A Time for Honour

Chapter 8

There was a loud, almost desperate sounding knock on the door. 'Come in,' Ellington said, making no effort to hide the irritation he felt at being interrupted. When his office door was shut, he did not have to tell his staff that he would not tolerate any disruption, everyone just knew. It had been a busy day, and he was in the middle of writing an important letter to his business partner, Lord Melrose.

Europe, once more, was on the brink of war. Since Napoleon had made his daring escape from exile on Elba, the political situation on the continent, that had been precarious for the last year, had deteriorated further. As Napoleon marched victoriously through France, he gathered together his scattered army that had been disbanded by the allies at the end of the war. As soon as Louis XVIII, the French king, who had been given power by the British, heard the news of Napoleon's escape, he moved his court across the Belgium border to Ghent; a town controlled by the allies.

The allies, who had been overseeing the fragile peace agreement, were taken by surprise by Napoleon's audacious escape and the willingness of the French people to change their allegiance, from their out-of-touch king to their beloved emperor. Now the allies had to prepare themselves for a war that none of them had expected to fight.

Ellington, who had transferred most of his business interests to Europe six months ago, was concerned at how the coming war would impact him financially. He had to tread carefully, to keep both sides happy. He knew, that whatever the political outcome or the ramifications the war would have on the economic situation in Europe, his business interests must come first.

He had been in the process of writing a detailed letter to Melrose when the door of the office was flung open, and an angry woman stormed into the room. She stood in the middle of the room and bellowed at him. 'How dare you?' She then took a few more steps towards the desk and said again, through gritted teeth, 'how dare you?'

'How dare I... what, exactly?' he said, looking at her superciliously.

'My brother,' she said, her eyes wide and flashing with anger.

He put down his pen and placed the paper, that he had been writing on, carefully to one side. He then folded his arms and looked at her, his hauteur had been replaced by anger. 'If you must come in and shout at me,' he said, his eyes narrowing, 'please shut the door behind you. Do you want everyone in the building overhearing our conversation?'

Cassie turned around, walked back to the door and slammed it shut. The loud bang that the door made, reverberated around the office, making the pictures that were hanging on the wall closest to it shake violently. She then returned to stand in the middle of the room and began to glower at him with her bright blue eyes. There were chairs by the desk, but everyone, who entered the room, knew that you did not take a seat until you were invited.

'Now that you have slammed the door, please tell me what I have done to incur your wrath?' he said, leaning back in his chair.

'You...You,' she said, through gritted teeth, 'are turning my brother into a libertine.'

'Is that all!' he replied, shrugging his shoulders, 'I thought, from the impertinence of your interruption, that what you had to say was of vital importance. However, I was wrong.'

'What do you mean, of no importance,' she said, putting one hand on her hip and waving the other at him, 'have you seen Reggie recently?' She continued, not bothering to wait for his reply. 'He is gambling away what little money he has, at your card tables; he has made friends if I can call them friends, with some very unsavoury characters; and he spends nearly every night here fraternising with every cheap slut that works for you.'