The Scandalous Lady Mina

'Well, I do hope so,' Septimus responded cheerfully, ignoring his nephew's roaming. 'She is rather altered. Ten years is a long time, Max.'

'This is a mistake.'

'Perhaps. As you said—I've made a few. I don't think this is one, but one lives and learns. One lives and learns.'

He clucked his tongue and picked up his newspaper once more, a satisfied smile curving his mouth. Septimus definitely lived far more than he learned.

Max resumed his seat. If there was one thing 'he' had learned, it was that crying over spilled milk was not only a waste of time, but tended to turn that milk sour even faster. The best course of action was to walk away and milk another cow.

But walking away was hardly an option on the SS Aquitania, despite its fame as the longest ocean liner currently plying the Atlantic. He picked up the other newspaper, but the words were as elusive as the shapes on the carpet.

'How the devil did you even come across her, anyway? I thought she and Lady Bascombe were in Brazil.'

'I haven't heard all the details yet. I was rather rushed preparing everything for the voyage. But naturally I had to make one last visit to the museum, which was very fortuitous because there she was, with three children.'

'She has...three children?'

'Not hers. She was their governess. Horrid little beasts, but she had them well in hand. Stopped them from bringing down the Temple of Dendra in a pile of rubble about their ears. Told the chubbiest one that if he carved his name into the stone, the guardian mummy would cast a curse on him.

That caught their attention and naturally they wanted details, so there they were, cross-legged on the floor as she concocted some rather gruesome tale about giant crocodiles and moldering mummies rising to life on winged camels and whatnot, so naturally I stopped to listen. Some marvelous ideas there for a stage setting. Good visuals.'

Max held on to his patience, barely. Septimus was known for his digressions and trying to shove him back on track only prolonged them.

'But my point...' Septimus continued, smoothly inserting himself back onto the main rails, 'was that I recognized her, and while the three horrors were stuffing their rotund selves with some sugary concoction in the tea shop, I went to speak to her. It seems her mother ran off to Mexico with some fellow after they arrived in San Francisco and Mina had to make her own way. She was a teacher and a nurse and goodness knows what else and was in New York acting as governess to one of those overdressed women who delight in being patrons of the arts but couldn't tell Verdi from Mozart.'

He paused to allow Max to support his outrage about such heresies, but when Max maintained his smoldering silence, Septimus continued.

'Well, I told her about Eliza and my worries that she will find it hard to assume the persona I have decided would best serve her in England. When she asked me what persona, I told her—quite off the cuff, mind you—that I wanted her to be just like you—meaning just like Mina—at least the Mina she was back at Fairweather. Decisive, charming...alight. Serena must light up not only the stage, but every room she enters. She has that in her, but she lacks confidence. We must drum that into her.'

Only Septimus, who had confidence in frightening abundance, would treat it like something to be stoked and damped at will, like feeding coal into a boiler. Max didn't debate the likelihood of drumming confidence into anyone. He was too busy battling fury.

'So to further your business pursuits you are willing to risk Peter's heart again?'

Septimus sighed. 'I repeat. Peter is a grown man. I have more faith in his fortitude than you appear to, Max.'

'Almeria will have your head on a platter when she hears of this. She despises Mina even more than I do.'

Septimus clicked his tongue. 'My sister-in-law is far too proper to resort to such bloodthirsty methods. As for despising her...I don't think that is the correct word.'

'She said from the start that Mina was wrong for Peter.'

 

'She wanted her to be wrong for him, as you well know. Mina upset Almeria's plans for Peter to marry Emily, and she was worried Mina might not be content as a country matron.'