Allegro vivace
As the days passed, Virgil was indeed improving. He had never realised before his accident how much life on Tracy Island revolved around some physical activity or another. When they weren't doing maintenance on their machines the boys would usually be swimming, playing tennis, working out in the gym or doing some form of physical exercise. Just sitting there watching his brothers race around had been frustrating, especially when he found he couldn't even play his precious piano, and he had sunk into a black mood. Here in England, Penny and Amanda between them were doing their best to keep him occupied. Amanda seemed to have given up on the idea of returning to her flat, saying she couldn't face the mess she would find when she got there.
He was sleeping better, though whether this was because he was tired from the day's activities, or because he was practising Amanda's mental exercises, he could not tell.
On good days they would take the pony trap out. Virgil had been horrified to discover over breakfast one morning that the pony actually belonged to the Duchess of Royston. "She won't be coming here, will she, Penny?" he said, in an alarmed tone, "She might recognise me."
"Don't worry, dear boy," she reassured him, "Deborah's doing a lecture tour in America for Gambler's Anonymous – going down quite well from what I hear." She looked at his expression. "This is more than worry over being recognised, isn't it? I know she can be a bit formidable at times"
Virgil grimaced. "That's a one word for it. You didn't have to ride in the Mole with her. And then when we got back to TB2 she wanted to sit on the flight deck – said she never travelled in 'standard class accommodation'!"
Penny laughed. "That sounds just like Deborah."
They had visited art galleries, and a piano museum run by a friend-of-a-friend of Amanda's where Virgil (having demonstrated his skills on a baby grand) had a fascinating afternoon playing some of the old instruments such as a harpsichord and a clavichord. On another day Amanda took him to a medieval cathedral, where his engineering expertise had been impressed by the craftsmanship of those who had built such huge structures in a pre-machine age. They had also attended other concerts, including a gala to raise funds for the victims of the recent earthquake in Florence.
One morning, Amanda arranged to pick him up slightly earlier than usual, saying they had a long drive ahead.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he climbed into the car.
"I'm taking you to see Stonehenge. I think you'll be impressed."
'Impressed' wasn't the word. Virgil had seen pictures of the ancient structure before, but that was nothing to compare with standing next to it, and putting his hand on one of the roughly hewn stones. He had visited the pyramids in Egypt, and Mayan temples, but those had been built by civilised communities. The idea that this structure had been raised by a society that didn't even have a written culture staggered him. Amanda touched him on the shoulder. "I thought you'd like it," she said.
He looked round at her. "I'm just trying to calculate how much power it would take to lift
one of those lintel stones." In fact he knew exactly how much power it would need. His hands clenched on the handles of his crutches as if they were the throttle controls of TB2, ready to move them just the right amount. His craft was one of the most advanced on the planet, and even she would find it an effort to lift one of these stones, yet these people had done it with ropes and frames. He shook his head in wonderment.
On the way home he remained lost in his thoughts. Amanda smiled, and put the radio on.
As they were nearing home the announcer's voice came on. "This is the news from the BBC. Earlier today International Rescue were called to an oil refinery in Morocco where six of the workers had been trapped in a fire. All were rescued.
('I hate oil refinery fires' thought Virgil. 'Dirty, smelly job. Can be tricky too. Sounds like Gordon managed it OK')
"-tional rescue craft nearly needed rescuing itself when it was seen to collide with a pylon when coming into land. Today the Prime Minister visited …"
('What! That damn fool kid brother of mine. If he's damaged my Thunderbird I'll have his guts! Probably too busy thinking up his next scam to look where he's going. Just wait till I get my hands on him. Wonder if Dad would let me pilot again yet. My head's OK now, and my side. I could stay in the cockpit and let Gordon do the running around. The only problem would be the rudder – I wonder how much feeling I've got through this cast?')
He looked down at the pedals of Amanda's car. "Hey, Amanda, any chance you would let me have a go at driving this thing?"
"Of course, Virgil, once you're out of your cast I'd be glad to."
"No, I mean now."
"You can't mean it?"
"Yes, I do. I've got to know if I can do this. Stop the car, please."
"Virgil, don't be silly! We're on a public road here." She glanced at him. "You're serious about this, aren't you? Look, once we've turned into Penny's drive I'll stop and you can try there, OK?"
On arriving at the Creighton-Ward Mansion, Amanda stopped just inside the gate and got out. Virgil came round and climbed in the driver's seat. At his first attempt to set off he stalled the engine. On the second the car surged forward with a roar – straight into the middle of a rose-bed.
"Virgil! That's enough. Get out now!"
Virgil climbed out, a scowl on his face. "If I've scratched the car, don't worry, I'll pay for it."
"It's not the car I'm worried about, it's you – and Penny's flowerbed. Get back in the passenger seat and let's have no more of this nonsense."
They drove the rest of the way to the house in silence. As they pulled up, Penny ran down the steps to meet them. "Virgil, your father phoned earlier – just to let you know that everything is fine at home."
"I want to talk to him now!" Virgil demanded angrily, climbing out of the car.
She looked at him, conscious that Amanda was also listening "I think they'll probably still be asleep now. I gather from something your father said that they'd all had a busy day. He said he'd call again tomorrow and talk to you then."
Virgil scowled, and turned to climb the steps into the house, muttering "Can't a guy ever get to do what he wants round here?" and disappeared inside without even a glance in Amanda's direction.
Amanda watched him go, a hurt expression on her face. Penny turned to her and rolled her eyes, saying the only thing she could think of to explain his behaviour. "Men!" She turned to Amanda, smiling to cover what was proving to be an awkward moment. "Would you like to come in for some tea?"
"No, thanks, Penny, I'd better be getting back. Oh, and I'm afraid we damaged one of you rose-beds near the front gate, sorry." Then she got back into the car and drove off, not even bothering to return Penny's wave.
Supper was a subdued affair. Later that evening, as Virgil was getting ready for bed his wristcomm bleeped. It was Scott. "Hi, there, little brother. Sorry we missed you earlier. I presume you heard the news?"
Virgil nodded. "Yes. What happened?"
"It was nothing really. It was just that some reporter was hacked off because we wouldn't let him film, and decided to make a big thing of it. Remember when you were trying to land on Ocean Pioneer II and hit the aerial? Well, it was no worse than that."
"Hey, that was in thick fog!"
"Yes, and today the visibility was obscured by smoke from the fire. Give the kid a break, Virg, he's doing OK. We've checked over your Thunderbird and there's no harm done."
"Well, that's a relief. Anything else happening at home?"
"Not much since the last time I called. Lets see, Tin Tin and Elizabeth have been shopping again – why girls need so many clothes beats me." Both brothers laughed. "What else? Oh, yes, Brains is trying to teach Braman how to play table tennis."
"He's doing what?" said Virgil, laughing again.
"He says it will improve Braman's motor skills, or something. Oh, and I think Gordon's working on some prank for when you get back
"Thanks for the warning, big brother, I'll be on my guard."
Scott looked at his brother. "It seems awfully quiet here without the piano going all day."
"Well, I'm getting some practice in here, playing for Penny and Amanda."
"How are you getting on with your new ladyfriend?"
Virgil looked embarrassed. "I think she's a bit hacked off with me at the moment. I managed to drive her car into the middle of a flowerbed this afternoon." He gave Scott a quick summary of the afternoon's events.
"You're kidding! Virgil, did you honestly expect that Dad would let you fly TB2 with your leg in plaster? That crack you had on the head must be more serious than we thought!" He grinned to show that he was joking.
"Yes, I suppose I wasn't thinking very clearly at the time. I shall have to apologise to her in the morning."
"Yeah, you do that."
"Oh, that sounds like 'married man' talking. Elizabeth got you well-trained, has she?"
Scott gave a sly grin. "It has its compensations, little brother, believe me."
Virgil stifled a yawn, "Well, it's been a long day here, so I think I'll hit the sack. Talk to you again soon. G'night!"
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