Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 5-Preparations

Roxton smiled to as he climbed the steps to the Challenger house. Jessie had come up with the brilliant suggestion of having Marguerite stay with them, so Roxton had only one stop to make when he wanted to see them. Things had finally quieted down with the press. He knocked on the door twice and when it didn't open immediately he opened it himself and stepped inside. "Hello. Anyone home?" he called as he walked into the parlor.

"Why John you're early," Jessie Challenger said as she came into the room. "George has Marguerite up in the lab explaining some new experiment or something."

Roxton smiled. "Same old Challenger. Mind if I go up," he asked.

"Not at all John," Jessie said with a smile. "You know the way."

John took the stairs to the second floor and turned down the short hallway that led to Challenger's lab.

Marguerite and a cloud of smoke meet him at the doorway. "Some things never change," she said with a smile as she waved her hand to try and clear the air.

Roxton smiled too, then stuck his head in the door and called, "Challenger are you all right?"

A spate of coughing answered him. Challenger walked out of the worst of the smoke, looking unharmed as always. "Of course, let me just open this window to clear some of the smoke out," he said from the other side of the room.

"It's nice that one of your labs has a window," Marguerite said with a grin.

Just then Jessie appeared at the top of the stairs. If she minded the smoke still lingering in the hallway she didn't show it. "Lunch is ready," she said walking towards them.

"Ah, wonderful," Challenger said offering his wife his arm. "Shall we go down my dear?"

Marguerite walked up next to Roxton, smiling as she watched the couple begin to descend the stairs.

"Shall we?" Roxton asked gallantly offering Marguerite his arm.

"Why not," Marguerite said as she gracefully threading her arm through his.

Arm in arm they walked down stairs and into the parlor where lunch had been set up. As they ate they talked about the upcoming ball the Zoological Society was hosting in their honor they had all been invited to. They decided that they would arrive together.

"Well, that doesn't leave much time for shopping now does it," Jessie said. When she received strange looks from the men she explained, "Marguerite has been out of society for three years, fashions have changed. You wouldn't want her to appear in something three years old, would you?"

Roxton and Challenger looked skeptical, but agreed.

"Wonderful, come along dear," Jessie said as they finished up lunch.