One More Try

Breaking News

Printing presses all over Europe were running hot that night. The picture Eliza had taken had been leaked without her knowledge and permission and it had spread like wildfire, while she was sleeping soundly, still convinced she'd done the right thing. Around 11 p.m. the picture arrived in London, via fax, thankfully not at the Daily Mail. Lucky for Jean and Reg, it was Wilf's friend, Tobias "Toby" Winter, doing the late shift at the London Herald, who received the picture. He was shocked and a little confused but as he was alone in the office, he took the opportunity to take the envelope and hide it in his drawer. In his head, Toby could hear his mentor scolding him.
"Tobias, you cannot have a conscience in our business. You have to be cut throat. Keep being a good person for your private life." Good old Mr. Goldsperry, bless his heart. But Toby just couldn't bring himself to be that way, even though he knew that this was probably why he had never truly made it as a journalist. But maybe this was alright, he was happy with where he was and more importantly, he could sleep at night.
Toby knew that just hiding the pictures wasn't enough and that it was probably way too late to stop it anyway, but he just had to warn Reginald Paget. His best friend Wilf was one of Toby's favourite... well, colleagues, probably. The relationship between a journalist and his subject was a rather tricky one. So he picked up the phone and called Reg's agent, hoping he would still answer at this time of night. He was lucky.
"Addams Artist Agency, you're speaking to Clancy Addams" He sounded a little tired, Mr. Addams had been dealing with one of his client's issues all day.
"Mr. Addams, good evening, my name is Tobias Winter, I am a journalist at the London Herald, calling about one of your clients..."
"Mr. Winter, do you know what time it is?" Mr. Addams snapped. "I don't do interview requests at this time of night."
"I'm not calling about an interview, I am calling about a picture I received via fax from an Italian newspaper, it shows your client, Reginald Paget, kissing his colleague, Miss Langley." Toby understood that Mr. Addams was annoyed, but there was no reason to be rude, was there?
"Oh... oh my. This changes things, I'm sorry."
"Look, I am not going to publish it, even though my boss is going to kill me for it tomorrow, I respect your client's privacy. You should probably talk to him and warn him, talk to a lawyer or something like that, because I don't know who else received the picture and where else it's going to be published. Chances are it's already everywhere when it makes its way to our newspaper at this time of night." There was a moment of silence on the other side before Mr. Addams cleared his throat.
"Thank you, Mr. Winter, I know that most people in your profession would have published. I appreciate it and so will my client. I'll have to sort this out, but I promise that we appreciate it and that you won't have any disadvantages from this."
"No worries." Was all Toby could say, he was never comfortable when people praised him. They both hung up and Toby knew that Mr. Addams would get straight to work. And indeed, he did.

Reg and Jean were sitting in the living room, drinking some wine and talking. Jean's legs were resting on Reg's lap and he caressed them gently, which Jean loved. The air coming from the open window was cold, but clear, which was rather refreshing. All in all, it was a lovely evening, a good end to a rather turbulent day. Ophelia was sleeping soundly in the little guest room, she thankfully hadn't noticed her parents' worries, and her happiness had been contagious. Jean was about to cuddle up a little closer to Reg when the phone rang, way too loudly for that time of night. Reg quickly stood up and answered it, so it wouldn't wake Pheli.
"Reginald Paget?" Jean watched him, she was a little curious about who would call at that time of night. Maybe Wilf? But Reg's face clouded and he suddenly sounded very serious.
"Alright. Thanks for letting me know. The press release sounds good, please send it out and get my lawyer to call me tomorrow... yes, at the theatre would be best, I'll be doing something nice with my family in the morning. Yes, thank you. Have a good night." Reg sighed and looked up.
"Who was that?" Jean asked.
"My agent. It's... the pictures from what happened have been leaked. I don't know how. Maybe the girl who took them sold a copy before giving me the negatives. I don't know who has them, but I am sure they are going to be in the newspaper tomorrow morning."
"Oh dear..." That was all Jean could say. Her heart sank, she didn't want to see the pictures and more importantly, she didn't want Pheli to see those pictures. She didn't want her daughter to worry about losing her father more than she already did.
"Jean, I am so sorry. I messed up big time. I had hoped for your visit to be very different from what it is now."
"It's not like you published the pictures. And I don't think that girl sold them, she sounded very genuine about not wanting them. We should find her and talk to her. And just you wait until I see Anne at the theatre tomorrow." Reg grinned a little.
"I'll leave her to you, my love. That will teach her." Jean nodded. Meeting Anne would probably result in a scene, she was a little worried that Ophelia might witness it. But Anne deserved it and Jean wanted to teach her daughter that she didn't have to just put up with bullies, she wanted Ophelia to know it was okay to stand up for herself. Reg gave her a kiss. "Just... ignore the newspapers tomorrow and know that I adore you. Only you."
"I'll try. So... what have you planned for us tomorrow?" She desperately wanted to have a good time and create some positive memories, she didn't want Anne to succeed in ruining their first visit to Milan. She couldn't give her that triumph, she was way too proud.