They came over the last sand dune to see a factory. It looked dark and forbidding.
"This explains the water," said Peter shaking his head sadly. "Whatever they make puts toxins into the water, which is what made the Selkies sick. The toxic waste would be something totally foreign to their system."
"Anything you can do?" asked Ian.
"Not much," Peter admitted. "If I tried to tell the people who own that factory that they were endangering the sea life they wouldn't care and if I even mentioned all the magical life they would have me committed as being insane."
"And sooner or later there will be more factories all over the world," said Sebastian, speaking for the first time. "Pouring more poisons into the water and the air."
"I can clean up the water, but unless we can do something about the source of the contamination—" Peter shrugged his expression sad.
"We'll just have to avoid this area," said Ian.
"That will do for now, but in later years?" asked Shawn.
"We'll deal with it when we have to lad," said Ian clapping his son on the back. "Come on let's get back."
They all turned and trudged back to the Selkie camp over the dunes.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
"You know I might have at least part of a solution," said Peter after a few minutes of solemn silence. "I'll tell Almsley. He'll be so outraged over the poison going into the water that he'll buy the place and hopefully he'll be able to redesign it where it will still be profitable but won't be dumping toxics into the sea."
"Will he do it though?" asked Ian.
"Oh he will," Peter assured his friend. "Peter Almsley and I have known each other for a long time. He's a Water Master in his own right and unlike me he has the money and the connections for something like this."
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
Peter Almsley was as mad as Peter said he would probably be and more.
He was so enraged his face turned purple and he looked as if he would dearly love to pulverize something.
Peter gave Ian a look that said, "I-told-you-so."
"Calm down twin," said Peter. "I know it makes you mad—"
"Mad nothing," said Almsley calming down a little. "Try bloody furious."
"I was thinking you could try to buy the place and have it redesigned to where it's not polluting the water."
Almsley nodded and said, "It might take a few months though."
"Well, if we're done here I think we're going to head home," said Sebastian, shaking Ian's hand.
"Thank you for all your help the Selkie are in your debt."
"It was our pleasure," said Andrew also shaking Ian's hand. "But we have patients to get back to. If you ever need anything else you can depend on us to help you out."
"Yes thank you," said Peter. "Without your help I don't think we could have saved them."
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
A few hours later they were all on the train all the Tarrants and the Pikes had been invited to spend a few days but had said perhaps another time for they needed to get home. They had already been gone close to a week as it was. Marina had also invited them to come and stay up at Oakhurst whenever they were in town.
The train pulled in late that night and both Maya and Peter were exhausted to the core. It had been a very long few days. The Tarrants and the Pikes had taken a different train back to Briarley.
They reached the house well after midnight and Peter put his key tiredly into the lock and opened the door. Gupta had already been warned in advance and as soon as the door opened he materialized as if out of nowhere.
Gupta took in the situation quickly and then said, "Welcome home Sahib Memsahib. You must be tired and in need of a good night's sleep.
"You're telling us," said Maya. "You're not far from the truth. We're exhausted sweaty and dirty, but baths are going to have to wait until tomorrow right now its bed for us."
Peter and Maya headed up to their own room and got undressed for sleep almost mechanically. They then fell into bed exhausted.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
The next morning Maya was the first up and she immediately got dressed and headed downstairs
Gupta of course, was already up and Gopal was in the kitchen fixing breakfast.
Maya came into the kitchen and said, "Um smells good. So Gupta what did Clayton-Smith say when you told him I had a family emergency?"
"Well," said Gupta turning around from where he was helping his son Gopal prepare a meal. "I headed over there early and tracked down Clayton-Smith, which was no easy task I assure you and when I told him that you had a family emergency and wouldn't be coming in for a few days he looked at me like I was insane and then he practically yelled at me and asked what could possible take one of his best doctors away on such short notice."
"He called me one of his best doctors?" Maya asked amazed then smiled.
"He did indeed," Gupta assured her. "I told him that Sahib Peter's uncle had taken ill and wanted to see Peter and you immediately. That he had to tell you something very important."
"Gupta, Peter doesn't have an uncle," Maya chided him gently but with a gentle smile.
Gupta shrugged then smiled. "You know that and I know that, but he didn't. Then he asked me how ill was Peter's uncle and I told him that he was very sick and might die. He then told me that as soon as you got back from seeing to the uncle that you would be welcomed back when Peter's uncle told him whatever was so important."
"That was well done Gupta," Maya said.
"Thank you Memsahib," said Gupta with a small satisfied smile at a job well done.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
Maya went to work a Saint Mary's hospital still a little tired, but feeling better then she had last night
She went on her rounds almost mechanically for she was still tired after her exertion of the last week.
As she walked down the hospital hallway she almost literally ran into Clayton-Smith. She managed to stop before she ran into his back.
"Maya!" said Clayton-Smith turning "When did you get back?"
"Late last night, sir," said Maya.
"How's you husband's uncle?" asked Clayton-Smith
"I'm afraid he died sir," said Maya, shaking her head in mock sadness,
"Oh I'm so sorry," said Clayton-Smith. "Wasn't there anything the doctors could do?"
"I'm afraid not," said Maya. "He had been ill for quite some time—some kind of wasting disease. There was nothing the doctors or anybody could do except keep him company. It was far better to let him die peaceably for he was in quite a bit of pain."
"Tell you husband I'm very sorry for his loss."
"I will and thank you," said Maya lowering her eyes so that Clayton-Smith could not see her smirk. They parted ways and Maya smiled again this time in triumph.
Most men—except ones like Peter—but especially arrogant ones like Clayton-Smith assumed woman didn't or wouldn't lie to a man. More fools they, Maya thought with a satisfied smirk.
She went through the rest of the day feeling more awake and vitalized.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~
A few weeks later
Maya came home from fleet in a daze. Gupta was in the entry hall as usual, "Something wrong memsahib?"
"No Gupta, but I have an announcement to make over dinner." Maya refused to say another word on the subject till then.
Timmy and Lorena were both home for Timmy didn't start school until next year. Both Maya and Peter had felt that to start in the middle of the school year would be a bad idea. Besides Peter and Maya wanted to work on their speech patterns and improve them so they didn't quite like the street children they were.
Timmy and Lorena's speech patterns would mark them for the jobs they could get in the future. It was a sad fact about London society—but true nonetheless.
A half an hour later Peter came in just as dinner was being put on the table. The family had grown considerably in the last year. Not only was there Gupta, Gopal, Sumi and Gopal's and Sumi's three children there was Rylie, Timmy and Lorena
"So Maya what's the news?" asked Peter who had been informed that Maya had an announcement as soon as he walked in the door.
Maya's eyes twinkled as she announced, "I'm pregnant."
Everyone sat stunned for a moment then the whole table began speaking at once. Peter for his part was ecstatic for had had been; wanting another child and he knew Maya had wanted another as well.
The only one not excited was Timmy for he figured with another mouth too feed he; and his sister would be out on the street.
"This is great!" Peter enthused. He was really excited and so was everybody else—everybody that is except Timmy.
Peter finally noticed that Timmy wasn't joining in and exchanged a glance with Maya. They would be talking later for Peter was concerned that Timmy might think that he and his sister didn't count anymore and that Timmy would run away dragging his sister with him.
Peter might have done the same when he was younger if he had been put in such a situation.
~~~Beyond Revenge~~~