Perla asked for a glimpse of Colin after the events of “Secrets of a Lady,” and of Charles interacting with both his children. Here’s a brief scene, from Jeremy Roth’s point of view. This week’s addition to the Fraser Correspondence also mentions Colin–Mélanie’s writes to Raoul, contemplating her son’s first Christmas.
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The rain had let up and patches of damp were drying on the pavement when Jeremy Roth turned into Berkeley Square. He was a dozen paces from the Fraser house when the door opened to admit a slender woman in a gray gown and bonnet and two smaller figures.
“Mr. Roth.” Colin Fraser ran down the steps and past the filigree lampposts. An indignant meow accompanied his dash. He had Berowne, the family cat, buttoned inside his coat. Colin slowed his pace and stroked the cat’s gray head. One couldn’t tell that beneath the tan leather of his glove the little finger of his right hand was a shortened stump, healed cleanly now, but a lasting legacy of his abduction.
Colin approached Roth at a slower pace, petting the mollified cat. “I expect you need to see Mummy and Daddy about the man who died last night.”
Children had a way of knowing everything. “Yes,” Roth said. “We arranged to meet here at one.”
“Hullo, Mr. Roth.” Jessica ran forward, honey-colored curls bouncing on her shoulders, trundling a hoop along the pavement. “Did you bring Adam and Geoffrey?”
“Not today I’m afraid.” Roth’s two sons were great favorites with Jessica.
“Mr. Roth has business with your parents.” The gray-gowned woman joined them. A flash of titian showed beneath her bonnet. It was Miss Dudley, the children’s governess. Roth shook her hand.
“Mr. and Mrs. Fraser sent the carriage back but haven’t returned themselves. Sometimes this sort of business takes longer than one anticipates.”
Her voice was cool, but Roth caught an unexpected spark in her hazel eyes. He revised his impression of how much Miss Dudley knew of her employers’ adventures.
A hackney turned into the square, sending up a spray of water from the street and eliciting another yowl from Berowne.
“There they are,” Jessica said as her parents alighted from the hackney. She ran forward and flung her arms round her mother’s knees, then drew back and stared up at her. “What happened to the dress you were wearing this morning?”
“It got wet,” Mélanie Fraser said.
Jessica touched a fold of the cherry-striped fabric. “This one’s pretty. I like the lace.”
Colin looked from his mother to his father. “Did you get hurt?”
Charles Fraser ruffled his son’s hair. “Nothing serious, lad.”
“If it wasn’t serious you wouldn’t have been gone all morning. But you’re all right now, that’s the important thing.” Colin’s gaze moved to his mother and fastened on a scrape above the scarlet folds of her cloak. “Are you going out again?”
“Yes, but not for a bit. We have to talk to Mr. Roth.”
Jessica leaned her elbows on her hoop. “You said we’d play in the square.”
“And you’re going to.” Mrs. Fraser tucked a curl beneath Jessica’s velvet bonnet. “Laura’s taking you.”
“Will you take us tomorrow?” Jessica asked.
Mélanie Fraser flicked a glance at her husband. “Soon.”
Jessica caught a fold of mother’s dress again, this time with greater urgency. “I don’t want Colin to go away again.”
Mrs. Fraser crouched down and put her arms round the little girl. “Laura’s going to take extra-special care of you and Colin, querida, just like we’ve talked about. You and Colin are going to take care of Berowne.” She reached out to stroke the cat. “Make sure he has his lead on, Colin.”
Colin nodded.
“Who’s going to take care of you and Daddy?” Jessica asked.
“Daddy and I can take care of ourselves. We’re very good at it.”
“Sometimes you get hurt.”
“But we always come home safely, don’t we?”
Jessica exchanged a look with her brother. “Promise you’ll come see us before you go out again?”
“Word of honor,” Charles Fraser said.
December 17, 2007 at 9:49 am
Oh, that’s so sad! It seems difficult to write children effectively in a story, as they either become a hindrance or a tool, but the Fraser children help to strengthen and their parents, and reveal deeper facets of their characters. I like Jessica admiring her mother’s dress, and Melanie bending down to comfort her; there’s a slight distance between Frasers and their children, and I feel for Colin, having to behave maturely despite his years and past experience, but Charles and Melanie are still tender with them.
December 17, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Thanks, Sarah! I love writing children, and I find having them interact with their parents can be a good way to bring out aspects of the parents’ characters, so I’m glad that came through! (Certainly I think Colin and Jessica bring out a whole side of Charles and Mélanie we wouldn’t otherwise see). Interesting what you said about the “slight distance” between the Frasers and the children–I hadn’t thought of it that way, but there is a certain formality from the time period, and the fact that Charles and Mélanie are often engaged in work their children can’t know about also creates a certain distance (though Colin and Jessica are aware of a good deal, as witnessed by their comments in the scene).
Can anyone suggest other books where scenes with children particularly bring out facets of the adult characters’ parents? I think Georgette Heyer does this really well–particularly in “The Grand Sophy” and “Frederica.”
December 17, 2007 at 4:46 pm
The formality of the time, and Charles and Melanie’s distraction, comes through, don’t worry – it was the balance of bringing the children back into a story that isn’t (I don’t think?) ultimately about them this time that made me aware of the Fraser family’s relationships.
And the ultimate parent-child novel in my eyes has to be To Kill A Mockingbird – the story has never been a morality tale of civil rights or justice for me, but primarily a study of a lone parent trying to raise his two children in a mature and caring environment; I fell in love with Atticus Finch the first time I read it, and it’s still a favourite!
December 17, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Sarah had a good point, there is a bit of distance between the children and Melanie and Charles, but it’s also true that parents from that time were so much more formal. I like that they are not perfect, and do not magically meet everyone’s needs. But you can see that they wish that they could. It’s just that they are not Ozzy and Harriet and that’s what makes them so fantastic.
December 17, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Thanks for the great comments, Sarah and Perla. You’re right, Sarah, the children aren’t the focus of this story, but an important part of Charles and Mélanie’s lives is that they have children who are there with their own needs and demands if in the midst of high stakes intrigue. One of the things I love doing in the series is looking at a couple who have lives enmeshed in intrigue and adventure and yet have to balance that with being parents. You’re so right, Perla, they are not perfect at it, an like most working parents they feel the pull of conflicting needs and demands. (I often wish that we’d got a glimpse of Percy and Marguerite with children in the Scarlet Pimpernel books).
May 11, 2008 at 8:38 pm
[…] one of the excerpts I posted from The Mask of Night,, Charles and Mel try to balance the demands of an investigation […]
August 24, 2021 at 1:04 pm
thanks for sharing!!