Read Online Department 19: Zero Hour by Will Hill - Free Book Online

and stepped through the purple barrier, feeling his skin tingle as he did so. He extended a hand, which Marie shook without hesitation.
    “Victor Frankenstein,” he said, more formally than he meant to.
    “Marie Carpenter,” replied Jamie’s mother. “I saw you on Lindisfarne, but it’s lovely to properly meet you. Although Jamie has told me so much about you that I feel like I know you already.”
    “Likewise,” said Frankenstein. “He speaks about you with such love. His father did the same.”
    Marie winced, then quickly rallied. “I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “I suspect you knew Julian far better than I ever really did.”
    Frankenstein shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said. “The man who came home to you every night was the man he was. He only lied about what he did for a living.”
    “Quite a big lie, though, wouldn’t you say?” said Marie, forcing a sad, narrow smile.
    “Yes,” said Frankenstein. “I would. I know he hated having to do it, if that’s any consolation.”
    “It is,” said Marie. “Not a lot, but it is. Henry Seward told me the same thing.”
    Silence settled over the cell, a silence in which the weight of the past hung palpably in the air. In the distance, Frankenstein heard the airlock door open.
    “Anyway,” said Marie, shaking her head and smiling more genuinely, “I stopped being angry with Julian a long time ago. And I’m sure you didn’t come down here to talk about such gloomy matters?”
    “No,” said Frankenstein, relief at the change of subject clear in his voice. “I didn’t come to talk about your husband. I came to talk about your son.”
    Marie’s smile faded. “I thought as much,” she said. “What has he done now?”
    “He’s not in any trouble,” said Frankenstein, quickly. “I don’t know what he’s told you about me, or about—”
    “He told me about the vow you made,” interrupted Marie, her voice low. “To protect our family. He told me about that, Victor.”
    “I’m glad,” said Frankenstein, feeling rare warmth spread through him. “I didn’t know whether he would have.”
    Marie nodded. “He told me you knew Julian’s father when he was young, which is hard for me to imagine. When Julian and I got married, he already seemed old. Jamie never even met him.”
    “I knew him very well,” said Frankenstein. “And he would be very proud of his grandson, that much I can say for certain.”
    An expression of love, so fierce that it almost made Frankenstein take a step backwards, appeared on Marie’s face.
    “So he should be,” she said, colour rising to her cheeks. “Jamie’s a good boy, and his heart’s in the right place. He means everything to me.”
    “And to me,” said Frankenstein. “I have done my best to protect three generations of Carpenters, and Jamie is at least the equal of the men who went before him. I will protect him till the day I die, from anyone or anything that seeks to do him harm, and from himself, when necessary. But lately …”
    “What?” asked Marie. Tears were standing in the corners of her eyes, the product of Frankenstein’s obvious love for her son. “Go on, please.”
    “Lately, I’ve felt like I’m failing him,” said Frankenstein, and grimaced; the words tasted bitter as he spoke them out loud. “I feel like I’m doing him more harm than good, that I’m hindering him rather than helping. I no longer know whether I’m keeping the promise I made.”
    Marie stared at him, her eyes wide and rimmed with tears. “Don’t say that,” she said. “Don’t ever say that. I know you rescued him from Alexandru the night I was taken, and I know that you threatened to resign if he wasn’t allowed to try and find me. I know you went to Lindisfarne even though Jamie had told you not to, when he had listened to the poison Thomas Morris put in his ear. So don’t you ever say you’re failing him. He and I would both be dead if it wasn’t for you.”
    “Thank you,”