“Oh,” John muttered, somewhat abashed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1967
“Class, today we are going to look at sexual reproduction!”
Amber smiled at hearing the giggles from her fellow classmates.
Mrs Scriven placed two very dead rats, one male and the other female, on the worktop in front of her. The class was O level biology, a subject that Amber found particularly fascinating. She had already read the syllabus textbooks cover to cover, and had gone on to comb the library to glean more information from other books.
She was determined to ascertain some form of explanation about her ‘condition’ or ‘gift’. She knew that it had something to do with an enzyme her parents had taken at Glenisla house, but more than that she didn’t know. She’d tried reading the minds of the scientists who had initiated the whole affair, but found they thought in terms she didn’t fully understand. She didn’t really know what an enzyme was, in any case.
After passing her exams and starting at St. Helens, she agreed to spend a week during each school holidays at Malmsbury Hall in the Cotswolds. The Ministry of Defence appeared to have access to quite a few large and very attractive properties, dotted about the English countryside. Malmsbury Hall being but one.
The Hall was a Victorian structure, built in traditional red brick, complete with mock battlements, towers and turrets. A self-made millionaire called Russell Barrett built it in the 1890s on the back of his engineering success with steam engines for ocean-going liners. However, the family met with a series of disasters, both financial and personal, which allowed the MOD to acquire the property in the post war 1920s for a reasonable sum.
Previously used in the training of ‘operatives’ to be sent into occupied Europe, more recently the focus was to send agents behind the Iron Curtain. However, the facilities no longer met the requirements of the task, so the place had been left virtually empty for two years. Occasional ‘specialist’ courses were run, but once ‘Operation Gemstone’ was put into action, the Brigadier and his team moved in with exclusive use of all facilities.
That first time, a couple of years ago now, Major Rider had collected her from home at the beginning of the Easter Holidays. Gareth was flying and Jenny felt helpless and strangely impotent as she watched Amber calmly leave with the tall soldier. They’d come up with a cover-story that Amber’s exceptional ability at art had gained her access to an exclusive art college that ran in the holidays for especially gifted children from across the country.
Subtle manipulation of those who sought to question her further dismissed curiosity out of hand. Charlie was particularly jealous, but she acknowledged that Amber was certainly highly successful in her art lessons.
“How come no one else for St. Helens is going?” she asked her sister.
Amber shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t get to choose who goes, do I?”
“I wish I could come, it’ll be horrid without you here.”
“It’s only a week, Charlie, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Hmph, I suppose.”
Jenny was the only one who knew the truth.
“Take care, my love,” she said.
“Don’t worry, Mummy, I’ll be fine. It’ll be fun; you always wanted to know what I could do, so now we’ll find out!”
She’d kissed Jenny and walked to the Humber with her small suitcase. Matthew smiled as he observed she was wearing the necklace he’d given her for her twelfth birthday a month earlier.
On arrival, Amber found she had her own small apartment within the large building, which included enough room for her parents, should they wish to attend. In the event, she had declined that particular offer, believing that the less they knew about what went on, the better. There was a tennis court, croquet lawn and a delightful ornamental lake. In the summer the lake was warm enough for her to swim, and the extensive grounds were large enough for her to walk for ages to clear her mind.
Initially, there was a strained atmosphere between the team and their ‘subject’.
The scientists had been keen to make an early assessment, while the psychologists wanted to allow her some time to settle in. John Beecham felt slightly resentful that the psychologists were part of the team in the first place, but Amber managed to quieten his unease with a simple tweak.
She’d liked the Hall, but felt very lonely without Charlie and other friends. She realised that her gifts would now set her apart from the rest of the world, and this caused her some distress. She shared this feeling with the Major, the one person she did trust above everyone else. She also knew that Matthew was more than a little attached to her, so she used that knowledge to create an ally amongst the others.
She knew that Matthew was divorced and he missed his own daughter desperately. He’d been in Germany with the Army when his wife had had an affair and left him for a chartered accountant in Bristol. He knew it was pointless attempting to fight for custody as he had been attached to the SAS at the time.
Melanie was only three, but despite him leaving the Regiment, rejoining his old regiment and getting a MOD posting, the judge decided that Melanie was probably better off in the stable home of his ex-wife and her new husband.
Deep down he knew it to be true, but that didn’t stop him hurting. He saw as much as possible of Melanie, who was now seven, but he could sense that she was becoming more removed from him each time. In Amber, he saw much of his daughter, and he found her vulnerability and naivety attractive qualities. He was also aware that she was neither as vulnerable nor as naïve as she made out and that she was manipulating him dreadfully. He actually chose to ignore this, welcoming her company and friendship.
Eventually, everyone got their way. The psychologists and scientists all had their chance to test Amber, and she exceeded all their wildest expectations. Only Matthew knew that she was holding back, having given them what they wanted and a little more besides.
Towards the end of her first week, the pair took a walk in the grounds, as they often did.
“Why didn’t you give them everything?” he asked.
“What, and leave them with nothing to look forward to?” she asked with a cheeky grin.
Her strategy dawned on him then.
“So, you want them to believe that they can help you develop, is that it?”
“That way they retain an interest in looking after my development, and I get to control things at my pace. It’s about control, Matthew. While they think they are in control, I will be allowed certain freedom. As soon as they realise that they never had control and I’m a potential threat, then that’s when things get tricky. I’m too young to be a threat, so I have to make them believe that I have powers, but have yet to develop them to their full potential.”
“Why tell me, surely I’m as much part of ‘them’ as the rest?”
“You know the answer to that one,” she said with a knowing smile.
He grinned. It was hard to come to terms with someone who could read one’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Matthew had been embarrassed when he first realised that she knew that he was fond of her. The embarrassment turned to pride as he realised she trusted him and wanted theirs to be a special relationship.
“I never knew my real father, and Gareth is nice, but he has his own children. I know how you feel and you know how I feel. It’s only natural, isn’t it?” she asked.
He was speechless for a few moments, but then simply nodded.
“I mean, it’s not as if you want to marry me or anything, is it?”
That was then. She’d been a twelve year-old imp, pretty but still a child, despite her very advanced mind. Amber had returned to her family while the team planned the next steps. Matthew went on a course in surveillance and counter-intelligence. His new role was to be Amber’s protector and controller. He smiled at the use of that word, for he knew that nobody would ever control Amber but Amber. It was, however, a role he relished and looked forward to with some enthusiasm. Amber had gone back to school, visiting the Hall as arranged in each of the holidays.