Transition Plan Chapter 58: In His Majesty's Service Part 7

Dedicated to my wife who lets me keep writing even with all our other prevailing priorities, and to my long time internet friend across several forums Sueanoi for her undying chapter-by-chapter support of this story that keeps me writing.

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Jeanne was shocked by the jungle boy's words but very relieved. It fully showed on her face and she clasped her hands together in joy against her chest. Her mind raced.

"Jack is our friend!" she thought with excitement.

She had wanted that so much to be true, but her fears had overpowered her. Jeanne was extremely embarrassed that she never let him have a single moment to explain that he was an ally because of her terrible overreaction. She was grateful for his patience and for his forgiveness. She said a prayer of thanks to God that she had not accidentally killed Jack, followed quickly by another prayer that God would let her get to know him.

Jack waited patiently while this beautiful girl realized the impact of his surprise introduction, understood he could help her, and she settled down. While girls and women – as well as females of other species - were often a mystery to Jack, this girl reacted to this happy surprise a lot like all the females in his life – Aunt Terk, Grandmother Kala, Cousin Jana, Ndidi, Lily, Noni, Naima, Femi, and his mother, so he just let the new French girl work through her emotions until she was ready to meet him.

It didn't take long. Jeanne took a deep breath, confidently walked forward, stepped over her slingshot, and shook Jack's outstretched hand. They smiled and their eyes met in an instant connection. She liked his strong grip and he liked her soft hand.

She was not repulsed by this impossible situation of a naked boy formally bowing to her like a perfect gentleman in a formal tuxedo at a social ball, instead of actually being alone with him in the middle of a Nigerian rain forest. She knew that French boys wouldn't be caught dead in a situation like this with a girl, but this sweet boy even joked about the predicament that she had caused him to endure. Jack and Jeanne were drawn to each other, and both weren't going to let anything stop them from getting to know each other better.

Given Jack's efforts to make their formal introduction as normal as possible, Jeanne followed his example, remembering to curtsy, pulling the sides of her baggy uniform like a dress after shaking hands, looked him straight in the eye, and replied with a lilt in her voice, "I am pleased to meet you too, Monsieur Jonathan Robert Clayton IV."

She genuinely was. Jack could hear it in her tone, and he really liked that she repeated his full name with her melodious French accent. He was quite amused by her improvised curtsy. He realized that maybe he hadn't blown it with her after all. He could see she was interested in him. They were both too young to play the coy games teens often did in meeting members of the opposite gender. Their emotions were an open book, and for them it was welcoming. Each moment together built on the next.

Fully back to his senses and knowing he must do something about his natural state, Jack remembered something his mother would say when entertaining unexpected formal guests at the Castle after greeting them. He gave her a polite bow and announced, "And now I must make myself more presentable, Mademoiselle."

He said that so casually that it caused her to grin at his creativity at using a phrase that adults used all the time, but never quite for a situation like this. Jeanne wondered if all English noblemen's sons were this clever and so composed even in awkward situations. But she only cared about this boy's cleverness and composure.

Not wanting to offend her European sensibilities any further, Jack swiftly donned his breechcloth that he unwrapped from his weapon's straps, and put his weapons back on as well. She had never seen anyone who was as comfortable as he was in only his own skin like the animals were.

She let herself think again in admiration, "He's so handsome."

Thus garbed in his brown breechcloth, he assumed a confident stance of a youthful ancient Scottish warrior. Even as a boy, Jack cut a stunning image of Gaelic power, strength, and confidence. The only thing that was missing was blue body war paint. It made her gasp. She was better able to concentrate on his dreamy eyes and face, as her mind finally put all the pieces together. She remembered that her parents had talked about meeting Count Greystoke's family, but she mostly put everything they said out of her mind because of her anger about the entire situation. This boy in front of her had looked and behaved and even spoke exactly like a wild ape, but just transformed into an assured, polite young man. Although he was dirty and sweaty and had long auburn dreadlocks that were completely unkempt, his French speech skills and manners were perfect.

Even in his scant clothing, he carried himself as Scottish nobility – the son of a Count, officially a Viscount. She recalled more details from Admiral D'Arnot, who had told her family that Count Clayton was a master of dozens of human and animal languages. It was perfectly logical that the Count's son would be good with languages like his father. Jeanne remembered that the Admiral also said the Count and his family were totally part of the animal kingdom whenever they lived in the jungle. At first, she couldn't grasp that at all, but now she knew that first hand, given how she first encountered him, how he stalked her and the soldiers undetected in the trees, his simian mannerisms and speech, and by the primitive weapons he carried. Her head spun with all these impossibilities represented by the young heir in front of her.

This boy was feral and civilized at the same time, and combined each of his worlds effortlessly in her presence. It was incredible to Jeanne that anyone could do that.

Jack apologized further, "I am sorry I hid from you and teased you."

She was embarrassed that she attacked nobility, so she returned the apology, "I am the one who should be sorry, Monsieur. I shot you and threatened to shoot you again. I could have killed you. I… I was so afraid to trust you at first. Your weapons scared me, and you… are… umm… different…"

He smiled and tossed his head back a little as he laughed, "It's all right, Mademoiselle. I am different than boys in France. And England too. I bet they don't sneak around in the trees acting like monkeys throwing stuff at girls. I kind of deserved that. You were right not to trust me. You're very good with your slingshot."

She could feel her cheeks get warm at his nice words.

He picked up her weapon, examined it, and handed it back to her, "No one has ever hit me like that before. You fight well."

Jeanne liked his dry humor, as well as the sound of his laughter. She couldn't stop thinking how cute he was with his kind smile and soothing voice that seemed deep for a boy. He even apologized for his behavior and was very complimentary of her skills. Boys she knew never apologized to girls or said nice things like that to her. They always said: 'Girls are so dumb', and most of them criticized her for her athletic abilities and that she liked to do 'boy' things. Not this one. She hoped she wouldn't say something stupid to make him not want to talk to her any more.

Her head reeled with all this new information, but she wanted to understand as much as she could, so she spoke carefully to not offend him, "You're the fils of the Count of Greystoke? I… I don't know what to say, Viscount Clayton. I thought your father would be just another gray-haired old man, and that his kids would be…. um… adults too."

Jack laughed harder at that, taking no offense, "Not hardly. I'm eight – going on nine. Well yes, I am the Count's oldest child. And my parents are pretty young, I think. Dad's 35 and Mom's 32. Please, Mademoiselle, don't use titles. There are no titles in the jungle. I am just Jack. The animals call me Korak. May I ask your name, Mademoiselle uhhh…?"

He looked at her intently, but did not stare. It gave her goose bumps and she thought, "Those eyes…"

He was dashingly polite. She liked the implied untamed power of his jungle name, and wondered what it meant.

She curtsied back again at Jack with a smile, "My name is Jeanne. Jeanne Jacot. The only daughter of Colonel Armand Jacot of l'Armee de Terre. My mother's name is Josephine. And I'm eight, too…"

Her smile was charming to Jack. His eyebrow perked in interest, and she liked that. He knew then she was his age.

"Going on nine…" she added, allowing herself to giggle, watching his response.

Jack gave her a very broad grin at her word games with him. Only smart girls could do that, and he admired smart girls. He always got along with them. His captivating smile made her inexplicably breathless. Jack thought her giggle was really cute and delightful, not mindless and tittering like the aristocratic socialite girls he knew, and wondered what he needed to do to make her laugh again.

Trying to remain calm around him, Jeanne explained sadly, "Papa and his soldiers were coming to meet your father as promised on the radiotelegraph. It… uhh… just turned out a lot different than we planned. The Germans knew something about our plans. It kind of changed… umm… everything."

Jack replied, remaining formal with her, just as his father taught him to always be polite with women, "I remember, Mademoiselle Jacot. I was there with my dad on our radiotelegraph when your father contacted us. We knew your father and his soldiers were coming. I just wanted to meet them sooner than when they got to the village. I had to see what French soldiers looked like. But having you come with them is a surprise. A really nice surprise."

Seeing her delighted response to his comment, Jack drew a deep breath and took a chance, as green eyes locked with hazel again, and he said softly, "I've never met a girl as pretty as you, Mademoiselle Jacot."

Jeanne blushed with his gallant compliments, looked at the ground, and giggled nervously again, which really pleased Jack that this girl had humility about her stunning looks rather than the haughtiness he encountered all the time with girls of nobility. They expected to be told they were pretty. Her blush added to how pretty she was. Everything about her was fascinating. He wanted to keep saying nice things to her and hoped he wouldn't say something idiotic to make her mad again. He always sooner or later did that to girls and they stomped off in a huff. Some of them he was glad they did.

Jeanne couldn't be happier. No boy had ever told she was pretty. For months now, she'd felt anything but pretty being constantly dirty and sweaty and having to constantly wear this hastily retailored soldiers uniform. She could see his genuine excitement and interest in her, and it pleased her that this intriguing jungle boy definitely got more than he bargained for in her. And she in him, she reflected.

Jack suggested they sit on the soft moss-covered rock protecting the spot where she'd napped. They had to sit next to each other closer than strangers would have normally done. That was just fine with both of them.

Jeanne realized that there was so much yet to understand about him, but felt like she could be candid with Jack, so she asked the hard question, "Thank you Jack. But I have to know. Why do you live like an animal? Aren't you English? English are so… umm… proper. Why don't you wear real clothes? I am not used to meeting boys without clothes. It isn't polite in France."

Nevertheless, she only felt a little guilty about peeking… a lot.

"We don't need clothes in the jungle," Jack shrugged.

"I do. I am perfectly fine in clothes in the jungle, I will have you know," she explained somewhat defensively, though she was very cognizant that she was sweating profusely and he was not, "I am not like some wild ape."

She instantly regretted criticizing the apes. She knew she had insulted him.

Jack took no offense and explained intently, "Jeanne. I have to tell you this. It might be hard to believe. But it's true. The gorillas are my family. My dad was raised by the apes when he was a baby when my Grandpa and Grandma Clayton were killed. Our home is with them. We live like them in every way. We are them. We call ourselves 'the Mangani'. No one told you that the Count of Greystoke is also Lord of the Apes?"

This was the deep family secret that demanded protection from the rest of the world to preserve the innocent Mangani from curiosity-seekers and harm, but with this girl, he felt like he could share that trust and that she would keep it safe.

This was also the world-changing revelation that Jeanne hadn't yet comprehended - that this boy lived as an animal, not simply like an animal. It was almost too much for Jeanne to fathom that this boy's father was raised by and lived as a gorilla. It was even harder to understand that Jack and his mother dwelled with the gorillas as an ape family themselves. But more than anything, the most staggering new truth was that these apes were intelligent, even to the point of giving themselves a tribal name. She had never considered that possible before, but she was a very smart girl, so it quickly made sense to her for Jack and his jungle family to live with the apes by being like the apes completely.

She understood that Jack had just shared an unbreakable secret with her.

She was still very worried she'd insulted Jack and earnestly wanted this boy to be her friend - a badly needed friend in this overwhelming jungle - so she quickly apologized anew, "Oh! No, no, no. Please excuse me. I am so sorry. I didn't know anything about how your family lives. It's all very amazing and wonderful, Jack. But please understand. I am not even supposed to be here. We were attacked in our home in Morocco by the Germans. My mother and I barely escaped with my father and his men. We fled in a big ship, but that got destroyed too. We've been walking through the jungle for months. Mama and I had to come all the way with Papa and the soldiers. We have no safe place anywhere. Every night we sleep in fear."

Jack could see tears well up in her eyes. She was reliving her terrors over again. Instantly, Jack used a soothing tone with her to calm her, and gently put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She did not recoil from that touch as he emphasized, "I am sorry you were in danger, Mademoiselle Jacot. I promise that you will have a safe place here with my family. This is our home. We have many friends here. I could show you how we live in the jungle. You could meet my gorilla family, especially the ones our age. You'll feel better. They are very nice. They're really fun to play with. I promise."

The conviction in Jack's promise helped settle her, and she liked his hand on her shoulder. Only friends made deep promises like that. Something about that offer was compelling, even though gorillas seemed to be the most fearsome of wild jungle animals in all the books she read. The thought of playing with Jack and his gorilla children friends was very exciting. She answered, with a bit of caution, "Please call me Jeanne. I want to do that, Jack. But will I have to dress like you?"

"Only if you want to. They like it best when we look and act like them, but it doesn't really matter," he answered factually but with no pressure on her.

"Well, I would very much like to meet them," she answered politely, with a shy smile, leaving her options open with this intriguing boy and his offer to meet gorillas, especially if she could meet his gorilla family. It was all very enticing to her. For the first time since they fled Morocco, the jungle seemed friendly to her. All because of this one boy.

Jack considered how much fun it would be to have Jeanne play with him and his friends in the jungle and added reassuringly, "You'll like them, Jeanne. They are very curious about people. They like meeting new humans who are our family's friends. People and gorillas are a lot alike. You'll see. And my Nigerian human friends are fun too. I know they'll like you."

She liked being called a friend, and how he didn't demand anything of her, but her head was still spinning with this unique encounter with Jack – an English boy who was friends with the offspring of animals and African tribesmen all at the same time. Never in her life did she ever imagine having a conversation like this with a boy her age alone in the middle of the jungle, and yet feel this secure because of him.

Seeing her calm down, Jack said softly, "I hope you are all right, Jeanne. You're safe here."

She unconsciously shook her head with the gravity of the past few minutes of getting acquainted. Feeling comforted by Jack's soothing hand on her shoulder, she put one hand atop his, and she answered, "I am now, Jack. I just need time to think. This is a lot to accept. This is not how the French live. Even in the jungle. The French always bring France to the jungle."

Jack instantly remembered the lessons his parents taught him about the mistakes civilized countries made in conquering rather than understanding Africa. He said seriously, "We are not in France. Or England, Jeanne. You will soon see everyone here that lives here in Nigeria is one with the land. No one truly owns the land here. We are all part of it. We all live simply. Both animal and human. You will see."

"Oh… Well… that will be… um… interesting," replied Jeanne. She was having a difficult time conceiving of an entire civilization of people living naturally. There was little information for French schoolchildren in on African societies, and so she did not know. She was only taught those societies were all vile savages that were better off being colonies, conquered by civilized Europeans. She questioned that premise for the first time.

But the thought of savages living in this strange land made her shudder and feel lost again. She stood up and looked anxiously for the lost trail.

"Jack. It's so nice to get to know you, but I need help. I'm all alone now. Do you know where my parents are, and can you take me to them?" she asked with anticipation.

With conviction, Jack also stood, and with a gentlemanly flourish like his father often did with his mother in the games they played with each other, stated, "It would be mon plaisir, Mademoiselle Jacot, to escort you back to your parents. I don't know where they are right now, but I do know the way back to the village. I just left there. We'll find them. I'm better than my father at tracking. That always makes him mad, but makes my mother laugh."

She curtsied again, smiled, and said as if accepting an offer to dance, "I would be honored if you would escort me, Monsieur Clayton. But how?"

While Jack pondered his answer, Jeanne was excited, and was buoyed at his chivalrous offer to reunite her with her parents. And she wanted to meet his mother and father, too. It seemed like Jack had a fine family life despite the strange conditions. Jack was much more personable and engaging than any boy she knew. He seemed genuinely interested in her feelings and opinions, and she appreciated that he was trying hard to make her feel comfortable in these very scary surroundings and help her. He was playing with her and she liked playing right along with him.

She'd never actually played with a boy before. It dawned on her that she was having more fun with him than any of her girl playmates. Everything that was happening between them was completely new to her. Jeanne wondered how Jack could get along with a girl so well when none of the boys she knew ever did. She didn't yet know that Jack was surrounded by female friends and relatives and their influence. Girls baffled Jack a lot and sometimes annoyed him too, but they didn't intimidate him and he never felt superior to them, plus he didn't have the desire to impress any male friends. Nigerian girls and boys – and Mangani children - always played together equally, unlike the noble boys and girls in England. Most importantly, Tarzan and Jane provided him the best examples of how to 'play nice' with girls. His parents were best friends and lifelong playmates, and despite all their wealth and power, all they really needed was each other and their children and their simple family life in the jungle. None of that was lost on Jack or Lily. But even with all those good influences on Jack, deep in his heart, Jack was kind and sensitive, though he would not hesitate to defend himself or any of his friends or family in a heartbeat. And that need would come again far too soon.

Jack liked the way Jeanne so rapidly reacted to his purposely exaggerated gentlemanly behavior. She completely understood how to play the 'make fun of stuffy adults' game with him. Most of the aristocratic girls snubbed him when he did that, dismissing it as uncouth child's play. They expected to be always treated as adult noblewomen, and that was really annoying. Ndidi and Jack honed that game to a science, especially when dignitaries came to the village, although Tarzan and Abassi scolded them regularly about that.

Finally, Jack thought of a good reply, as he grinned, "In a really fun way."

A mischievous sparkle formed in his deep green eyes, and a thrill went through her. No doubt it would be fun, she truly believed, and was already eager to try whatever he had in mind.

Just to be with him.