The Adventures of Ada and Mr. Clovis

The Lady

The young lady glanced at her pocket watch once more. 4:05. The train was late. She sighed in disappointment. She really had been looking forward to this appointment and preferred to attend sooner than later.

She turned to glance back at the station's busy interior, studying all the interesting people. She turned back toward the tracks again and opened her velvet clutch. Fishing through it, she grabbed at a small make up case and opened it. Inside, a mirror reflected her powdered face and she nodded in satisfaction. Quite presentable. She put the case back inside and pulled an envelope out in its stead.

The lady slipped her fingers in and unfolded the delicate piece of paper tucked inside the envelope. It read in neat print: Please join me for tea at 4:30 p.m. Meet me at West Brixton Station next to Ticket Station 11. I'm coming in on the 4 o'clock train. - T.W.

She glanced at her pocket watch again. 4:06. This was quite aggravating. She was about to turn around to glance at Ticket Station 11 again when a gentleman in a fez bumped into her. His monkey screeched indignantly and scrambled onto the young lady's rather fancy hat. Of course, she couldn't help but scream which attracted all sorts of attention.

"My goodness gracious! Get this animal off of me!" she cried, waving her clutch frantically over her head. The gentleman was trying his best to calm her down and retrieve his pet, but to no avail. The monkey was stuck firmly in her hat.

"I apologize, Madame. If I could just-" he started and leapt onto the poor woman's hat, tearing it unceremoniously from her head. She toppled over, quite unbalanced. The monkey was screeching non-stop now and the young lady screamed again. The station guard at Station 11 would've come to assist, but he was too busy guffawing at the ridiculous scene. The crowd around stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

Finally, the gentleman managed to rip his flailing monkey off the hat, tearing it to shreds in the process. The woman had gotten back to her feet with the assistance of a little girl standing beside her.

As soon as she steadied herself, she turned her venomous gaze toward the poor gentleman, his fez lopsided on his head.

"I have, never in all my life, seen such appalling behavior from a man or an animal!" she snapped. The crowd, quite surprised at her tone, decided that it would be safer to skirt around the scene as best they could. Soon, everything was back to normal except for the three figures standing in front of the tracks at Ticket Station 11. The young lady went on.

"Honestly, I cannot believe what-" she stopped suddenly, peering at the little girl who had not moved from her side. The young lady, throwing a vicious glare at the Turkish gentleman, bent down and faced the girl. "Are you lost, sweetheart?" she asked softly. The girl shook her head and pointed at the gentleman. "Is this," she gave a disgusted look at the gentleman," man your father, dear?" she finished. The girl shook her head and lifted her petite hand to her mouth to suck on her first finger. The woman stood up. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had kidnapped her! Please, do explain," she asked, venom dripping from every word. The man straightened, realizing that she had put the... situation behind for now.

"No, no. I found her alone in the station, toddling after me and Halil," he said, scratching the small monkey's belly," she mentioned a gentleman named Mr. Clovis and we are attempting to locate him."

The young lady turned to the girl. "Is this true?" she questioned in a kind voice. She nodded. The lady turned back to the gentleman. "I suppose we had better put this unfortunate situation behind us and look together," she said and stretched out her hand gracefully to the surprised gentleman," Miss Katrina Rouse."

The man took her hand hesitantly and kissed it gently. He stood up, straightening his fez and replied," Omer Saban. This is my troublesome companion, Halil. I apologize for his actions."

Miss Rouse nodded and inclined her head toward Halil. "I forgive you." Omer let out a sigh of relief. "Now, who is this Mr. Clovis?" she asked politely. Omer blew out his breath in frustration.

"I do not know. Ada tells me... ah this here is Ada... that he lost his way after bumping into a top hat," he replied, completely stumped. Miss Rouse cocked her head and glanced at Ada.

"What does Mr. Clovis look like?" she asked the little girl. Ada pulled her finger out of her mouth with a pop.

"He has a tiny top hat and a little glass over his eye," she answered. Miss Rouse nodded.

"Alright, there's a good start," she noted," Is he tall or short?" Ada bent down and positioned her palm so that it was parallel to the floor.

"Short, then," Omer said. He turned to Ada as well. "Is he human or an automaton?" Miss Rouse nodded in approval. Many parents were purchasing automatons as nannies or servants these days.

"What is an aut-auto-" Ada began. Omer smiled.

"It is a mechanical person. They're not real, but they act real," he simplified it for the girl. Ada shook her head.

"So he's real then?" Miss Rouse asked. Ada shook her head again. The lady sighed, but Ada wasn't finished.

"He's not a person. He's an owl," she said softly and the two gasped.

They both began to realized who's daughter this was.