Chapter 3 – Meeting Father
~~~~Winter 1877~~~~
Helen dragged Nikola by the hand up the stairs to her home, giggling with excitement.
"Helen, I don't want to do this," grumbled Nikola.
"You have to meet him sometime, besides, he's been curious as to who I've been spending all my time with," Helen's lips curled into a smile.
"Can't you lie, say I'm one of the girls at the crochet club!" whined Nikola.
"I don't crochet Nikola, nor would I lie to my father, you're my friend you have to tell him sometime!" Helen opened the door to the townhouse she and her father shared, it wasn't a mansion but it was big enough for their purpose, besides it was only their temporary home in Oxford, they had a Country home and a flat down in London, both they rented out for money.
Helen dragged Nikola inside and removed her overcoat and the fashionable winter cap on her head.
Nikola stood there awkwardly.
"Take off your coat Nikola, you're a guest, not a convict," Helen said, a hint of laughter in her voice.
Nikola scrunched up his face in a small whine but removed his dark overcoat and hat to appease her.
Helen too the garments from him and placed them in the coat closet.
"Come this way, father is in his study, he's anxious to meet you," Helen smiled and dragged him up the stairwell to the upper rooms. "This is the guest room, my father's chambers and study and the room at the end of the hall is my room."
"Really?" Nikola looked down the hall at the light oak door.
"Probably the only room in the house my father will forbid you from," joked Helen.
"He doesn't trust me alone with you?" teased Nikola back.
"What father trusts any man alone with his daughter?" said Helen teasingly back.
"True, we are scandalous things," smirked Nikola.
She giggled lightly.
"Wait here, I'll go tell him," Nikola nodded nervously as she opened the door to the study and walked in. She kept it open a crack and Nikola peered through it. "Father, do you have a moment?"
She sounded just as nervous as he felt. Nikola was never good with people, especially not fathers. The fathers of daughters were always the most distrustful, especially if you were the friend of said daughters. Nikola was always good friends with ladies, they found him charming and the ones he chose to spend his time with he found pleasantly intelligent, like Helen, except Helen was much more to him than any lady he had ever met. That's why he was particularly nervous about this meeting; so much was riding on her father's first impression of him.
Helen came back to the door and pulled Nikola inside.
"Father, this is Nikola, my friend from Oxford. Nikola, this is my father Dr. Gregory Magnus," Dr. Magnus stood up and offered a gruff hand to the Serbian.
"Nikola, eh?" said the Englishman, "Sounds foreign; Russian?"
"Serbian," said Nikola, giving his hand and shaking.
The pair of them were sizing up each other, like a horse trainer looks at a new stallion, they were looking for clues for each other's faults and weak spots.
"And you're attending Oxford with my Helen?" asked Magnus inquisitively.
"Yes, she's been auditing some of the courses I've been taking, we befriended each other as classmates," answered Nikola strongly, ignoring his impulse to wipe his hands.
"You've been studying together I take it?" Gregory sat back down, keeping his eyes fixed on Nikola.
"Yes, well more like she is helping me study, she's been refused by the college to actually take the exams, which is a crime because she is smarter than more than all those dimwits put together, I think it's shameful she does not get the same chance as they have," Nikola stayed standing, unsure if he should sit down, especially since Magnus hadn't offered.
"You are a very forward thinking man, Mr…"
"Tesla."
"Tesla? Well, not many men are these days," Magnus eyed him suspiciously.
"Societies fault really, women like your daughter are revolutionary, but you know that," Nikola and Gregory held each others gaze for a long moment before Helen broke the silence with a small cough.
"Um…I'm going to go grab some tea," she said and scurried out, leaving Nikola and her father alone.
Nikola restrained himself from cursing in Serbian.
"Now that we're alone Mister Tesla, please sit down," said Magnus, folding his hands in front of him.
Nikola sat down without a word.
"Why did you really befriend my daughter? And save me the smart girl speech, I know how beautifully intelligent my own daughter is," Magnus stood up and went to his liquor cabinet and poured a splash of brandy for the both of them.
He placed the two glasses on the table and gingerly slid Nikola one.
Nikola didn't reach for it, in fact, Nikola hated brandy, it was like drinking lamp oil, and besides this was obviously a test, Gregory was still trying to read him.
"If you want to know the truth I didn't, she befriended me, out of whatever spark of character in me she saw, and I was amazed at her honesty, and after talking with her I realized some of her sparkling qualities, and from then on we just enjoyed each other's company during classes, I guess it was like two outsiders finding each other, really," Nikola said as sincerely as he could, and Gregory must've seen it.
"You're an honest man, aren't you Nikola?" asked Gregory putting down his brandy glass.
"I try to be, yes," said Nikola frankly.
"It'a a rare quality these days, and I trust that Helen is a good judge of character, or she wouldn't have insisted on me meeting you, and I can see the spark of character she must've seen with you."
Nikola felt a small smile curl on his face.
"Thank you, sir."
At that moment Helen walked back in with a tray of tea.
"Drinking brandy already, father, it's barely 2:00!" she said placing the tray on his desk.
"Yes, and apparently alone, your friend hasn't touched his," Gregory gave Nikola a slight wink.
"He's probably just putting aback by the time, he's expecting tea, not brandy!" she smiled lightly at her father.
"I'm sorry, my dear, maybe another time, I'm extremely busy, you kids run along and don't get into too much trouble," he kissed the side of Helen's head as Nikola stood up and bowed graciously before walking stridently out with Helen.
Once she closed the door he fell against the wall letting out an exasperated sigh.
"That went better than I thought it would," said Helen, in an over bubbly tone.
"Yah…" said Nikola, he took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and hands.
"Are you ok?" she said trying to retain a giggle.
"No, not really, that was…very unpleasant…don't make me do it again!" said Nikola, as he let out the nerves he had masterfully held in through the meeting.
"Would you like a drink?" said Helen sympathetically.
"Oh, heavens I would." She giggled and looped her arm with his taking him down the stairs and out to the nearest pub.