The Sins of the Fathers

Chapter Three

The Rosen House

Sanibel Island

Florida

Helena Montague smiled at Brianna Palmer as her keeper settled her on the wicker bench out on the porch, fussing over the skirts of her brown velvet gown. Brianna smiled back, but she had to admit that having a sincere Daughter of Eve living in her house was going to take a bit of getting used to. It was different with Mena Forbes. For a start, she was legally a nun when she arrived on the island, and she had left her old life behind four years before, so there was no lurking keeper to deal with. But Helena Montague had not left anything behind, and was probably hoping that she would soon be allowed to go home, which was why Brianna had put on one of her church gowns to make her guest feel more comfortable.

"Did you enjoy your devotions, Mrs Montague?" Brianna asked as soon as the keeper left them alone.

"Very much, Mrs Palmer...although I do rather miss the chapel at the embassy...I have been rather spoilt to have it all to myself for the last few years?" Helena said, her voice soft and demure. She was so young, only in her mid-thirties, and probably well out of her personal comfort zone. Brianna could only assume that her husband's posting to Washington was her first time abroad, because even for the elite, travel permits were hard to come by, keeping everyone safely behind the velvet curtain.

"Are your girls comfortable in their room...they must be used to a larger nursery?"

"Mrs Palmer, please do not concern yourself...you have made us very welcome...and this view is quite spectacular? I hope we will not have to impose on your hospitality for too much longer, but the sight of your ospreys in flight...and yesterday's alligator on the lawn...I will remember this place fondly, I assure you?"

"Sanibel certainly has a lot of wildlife...thousands of different kinds of birds come through during the year...I've always felt blessed to live here?" Brianna said, her hands resting in her lap as her eyes focussed on Helena's mittens. "It is a shame I cannot give you and the girls a proper tour?"

"My keeper would not allow it, Ma'am...too many temptations...I have seen very little of Washington in almost four years." Helena said with no hint of regret. She was telling Brianna that she was kept blind whenever she left the British embassy, but she was not moaning about it because she did not expect anything else.

"It must be strange for you here? In these circumstances?"

"My husband says it is necessary, Ma'am...and my father-in-law believes that he is doing important work here...but it is obviously none of my concern." Helena said, glancing out across the lake again, a little wistfully. She had to be confused, of course. Brianna was fairly sure that she did not know why she had been abruptly moved from the grand old embassy to what amounted to house arrest in Florida. And if she really thought that she was going back any time soon, she was quite sorely mistaken, because Richard Montague was no longer the ambassador, and the British government had issued warrants for his immediate arrest, along with his father, on various criminal charges. For starters, Charles Montague had skipped the country without the required documentation, and his son, who did have the paperwork, had aided and abetted him.

Brianna was following the latest developments as closely as possible. The United Nations Security Council had decided to investigate the new allegations on a majority vote, with both the British and Chinese abstaining, not vetoing. Gideon was of the opinion that both countries were reeling under the reaction of the other members and had decided not to veto, because that would be an admission that they had something to hide. According to Sean, the ferocity of the anger almost every country had shown to the accused had particularly appalled the Chinese, and although they were not exactly cooperating, they were not making any threats either. The British were protesting their innocence, as expected, but they were being forced to prove it, and that meant letting Pan Deacon and his small team in. The current delays were all about where he would base himself, because Nick Symonds did not want him staying with the good bishop, but Sean was confident that it was almost done.