so ever, your honour."

"And the other matter?" (Referring to the fact that the surname on the marriage license was Bartowski, rather than Barton.)

"Is part of what I am not free to discuss your honour." The judge nodded, turning back to Waterman's lawyer and saying.

"The Bartons have been legitimately married for over a year and no further questions on the matter will be allowed."

The documents attesting to the fact that Mei was in fact a noblewoman from one of China's leading families who had come to the United States to escort her brother (her family's heir apparent) to a well regarded boarding school in New York also had him wide eyed, and he made an abject apology to her for the way she'd been treated in his court.

The lawyer approached the bench (without requesting permission) with his hand out, saying "I have the right to see this so called evidence that has been presented", but stopped suddenly when the judge growled.

"If you take one more step I will have you immediately arrested and locked up. I have no idea how you got to be admitted to the bar, but I can assure you that when this is over I will most certainly be asking that question. I have sighted and confirmed the evidence provided, and that is all that you need to know! Now get back there and sit down before I give in to the inclination to have you locked up anyway!"

Waterman's lawyer next tried to establish that John and Kathleen had had a tryst while they were away. He cited as evidence, reports (mostly from Alan Waterman) that her demeanour had been positively 'giddy' when she'd returned, which allegedly showed that she'd been engaged in some kind of nefarious activities while she was away to make her so.

The judge merely looked at Kathleen's lawyers and said. "Gentlemen?"

They smiled and pointed out that the reason that Mrs Waterman reportedly appeared 'giddy' when she returned could well be attributed to her relief that her daughter was now safe, was being given the education that she deserved at her new school, and was free of the increasingly poisonous atmosphere within the Waterman home. They then called the managers of the hotels in Farmington where the group had stayed, along with one of the maids from the hotel where Kathleen had stayed to the stand.

Both managers presented the hotel registers for the night in question, which showed that Kathleen had been sharing a room with Ellie in one hotel, while John had in fact stayed in another hotel, and reported that the behaviour of the entire group had at all times been quite genteel and respectable.

The maid also testified that the ladies had both been in their room every time she'd gone there.

Waterman's lawyer was obviously about to attack the maid and accuse her of lying, but the judge reined him in with another warning. "Be careful what you say!"

With the judge's barb, and the fact that even he could tell that he was fast running out of rope, he gave up on the approach he was about to take and instead asked whether she'd been paid to tell the court this story.

The girl shook her head. "Oh no sir, the ladies didn't offer me no more than a sit down for a bit, 'cause they said I looked like I were workin' too hard!"

That, and the worried look she shot at the manager of her hotel, drew a few chuckles from the audience, and Waterman's lawyer gave up on her.

With that, the judge asked him whether he was done with making unfounded claims about Mrs Waterman's infidelity. He obviously struggled with giving up on what they'd been sure was their strongest argument, but it was apparent even to him that they'd lost on that point, so he said. "Yes, your honour."

The judge nodded and turned to Kathleen's lawyers, asking what they had to present.

This was where things got saucy, and quite interesting, as they called a steady stream of women (and men) to testify as to just what Alan Waterman had been getting up to for some time now, and about how much money he had been throwing about. Waterman's lawyer didn't pick up on the money issue at all, and gave up trying to discredit the testimonies after the first dozen or so, eventually having to concede that any infidelity within the Waterman marriage had obviously been on the part of Mr Waterman, rather than Mrs Waterman.

With all of his 'best' arguments shattered, he went for the last straw that he thought he had, the exceedingly suspicious way that Mrs Waterman was hiding the location of his daughter (hastily amending that to 'stepdaughter' when he saw that Kathleen's lawyers about to jump on that) from Mr Waterman. He turned with a smirk to her lawyers then but was disconcerted by the wolfish grins that they both sported at that point, belatedly realising that he may well have played right into their hands.

Indeed he had, because this gave them the opportunity to bring up the reasons why Alexandra had been hidden away in an out of state boarding school, which were primarily to protect her from the aggressive and suspicious actions of Alan Waterman.

They opened with the statement that Mrs Waterman and the other parties would take the stand if required, but they had provided depositions to be read out, in hope that Mrs Waterman's upset could be kept to a minimum.

Waterman's lawyer broke in at that point. "What about the daughter, we need to question her!"

For the first time in the proceedings, Kathleen's lawyers broke courtroom protocol as one of them addressed Waterman's lawyer directly, asking "Why?" abruptly.

Waterman's lawyer started stammering that they needed her to corroborate the stories presented, then turned to the judge. "Your honour, we have a right to call any witnesses pertinent to our case, and Mr Waterman's daughter, stepdaughter (he amended when the other lawyer went to speak again) was present for many of these events, so we need her to tell the court what she heard."

The judge looked at him as though he was something he'd just scraped off the bottom of his shoe.

"What, specifically, do you hope to get from this witness that none of the other witnesses can provide? Be very careful here counsellor, I'm going to need to have a damned good reason to drag a child into something like this, and if I find that it was just a ruse on you and your client's part, I'll throw the both of you in jail!"

"She was present at discussions between my client and other parties and we're more likely to get an answer out of her."

"So you're telling me that you want me to order a child to be brought into the court to testify about things that a child should have never have been involved with at all, because you believe that you have a better chance of breaking her and making her say what you want than you do the adults involved?"

"Ye.. No your honour, we need her to tell us what happened."

"Request denied! You'll just have to try and best the adults involved if you want to win here."

"Bu.."

"Denied! Now, can we proceed with the case, or would you rather that I just have the two of you thrown in jail?"

Waterman's lawyer mumbled "Yes, your honour" and the judge motioned for Kathleen's lawyers to proceed.

Kathleen's lawyer said "Thank you, your honour" and moved on to the depositions, starting with the fact that Colonel Casey had been quite unhappy to learn that his daughter's 'education', if it was to be called that, had devolved to nothing more than deportment lessons in what was commonly accepted to be a second rate deportment school, citing the 'school' (which had to be looked up because it was just one of the multitude of cheap, inconsequential institutions in New York). He also pointed out that Alexandra had been forced to leave her previous school, which had quite a good education reputation, due to Mr Waterman's failure to pay her school fees.

They offered a deposition from her previous school's principal to that effect, one which also included a report of what a happy and promising student Alexandra had been at the school. The judge read the deposition, taking note of what school it was (indeed, it was one of the better schools in New York), and shot a disapproving look at Waterman, motioning for Kathleen's lawyers to go on.

They explained that due to Colonel Casey concerns for his daughter's prospects and future, he had arranged for Mrs Waterman and his daughter to come to the law firm of Tolbert, Ives and Jager the next day to make arrangements to ensure that his daughter had the options that he believed she deserved in her future by enabling her to get the education she needed to be able to go on to earn a degree, such as Colonel Barton's sister had done, if that was her choice.

Waterman's lawyer scoffed loudly at that, interrupting him. "The opportunity for her to earn a degree in poetry or some such frippery is hardly reason to interfere with the sanctity of marriage!"

The lawyer that he'd interrupted broke protocol again to snap back at him. "Perhaps not, but Missus Dent's degree just so happens to be in medicine, and I believe that most people would agree that we certainly do need more qualified doctors!"

He turned back to the judge. "If I may proceed your honour?"

The judge nodded. "Please do!", quelling Waterman's lawyer with a glare.

"When Missus Waterman and her daughter arrived at the offices of Tolbert, Ives and Jager the next morning, however, Mister Waterman had accompanied them, reportedly having insisted that he would be the one who managed any money that was allocated to his stepdaughter."

"I am told that Colonel Casey was quite upset about this, and for this reason the law firm assigned one of their lawyers to keep Mister Waterman occupied while they met with Colonel Casey, Missus Waterman and Miss Coburn to make the necessary arrangements to get Miss Coburn into a good boarding school."

"Colonel Casey made arrangements to pay all fees associated with his daughter's education and board at this school in an attempt to ensure that there would be no recurrence of her being removed from the school due to lack of payment."

"After all the arrangements to get Miss Coburn into the school had been made, she and her mother met Mister Waterman in the front office and Mister Waterman started an altercation, demanding to see the paperwork for the fund that had been set up for Alexandra. When Colonel Casey informed him that there was no fund involved, he was merely paying for his daughter's education, Mr Waterman reportedly said 'I control the money for this family, and I demand to see the paperwork on whatever fund is being set up for Alexandra', the situation reportedly got quite tense at this point."

The lawyer looked up from what he was reading to the judge, holding some paperwork up. "We have sworn affidavits from a number of the lawyers and law clerks present as to what happened that day your honour."

The judge held out his hand and the lawyer handed the affidavits to the Clerk of The Court, going on when the judge signalled him to.

"Colonel Casey admits to getting angry at that point and furthermore that he may have appeared threatening when he repeated to Mister Waterman that there was no fund involved and that he was paying for his daughter to go to a good school, adding that he and Missus Waterman were taking her up to enrol her the next day. He does admit to saying 'If you try to interfere with us taking our daughter off to school tomorrow, or interfere with my daughter in ANY way, there won't be enough pieces left of you for anyone to find'. He reportedly added that if any harm came to Missus Waterman, whosoever caused it would answer to him."

"Missus Waterman and her daughter had slipped out while Colonel Casey was talking to Mister Waterman, and were in the process of supervising the packing of Miss Coburn's trunks to go off to school when Mister Waterman arrived at the Waterman residence. We were told that he became quite aggressive when he was demanding to know where Miss Coburn was going, and as this was causing considerable concern in Missus Waterman's mind as to his intentions, she evaded his questions."

He held up more paperwork. "We have sworn affidavits from the household staff present as to what they heard your honour."

The judge again held out his hand, motioning him to continue when the affidavits were handed to the Clerk of The Court.

"Missus Waterman and her daughter were both upset and concerned about Mister Waterman's behaviour, so Missus Waterman slept with Alexandra that night, with the door locked to keep him out. Mister Waterman was reportedly banging on the door and demanding that they let him in for a while before he gave up and went away. In the morning, Mister Waterman slept in late, as is his wont apparently, so he had not yet woken when they left to take Miss Coburn to her new school."

"While they were away, Missus Waterman recounted what had happened to Colonel Casey and his associates, and as she was concerned about these occurrences and how they may effect her daughter, she also requested assistance in dealing with the situation. This was reportedly why the trip was extended to an overnight absence, as she was having discussions with lawyers from Tolbert, Ives and Jager about what options were available to her under the circumstances."

"Upon their return, the Barton party went to the Waterman residence with Missus Waterman to provide support and make it clear that Miss Coburn was happy at her new school, but Mister Waterman kept demanding to know where Alexandra was. Eventually Colonel Casey told him that only her parents were allowed to contact her, and he'd be looking for a good reason as to why anyone else was trying to contact her."

"Missus Waterman had been made quite uncomfortable and afraid by Mister Waterman's behaviour, and for this reason has been avoiding him since then, choosing to sleep alone in her daughter's room since she returned from enrolling her in school. We were engaged via the firm of Tolbert, Ives and Jager to handle Missus Waterman's divorce suit, and that is the story up to this point your honour."

The judge nodded, and turning to Waterman's lawyer, asking "What do you have to say on the matter?"

Over the course of the reading of the depositions, Waterman's lawyer had interrupted and called Kathleen and Alan Waterman to the stand on numerous occasions, attempting to distort or distract from the issues being raised (being bested at every turn by Kathleen's lawyers of course), but at this point he just started to waffle aimlessly, so the judge cut him off, turning to Waterman.

"What, exactly, was the reason for your repeated attempts to ascertain the whereabouts of Alexandra Coburn?"

Waterman looked at his lawyer, who motioned to him to answer the judge. "I was concerned about her being abandoned like that, away from everyone that she knew, so I wanted to see her to make sure that she was happy there."

The judge snorted and held up the deposition from the Principal of her previous school. "That story doesn't jibe with what this says, nor what we've heard here today."

He turned to Kathleen's lawyers. "Do we have any reports of how Miss Coburn is doing at her new school?"

The lawyer replied "Yes, your honour." and offered a bundle of affidavits from staff and students at the school (as well as one from Kathleen after she'd visited Alex and one from Alex herself), and copies of the telegrams that the school was still sending every two or three days, reporting on how she was doing.

The Clerk of The Court collected them and delivered them to the judge, who read through them, raising an eyebrow when he saw that she was at Miss Porter's. Obviously her parents did have a commitment to giving her the best chances that they could, and the constant telegrams they were getting showed that they were certainly concerned about knowing how happy she was there. He also mused that someone must have had considerable influence to be able to get the girl into Miss Porter's, but if their law firm was Tolbert, Ives and Jager, they certainly had that! Anyone competent knew about the type of people that that firm handled. When he'd read through what had been provided, he looked up at Waterman. "You can rest assured that your stepdaughter is being well looked after and is, by her own account, quite happy where she is."

Waterman held out his hand. "I'd like to see those reports!"

The judge's expression went hard as he replied. "No, that will most certainly NOT be happening!", putting the bundle aside before looking back at Waterman.

"We have heard quite a number of accounts in regard to events involving you, your wife and Alexandra Coburn here today, is the story that has been presented largely accurate to your recollection?"

"What? No!"

The judge held up a sheaf of affidavits in his hand. "Are you sure about that? Because they match what I've read here quite well. Need I remind you what will happen to you if you're found to have been lying to the court? Again, is what we've heard today largely accurate?"

"Well... Yes, by and large I suppose it's mostly accurate."

The judge affixed him with a baleful glare and he added a muttered "Your honour."

The judge picked up his gavel, bringing it down on the sounding block. "I find for the plaintiff, Missus Kathleen Ann Waterman. I therefore grant her the requested divorce from Mr Alan Theodore Waterman."

He looked at the lawyers "I presume that both sides have their submissions for the disposition of assets ready?"

Kathleen's lawyers said "Yes, your honour" and proffered the file that they had ready (with an added note on the front referring to the testimonies heard in regard to Waterman's rampant spending), the Clerk of the Court collected it and delivered it from the judge.

The Judge looked at Waterman's lawyer as he opened the file and started leafing through it. The man stammered. "As I said earlier your honour, we haven't had the opportunity to do a full accounting of the assets to determine Mister Waterman's entitlements."

There was no response from the judge, as his whole attention had by now been taken up with what he was reading in the file in front of him. Eventually he looked up and looked a question at Kathleen's lawyers, who nodded grimly. Only then did he look back at Waterman and his lawyer and start to ask what he'd said, but the Court Reporter was ready for that and read out the transcript to him. He nodded thanks to the Court Reporter.

Looking at Kathleen's lawyers, he held up the file and asked "Do you have another copy of this for them?"

They nodded, saying "Yes, your honour" and held it out, when the Clerk of The Court had collected it and delivered it to the opposing counsel's desk the Judge said.

"You have fifteen minutes to examine that and give me a sound, factual reason why I shouldn't order this enacted exactly as they have laid out. If you haven't convinced me otherwise in fifteen minutes I will be ordering this to be the final settlement of the matter."

The lawyer tried to argue but withered under the judge's glare, so he and Waterman then spent the next quarter hour desperately trying to find something in the file that they could use to argue against this.

After fifteen minutes the Judge picked up the gavel again and waited for them to look at him in defeat before he pounded it down on the sounding block. "The disposition of assets for the Waterman family will be carried out as detailed in the submission from the lawyers representing Mrs Kathleen Waterman!"

As soon as the Clerk of The Court had the court orders written out and delivered under the judge's signature, Sarah (or rather, Sam) pulled the trigger on the sale of the property Kathleen had inherited and most of the furniture, along with Kathleen's change of name 'back' to Coburn.

Kathleen had John and people from Tolbert, Ives and Jager (Sarah and Hattie couldn't be there in case anyone recognised them) with her to help explain things to the staff who were being let go, provide them with references and their severance pay and try to help find them new positions.

The only staff who would be going with her to Coburn House were Lou, Albert, and one of the young house maids, Eliza, a young Irish girl who was Albert and Lou's recommendation as the best of the girls. Kathleen and John talked to them like they had the others to avoid giving the game away. Albert knew where they were going, but Eliza wasn't told before they left New York in case anyone tried to force her to tell what she knew.

Like Lou, Albert Mason had risen to his position early due to his ability and personality. He'd been just twenty when Miss Martha had promoted him to be her butler (which raised questions as to whether Aunt Martha had really been as staid as she'd generally made out, given that she'd obviously been willing to buck tradition and take a chance on exceptional young people more than once). As with Lou, the only reason that he'd stayed on after Miss Martha died was to look out for Kathleen and Alex, because he hadn't trusted that Alan Waterman one bit.

Albert was lost at first when John asked him if he knew how to handle horses, carriages and the like?

"Horses? Yes Sir. I was managing Miss Martha's stables for her up until she passed, and she usually had me driving for her, but why is that important Sir?"

John smiled, "Because you'll have four lovely mares with riding and harness tack, a Landau and a Tilbury Gig to look after up in Farmington."

Kathleen turned to him in surprise. "Johnny, what are you talking about?"

"This was going to be a surprise, but you'll find out soon enough, Sarah and Chuck have a collection of nice mares. They decided that if Alex is going to be riding at Miss Porter's, she should have her own horse, and as the mares aren't getting enough attention on the farm where they're being looked after, they decided to send four of them up to Coburn house for your and Alexandra's use. The same saddler who's made all our saddles, Israel Landis, has made up special lightweight astride and aside saddles to the mares' measurements so they'll fit them properly. Given that you'll have your own horses there, it made sense for you to have your own carriages too, so we commissioned a custom lightweight Sefton Landau for occasions when you're being driven, as well as a nice little hooded Tilbury Gig that you can drive yourselves to be built for you. They're all waiting up there at the house now with a temporary caretaker looking after them. We've checked him out, and he'll be available to you for other jobs if you need him by the way."

When he'd finished he added. "Nyx is a lovely girl, magnificent, but I wouldn't let Alex ride her, she's a bit wild. She's the mother of Diablo, Bruja and Demonio, which are Chuck's, Sarah's and my mules, among others, and their names are a reflection of the nature they got from her."

She couldn't hold her chuckle at that in, and he smiled.

Meeting Albert brought something else to John's attention, the fact that he had a mechanical leg. Kathleen wasn't impressed when the two men she was sure that she could rely on to help her through this suddenly disappeared. Johnny returned over half an hour later without Albert, and wouldn't offer any explanation other than. "There's something he needs to get done before he leaves New York."

When Albert returned a couple of hours later, he would only say that he'd been sworn to secrecy before he bustled off to catch up on the duties that he'd been neglecting. He disappeared a few more times over the next week, but then the secret was revealed, because he came back moving far more easily than he'd done since he came back from the war without his leg. Aunt Martha had spent a considerable amount to commission a mechanical leg to be made for him, but it had never worked very well. It was heavy and locked up sometimes, and even when it didn't the movement never seemed natural or easy.

This new leg he obviously had now though, he was a little unsteady on it as if he was learning to walk again but it seemed as though he hardly noticed the weight and even now he was walking far more normally than he ever had with the other leg. As she didn't want to embarrass Albert, she grabbed Johnny and dragged him off to get an explanation. He seemed in quite a good mood and was willing to offer up the information now.

"It's Chuck, he's a marvel with anything mechanical. Apparently he made a mechanical leg for his father when he was eleven that worked better than anything anyone else could make, as well as one for the ranking Engineer in his regiment in the war, and he just kept improving from then on. He made better legs for his father after he came back from the war, and he made one for Tom's father last year. He's making them out of aluminium mixed with other metals to make it harder now, because they're a third the weight of steel and brass legs. When I saw Albert I knew he needed a better leg if he is to be able protect you and Alex properly, so I took him to see Chuck, and he finished the leg today."

He turned to look at her. "I didn't want to say anything until we knew that Chuck could make a leg for him, but I think it's obvious that the new leg's working for him."

Kathleen scowled at him. "Yes, I haven't seen him moving so well since he lost his leg in the war, but you could have told me instead of leaving me wondering and swearing poor Albert to secrecy!"

It took them a week and a half, but they found good placements for most of the rest of the household staff and packed up the house, shipping what furniture etc that they were taking with them up to the new house as it was ready. Kathleen, Albert, Lou and Eliza were the last to leave.

Waterman (presumably) still had people watching the house to find out where they were going to, but the Pinkertons who were still guarding Kathleen took the watchers out of action so they knew no more than what they had before, that it was somewhere north of New York.

When they reached the house, Albert and Eliza were quite impressed, and while they were occupied, looking about the house, Kathleen turned to John and said. "Johnny, show me our girls", so he led her out to the stables.

They'd had the stables redone and there was plenty of room for their needs, given that they had good sized stalls for the four horses, even with two stalls having been removed to make room to store the Tilbury Gig and a third having been converted into a neat little tack room. The Landau resided in the single carriage bay beside the stables.

Kathleen's first thought was to check out their horses though, and she agreed with everyone else, they certainly were lovely girls. Being raised in Army camps by a cavalry father had given Kathleen a solid grounding in horses and their handling, and she'd always loved them.

She'd been quite put out when Alan had sold off the horses and carriages after her Aunt Martha died, but he wouldn't be swayed (once he decided something, that was it!), so she'd been without horses for over five years now, and seeing the mares there made her realise just how much she'd missed having horses in her life.

That was why, after saying hello to them, she'd turned to John and asked. "So, Johnny, can you still harness and drive the Landau?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because I think it's time our daughter saw her new home, don't you?"

He smiled and nodded, heading over to the little tack room to get the harnesses. While he dug out everything that they needed, Kathleen slipped halters onto Selene and Hecate and led them outside to wait for Johnny to open the doors of the carriage bay.

When he opened the carriage bay doors, the mares pricked up their ears and looked around, as they remembered the Landau from the last time people were here. They stood quietly while he harnessed them and hitched them to the Landau, and were again content to stand when he'd led them forward, drawing the Landau out of the carriage bay.

Kathleen stayed to hold them there while Johnny closed up the carriage bay, then he took over holding them while she went inside to get Albert. He hadn't seen Alex's school yet, nor had he seen her since they brought her to the school and he had always had a soft spot for Alex, and she him.

When they came outside though, they stopped at the sight of the Landau. Kathleen had seen parts of it before, but she hadn't had the opportunity to stand back and look at it before this, she'd just seen the front when it was in the carriage bay, and when she'd been holding the mares.

The Landau had the more elegant, as well as lighter, Sefton (or canoe) body. Part of the weight savings were from making it very close coupled so that the body was shorter, neater and more compact than many landaus. The bodywork, wheels and metalwork were painted a sparkling black (which was well matched to Selene and Hecate's colouring) with shining silver trim, the seats and interior panelling were silver grey leather, while the leather tops and harnesses were black. The only flash of colour on the Landau was the Coburn family crest that adorned the axle cap on each wheel. It was very elegant and lovely.

After handing Kathleen up into the carriage, John joined Albert up on the driver's seat and they set off on the rather short drive to Miss Porter's school. John kept an eye on Albert, but while he was a little rusty at first, by the time they'd reached Miss Porter's he was doing fine.

As they pulled up to the front doors of Miss Porter's they could see many girls' faces in the windows, so they would not be popular with Miss Porter for interrupting the girls' classes. Many of these girls came from the richest families in America, so they'd be used to grand carriages, but obviously the same thing had caught their eyes as had Kathleen's, just what a pretty picture the Landau made with the girls out front.

They didn't have time to go to the office to ask if they could see Alexandra because she'd come running out the front door before they'd even reached it. She went first to her mother, of course, but John was a little miffed when he lost out to 'Uncle Albert' for the next hug.

He tried to push the feeling down, as he could understand to a degree. After all, Albert had been part of her life pretty much since she was a babe, and she hadn't seen him in months now, whereas she'd seen him just over two weeks before, but it still hurt a little. That hurt abated when she came to him immediately after and his hug was much longer, but when she called him "Father", it felt awkward to both of them.

Kathleen felt this as well and came over to them, stroking Alex's hair as she asked. "Do you think, perhaps, that you could be comfortable with calling your father Papa?"

Alex looked at her father and a smile broke out on her face as they nodded in unison and she said. "Papa, yes, I like Papa!"

That got her another hug from John as he sent Kathleen a look of thanks.

With that sorted, she stepped back to take another admiring look at the Landau and the horses, asking "Who's lovely carriage is this Mama?", whipping her head around to stare at her mother when Kathleen answered. "Apparently it's our's Sweetie".

"Really?" Kathleen nodded and waved her hand at John, saying. "Your father and his friends apparently believed that we needed to get properly set up with our new house, so they picked out the horses and had the carriages built for us."

The look that Alex turned on her father then was an alarming combination of both of her parents' angry looks. "Papa! You told me that you were only here for Auntie Ellie and Uncle Andy's wedding!" he looked away as he mumbled. "Well, we didn't want to get your hopes up until we were sure that all that Waterman business was behind us."

She looked balefully at him for another thirty seconds before something suddenly clicked. Looking at her mother, she said. "So these lovely horses are our's then?" (She'd inherited her mother's, well both her parent's, love of horses and that had been awoken in her when she started riding at the school).

Her mother smiled. "Yes, your Papa can tell you their names."

That got a smile from John as he went to the mare closest to them, he gave her a scratch on the nose as he said "This is Selene, and her sister there is Hecate. They have two more cousins back at the house, Nyx and Nox."

Alex came up to introduce herself to the horses, and as she did so asked her father. "Can they be ridden?"

He nodded. "Yes, that's what they were originally being brought up here for, so you and your mother can ride, especially as you're doing riding for school now, but when we thought about it we decided that it made sense for you to have carriages as well, so we got this and a Tilbury gig made up specially to suit the girls here."

Alex frowned as she said to her mother. "I didn't know you could ride Mama?"

Her mother smiled at her. "Have you forgotten where you were born White Bird? I grew up in Army camps all over the frontier, and your Grandfather was a cavalry officer, just like your father, so I pretty much grew up on a horse. It was only the last five years that I've been away from horses, and that period is now in our past, thanks to your father and his friends."

A troubled look passed over Alex's face as she thought about what her mother meant by that last, but she shook it off as she asked. "Where is your new house Mama?"

That brought the smile back to Kathleen's face. "OUR new house Sweetie, that is what we came for actually, wait here with your Papa while I go ask Miss Porter's permission to take you out of the school for a short while."

Alex was perplexed but she nodded and said. "Yes mama."

Kathleen came back fifteen minutes later and nodded with a smile when John looked a question at her. John handed her and Alex up into the carriage and then climbed in after them, as Albert was quite comfortable with driving the pair now.

When the Landau turned into a drive only a short distance down the street, Alex looked a question at her mother, but Kathleen just smiled without saying a word. When they pulled up at the stables, John helped the ladies out of the carriage then stayed to help Albert unharness and tend to the horses and put them and the landau away while Kathleen took Alex in to see Lou and show her their new home, Coburn House.

After she'd shown Alex the house, and especially her room, Kathleen walked her back to the school (as it was just down the street). They all knew that she'd have trouble concentrating on her classes the rest of the day, but they'd gotten her into Miss Porter's so she could get a good education, and she needed to learn to concentrate if she was going to do that.

While Alex was in class that afternoon, Kathleen had Eliza pack up her things in the dormitory, and John and Albert were shuttling her trunks back to the house on a hand cart that they'd borrowed from the school as they were ready. It was all done by the time that she finished class, and John and Kathleen went down to the school to walk her home.

It had been agreed that this would generally be one of Albert's duties, walking Alex to and from school, and to that end John had ensured that Albert had a working familiarity with weapons, because whenever he was escorting Alex, he'd be carrying a gun. John had told Albert when they were getting his new leg made that he needed him in good shape to protect Alex and Kathleen, and the men bonded when Albert told him that he would do that no matter what.

One of the things that had been put together for the house was weapons for them to defend themselves with, because between Waterman and the enemies that John and the team had, there would always be a possibility that someone would come after them. Chuck had made up three shotgun carbines in 12 Gauge with 20 inch barrels for them (These were based off the rifle frame and cylinder and carried seven 12 gauge rounds in the cylinder and one in the centre. When he was making up the rifle prototype, he remembered their car being breaching in the train ambush and what he was thinking about the carbine the night after his parents were killed. With that in mind, he designed and made up a shotgun version of the carbine using the larger rifle cylinder. They were a devastating weapon for close fighting.), along with half a dozen .46 Rimfire sixguns, a dozen .38 Rimfire revolvers and a dozen .38 derringers. John had brought them (and a good supply of ammunition) up with him when they came to settle Kathleen and Alex into the house.

One shotgun would normally reside in Kathleen's closet (she'd learned to handle firearms as well as horses when she was growing up in Army camps), along with a .46 revolver in her bedside drawer, and she generally carried a .38 revolver or derringer. Once she'd been trained to handle them safely, Alex would also have a .38 revolver in her bedside drawer and carry another revolver or derringer with her. Albert would have another shotgun in his closet (with the spare leg Chuck made for him), one of the .46 revolvers in his bedside drawer and would normally be carrying another .46 or .38 revolver (always when he was escorting Alex). Lou had a .38 revolver in her bedside drawer and another one stashed in the kitchen. Eliza would also have a .38 revolver in her bedside drawer once she'd been trained to use it. The last shotgun and the rest of the revolvers and derringers would be stashed about the house in hidey-holes where they could get them if they needed them. They'll all been admonished that these guns were never to be shown to anyone else or left where others could get them.

They didn't like having to consider the need for violence, but they'd all had enough of it in their lives to accept it as a reality. Kathleen had lost her father to the Indians, had seen all of her escort killed when she was captured by them and had believed that she'd lost Johnny to them as well, there was also the worry that Alan Waterman was a petty man who would lash out at her if he had a chance to. Albert had been in the war (acquitting himself quite well up until he lost his leg according to the reports), and had protected Miss Martha and Miss Kathleen from attackers more than once. Alex had heard enough to have an idea of what sort of life her father and his friends were leading and had seen Alan Waterman being violent towards her mother, while Lou had seen more violence than she liked before she came to Miss Martha's, as had Eliza. They understood the need to be able to defend themselves and accepted why their house held what most would consider to be a small armoury. None of them wanted to use these weapons, but they felt a little more comfortable knowing that they had them if they needed them.

Albert, Lou and Eliza were shocked when they saw the new quarters built for them above the stables, because not even Albert's quarters had been anything like this nice at Miss Martha's. It also took a bit of adjustment for them to get used to them all sitting down to dinner or whatever together and being treated as equals in the house unless other people were there, as that just wasn't done anywhere they'd been before.

When Albert saw the livery he was expected to wear on formal occasions, he argued that it was too formal, as he had to wear a full silver grey or black morning suit (with matching top hats, and chesterfield coats to wear over the suits in cold or inclement weather) for his coachman's livery, and the morning suits or a white tie ensemble for his butler's livery if they were entertaining, all festooned with solid silver buttons bearing the Coburn heraldic animal, the cockerel.

He had been hurt until he understood that she hadn't been mocking him when Alex told him how handsome he looked, driving the Landau in his morning suit, as he doted on on her. Alex was being totally sincere though, because he did look very handsome in the silver grey morning suit that he was wearing. Truth be told, Albert cut a fine figure in all his formal suits, because at six feet tall he was taller than most men and with his slim build he wore his suits very well, so it was quite common for him to look finer than the 'important' people when he was dressed up.

Of course, most of the time he wore much more normal (and comfortable) clothes, because Kathleen only required them to wear the livery for formal occasions. Having Alex's school friends over didn't qualify as that so their normal house rules applied when they came over, and it had taken rather an adjustment on the part of some of the girls to learn how they were expected to behave in this household.

Any girl being rude to one of the staff or ordering them about was told to leave, and she wasn't allowed to return until she was prepared to apologise to the person concerned. If Kathleen didn't deem her apology satisfactory she would be sent away again, and may not get another chance.

Albert, as the butler, was to be addressed as Mr Mason. Lou, as the cook and housekeeper, was Mrs Palone. As the maid, it was acceptable to address Eliza by her given name. In all circumstances however, if the girls wanted something they were to request it politely, no matter who they were talking to, and failure to do so was another reason to be told to leave.

When Kathleen was requested to come and talk to Miss Porter a short while after she'd begun imposing these house rules on the girls coming to their house, she was expecting to have to defend her position. This was something which she was quite prepared to do, but instead Miss Porter had complimented her and asked her to share what she'd done.

Miss Porter had confirmed that yes, she'd had complaints from some parents who's daughters had been banned from Kathleen's house because they would not abide by her house rules, but she'd been far more impressed by the improvement in the manners of the other girls. Kathleen's rules had had girls who's behaviour had been barely acceptable behaving as proper young ladies should in an amazingly short time, and Miss Porter was hoping that she'd be willing to share what she'd done to achieve that. Once that had been clarified, it had become a quite pleasant conversation.

It hadn't taken Alex very long at all to settle into the changes that came with living at home with her mother while she was going to Miss Porter's. Now, on the days when they had riding, she'd be walked home by Albert and get changed into her riding habit. Then she'd go out and saddle up one of the mares (generally Selene, as she was the quietest and the one she was told she should use), as Sarah and her parents insisted that she do this herself to ensure that the saddle was sitting comfortably on the horse, she'd then use the stepped mounting block that had been built outside the stables to mount and ride back to school.

Sarah, Chuck and others had also come up to help get Kathleen and Alex settled into their new home, and the first time Sarah saw Alex mount the mare and begin to ride off to school, she had stopped her to ask what training she'd had, then gave her a few pointers which brought about an immediate improvement in her riding. Once Alex had left, Sarah had asked Kathleen's permission to teach Alex how to ride properly, and Ellie piped up to say that Sarah was a wonderful teacher, with Hattie, Adele and Mei agreeing. Kathleen was quite happy to have Sarah teach Alex, and was included in those lessons at her request. John had also given Albert riding lessons so he could escort Alex on one of the other mares, as he'd never been taught to ride properly.

Sarah spent their time there eradicating the bad riding habits that Alex (and Kathleen) had been taught and teaching them how to ride side saddle properly (and quietly, astride as well). By the time they left, Alex was the best rider at the school. The fact that Selene and the side saddles that they'd had made for them were much better than what the school had helped as well.

Sarah and John (and Chuck, Tom, Hank, Hattie, Mei and Albert, she certainly had no shortage of teachers) had also taught Alex (and Kathleen) to drive the girls in harness, but even though she'd learned how to drive the girls as a pair, and they'd let her drive if one of them was with her, Alex was never allowed to take the Landau out on her own.

Once she'd proven to them that she would be sensible and not put herself, the horse or anyone else at risk however, she was allowed to take the Tilbury (which had been finished in the same elegant livery as the Landau) out by herself, but only if she had good reason to do so. She was only allowed to drive the Tilbury using the single hitch of course. Given that driving it with the tandem hitch had been a little too exciting for Albert or Kathleen, they'd decided that that was entirely too fast a ride for a girl like Alex to take out. Just watching Sarah and Hattie giving the girls their heads with the tandem hitch had been enough to frighten Kathleen and John (not to mention Chuck and Tom), as they had certainly confirmed that it was a FAST rig.

Of course, the fact that John and the rest of the team had to go back to the west coast soon after they were settled into the house put a little of a damper on their happy times, but they promised to keep in contact via telegram and mail all the time, and any time they came to the east coast now they made sure to visit Farmington. Sometimes it was for a day, sometimes a week, but they'd always visit.