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A Mere Pawn
A Mere Pawn
A Mere Pawn
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A Mere Pawn

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Jeff and Crystal's triplets are nearly two and have developed a fixation with wanting Archie and Terri as toys. No-one can work out why and until an explanation is found the children's efforts to secure what they see as treasure causes the hot water bottle and cover considerable inconvenience. Crystal is receiving increasingly disturbing letters from a young Romanian diplomat who's obsessed with her. A psychiatrist has been consulted and advises that Vali, a young Romanian and author of the letters, is suffering with erotomania and should, for his own safety, be tracked down, arrested and receive treatment. But Vali eludes the British and becomes a pawn in a much larger game of revenge played by a devious and ultimately ruthless Russian who comes out of one of the royal family's retainer's past to threaten the institution of the monarchy. The plot moves from the Palace in London to Sydney where the innocent are targets and no-one is safe to the family estate at Claremore where secrets that have lain undiscovered for centuries are unearthed and used in the Russian's deadly game. In Archie's world things were a little different. Another reality prevailed that could take a little getting used to but once people did they found their lives populated with a much wider circle of potential friends and acquaintances than they could possibly imagine. There were varying human reactions to the discovery that objects were not only alive but had interests and loves of their own. If a person didn't have a particular gift, as well as an imaginative and open frame of mind, the discovery that everything is alive could result in extreme and negative reactions, including hearing and seeing things to such an extent that a trip to the loony bin or a regime of heavy and continuing sedation may follow. But really it doesn't happen often and the few known cases are considered inevitable but unfortunate. Such was the case with Archie, not merely an object but a hot water bottle who, with his beloved cover Terri, lived in a Palace and served Crystal, a princess who would one day be Queen. Crystal was married to Jeff and to Archie and Terri's present dismay, had borne triplets who were now approaching their second birthday. With the arrival of the three royal heirs Archie knew he and Terri's lives would never be the same but recently he'd learned that babies grow quickly and become mobile even faster. His information had come at first hand because he and Terri now lived in the triplets' nursery where the two nannies, Mary and Adam, were at times hard pressed to keep track of their charges. Although as royal heirs the triplets were ostensibly surrounded by security, Crystal and Jeff's babies managed to be active, independent, elusive toddlers who wanted to explore their surroundings and test their growing strength and agility whenever they could. This led to conflicts with the nursery regime which was designed to keep them stimulated but safe. Still being without fear and adventurous by nature, the children constantly derailed the program with ingenious escape attempts designed to expand their horizons independently of their minders.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherSuzie Louis
Release dateAug 26, 2013
ISBN9781301498734
A Mere Pawn
Author

Suzie Louis

It's strange what you eventually come up with when you write for other people: some elements of your own experience emerge as well as fresh, new stories that seem to come from nowhere. This has been my experience since I began to write for pleasure. I initially used my professional and personal life to produce Deepwater, the Litigation Junkie and Diary of a Novice Market Organiser but also found a stream of fantasy that became the Archie the Royal Hot Water Bottle series. I continue to find the creative writing process interesting as I work on a new novel and hope you enjoy the results so far.

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    Book preview

    A Mere Pawn - Suzie Louis

    A Mere Pawn

    Archie the Royal Hot Water Bottle Book 2

    Published by Suzie Louis at Smashwords

    Copyright 2013 Suzie Louis

    First edition - License Notes

    This ebook is sold for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Cover Design: Suzie Louis.

    Cover Image: Murder in the House, detail, Jakub Schickaneder

    Other works by Suzie Louis at Smashwords

    and all good ebook retailers:

    Novels

    Deepwater

    The Litigation Junkie

    Archie the Royal Hot Water Bottle

    Juliet in Love

    Non-Fiction

    How to Set Up & Run Markets, Fairs & Fetes

    Short stories

    How I Became a Bestseller

    Mimosa, Big Mamma of the Caterpillar Throne

    is Publishing Success Inspiration? Perspiration?

    Chapter 1

    In Archie's world things were a little different. There was another reality that could take a little getting used to but once people did they found their lives enriched with a much wider circle of potential friends and acquaintances than they could possibly imagine. There were varying human reactions to the discovery that objects were not only alive but had interests and loves of their own. If a person didn't have a particular gift, as well as an imaginative and open frame of mind, the discovery that everything is alive could result in extreme and negative reactions, including hearing and seeing things to such an extent that a trip to the loony bin or a regime of heavy and continuing sedation may follow. But really it didn't happen often and the few known cases are considered inevitable but unfortunate.

    The outcome for those with the gift, which could be revealed at any stage of life, is much happier. The gifted were able to see objects' faces and hear them talk. As a consequence they enjoyed an harmonious and stimulating relationship with objects like Archie, whereas folk without the gift were shunned by their objects who remained resolutely silent and undetected in their presence. The ungifted therefore carried on in ignorance of the rich experience they were missing. This was preferred by objects because it is their view that the ungifted are likely to see living objects as freaks to be exploited for money and consequently exposed to the scrutiny and bad grammar of the tabloid press. Such an outcome was to be avoided at all costs. In short, the ungifted were either blissfully ignorant or went down rapidly, besieged by demons that represented their own failure to accept the new reality.

    The experience of a gifted person was very different. When they walked into a room and, unless they needed some privacy, they would hear the conversations and see the faces of objects. They would also have close friends among their possessions who would love and serve them to the end of their useful lives.

    Such was the case with Archie, a hot water bottle who, with his beloved cover Terri, lived in a Palace and served Crystal, a princess who would one day be Queen. Crystal was married to Jeff and to Archie and Terri's present dismay, had borne triplets who were now approaching their second birthday. With the arrival of the three royal heirs Archie knew he and Terri's lives would never be the same but recently he'd learned that babies grow quickly and become mobile even faster. His information had come at first hand because he and Terri now lived in the triplets' nursery where the two nannies, Mary and Adam, were at times hard pressed to keep track of their charges. Although as royal heirs the triplets lived in a Palace and were ostensibly surrounded by security, Crystal and Jeff's babies managed to be active, independent, elusive toddlers who wanted to explore their surroundings and test their growing strength and agility whenever they could. This led to conflicts with the nursery regime which was designed to keep them stimulated but safe. Still being without fear and adventurous by nature, the children constantly derailed the program with ingenious escape attempts designed to expand their horizons independently of their minders.

    None of the staff or the children's parents wanted to keep the children wrapped in cotton wool but the triplets' world was unlike other children's: they were royal, constantly sought by an insatiable media and a source of fascination for the unhinged of society. Past experience had taught their parents and the staff that the children needed to be carefully watched and guarded from threats. Although Archie and Terri may not have been unable to chase down the children or tackle an intruder, they played a significant part in watching over the children from their post atop a large chest of drawers in the nursery. Terri had a tiny panic button that hung from her left wrist which, in the event of trouble, she could press. The effect, as she knew, was tremendous. Royal Protection officers would pour into the nursery while the Palace exits would be shut down and guarded by soldiers until the threat was neutralised. Jeff, an increasingly cautious husband and father, had arranged for the button to be made and encouraged Archie and Terri to use it if they thought it necessary. They'd helped him by ringing an alarm in the past but it had been difficult for Terri to reach with her tiny arms so Jeff had had the miniature button made and secured it to Terri's wrist with an attractive band. To date the button was unused and in mint condition and Terri was quite happy for it to remain so.

    That fateful day nearly two years ago when Archie and Terri had remained in the nursery rocker on the royal yacht had been a turning point in their lives. Gone were the days of idling away their time chatting to the other objects in the room or, as they much preferred, being alone in their padded, lavender lined drawer. Those days were gone. As their owner Crystal had adjusted to being separated from her babies while she carried out her royal duties, Archie and Terri had adjusted to their new life in the nursery and being vigilant in the cause of keeping the babies safe.

    No-one had forgotten the incident on the yacht when Charlotte had been poorly fed and then stolen and hidden by a disturbed nanny but, to everyone's relief, found hungry but otherwise unharmed. From that night everyone in the royal household, particularly the family's close retainers, had been committed to preventing further harm to any of the royal children. Archie and Terri, as well as all of the objects in the nursery, were constantly on their guard against threats. But, as they found out, the greatest danger came from the triplets themselves. At nearly two Crystal and Jeff's triplets were chubby, happy and more than usually inquisitive. They wanted to know about and touch everything. As a result nothing in the nursery was safe. Objects steeled themselves as the children approached them, often with a determined look in their eyes. The children's long suffering cots were rattled and shaken by the occupants' often successful attempts to climb over the sides and escape. There had been falls, bumps on heads and tears as the babies tested their bodies again and again.

    As Archie had come to know, once the babies reached the floor they moved much more quickly than their little legs seemed capable of and raced toward their next adventure with determination. Even before they crawled they'd learned to roll around on the floor, taking themselves across the room to discover corners that enticed them. The three were like monkeys released from their cage: they scattered in all directions making keeping track of them a full time job. When one of them jammed themselves under a cupboard they should have cried so someone would come to their rescue and pull them out but the babies didn't. They didn't want rescuing; they were happy playing with the inevitable cobwebs that accumulated on the undersides of things. The small spiders didn't worry them either; the children were, like their father, Jeff, now his Royal Highness the Duke of Beaumont, fearless.

    Jeff had settled into his role of loving consort to his wife, devoted to supporting her in the demanding role of heir to the throne. His past as a royal protection officer and undercover policeman had made him acutely aware of the threats that surrounded his young family. Planning and vigilance were his watchwords and as he planned and had his wife and children protected he tried not to overreact or become paranoid. Maintaining his equilibrium when the children constantly tested the very things he put in place to protect them was sometimes difficult as the triplets tested the skills of their carers every day. Even as the triplets tried to thwart his plans Jeff remained an acute and amused observer of his children's antics. He'd said to Crystal more than once,

    'They work as a team. Have you seen them? One distracts Mary and Adam while the other two disappear or get into mischief.'

    He was watching as Henry and Charlotte, who, despite being the youngest was often the ringleader in their escapades, waited while Adelaide tugged at the Head Nanny, Mary's, skirt. As Mary bent down to pick Adelaide up the other two scattered. Adam, Mary's assistant, was making one of the cots. He had one eye on Henry and Charlotte but as he turned his head to tuck in the corner of a sheet they were gone.

    Terri said to Archie, 'There they go.'

    'Yes, but look, they won't get far.'

    Jeff took several long steps and grabbed both of his cherubs around their plump bellies as they made for the door. He brought them back, wriggling in his arms.

    'See what I mean?' he said to their smiling mother. Crystal, a complete pushover where her children were concerned, reached out and set about tickling them as the children squirmed and then giggled in their father's arms.

    'You're hopeless,' he said smiling at the squeals of delight from the babies.

    'I know,' their mother said, 'but aren't they just the cutest things you've ever seen?'

    The weekend migration to Claremore, the family's country home, was underway. Before the triplets' birth the convoy had consisted of two cars carrying Jeff and Crystal, his valet Reggie, her maid Jessie, Archie and Terri and two protection officers. A third car with another two protection officers was stacked with the luggage, which, despite the fact that Claremore was a fully functioning family home where they kept complete wardrobes, was still considerable. After the triplets were born a number of additional persons and things joined the convoy. A very stylish van of British manufacture kitted out with three baby seats arrived to transport the children and their two nannies plus two protection officers.

    'It'll still be a squeeze,' Jeff said when it was delivered, 'Maybe we need a minibus.'

    His private Secretary, Sir Robert, a very dry man said,

    'A tour coach might be the thing, Sir; on board loos could be very useful'

    'Very droll,' Jeff said but then he wondered how Sir Robert, who always travelled to his cottage on the Claremore estate in his own car, would counter,

    'Great idea, we could use a coach: it would take the children, staff and luggage and save on vehicles. We could all travel together. You'd be all for that, wouldn't you Sir Robert?'

    Jeff could see the Private Secretary recoil in horror from the idea of being trapped in an echoing cage with the boisterous triplets and his lips move as he struggled to formulate a rational reply. Jeff put his hand on Sir Robert's shoulder as he laughed and said to his courtier's relief,

    'Don't worry Sir Robert, we're not at the coach stage yet, but if we have any more it's a great idea.'

    As Crystal walked around the nursery with Adelaide in her arms, checking to see that nothing had been forgotten, Crystal noticed that Archie and Terri were still in their usual place on top of the chest. The top drawer was their home, its padded, lavender scented warmth the couple's haven of privacy and peace.

    'Why aren't you two coming?' Terri looked a little coy and Archie was reluctant to tell. Crystal settled Adelaide more comfortably in her arms and said, 'Out with it, what's happened?' As she did so the baby made a lunge forward and grabbed Archie and Terri, pulling them to her from the top of the bureau.

    'Tewwi', she said holding them tight.

    'That,' was all Archie could say as he and Terri were crushed against Adelaide's chest.

    Crystal had to prize the hot water bottle and cover from her daughter's hands to allow Archie to speak which resulted in Adelaide starting to wail and flail her arms, trying to grab Archie and Terri from her mother.

    'Mine,' she said, real tears streaming down her cheeks.

    Jeff came back looking for them,

    'What's up poppet?' he asked Adelaide, taking the baby from Crystal.

    'It seems we have a small problem,' Crystal said.

    Archie then related the story of the children having spent the last two days squabbling over he and Terri. Henry had started it when he'd pushed a chair to the side of the chest and climbed, with ease, up onto it, achieving enough height to be on a level with its top. He was just able to stretch his chubby arms to where Archie and Terri were propped up, watching his set little face which clearly displayed his determination to possess them. Adam had found him before he fell and, worse for Henry, before he was able to retrieve his prize. Henry had started to cry and thrash as Adam carried him away, thwarted in his quest to be the triplet to own Archie and Terri.

    In some baby language only they understood, the three of them had decided the hot water bottle and cover were of the utmost desirability; the toy of toys. Teddies, trikes, drums and trumpets had been forgotten as they each resolved to make Archie and Terri their own. Archie and Terri had instinctively known what was going on but were powerless to stop it. When Henry was carted away by Adam the hot water bottle and cover sighed with relief but it was short lived. Even as Adam took the chair away the babies resolved not to give up and an organised assault then began.

    The next day the triplets pushed a small table, used for assembling piles of blocks and colouring in over to the chest which allowed all three to stand on it together. Six small competing hands stretched out for Archie and Terri as Mary caught them in the act and dragged each of them back to the floor. A fight broke out as the triplets pushed and shoved at each other trying to climb back onto the table. Pinching occurred as well as some hair pulling.

    Mary and Adam had removed the table and its matching chairs and separated the warring factions. When the triplets' parents arrived to collect them for the journey to Claremore Archie and Terri had just regained their composure, the tears of frustration on the triplets' faces had been washed off and their cheeks dried. Archie and Terri loved the babies but did not want to be a bone of contention. Both knew that one would not satisfy three and anyway, they were not the children's toys. Crystal and Jeff would have to sort it out.

    'So we want to stay here for the weekend. Will you please put us in the drawer Crystal?'

    'Of course.' She did and as she and Jeff left with a still disgruntled and wriggling Adelaide Jeff said,

    'Hot water bottles and covers aren't toys, are they?

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