Captivation

By kmf

Standard disclaimer applies

Chapter Seven

Dr Barry wasted no time in assessing the children, indeed she had little time to waste. It was her intention to return to London as soon as she could and reclaim her commission as a naval officer; Barry had had more than enough of staying in one place. It was in her nature to be restless; she yearned to be on the wide ocean again experiencing the invigorating thrill of new lands and the addictive thrill of battle.

Relena accepted that Barry would be gone before the week was out and was grateful for whatever time Barry could give her and her project. Although she knew nothing of why Barry pretended to be male she did perceive that Barry had a great deal of empathy for the poor overworked children. It was possible that Barry herself had been indentured as a child, such practice was common in China. Or perhaps she used her male disguise to flee an arranged marriage. Relena did not really care why Barry did as she did, she was just grateful that the doctor was there and willing to be of help.

Barry worked quickly, but showed much compassion to her diminutive patients. They formed a line in front of her and looked a sorry sight. Complexions were sallow and pale, hair thin and dirty, their stature in the most part short, and their limbs thin to the extreme. Some had bent spines and some bowed legs. Most were lame as they suffered from flat feet, the delicate young arches having fallen from standing at looms for hours longer than a growing child should. It was a sad parade, but Dr Barry worked efficiently making a note of the name of each child, a list of symptoms that they displayed, a diagnosis and a recommendation of treatment.

For the majority it was just rest, good diet and good hygiene. There was nothing that could be done to correct limbs already bend and ruined from years of toil. Relena had hoped that more could have been done, but the damage was simply irreversible. She found the list of ailments made depressing reading once Barry had finished. Especially the note beside each girl child's name: 'potential abnormality of pelvis precludes childbirth'. When Relena questioned this, Dr Barry explained.

"It is probably that along with deformities of the spine, legs and feet each girl will have a deformed pelvis. If the aperture is triangular rather than the usual oval shape, there is a serious risk to the mother's life during childbirth. The baby would have to be sacrificed to save the mothers life or visa versa." She said, nodding at Relena's expression of sadness for the girls in front of her who would be denied the joy of a child because of their master's capitalistic greed. "These children have been worked like animals ­ no worse than animals." Dr Barry continued "A factory owner would never treat his horse like this. His horse he would rest, groom, house and feed well. But a child." Barry huffed, and shrugged knowing that she did not have to preach to Relena. "I know you will achieve your dream of starting a school here. But I would ask you to consider this; this is but one mill.

"If you want to help deprived children, and believe me there are many in this country, you must target the source. You must change the laws that allow people to indenture children into what is for all intents and purposes slavery." Barry continued, her arms folded and face serious. "This problem is not isolated to England. It is world wide, but you have a great opportunity to bring about the spark of change here and the world must follow Britannia's lead."

Relena nodded her agreement. "I realise that this is not just a problem in the mills. The children in the mines are equally misused, as are the poor young children that the chimneysweepers use. Nor is it limited to this country. The conditions Wufei were living in before my parents adopted him were terrible, but he at least did not suffer physical deformities from them. I understand what you are saying, Dr Barry, but I am a woman and have no influence on law. I must trust in the likes of Lord Yuy who agree wholeheartedly with what you have said and are trying to change the way people think. Whilst he fights the battle, all I can do is tend to the wounded."

Barry's eyes softened at the mention of Wufei "Have you spoken to Wufei lately?" she asked, gathering her cloak and moving towards the door.

"No." Relena replied with some regret. She had not spoken to Wufei since she had returned from the asylum with Lady Une. On the last occasion Wufei had made it clear that he considered what Relena was doing to be incredibly stupid and Relena still felt a little put out from the lack of support from her adopted brother.

"May I suggest you do so. Before the day after tomorrow." Barry said and left the room before Relena could ask her why.

* * * *

That night Relena felt secure in the fact that all the children from the poorhouse were clean, sleeping in good linen with full stomachs. Although the poorhouse still was in a sad way the children would have to remain there until alterations were done to the mill to provide dormitories for them to sleep in, rooms for them to be educated in and kitchens to provide meals. Relena negotiated swiftly with the woman who looked after the poorhouse, Margaret, who quickly saw that if she co-operated with this forceful young lady there would be work for her at the school once completed and a better life for herself.

Une did not want to leave Mariemaia , but Relena could not take the child back with her to Sanq Hall. If she took one, she would have to take them all. And as large as Sanq Hall was it would not accommodate all the children. And even if there was room for them all, Millardo would have to give permission, which was unlikely. He was very protective of Lucrezia's health; when he had found that Relena had made another visit to the mill he instructed her to stay away from Lucrezia until she had thoroughly washed and was sure that she had not carried any disease back to the house.

The only thing that seemed to cheer Millardo up was the news that Lady Une would not be returning to Sanq Hall. She had taken to her new direction wholeheartedly and had decided that if Mariemaia could not come to Sanq Hall with her, then she would stay in the poor house with Mariemaia. Relena was touched by this and felt in her heart that it boded well for their new school partnership.

For it would be a partnership. Although Une owned the mill, she had no money of her own to fund the alterations. That was where Relena came in. With her great fortune she could provide the capital for the changes that needed to be put in place. She could also employ the veritable army of servants that would be needed to help run such a large institution, not to mention teachers. What was needed could only be achieved by both of them.

Dinner was a quiet affair that night with Une remaining at the poorhouse, Millardo and Lucrezia staying in their rooms at Millardo's request. Lucrezia sent a note to Relena asking her to forgive her brother and herself for their actions and that Lucrezia was very proud for what Relena was on the brink of achieving. Relena was very touched by the note - her relationship with Lucrezia had changed in such a short time. When Relena had first arrived at Sanq Hall she had thought Lucrezia to be very prudish, but in reality she had been insecure in her role as a Marchioness. Pregnancy suited her, she had mellowed and become relaxed and confident.

The dinner party consisted of just Quatre and Relena. Whilst it was not strictly correct for them to eat on their own, with the servants who attended them and the body guard that stood silently in the corner watching them, they were not truly alone. In fact Relena considered that she was more chaperoned than usual.

Quatre was leaving in a few days and Relena knew that she would miss him. He was a dear friend, very interested in her project and supportive of her actions concerning Lady Une. She would miss his support when he departed for London and then Arabia.

As they ate their main course Relena talked about her eventful day. She related her conversation with Dr Jaye, but did not mention her fears that Heero would cut her off without giving her a chance to explain. Although Relena considered the ambassador a dear friend, she did not feel at ease enough to express her confused emotions. Quatre, however, was astute as always and with his gift of empathy seemed to pick up that there was more occurring than she was letting on.

"You have done great things, Miss Peacecraft, and you will achieve much more I am sure. A woman with a heart as great as yours can only do good. I am sure that Lord Yuy will understand what you have done, but if he does not then perhaps he does not deserve your affection."

Relena looked into Quatre's kind eyes. As always, he spoke with great sincerity. She did not want to argue with him on one of their last nights together. "Perhaps" she murmured. Thinking of Catherine and also wanting to change the conversation she tried to broach the subject of her maid and Rashid. "What, Ambassador, is your opinion of the marriage of two people from different cultures?" As she spoke she suddenly recollected that Heero was of mixed blood; she remembered quite clearly the deep tones of his voice as he told her the tale of merchants ships and Japan. Relena felt such a surge of love that she felt quite breathless, and had to urge herself to keep smiling at Quatre.

Quatre looked a little puzzled "I believe that it can be a difficult union." he said cautiously "There is always the question of where the couple should live, which culture they should follow. Any offspring are also drawn into the difficulties. If the couple follow two different religions, then which should the children follow." he looked down at his plate, moving the food around with a silver fork.

"But if they love each other, should not they be encouraged and supported in a union that could bring them great joy?" Relena continued, again feeling want and need for Heero to return from London and all to be right. Shaking her head to tried to concentrate on the task at hand. "What of you, Ambassador? If a Christian woman declared her love to you, if she had no real ties to this country, if she was willing to give up her religion to please you, would you not take her with you?"

Unnoticed by her Quatre again flushed. "Yes, but only if they both love each other equally." he said "If they love each other equally then anything can be given up. But what if one only loves the other like a sister." Quatre locked eyes with Relena.

Relena frowned. "I cannot believe that the emotion I detected was that of sibling love."

Quatre bit his lip, his eyes full of sincerity and kindness. "Miss Peacecraft, Relena, I believe that you have heard of my gift - The Heart of Space. It enables me sometimes to feel what others are feeling. I feel your love as you speak, but must tell you that though I feel much for you, I do not love you. I wish I could reciprocate such strong feelings, but my heart is taken by another."

Relena was, for a moment, stunned into silence. Quatre thought that she loved him? She could not help herself and burst into laughter, holding a napkin over her mouth as she tried to stifle her mirth. Quatre instantly thought that the woman was in tears, although the emotions flowing from her were very confused. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and tried to give it to her.

"I am so sorry Miss Peacecraft!" he said upset, "You are the one person that I would wish every happiness for, but I cannot be the one to grant you that happiness."

Relena pulled the napkin away from her mouth to show that she was smiling and that the tears in her eyes were tears of laughter. She held a hand to her side that ached from the effort to stop the laughter that threatened to spill from her mouth once more. "Quatre, I am not in love with you! I am sorry if I confused you. I was thinking of someone, but talking about another." She giggled again "I do wish that Trowa was here to do me a sketch of your look of panic."

Quatre, feeling exceedingly relieved, started to smile again "Then what, no who, are you talking about?" he asked.

"Catherine and Rashid." Relena said firmly, smiling broadly.

Quatre looked surprised, but a smile of delight spread over his face as he considered it "I had noted that Rashid was rather taken by the little maid, I did not realise that it was love though. Rashid has been around me all my life and is very good at shielding his emotions from me." Quatre considered Relena carefully "I do believe, Miss Peacecraft, that you share to some extent the gift of the Heart of Space. Perhaps that is why I feel so very much at ease in your presence. Now what do you propose to do about Catherine and Rashid."

"I believe that Catherine is too stubborn to mention her feelings to Rashid - perhaps you could ascertain from Rashid how he feels about her and if I am correct, encourage him to declare his feelings to her." Relena asked

"Very well, I shall talk to him." Quatre nodded "And if that fails I can always order him."

Relena looked up a little shocked, then smiled "A discussion ought to be enough." she said.

Quatre still chuckling, partly in relief and partly in amusement took a sip of the water from his crystal wine glass. When he looked again at Relena he saw that she was still watching him, a silent question in her eyes.

"What is it Miss Peacecraft?" he asked.

"Please tell me Ambassador, who is it who has stolen your heart so neatly away from me?"

Quatre blushed for the third time that evening.