HI Folks! I hope you're sticking with me on this one. I promise a good happy Williza ending. Here's the gist: Oliver Fitzroy has sent his letter lending additional information and ship tickets for Eliza, William, Alex, Jr, and Camille in order to travel to England and meet with the Foreign Secretary and other people in their search for Thomas and containing or stopping the Scarleterri smuggling ring. Eliza has written to Sophia to catch up on her pregnancy and let her know that the family is coming. Camille has heard from Lawrence her boyfriend in the army and finds out that he won't be home until the following April. So, in order to salve her loss she will take advantage of the ticket provided to her by the British Government.

Thomas as found that he is being favored by Madame S but is still leery that the whole thing is a trick.

Eliza and William share a few special moments together the night before they are to leave for England.

Honorable Mention

Chapter 18

A Secret Service

Oliver's letter reached them about a week after the cable. He had informed them that the Admiralty via Foreign Secretary had left them four First Class tickets on the next ship to England which would be leaving at the end of the month.

The household was all hustle and bustle as Eliza and William were finishing up current investigations and writing Sophia to expect the family en masse. Sophia and Bernie still lived next door so the whole family would be together once Thomas was found and returned to the fold. The letter Eliza had finally written back to her stepdaughter was informative and loving.

Sophie's response was that she was more than happy to meet Camille and see her brother again as well as see her and William.

….In answer to your questions, Mama, regarding my pregnancy everything is going well. Looks like September will be a good month for the birth by the doctor's calculations. I am glad it concurs with mine.

Having Bernie work as a Detective Inspector at a different precinct than Papa worked from is strange. I have gone back to Papa's precinct, or what used to be where Alex worked, to continue my clerical work. I know I am being disgraceful and rebellious working outside the home in my condition, but it makes me feel closer to you somehow, Mama, as you blazed trails similarly when you were expecting Alexander, Jr. Much to Papa's dismay, if I remember correctly. I smile as I write that just remembering.

I am thinking, once the baby arrives and there is time, I will reapply for my PI's license and work with Alex in the agency a few times a week. Clarence, upon your approval, did hire a new agent to handle some of the more mundane cases like insurance fraud, divorce investigations, etc. He seems to be doing fine. The agency is lacking someone of a much higher caliber to handle the high profile cases of which Alex and you usually handled. So Alex is missed and his return once Thomas is safe and sound will be very fortunate all around.

I am eager to see all of you, so I will be sure to have the rooms aired and all new linens installed. Camille can sleep in my room when I was living here and, of course, I will put you and Stepfather in the room you shared with papa. I have missed all of you and look forward to meeting my new sister and brother.

Love

Sophia

Camille had written to her boyfriend Lawrence who was stationed in Panama at the relatively new Fort Grant. He was an engineer so he was needed for the construction of a new and improved military installation.

"Larry says in his letter that he doesn't foresee being home until next April," Camille said tearfully one day to Eliza and William as she sat in the living room with them.

"Then you can come to England with us and not worry that you will be missing him," Eliza said looking on the bright side. "Besides Sophia is looking forward to meeting her new sister, as she puts it in her letter." Eliza handed the letter for Camille to read herself.

"I'll be happy to go. School is almost out, so that will not be a problem I'm happy to say," Camille said brightening up at the prospect of a new adventure.

"You'll like it there, Cami. Hopefully, if we have time, we can show you Eliza's agency where Alex works and my old precinct of Scotland Yard where Eliza and I spent a lot of time," William said looking lovingly at his wife. He reached out and she took his hand in hers.

Thomas, who was in his cabin, waited for the ship to berth soon at Morrocco. He waited for one of Madame's burly men to come and push him around to help pack more crates or some other duty. He lay in his bed waiting for the inevitable hard knock.

The knock usually came at 8:30 am on the dot. However, when it did not come, Thomas rose, trimmed his beard, and dressed in the same clothes that he had been wearing now for a few weeks. The suit had been cleaned and pressed overnight. It was not the rags that his former clothes had become but a replacement suit due to Madame's generosity. It seemed his cohorts were a tad jealous that the American Spy was a favorite of Madame's.

Thomas peeked out his cabin door and found that Madame was on her way to pay him a personal visit. He quickly closed his cabin door and went to his bureau to find an old copy of a paper he had obtained on board. He had begun an article regarding new immigrant businesses popping up all over NYC. Strangely enough, he found an advertisement for a new private investigation agency called Scarlet & Wellington located at his home in NYC! Thomas was not sure what was happening at home, but he knew, instinctively, that his father must have found his first love and brought her home. This only pinpointed the need for Thomas to get home. Thomas was happy for his father and more than eager to get home and meet his new stepmother.

Thomas' father had told him and his sister so much about Eliza Scarlet that he felt he knew her already. He was sure that his father was now happy.

At the moment Thomas' focus was on the boat berthing soon in Morrocco where he would somehow find the American consulate to help him get home and expose this high-class smuggling ring.

"Knock, knock, Thomas?" Madame Scarleterri 's rather deep voice asked as she opened the door. "Oh, Thomas, you're dressed and ready. Were you anticipating my visit?"

Thomas rose to his full 6'-2" height and kissed Madame's hand. Madame blushed to the roots of her dyed black hair. It was actually hard for Thomas to see any color on her skin because her skin was olive toned.

"No I was not Madame. Every morning since you so graciously appointed me first class accommodations, I have received my wakeup call from Carlo and his cronies."

"Oh Carlo, his bark is worse than his bite. Pay him no mind. He's just jealous. No need to worry about him," Madame Scarleterri dismissed with a wave of her hand. She stepped closer to Thomas and ran her fingers up the narrow lines of his vest surrounding his chest. She had to look up at Thomas as she was slightly smaller than him although she was tall for a woman and very buxom.

Thomas looked down on the dyed and coiffed black hair, the makeup which had been overdone to mask Madame's real age was doing the total opposite and making her look like a caricature of herself. Thomas thought has he watched her finger the buttons on his shirt and his vest that once she was probably a very attractive woman.

Madame stepped away and said, "The ship has arrived a few days early here in Morrocco. It seems that we may be here longer than normal as I have heard the captain is anticipating storms on the way to Africa. However, today is pleasant and I thought we might take a walk on the deck before we break our fast."

Thomas tried not to show his surprise that they had arrived in Morrocco early and that the voyage continuance to Africa was delayed. His hackles were raised as it sounded rather unreal. Routes are planned many months in advance and are modified as needs come but it did seem strange to him since he did not remember any distressful weather or ship's mechanical issues that would prevent a preplanned voyage.

"That's good news we've berthed early then," Thomas said.

"Yes, it is. It will give us more time to accumulate more product. I will be sending a cable to our source in North Africa to accommodate us."

"Won't that mean a higher payout for them?"

"Not necessarily. I've known these sources for years and I have always been able to negotiate a good deal based on returns back in the USA and Great Britain."

Thomas simply nodded as Madame slipped her hand through Thomas' elbow.

"William," Eliza said.

"Yes, Eliza," William responded. "What is it?"

Eliza passed Oliver Fitzroy's entire letter to him to read.

"Read Oliver's complete letter. It gives us contacts for the American Consulates in not only Morrocco but also in Africa. Do you think we can write to these offices now and warn them about the impending ship's arrival with Scarleterri and Thomas?"

"I don't think it could hurt, but we don't know for certain if Thomas is even on that ship," William said with grim reality. It had occurred to him that all the family running to England to check with the Foreign Secretary and the Admiralty could be a waste of time if something had happened to Thomas after being in Italy.

"Do you think the American Consulate will really help? The US Government seemed to wash their hands of the whole mission once their inside person was killed. They did not give a hang for Thomas," Eliza said.

"Write to them anyway and give them your address in England. I am certain they will not ignore that," William said reassuring Eliza of her plans.

Eliza wrote letters the same day to the American Consulate. They were leaving for England in a few days, so she and William prayed that a letter would arrive for them in England by the time they were unpacking a car from the port.

Meanwhile on the layover in Morrocco, Thomas had finished his walk with Madame and they breakfasted privately in her cabin. While she had left to conduct business below decks with Carlo, Thomas found Madame's desk and it had been open to his eyes. As the desk was temporarily being used all manner of bills of lading, freight counts, as well as crew count was enumerated on paper for his eyes to absorb.

The first thing he looked for was some type of land contact number such as a shipping office knowing original paperwork which would be destroyed the minute the exchange of product for money happened in North Polloch, Africa. Keeping an eye on the door behind him, he rifled through pages and pages of loose paper receipts all typed in neat script with no official "legible" signatures.

He did notice a difference between "legitimate" work papers and "illegitimate" work papers. The official paperwork for official shipments to and from ports were typed on pink papers and time stamped with a signature. Unofficial paperwork was on a faded brown paper with recent dates in handwriting signed by Warren F. Abercrombie, Madame Scarleterri's eldest son. Attached to this paperwork was a handwritten letter from Warren telling his mother that the exchange should happen, in Africa, on July 20, 1913.

Thomas stopped in his search as he thought he heard Madame approaching. He quickly found a pen and scrap paper and jotted down the name and address of Abercrombie Ltd and Warren's official name, telephone number (in Morrocco) and address. He completed all of this and sat back down at his plate before Madame Scarleterri walked in the door.

"There we are. All is peaceful below. Have you finished your breakfast or would you like more? I simply have to call to the kitchen," Madame said patting Thomas on his shoulder as she passed by and resumed her seat opposite him at the table.

"I'm fine. Very good breakfast. Tell me, Madame. Is this your private ship?"

"No, we are a very successful operation as my family has been in the jewel and metal business for years. No, we lease it from my husband's family. They are the ones who have the shipping connections. The Wild One is leased to us for the next couple of trips and then it will go back into port awaiting refurbishment or a new assignment depending upon what restoration services may be needed. Why?"

"I just wondered because there are only a few other First-Class passengers here and the rest seem to be workers in the lower decks," Thomas said.

"Yes, my husband schedules other passengers on his ships and then if it accommodates my company's needs then the major use is for my purpose. The other passengers pay to use the cook and facilities on board. They are pretty ignorant of what else goes on here, so it works out as a profitable side business."

"Interesting," Thomas said making mental note of how Scarleterri is able to keep her smuggling business afloat amid large expenses. There are none if Madame uses her husband's shipping line to smuggle and for legitimate brokering.

"Thomas."

"Yes, Madame."

"You said your father was a policeman in NYC? Was your mother a stay-at-home wife? It seems there are less and less of them these days."

"Yes, he started out as a Detective Inspector in Scotland then came to America on an assignment and was offered a permanent position as a Superintendent. He just retired last year as Police Commissioner. My mother was a schoolteacher before she died."

"Oh, I am sorry about your mother. Your father is still alive then?"

"Yes."

"So, you followed in your father's footsteps?" Madame asked.

"Not exactly. The American Spy that your men shot and killed wanted to use me as a decoy because I have some expertise in business."

"You do?" Madame asked incredulous.

"Mmhmm," Thomas nodded praying that this fibbing would be beneficial to all in the long run.

"You do remind me of my son, my eldest, Warren whom you will meet in Morrocco. By the way. I would like to put you in front of my crew and see what you can do to make them more efficient. I know you have witnessed the packaging preparation process, but now there are teams that need to be created to facilitate boarding and off boarding processes. Carlo has been told to stop forthwith his bullying you or you have my full permission to respond in any way you wish. You look like if given half a chance you could become a good leader. What do you say, Thomas?"

Thomas could not believe the reality of this woman's proposal. Was it too good to be true and was it all really a trap? That would depend, Thomas guessed, on the arrival in Africa when the exchange would happen.

The night before the family was to leave Eliza and William lay in bed just talking. William playing with Eliza's long blonde strands lying on the pillow. He bent over, burying his nose in her neck. She did not stop talking at his small kisses in the crook of her neck and on her face. He felt her arms go around him and pull him tight between her thighs, but she still chattered which was one of her traits that William really loved about her. However, enough was enough, and he kissed her deeply mid-sentence.

"I suppose that was to stop me from talking," Eliza said as looked up at him amused. She played with his hair at the nape of his neck. It was still plentiful and she loved the feel of it in her hands and loved him in her arms.

"Yes and no," William said with a little chuckle. "How do you feel going back to home to London?"

"My home is with you, William. Wherever you are, but it's going to be a little strange since I've been away for a few months now and I'm home here."

William smiled in the dark and kissed her and let his hands wander her body. He was tired and he knew Eliza was tired with all the stress in preparing for a trip to London, but all he wanted to do as he watched her and worked with her was make love to her. However, he was a little too tired for that but not too tired for a little relaxed kissing and some interesting squeezes.

He kissed her again deeply and Eliza responded.

"William," she whispered. "I want to but I am way too tired."

"Me, too. I love you," William whispered before he fell back beside her.

"Camille is so excited. Why did you never take the children to England or Scotland?" Eliza asked crawling into his arms.

William held her tightly and told Eliza that although he and Ellen had traveled it was before the children were born.

"England, Scotland, Wales were not on our list especially Scotland and England."

"You did not want to conjure up old painful memories. I'm sorry. Alexander was tired of traveling by the time we were married. We honeymooned in Paris and then went to the South of France for a vacation. Alexander very rarely took a vacation, and it did not bother me until we had both children."

William held Eliza in his arms, and he was so happy. Once his son was returned to him then all his fears would be allayed and could enjoy quiet in his life.

"Eliza?" When William did not get a response, he assumed she had fallen asleep. So, he settled her in his arms comfortably and decided to sleep with his beloved wife in his arms.

"William?"

"I thought you were asleep," William said turning his cheek to rest on top of her head.

"Once Thomas is restored, could we have another wedding in London? A bigger one? So we can invite Oliver, Francesca, and you know…."

William looked to the ceiling and thought what a wonderful idea. He wanted to bring their marriage full circle and a new wedding with all the family there would be perfect. He still had Eliza's original engagement ring which he never had a chance to give her. He, at least, had would remember to place it on his person during the trip and then store it securely away because he had planned to give it to her in some type of ceremony and celebration while they were England and reunited with Thomas.

"It's uncanny how similar our minds work, love. I was thinking the exact same thing. Let's get married again and invite everyone."

Eliza smiled and supported herself on one arm. Her other arm was on William's chest. She bent and kissed him and then he pulled her down on top of him. Despite what both had said to each other; they made love the rest of the night.

Just before dawn, Eliza and William slept peacefully.