Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof (6 page)

Alexander was in the drawing room when Charles found him, standing before the fireplace. Georgina was sitting in one of the large chairs nearby. Alexander was not an especially tall man but was approaching sixty fairly gracefully though his hair had gone fully grey in his forties. He had the Hall looks, as did Charles. Neither of them would be classed as handsome, but they could hold their own against the majority with their heads held high. Charles had never really cared about his looks, while his father did. That presented primarily in his father having his hair cut at the best barber he could afford, and he could afford a very good barber, once a month when he went to London. They both had hazel eyes, fairly thin lips, noses which tended to a slight bulb, and a small cleft to their chins. Charles’s face was thinner; age was starting to tell around Alexander’s cheeks.

Georgina was another matter. Over twenty years Alexander’s junior, she was only four years older than Charles and still quite beautiful. A blonde, she kept her long hair tightly bound into a bun almost all the time as she thought the style made her look respectable. She had blue eyes, but with a hint of green to them, and pale skin. Her figure was still trim. She hated Antonia Wooster because they both followed the same archetype, but Antonia was streets ahead of her, but worse, Antonia really did not care that she was attractive, while Georgina had staked her future on it.

‘Bringing home strays now, son?’ Alexander asked by way of a welcome.

‘Her name is Kate. Her father used her as an experimental subject and her body is infused with Unobtainium two-six-two. She requires approximately weekly exposure to enough radiation to cause severe ill-health or death, otherwise she will die.’

‘But why bring her here?’ Georgina put in.

Alexander gave a sigh. Georgina probably assumed this was because Alexander had realised the reason and thought it unfortunately appropriate. Charles knew that the answer would have been obvious to anyone and that Alexander was constantly disappointed in his second wife’s lack of perception. ‘Because this house runs on a reactor and she can have easy access to it at any time. What do you plan to do with her? Is it even
possible
to infuse someone with Unobtainium?’

‘It should have killed her, but there she is. As to what I want to do, I want to discover a way to remove the metal from her system. Beyond that, she needs to learn. Mrs Morton can teach her proper manners, sufficient to function in society at least. She is a very amenable girl, but uneducated. She seems to learn quickly so the task should not be too onerous.’

‘I realise that you feel responsible for every foul act perpetrated using the metal, but–’

‘Kate has been subjected to such ungodly things that listing them in front of Georgina would be ungentlemanly, Father. It is our duty to help her. Without our company, and the produce thereof, she would not be in the state she is in, and I will not hear of turning her away when she needs our help. If your duty does not sway you, the girl is a scientific miracle and I may learn much which can
further
increase the yearly profits during my attempts to cure her.’

One could almost hear the sound of cash registers ringing up sales in Alexander’s head. When Hunter Hall had died, the Unobtainium Company had stagnated until Charles had taken over research and development. Charles was the future of the company and Alexander knew it.

It was, however, Georgina who spoke, because she had a love of wealth which left Alexander’s in the shade. ‘I am sure that she will be a welcome addition to our little family,’ she said with a beaming smile.

The Animal Within

Rhidorroch, 31
^st
May 1920.

‘This,’ Charles said, holding up a small, hexagonal bottle with a waxed cork stopper and a colourless liquid inside, ‘is what I’ve been working on.’

‘And he’s very proud of it,’ Antonia added.

Kate peered at the bottle and the label which decorated one face. ‘Katheros?’ she read.

‘It’s something of a bastardisation of the Greek,’ Charles said, ‘for “clean.” This chemical, injected into the blood, neutralises radioactive particles and allows them to be flushed naturally from the body. If my chemistry is correct, it should work on a number of heavy metals.’

‘The Unobtainium in me?’ Kate asked, sounding as though she was trying not to be hopeful. She, rightly, assumed that if that were likely, Charles would have already tried it.

‘You are not afflicted in the same manner as those Katheros was designed to treat. The metal, a few atoms of it anyway, is somehow bonded within your cells, within the very nucleus of your cells. Miraculous though Katheros is, it cannot work a sufficient miracle to cure you. In a way, that is unsurprising since it was derived from your blood with its remarkable ability to shed accumulated radiation.’

Kate smiled. ‘So you may not be able to cure me yet, but your research into my nature has allowed you to cure others. I am… extremely pleased.’ Kate’s language skills and vocabulary had increased markedly in the thirteen months she had been at Rhidorroch. Her voice still carried the same husky, sensuous quality it had had when Charles had found her, which would likely forever preclude her from some circles of society, but she spoke with the confidence of an educated young woman now even if she was, technically, only six.

She
looked
far older, perhaps eighteen. As predicted, she had grown another few inches, but that seemed to have finally stopped at almost precisely six feet in height. It still put her head and shoulders over most women and taller than many men. Her chest and hips had filled out as well, but her waist had remained narrow. She had allowed her hair to grow out; it was now past shoulder length and she habitually wore it pulled back into a ponytail, the fringe arranged artfully around her face. Kate had grown into a beautiful woman, and Charles had no end of worries over the virtue of his ward.

She was, in fact, now his ward. Guardianship had been granted to him in May of the previous year, the day after Alfred Cooper had been sentenced to life in prison for his crimes. There had been a move to have him hanged, but there was insufficient evidence that he had played a sufficient part in the demise of Helen Brighton, and Charles himself had urged leniency hoping that Cooper might be persuaded to finally tell all about his experiments on Kate. On Katherine, according to the law; Kate had been registered with Somerset House under the name Katherine Felix, a reference to her cat-like eyes, which she found amusing.

‘I hoped you would be,’ Charles went on, smiling, ‘but there is one other thing which may make it more pleasing. When we create something new like this we register it using something called a “patent.”’

‘I know what a patent is, Sharles. Sir Barstow-Hall mentions them frequently. Often at dinner.’ She still called him ‘Sharles.’ He was
absolutely
sure that she could say his name correctly now, but she retained the affectation. Once when she had been apologising for pronouncing his name incorrectly he had told her that he rather liked the way she said it, and he was sure that that was her reason for continuing to do so.

Charles decided not to comment upon his father’s habit of discussing business at the dinner table. ‘Well, good. I don’t have to explain what your name being on the patent beside mine means then.’

Kate frowned. ‘Sir Barstow-Hall’s comments led me to believe that the patent was necessary for earnings to be made for an invention.’

‘Indeed. This will give you a small income for every bottle of Katheros sold. It will be modest, but it will be your own. I intend to do the same for any other invention I derive from studying you. I believe the most promising of those could very well provide you with a quite worthy income, if I can bring it to market.’

Kate’s face lit up. Her smile still made Charles’s heart skip a beat or two. ‘Thank you, Sharles. This is most generous. Would my guardian accept a kiss on the cheek as, inadequate, recompense for this great kindness?’

‘I believe propriety would allow such a gesture, Charles,’ Antonia said, her smile just a little mischievous.

‘I… will accept your gracious offer, Miss Felix,’ Charles said, knowing his cheeks were colouring. He got to his feet as Kate did, but she still had to bend a little to place a chaste kiss on his left cheek.

‘Thank you, Sharles,’ she said, her voice low and quite serious. ‘You did not have to do this and I am too grateful for words for your generosity.’

‘You know Charles dotes on you, child,’ Antonia said, ‘and it was your blood which provided the source for this concoction, which, I believe, gives hope to unfortunate people who could look forward only to a lingering death. That you receive some recompense for your part in its creation, and their salvation, is only proper.’

Kate bowed her head to Antonia, and then the smile was gone, replaced by concern. ‘There is… still no news?’

‘None, I am afraid. The authorities have given up hope. I, myself, cannot quite do so, but I must practically admit that David is gone even though I entertain a lingering belief that he may walk through the door at any moment.’

David Wooster had been missing for almost nine months. He had taken a ship to Bermuda on business which required speed and had insisted that his wife not expose herself to the harsh conditions on the ship he had found able to get him across the Atlantic. When a distress call heard by other shipping had gone out, a search had been started. Charles had hired an airship to take Antonia out to overlook the area and they had tried for over ten days to find any trace of the vessel. All their efforts had been in vain.

Kate nodded. ‘Anything I say would sound like empty platitude. Under the circumstances, I am told that silence is the better option.’

Antonia smiled, if a little bleakly, as Kate returned to her seat. ‘Mrs Morton has done an excellent job in educating you in the manners of a lady.’

‘Everyone has been most patient with my shortcomings and generous with their advice,’ Kate replied, smiling.

‘What my ward means to say,’ Charles said wearily, ‘is that Mrs Morton has, indeed, done a most commendable job, and my step-mother and her daughter have assisted by pointing out where Kate errs whenever she might do so in their presence.’ Antonia gave Charles a glance which stated that she was fully aware that such remarks said more about the unladylike behaviour of his relatives than those of his ward. ‘In the meantime, Kate has learned to ride, Master Sun is most happy with her progress and has said that she is “most promising,” which I took to mean he was surprised with her capabilities, she can cook, dance respectably, play the pianoforte, sing, and her knowledge of our Empire’s history is now quite acceptable.’

Antonia gave a soft chuckle. ‘David remarked upon her accurate use of a rifle as well. Tell me, Kate, are the breathing exercises and similar techniques helping you control your more… basic side?’

‘I have not had an episode of… atavistic outpouring for some months, Mrs Wooster. Though recently… Recently there have been some periods when I have grown restive. I find a long walk usually makes me feel better for a time. I love walking in the hills around the estate.’

‘I believe I would appreciate a turn out myself this afternoon. Perhaps we could go together. The Highlands of Scotland are far removed from the dense jungles of the Congo, but the air here is less stifling and the weather is due to be most pleasant. Will you join us, Charles?’

‘I would gladly do so, Mrs Wooster, but there are details I need to discuss with my father and I would rather have those chores out of the way as soon as is possible.’

~~~

‘The Navy has already placed an order for a thousand units of Katheros,’ Alexander said, ‘for use by the engine room staff on the
Empress of the World
.’

‘There has always been a problem of exposure on that vessel,’ Charles said. ‘I believe when it is seen how effective Katheros is, we will see further orders.’

‘Well and good. An exemplary piece of work, Charles. Exemplary… However, there is another matter your step-mother and I wish to discuss.’

Charles had known when he had seen Georgina sitting there with her sewing that this was coming. He managed to restrain himself from sighing. About once a month Georgina had new objections to Kate’s presence. Charles had avoided the issue for the last few months because he had spent so much of his time in London with the clinical trials of his new drug and the analysis of the results. That probably meant she would have stored up a number of objections ready for this meeting.

‘She can’t stay, Charles,’ Georgina began. ‘Her outbursts of feral nature unsettle the staff, and there is the matter of this Oriental gentleman you had brought here.’

‘Master Sun’s teachings, along with the marksmanship classes of Mister and Mrs Wooster, have assisted in suppressing Kate’s atavistic episodes. That is the reason he is here. And I might add that he is sufficiently happy with her progress that he will be returning to London when I do. He believes that Kate is quite capable of practising on her own.’

‘Well, the practice is part of the problem! She is out there every morning and evening, dressed in… in pyjamas!’

‘Mrs Reid is not a woman who takes these things lightly,’ Charles replied, speaking of the housekeeper. ‘The sight of a bare ankle is anathema to her, and yet she has allowed that the “pyjamas” you speak of are fully decorous and practical given the nature of the exercises. Far from unsettling the staff, they all like her. She treats them with the respect they deserve and does not ask of them more than
she
deserves.’

‘She swims in the lake at night!’ Georgina squeaked. ‘After everyone else has gone to their bed, she leaves the house to swim in the lake. Naked!’

There was a small sound from Alexander, and Charles allowed himself to glance at his father. The older Barstow-Hall was holding his face in his hand as though wondering how he had managed to marry a woman who allowed herself to fall into her own traps. Of course, Charles knew exactly why the marriage had happened, and he could never fathom how a man so intelligent had fallen into such a trap himself.