Poor Marie-Claire! Well at least you finally know what her 'dark secret' is. Let's hope James is the only one she'll have to tell.
Lord Sampson was still at the ball just seconds after Marie-Claire had burst out and ran away. He didn't seem too alarmed or embarrassed; but played it cool instead. For the people around him who had begun to stare, he simply said, "You must forgive her. She is not feeling well."
They soon lost interest and started doing more small talk amongst themselves.
"Ah, Dr. Franklin. It is an honor to finally make your acquaintance. I have heard that you run a rather successful newspaper." Lord Sampson said kindly when he met the man.
"Good evening, Lord Sampson," Dr. Franklin replied, shaking his hand, "Yes. It is called the Pennsylvania Gazette. It is printed in Philadelphia."
"Do you have slaves who print it for you?" Lord Sampson asked casually. Sarah, who was nearby, seemed shocked at his remark. Slavery was a horrible thing.
Dr. Franklin shook his head, "No. I have two young apprentices, Sarah and James, who are also quite the accomplished writers, my good friend Moses, and a boy we, shall I say, semi-adopted, by the name of Henri. At the moment we have also accepted a new girl by the name of Marie-Claire."
Lord Sampson curled his mustache in interest, "I see. So do these people all live in the print shop back in Philadelphia?"
Dr. Franklin frowned, "Why are you suddenly so interested, my good man?"
"I'm not, really," Lord Sampson replied, feeling uncomfortable, "Just making small talk. Pleasure to meet you, sir. I must be off now."
Lord Sampson met another man in the corner of the room, who was mostly being silent and trying to be inconspicuous.
"Change of plans," He said to his comrade, "The target is no longer hidden. We're leaving for Philadelphia tomorrow."
Benjamin Franklin watched this man out of the corner of his eye. He just seemed so suspicious, maybe even unsafe. Something wasn't right.
Dang, Lord Sampson's a totally freaky dude with one deranged mind! Review? PLEASE? Loverly yours, Autumn