Chapter 9

“In that case, my darling, I’ll be happy to make start on our baby as soon as possible. Even when we take our contraceptive implants out, it takes some time for the body to become fertile again.”

“Ah, yes. I read something about that in a book about fertility; or was it an online article on the subject?”

“The source doesn’t matter, Reg. All that matters is the reliability of the facts stated.”

“Too true, my love. It is like those histories that claim Christopher Columbus brought Syphilis to Europe: a load of rubbish. Tests on human bones from well before Columbus’ time show Syphilis was already in Europe centuries before his time. His men may have brought back a more virulent strain, or people here may have had no immunity to that new strain; but the disease was here all the time.”

Prudence looked at Reg’s face.”Why were you reading up on syphilis, darling? A bit odd, don’t you think?”

“Yes, but I WAS a bid odd at that time. ANY facts were of interest to my mind, no matter how unusual or obscure.”

“Well, I am glad of it, as that brought me to you, my dear husband.”

“Since you put it that way, Prudence, I shall be happy that my interests were so far-reaching and comprehensive. It got me you, and the other girls.”

“One way or another, darling, it got us each other, and I am happy.”

“Have I massaged your forehead enough, Prudence? Need other massages, such as I mentioned?”

She giggled, “Nice as it would be, Reg, I would probably be accused of pre-empting my turn with you. Fiona got told off already, so I don’t want to compound the problem. I’ll look forward to you making love to me properly, later.”

“You are a dear, Prudence my love. You are a great asset to our marriage. I hope Fiona turns out as well as you.”

“We’ll see, Reg. I think she wants to do well for us, but so far doesn’t have the same level of commitment that we have for each other. Give her some time; she may get there eventually.”

“Thanks, Prudence. She may be the first one to have a baby, given that she has no contraceptive in place.”

“So I heard. We will deal with the situation if it arises. Any child of yours we will take into the family; we have already decided on that policy, love.”

“Now why am I not surprised, Prudence?

The phone rang. It was the house phone, not a personal phone. Prudence waited to see who would answer. It was one of the twins, starting their new work.

“Hello, this is the Robertson residence. How may I help you?”

“I see. And which Mrs Robertson did you wish to speak to, sir?”

“Thank you. I shall see if Mrs Frances is available. Please hold the line.”

She went off to find Frances, bringing her to the phone in the hall.

“Hello? Oh, it is you, Sergeant. What news do you have?”

“Really? How unfortunate. What do you want us to do?”

“Very well. What? Oh, that was my cousin, Holly. She is going to work for us at the house.”

“Certainly, if you think that would be helpful. Goodbye.”

“Curious,” Francis said aloud to herself.

Prudence, having found Reg, told him, “Wait here, love, till I get Frances.”

She shouted, “Frances! Can you come in here a moment?”

Frances followed the sound and stopped in front of Prudence and Reg.

Prudence enquired, “Who was that, Frances? Anyone interesting?”

Frances had a slightly puzzled look on her face.

“Police. It was our local Sergeant. It seems that our local crime family have vanished. Officially, they have ‘gone on holiday’, but no-one seems to know where.”

“Odd,” remarked Prudence. “And what else did the sergeant want? It sounded like he surprised you.”

“He did. When I told him about Holly answering the phone, he asked if he could visit and speak with her. It seems he wants to have personal knowledge of all the inhabitants of this building, but he added, ‘just in case’. I was puzzled by his ‘just in case’.”

Reg interjected, “I would be worried, too. That sounds as if he is concerned for us, as a family, or us as residents of this building. To me, it implies he thinks we might be targeted for another attack of some kind. I believe he is trying to become knowledgeable about any new person in our household, as there may be an external connection that could be used against them for entry to the building.”

“Isn’t that a bit strong, Reg? A vendetta against us? You surely don’t seriously imagine that might happen?”

“No idea, love. I am just speculating from the known facts. That family has a record of taking advantage of other people, at any opportunity. Their top priority is themselves, and to hang with morals and laws. I don’t see that as a trait to be ignored, Prudence. It is an abomination in our society, and I will gladly do what I can to counteract it.”

Later in the afternoon, Reg got a call from the Finds Liaison Officer for treasure finds. He had news.

“Mr Robertson?”

“Yes?”

“Your Finds Officer here. I have spoken with the Coroner for this area, and described what you have found. You recall it was a concretion?”

“Yes, with a coin edge sticking out. Silver, you thought. You were carefully breaking it up, you said”

“Indeed. We have chemically induced the concretion to separate, and the contents appear to be all silver coins; of what date, we are uncertain, but certainly Roman; the differences in condition may be minimal. For archaeological dating, we must keep the group together for the present. The earliest coin, and the latest coin, will give us a spread of dates, so that the deposit is dated after the earliest coin, and before the most recent one.”

“That makes perfect sense”, said Reg. “What else, sir? You can’t be ringing just to say that.”

“Indeed. The number of coins and their relationship together classifies the find as Treasure, so the Coroner has to have the British Museum make a determination as to disposal, and will have to have a valuation made prior to that. It all means it may be several weeks before the matter comes to a conclusion.”

“Oh.” Reg was a little disappointed. “I see.”

“However, Mr Robertson, my own estimation is that the coins are quite valuable individually, and when the number is totalled up, the value will be in the thousands of pounds; how many thousand will depend on the valuer’s estimate.”

“Gosh!” Reg was flabbergasted. “Thousands?”

“Indeed, Mr Robertson.”

“That’s a lot of money!”

“It is. That is why I questioned your suggestion of donating most of your coins to the university. You were underestimating your find, through inexperience. Besides, you and the farmer are sharing the proceeds, aren’t you?”

“We are, sir. Thank you for reminding me. I shall consult my family before I do anything.”

“Good idea. Your parents merit some consideration in this situation.”

“My parents? Oh, I was not thinking about parents. My father is long dead, and my mother ... well, we were not on good terms for many years.”

“Even so, you should consider your other close relatives – brothers and sisters.”

“Only child, sir, but I have my wives ... wife to consider.”

“Wife, wives? Mr Robertson, is your first name Reginald? You aren’t the university student that has several wives, are you? I remember you said you were married, but I was assuming a normal marriage.”

Reg paused and took a deep breath before replying.

“Why should that matter, sir?”

“It doesn’t, young man. I just find it interesting that a client of mine may be a famous student at our local university.”

“Famous? I am a nobody, sir. My girls are far more important than me.”

“That reaction fits what I heard; so you are the guy! Tremendous. What brought you to do what you did, you and these girls?”

“Sir! Please believe me when I say that it was all rather unexpected, and certainly not what I had in mind when I started my course here.”

“Well, Mr Robertson, you must admit that what you did was quite surprising, perhaps unique. That by itself has given you a reputation. My nephew is a student there. He was the one who told me about it; he was quite astonished by you. He claimed you were a loner, hardly speaking to anyone, and that the girls were unusual as well; something to do with their looks. But, a loner? That is not how I perceive you. You seem perfectly normal, if a little subdued at times.”

“Your nephew was quite correct, sir. That is exactly what I was like. The transformation is all down to Frances and her friends. They inveigled me into a sharing scheme whereby I tutored them and they in turn taught me how to speak with people, and other social abilities that had passed me by in my childhood.”

“Weird! Oh, sorry, Mr Robertson; I didn’t mean to disparage you in any way. It was just so unusual to hear your tale. I am still unclear as to how and why you married them.”

Reg was reticent again, ruminating before replying.

“Sir, I have to confess that Frances is not a pretty girl, and neither were her two friends. They hung together because of that very trait, and that is part of the reason for our success, academically and socially. I had never had a girlfriend, so getting to know them had a considerable impact on me; to my surprise, I found myself falling in love with them. It turned out that they were in a similar situation; their lack of good looks had deterred boys from asking them out, so when I treated them as wonderful women – which they are – they reacted to me much as I reacted to them. Instead of it being me and Frances, it was me and Frances and Erika and Freda. A short while later a very tall girl, Prudence, joined us for much the same reason, though in this case it was her height that was the main difficulty. She was as tall as me. Most boys and men prefer a girl shorter than themselves, and act accordingly, which left Prudence without any suitor. Meeting me and the girls, she sussed out what was happening, and added herself to the mix when she saw how I treated her, even in private; she was so pleased by how she was respected. It worked, and she fitted in; the other girls welcomed her into their select group.

That is how we all came together as a family. Our resulting marriage is not a legal marriage; it is a permanent commitment to each other, which we regard as equivalent to a marriage.

Does that answer all your questions? I get tired of having to explain us to other people, over and over, so I hope you are satisfied.”

Recognising that the young man was becoming peeved, the Finds Liaison Officer put on his most reassuring manner to reply.

“Perfectly satisfied, Mr Robertson. Your unique life is your own; and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.”

“That is our intention, sir. Can I thank you for your advice regarding the finds?”

“No trouble, Mr Robertson. It is my job; glad to be of help.”

Reg said his goodbyes and concluded the call.

Next morning, there was a follow-up call by the police sergeant to Frances.

“Can I visit you this morning? I shouldn’t need too long, if your new member of staff is available?”

Frances informed him, “If you want to speak to a new resident, there are three: two resident staff and one other student addition to our household. Do you want to speak with all three?”

A startled policeman stammered, “uh, if I may, Mrs Robertson. This is unexpected; I shall have to inform the station that I shall be longer than planned with my visit.”

“Whenever it suits you, Sergeant. We all expect to be at home, as it is still a few days before the semester begins.”

“Thank you, Mrs Robertson. Expect me in about half an hour.”

Frances told all three that they were to be interviewed by the local police. This puzzled them, but no more than Frances, as she still was unclear about his reason for calling.

More or less up to time, the policeman arrived and was admitted. He was quite deferential to Frances, who escorted him to the sitting room, where the twins and Fiona were sitting, chatting. Frances introduced them by name, ending, “Do you want to speak to them together, or individually, Sergeant?”

He announced, “Individually, in private, if I may, Mrs Robertson. Tell me, how do I tell the twins apart?”

“They will let you know who you are speaking to, Sergeant; otherwise, you need to know them to tell them apart. Do you wish them to wear a different set of earrings, for example, to allow you to tell which is which?”

“I don’t think we need to go that far, Mrs Robertson. As long as the second one comes in as the first goes out, I will know it is a different person.”

“Suit yourself, but as twins, you are not likely to get different results.”

“I understand that, but please allow me to try.”

“What sort of questions do you hope to have them answer, Sergeant?”

“The actual questions do not matter as much as the responses. These will tell me how the person thinks; how they perceive people, things, and events.”

“How do you mean?”

“Let me tell you an old story, about a newly settled American community. It was a ‘dry’ town, to suit the God-fearing residents: no alcohol. This was fine until an entrepreneur arrived and proceeded to build his own saloon, despite the protestations of the local church.

The church folk prayed mightily to God to prevent this abomination afflicting their community, but to no avail. Then one night there was a thunderstorm, and a bolt of lightning struck the wooden saloon and set fire to it. The building burned to the ground, and the local folk cheered.

However, the building owner started a law suit, claiming damages from the local church folk for directly or indirectly causing the fire.

The protested mightily, until a judge came to examine the case. He looked over all the evidence, then called the lawyers for both sides to his chambers.

‘Look, gentlemen, I am puzzled. We have here a case where a heathen owner is claiming for damages caused by the power of prayer, and a Christian congregation that in its defence claims their prayers were not responsible!’ He dismissed the case as frivolous on both sides.

The moral is that you can look at the facts in several ways to interpret what is said and done. I have the same judgement to make in my interviews.”

Frances laughed at the story. “I take your point, Sergeant. May I suggest you start with the simpler task? This is Fiona, who just a few days ago joined our community.”

The twins got up and left with Frances, leaving the Sergeant facing Fiona across the table.

He examined the girl in front of him with a professional eye. She appeared slightly older than the Robertson girls, he estimated. What was she doing here, he wondered, and voiced his thought aloud.

“What brings you into this household, Fiona? Pardon me, but what is your full name? Mrs Robertson only said Fiona.”

“Sergeant, in answer to both questions, I am Fiona Prentiss or Robertson.”

The Sergeant raised his eyebrows. “Robertson? So you are a relation of Mr Robertson? A cousin of some kind?”

“No, Sergeant. The Robertson name will become my surname once I officially join this family.”

His brows clamped together as he absorbed this peculiar reasoning, then the penny dropped, as did his jaw.

“What? You intend to be another wife of Reginald?”

“Yes, Sergeant. By my own choice. I have been interrogated by the other Mrs Robertsons, and they have concluded that I can be an acceptable extra wife.”

“The women decided? What about Mr Robertson - Reginald?”

“He is a married man, Sergeant. Surely you understand that means his wives make the decisions?”

The Sergeant looked as if he had been hit with an uppercut. He sat there, unsteady and off his stride. He recognised the truth of what she had said, and marvelled at it.

“So Reginald simply goes along with what his wives say? No input from him at all?”

“Not quite so simple, but getting that way. I had discussed my intentions with him, and he had no objections, provided his ‘girls’ approved me first. When they were heading towards approval, they allowed me to spend a night with Reg, so that we could establish compatibility after he had taken my virginity.”

The Sergeant blinked. “Virginity? What? A university student who was still a virgin?”

“Sergeant, us virgins are not all that rare! All of Reg’s wives were virgins before they met him.”

“Yes, but ... you are better-looking, if I may say so.”

“Why, thank you, Sergeant, but conserving my virginity was my own choice, albeit drummed into me by my father. I gather that the twins are also virgins.”

“Perhaps, but they are much younger and attractive, by the looks of them. What are they, seventeen?”

“Eighteen, actually. They told me they protected each other from predatory males.”

“Anyway, we are not here to talk about them, but about you. Why should you want to participate in what is, to all intents and purposes, Reg’s harem?”

“As the girls explained to me, Sergeant, it is not a harem; it is a group marriage. There is a big difference, and that is why I find that interesting, as a qualified sociologist. No woman is less than any other. They all collaborate on decision-making, and often present Reg with a decision before he even needs it. He values his wives immensely, to the extent that he would risk his own life to save any one of them from harm. What more could a girl want than that?”

“I get that, but it still doesn’t explain why you approached them in the first place. I gather the first contact came from you?”

“This is where it gets complicated, Sergeant. My own mother died while I was young, and years later, my father remarried. My stepmother resented my presence, so pushed for me to go university and live away from home. That way, she got rid of me, most of the time, for several years. I graduated with a Sociology degree, and then was persuaded to then do a PhD in sociology. My stepmother again was the prime mover, and my father doesn’t see her interference for what it is. He imagines she is doing her best for me; but she hasn’t a degree herself, so has no past experience to work from.