Chapter 11

Jon sat at work reliving the events of the wedding for what felt like the millionth time. He couldn’t remember much, but he remembered the kiss he had shared with Claudette. How long had he hoped to feel her lips against his? The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t understand it. Sometimes he believed he had imagined the entire event, but the feel of her lips, her soft skin – he knew he would never be able to have imagined it.

He was going to start searching for employment as far away from Westville as possible. He couldn’t stand seeing her again, especially not with Benjamin. The aching of his heart hadn’t stopped since that evening.

He was struggling to concentrate on his work. There was some urgent work which required his attention.

On his table was a brown folder with a red “urgent” stamped on the top right corner. Inside was a letter addressed from a General in the military. It contained instructions that a document containing certain confirmatory statements were to be drafted in Arabic.

Claudette was just overwhelmed. The day had been taxing and she didn’t know what she was doing.

Jon continued reading the instructions from the General. He stated that he had been traveling from the North to cross the border with a troop of twenty soldiers in order to strategise regarding “confidential matters.”

Had Claudette told Benjamin about the kiss? If not, was she planning on telling him?

The General was now about to re-enter the country with his twenty soldiers and, as part of the cross-country relations, he required a statement to be commissioned, which statement would confirm a number of trivialities such as that he was entering the country with the same number of soldiers, that no harm had come to the country during his visit etc.

Did the kiss even mean anything to Claudette?

Jon started writing the statement for the General. He started with the general information about where the General had been traveling from, and where he was off to next. He noticed that the General had actually been just outside Westville for about two weeks a few months ago. There was a hotel quite a while out of town they were staying at while the General was awaiting further instructions.

Perhaps she was angry at me for kissing her?

Then Jon noticed the date – the military party had departed the day after Claudette’s ordeal with the mystery man. Thus far, Lord Batten had no more leads left to follow. Claudette couldn’t tell him much, and it didn’t seem as though she truly wanted to speak about it any longer – she seemed to want to move on. Lord Batten had complained to Jon on a number of occasions as he felt he had failed her by not finding the man. It was a very difficult thing to do because Claudette and Harry, her driver, were the only people who seemed to know what he looked like. Of course, Jon had seen the man, but his face had been covered in blood. The descriptions by Claudette and the driver were vague, and nobody was able to shed light on such a man being in the area. Jon knew that the man was slender, had short black hair, was clean-shaven, and had dark eyes. The only two real clues Claudette could provide was that he was dressed in uniform and that she had seen a trinket on his arm containing the letters “T.D.” – the problem was that there wasn’t really any kind of military presence in the area (that anybody knew of). Anybody could have gotten their hands on a uniform if they really wanted to. Claudette also wasn’t sure whether the letters were even his initials. It seemed to be a complete wild goose chase, and Claudette didn’t seem at all interested. Her father informed Jon that she had refused to talk about it any further, and chose to focus on her wedding.

But now, this letter by the General seemed to strike something with Jon.

Could it be possible?

He carried on reading the letter. The General was to be back in the country in two days’ time. The letter contained a list of the soldiers who were travelling with him. Jon’s heart was racing as his eyes searched the list, hoping a name would jump out at him.

And there it was – Timothy Donahue. Jon couldn’t think straight. Had he found the man responsible for hurting Claudette so?

Jon carried on reading through the letter, looking for more clues. He couldn’t find any. The kiss was completely out of Jon’s mind, as this letter became his latest mission.

Am I crazy? What are the odds?

Unfortunately, the name of the inn at which the General would be staying was not mentioned on the documentation provided, only the town which was about 100 kilometres away. Jon only had two days to reach the town. The documents didn’t say how long the General and his party would stay, so he had to make haste.

Jon ran to the Postmaster’s office almost immediately.

“Sir, I have to leave, immediately,” Jon said, already out of breath from the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

“Jon, what on earth is the matter now?” the Postmaster asked – he looked irritated. Jon could understand, his mind had not been at work for a number of months. He seemed to be on leave more than he was actually at the office.

“Sir, I do not have the time to explain. I have to leave, and I have to leave now.”

“Jon, you cannot simply leave every second day. You are a manager here! You need to lead your team here. We have too much work – work that is not being done!” He seemed angrier now.

“Mr Goodman, I apologise for my actions the last few months. I understand your feelings, but I am asking you now to indulge me one last time. I have to leave.”

“I’m sorry Jon, I just cannot allow it again. We have important work to do.”

“Please Sir, I have to do this. It is of utmost importance.”

“Then tell me what it is! Why do you have to keep leaving man?” The large man stood up from his desk now, as if challenging Jon head on.

“I cannot tell you, I do not have the time. I am wasting precious time already.”

“I forbid it. You are not to leave Jon,” he said, gritting his teeth.

“Well, Sir, then, I quit,” Jon said simply.

The Postmaster stood frozen, his mouth hanging open.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jon continued, “I bid you farewell Sir. I thank you for all you have done for me – you will never know how much it has meant to me. But this is a matter of life or death. I absolutely have to go. I will collect my belongings when I am back.”

With that, Jon ran out the door, not looking back. He only had one thing on his mind – he had to find Timothy Donahue.

Fortunately, his cottage was close by. He ran inside and grabbed a suitcase, placing his necessary belongings inside. He opened a safe in his cupboard and grabbed his pistol, placing it inside his coat.

He contemplated how he could travel to Floran. It was quite far away, and he would have to leave immediately to make it in time, but then he still had to find out at which hotel the party was residing. Fortunately, Floran was also a relatively small town. He had been there a couple of times for work, and he had a general idea of how to get around. He rushed outside to obtain a coach to take him to the train station. He sincerely hoped that he had packed everything which was necessary.