Thanks for your reviews. Yip I love Eleanor and her rebel spirit too, but Jasper is too clever to be outsmarted easily.
And yes there will be more about the films later on in the story. But I think its going to be a long story because there is a lot of stuff to fit in which I haven't got to yet so it will take a while to get there...
A moment later the Prince spies him and he can see him do a double take before collecting himself.
"Can I help you?" he asks, his voice deliberately polite, but there is a wariness in his eyes.
Eleanor turns and spots him next. "Bloody hell. You are stalking me," she exclaims, a scowl flashing across her pretty face.
Her words cause her brother to frown. "Do you have anything to discuss with this man?" he asks her.
Eleanor folds her arms together. "Well I guess he did save my life this evening," she tells him grudgingly.
"We had better go inside," Robert announces. "And he had best come inside too," he adds.
As soon as he's inside the house, Prince Robert shuts the door after him.
"Whatever it was you did to save her, I am grateful for it," he tells him, offering Jasper his hand.
Jasper takes his hand for a quick handshake.
"My name is Richard Johnson," Robert tells him.
Jasper interrupts, "I know who you are Your Highness," he tells him, eyeballing him squarely. They don't need to feed him any of their bullshit or lies.
In the corner of the room Eleanor has lit up a cigarette and stands tensely by the window.
"Of course you do" she mutters crossly, because apparently Jasper Frost knows everything about everyone and yet they know nothing about him.
"And who your sister Princess Eleanor is too," he adds, shooting her a brief glance.
Prince Robert doesn't look impressed that his sister has broken her cover somehow and that this man knows both of their true identities.
"And you know each other how?" Prince Robert questions.
"Mutual friends," Jasper tells him.
"He's won't bloody remove himself from my bed," Eleanor announces, speaking at the same time as Jasper.
Eleanor flicks the ash off her cigarette, glaring at Jasper. Mutual bloody friends indeed. He manages to make it sound like they were introduced at a Church picnic when the reality was he been blackmailing his way into her bed and her body for weeks now.
Robert rolls his eyes, because he knows his sister's bed gets a lot of traffic. And maybe it's a good thing if someone is occupying it permanently once in a while.
"I see," Robert replies, and if she's not mistaken there's a faint smirk playing around his lips which Eleanor finds extremely irritating.
"No, Robert, you don't see," Eleanor tells him sharply.
Just then the door from the hallway is pushed open and a scruffy young man with a blond beard and a bandage on his arm makes his way into the room. Jasper recognises him as the one who picked up Eleanor from the train station.
No one introduces him. He stands on the sidelines watching Jasper suspiciously.
Robert clears his throat and looks towards Jasper. "So what do you want here then?"
Jasper can't help but let his eyes stray towards the spot where Eleanor stands.
"It's not safe for you to stay here. Either of you. It's too close to the prison and it won't be long before the Nazis comes knocking on your door," he tells them both. "I was going to take her away from here, somewhere safe."
Robert considers his words. "I agree. In fact I was going to tell you the same thing Lenny," he announces.
"What - no! I need to be with Robbie," Eleanor protests hotly, giving her brother an appealing look.
"He's right Lennie. I'm a wanted man. If they do take me, and the Reich has tentacles everywhere, then let it be me alone. The last thing I want is them coming for you," he tells her.
"I have my car, I can take her now," Jasper offers.
"I don't want to leave you," Eleanor says stubbornly, looking to her brother. "We've only just got you back and they hurt you," she adds and her voice is anguished when she looks at the bruises on his face.
She's sure that underneath his shirt there are many more bruises and scars which her brother will never let the world see because he, more than any of them, is a born Prince.
And then her brother comes over to her and lays his hands on her shoulders. "I'll be out of here within an hour myself and off into the countryside. I'll be fine," he assures her. "So long as I know you're safe, Len," he tells her in a low voice. "You have to go now," he tells her, and there is such authority in his tone that she is forced to swallow her fears and her protests.
She doesn't reply, but instead turns around to address Jasper and the man standing opposite him. "Could you give us a minute please?" she requests.
The other man crosses the room, removes a small package from underneath a chair and deposits it with the Princess. "Protect 22 at all costs and remember everything you've learned," he tells her cryptically, then leaves the room.
Jasper moves to stand in the hallway, tensely.
His watch is gone 10.48pm when she emerges from the room three minutes later, clutching the bag she brought with her on the train and the package in her arms.
And if he looks close enough its clear that she's been crying. Which is no surprise because she knows enough to understand that the chances are good that between her and her brother one of the two of them won't emerge from hiding alive, and even if they do they may still never see each other again.
He snaps upright and takes the lead, leaning over to remove the bag from her hands because he's not good with words, or at least not words at times like these.
"Let's go then," he tells her, leading the way to his car.
And she nods silently and steps out into the street and only now does it occur to her that for the second time in her life she's leaving herself, everything and everyone she loves behind and heading for the unknown.
