Baby (15, end)

Summary: Happily ever after.

And special thanks to Harvey for keeping me motivated to keep posting here

15: A New Sovereign

The taxi pulled up to a familiar farmhouse and Henry paid the driver. It was a small fare from the train station to Allen Farm but Henry preferred to ride rather than walk the distance. Arriving footsore and disheveled was hardly festive, after all.

The front door was decked with an autumnal wreath and garland while lights from inside glowed in welcome. If Henry listened closely, he could hear the faintest sounds of merriment through the door.

He knocked and waited.

The maid answered and recognized him.

“Mr. Noh,” she said to him, opening the door wide for him.

Henry’s eyes widened guiltily. “Oh, it's Mr. Tilney,” he came clean.

Susan smiled at him, clearly teasing. “I know. I heard all about it. The party's inside. I need to finish dinner.” With that, she left him to follow the sounds of conversation to the parlor.

He walked into the room where people were clustered in groups. One man old enough to be Henry's uncle took one glance at him and announced, “James, one of your friends is here,” before returning to his own conversation partners.

A young man about his own age came forward ready to greet him and shake hands but stood before him with a perplexed expression. “I'm sorry,” he began to apologize, “but I don't think I remember you.”

“We haven't met yet,” Henry shook his hand, guessing this was Catherine’s brother, “but I drove your leopard around this summer.”

At that bit of news, James broke out into a grin and returned the handshake with vigor. “You're that Tilney guy,” he said. “I wanted to thank you for looking after my Baby. Not many men would do that.”

“And how is Baby?” Henry asked.

James rolled his eyes and cast an unkind glance at some of the others in the room. “Miserable!” he grumbled. “Mother and Father were convinced he was too dangerous to keep so they sent him to the zoo in New Bedford.”

“That doesn't sound so terrible,” Henry offered, not sure what the problem was. Zoos were really just museums for living animals, weren't they?

“I've been to the jungles and savannas of Africa, and I've been to the leopard enclosure at the New Bedford Zoo, and I can tell you they are not the same. It's criminal!” James’ eyes flashed briefly. “I can't stand it. I've already arranged to take Baby back to Africa. I know a guy who runs an animal reserve where Baby can run around and be free. Mother's not happy that I'm leaving again so soon after coming back, especially as I'll be gone for Christmas, but she's the one who doesn't want a leopard in the area. What am I supposed to do, make him go all the way back to Africa with no one for company? I'll need to see him get settled, you know; I won't be happy unless I know he's happy. I'll be home again by Easter, end of summer at the latest.”

James had looked ready to go on an academic tear, ranting about how zoos were unnatural environments for many animals. Henry recognized the look, having started a few impromptu lectures himself from time to time. It was an occupational hazard of knowing a lot about something that most people never really thought about.

“So Baby isn't here, then? I'm sure he would have loved the turkey,” Henry tried to joke.

James looked even more amused as he realized something. “Wait a minute. You walked up to this house thinking there was a leopard around? You didn't call to check first to see if it was safe?”

Henry swallowed. “Well, in my limited experience, Baby's very tame for a leopard and I'm not a duck. I figured it would be safe enough. And if he sprung at me, I'd just sing to him.”

At that, James laughed outright. “You're alright, Tilney. Catherine knew what she was talking about.”

“Henry, you came!” Catherine joined them as if conjured by the mention of her name.

There was an awkward moment in which they mutely struggled with how to get each other before Catherine stepped a little closer and hugged him. It was over far too quickly, before Henry could fully reciprocate but he held himself back from trying to get it right a second time.

“And how is your sister?” she asked, settling beside her brother, her eyes drinking in every detail about him.

“Insufferably pleased with everything,” Henry answered with a smile. He could talk to her about Eleanor. “She sends her regrets but she and Howard had already promised to spend the holiday with his parents.”

“Oh, that's perfectly understandable,” Catherine cooed. “I'm sure I'll meet her one day. Perhaps she can come out for the biannual review with the foundation and we can all get together then.”

“She’d love to come but that depends on whether they find someone else to keep an eye on things while Howard and the auditor are meeting with the foundation,” Henry replied.

Catherine thought about that for a bit then asked, “Where will you be? During the review, I mean.”

“Oh.” It suddenly occurred to Henry that Catherine didn't know. With all the support he had received from the Allen Foundation, he expected Catherine to be in the loop. “I'm not staying in Wyoming.”

“What? Why not? The foundation was supposed to pay enough to keep all of you. Sacha assured me that he put together a fair offer. And where will you even go? Not all the way to California, I hope. Mrs. Ashley said that you had been looking to California for funding but that's even further than Wyoming. And you certainly can't come back to New York while your uncle is still there. Oh, Henry, please don't tell me you've gone back to that, that, that bully. I barely met the man but I still know he's --” The questions and worries tumbled out of Catherine faster than Henry could reply.

“Catherine!” James clamped a hand over her mouth before she could continue. “Let the man speak.”

Henry smiled his thanks. “There's nothing to worry about. The Allen Foundation did make a very reasonable offer, and if I wanted to stay there's no doubt I could have. I thought I was a man of science but a couple weeks was all I needed to know I'm also a creature of comforts.”

“You're a city boy,” James rephrased it.

“I suppose I am,” Henry agreed, knowing James Morland was used to living in far less luxury than Henry had found his drafty cabin. “And I don't want to make things awkward at the site for everyone else by being miserable all the time.”

“Tell me you're not going back to your uncle,” said Catherine.

“I am not going back to my uncle,” he repeated with sincerity.

That settled something in Catherine, but not everything. “Tell me you're not going further away, like California. Or England!” she insisted.

“I've got a job lined up in Washington DC with the Smithsonian Institute,” said Henry. “It's farther than New York but still reachable by train if one is so inclined. I start right after the new year.”

“Oh, Henry, that's wonderful!” she smiled brightly, skipping forward to squeeze his hand in congratulations or something. “Did you know that Aunt Bess simply adores the Smithsonian?”

“Yes, and I really must thank your aunt and Mr. Sherman because the Allen Foundation provided a wonderful reference for me. I wouldn't have gotten the job otherwise.”

“Of course!” Catherine had not released his hand and was already tugging him toward a group of older guests. “Sacha,” she said to one man that Henry recognized, “you remember Henry Tilney.”

She would have said more but the maid announced that dinner was ready. As one, everybody began to migrate to the dining room, led by the smells of turkey, roasted vegetables, and freshly baked bread. Then there was the scramble for everyone to sit in front of the correct place cards, then to bow their heads as Catherine’s father said grace. Then platters and bowls were passed around and people paused after the first bite to praise the cook who had already left to have dinner with her own family.

Then -- finally -- Henry was able to thank his hostess and Mr. Sherman. At this, Mr. and Mrs. Morland seemed to realize that Henry was not attending as a guest of their son.

“So you're the Henry Tilney we've heard so much about,” Mrs. Morland said. Her face was shrewdly neutral and Henry felt his palms go clammy. He had been nervous about seeing Catherine again but at least he knew she would be glad to see him; he had no such guarantees about her parents.

“I suppose I am,” he replied, trying to sound unaffected.

“And how is Wyoming?” Mr. Morland asked.

“Oh, but that's just the thing!” Catherine exclaimed. She had already discarded her earlier unease and she was ready to be excitedly optimistic.

Mrs. Morland merely gave her daughter a quelling look and Catherine brought herself under control. “I'll let Henry tell you about it,” she said.

Henry repeated much of what he had already mentioned to Catherine and her brother.

Conversation then shifted to local matters: the preparations for the annual Christmas pageant, when Mr. and Mrs. Sherman would officially decamp from New York for the holiday season, who would see James off at the start of his journey.

“You're not going back west between now and New Year's, are you?” asked James, shifting focus from himself.

“I don't plan on it,” he answered. “It's very far, and very time consuming. I plan on going to DC this weekend to find a place to live near the Smithsonian, and I'll need to be there on January 2nd to start my new job. Time isn't on my side.”

“But what will you do for Christmas if you can't spend it with your sister?” Catherine piped up with concern.

Henry faltered with his reply. “I don't know yet,” he said at last. “Something will turn up, I'm sure.”

“Father, we have to invite Henry to Fullerton for Christmas,” Catherine declared. “It wouldn't be christian otherwise. And you'll be so lonely without James at home, Mother. Surely you agree with me.”

Mrs. Morland looked like she was about to protest being put on the spot but her husband simply said that he would discuss it with Henry after dinner. With years of experience, he then changed the subject.

Later, after pie and coffee, Henry and Mr. Morland did indeed have a private chat. If it seemed at times more suitable for a man interviewing a future son-in-law than a man interviewing a potential house guest, Henry did not protest.

Despite Catherine’s entreaties, he left in time to catch the last train to New York so that he could make his planned appointments in Washington DC. He shook hands with everyone before James drove him away from the farm house. Catherine remained outside, waving at the retreating car until it was out of sight, her cheeks rosy with the anticipation of seeing him again.

.o8o.

Henry came back for almost a week at Christmas and marvelled at a holiday so similar to his own childhood memories. Catherine came back with him as far as New York City and they had a nice New Year's dinner there before going on their respective ways.

Henry’s new job started two days later and he threw himself into it, eager to make a good impression with his new boss. It wasn't until the three-day weekend in February that he had the time to visit Fullerton again but Catherine was pleased to see him just the same.

She even reciprocated in early March, coming down to DC to have lunch with him and get a private tour of his little corner of the Museum of Natural History. And later, whenever she'd tell her parents that she felt like visiting New York and took the exact same train as she used to travel to DC, they politely didn't challenge her on it.

Henry traveled up to Fullerton for Easter at the invitation of Mr. Morland. James was still away and Mr. Morland believed Henry's presence could offset the absence. He was invited up for Mother's Day and Father's Day as well even though he had caught a cold in May. It just gave Mrs. Morland an opportunity to mother somebody which was a better gift than a bouquet of flowers at her time of life.

Catherine officially went down to DC again for the Independence Day celebrations. She came home with a sparkling engagement ring and visions of a summer wedding; Washington DC was far closer to Connecticut than Wyoming but she was looking forward to having Henry permanently under the same roof.

They married in August, at the Fullerton Episcopal Church, with Ellie standing up with Catherine and James standing up with Henry. They had a brief but memorable honeymoon in Montreal before settling into Henry's apartment in DC.

Mrs. Morland worried quietly that she had not suitably prepared her daughter for married life but Catherine was quite clever when she was sufficiently motivated. They were too full of their own happiness to think of Henry's uncle, and between the Morlands and the Ashleys, they had all the family they really needed. When they moved into a house just after their first married Christmas, it was with the pleasant expectation that they would fill it with a few little Tilneys of their very own.

They christened their oldest son Leonard. His Uncle James -- and even his parents at times -- called him Baby. Leonard didn't appreciate the joke but sometimes a sense of humor skips a generation.

THE END.