The Discovery of Love

The Discovery of Love

Copyright Simon Coates 2015

All rights reserved

Smashwords Edition

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living, dead, and not yet born, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

It has to be said, however, that the story is based in the 24th century, and the locations in this story on Earth exist more or less as they are on the present day Earth, which is pretty cool, don't you think? With respect to areas outside of Earth's atmosphere, well, let's just say they do exist, but in terms of what they are like, well, that requires a degree of artistic licence.

I would just like to add that if an arrogant, self-centred, wealthy industrialist puts in an application for a huge mansion to be built on the edge of Carlton village, at around the end of the 23rd century, then for the sake of the population living there, please reject it and tell the selfish moron to shove it.

www.galactic-echo.com

Acknowledgements

When I was getting close to completing this story and moving into the phase of having it published, I was starting to design the front and rear covers, copyright page, and all the other bits and pieces to take it from a piece of writing into a finished book.

One of the very important aspects was the spine of the book. This is one of those things that has to be right. I thought of a few colour combinations, and couldn't decide which one to go for. With my first book, Bike Racing into the Red, this was easy - a red background, with yellow text; with the colour yellow most well known in cycling circles as the colour of the leader's jersey in the Tour de France, it was an obvious choice. For this book, however, it was not so simple or clear cut.

To solve this dilemma, I decided to hand it over to the public. Over a couple of weeks in February and March, I held a competition where anyone could enter, with the remit being that they would choose a colour combination of background and text from a choice of six. The winner would be chosen at random, with the spine for this book being the choice of the person coming out as the winner.

That lucky person was Andrew Wills from Guisborough, North Yorkshire, who chose the combination of a white background and red text. Andy entered during an event I was at in Redcar, and is a fellow cycling enthusiast. For Andy, the prize is a signed copy of this book, so many congratulations to him for that.

To everyone else, many thanks for entering, and for those who also chose the same combination as Andy, you can accept that as a consolation prize, that the spine ended up as your choice as well.

Simon Coates, March 2015.

Introduction

Welcome to the 24th century! This book is a story based in that time, as part of the Galactic Echo fiction concept. In brief, it looks at what life might be like then, based on ideas of things that might really happen rather than events such as aliens invading Earth or spaceships travelling faster than light speed.

This story is set in that time, with a number of main characters, the key person being Remus Tallantyre. He is a very important individual of the time, having amassed huge wealth with his work in spaceship engines, a big industry of the time. For a brief biography, here is an extract from the Encyclopaedia of the Galactic Echo:

Tallantyre, Remus (Marsian, male) - industrialist

Born 24th July 2213

From very humble and difficult beginnings, Remus Tallantyre built up one of the biggest engine manufacturing plants ever known, and was the head of the company he founded. Despite his advanced age, Remus still works full time in his company.

Born on Mars, to unknown parents, Remus was likely to have been the product of a prostitute who gave birth to him. For many babies born at this time on Mars, living any length of time was lucky, and Remus was one of the lucky ones. He suffered terribly in his early years, but once he became an adult, his entrepreneurial and business talents showed through. He set up in business on his own, and registered a patent for an aspect of engine design that proved to be very significant. His design was very quickly adopted as the industry standard for spaceship engine design, and his company grew rapidly.

The success that he has achieved has enabled Remus to become phenomenally wealthy. He owns a number of luxuries that such wealth can acquire, such as apartments and houses across Mars, Earth and the Moon, most notably his built-from-scratch mansion in North Yorkshire, England, on Earth.

Friends and colleagues describe Remus in different ways. Recognised and respected for his achievements in business, but with a reputation for being a ruthless individual, Remus has never married, preferring to have short term relationships with all manner of women, regularly hiring prostitutes. He is also known for running his business with an iron grip, with anyone disagreeing with Remus being given their marching orders without hesitation.

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To see more, please visit the website www.galactic-echo.com. At the end of this story, there is a brief description of other Galactic Echo titles.

Ready? Then read on. Hope you enjoy the story; Remus is a demanding boss and doesn't appreciate waiting…

Simon Coates

Author and creator of the Galactic Echo

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter One

Employment laws are strictly enforced in the 24th century. Staff on full-time contracts are given statutory annual leave, sick pay and other benefits. Remus Tallantyre very rarely offers staff anything over and above this to his employees. Staff turnover is quite high in respect of anyone working for Remus, but considering he employs a large percentage of the local workforce at his main factory in North East England, staff who leave will usually end up working somewhere else where he had ultimate control. It was hard to avoid him. For a lot of people, retirement is the only way out.

The rain lashed against the window, making a loud hammering noise as the wind drove the rain onto the glass. For Ellena, it was the last thing she wanted, after a long hard day yesterday. She was laid on her side, already facing the clock, so all she needed to do was open her eyes to see the time on the sideboard. It was five twenty-something, the last digit obscured by the cushion that blocked her vision. It didn't matter, however; it was early enough. The rain was deafening, one of the disadvantages in having a room that was facing in the direction of the wind, which was clearly quite strong. Easily powerful enough to cause some structural damage, at least. She closed her eyes in one last attempt to doze off, but this proved futile, as the noise coming from the outside was impossible to ignore. It was no good. Momentarily, she lay on her back, face towards the ceiling, deciding what to do. No point trying to fall asleep, it would soon be six o'clock, and time to get up. Might as well give up on sleeping and start the day. It would be the usual cleaning duties, so if she started early, she would get finished quicker, giving her a chance to have an early night and catch up on lost sleep on the night. Yes, that seemed a good plan. With that in mind, Ellena got up and thought through the tasks for the day.

Working for Remus, one of the most successful and wealthiest businessmen in England, was hard, but it was a job, at least. The hours were relatively long, but she enjoyed the work. It was something to do before retiring, which was now just one week away. Such thoughts brought warm and comforting feelings to her as she got ready for another day.

After her shower, she got dressed in the traditional garments required of her paymaster. Despite this being the 24th century, Remus liked his staff to dress in the way of people who were employed in domestic service centuries ago. He liked the ways of old-fashioned England, of a lifestyle virtually forgotten but still enjoyed by certain people. With the wealth he had, it was a privilege he could relish.

Such as the correct use of names in the household. Remus was always called Mr Tallantyre or Sir; the staff always by their surnames. Only Remus was allowed to call staff by their first names. Ellena once forgot and called him Remus, but after being reprimanded was certain of never doing that again. The household was run in a very strict manner by Remus, and woe betide anyone suggesting doing something different than he wanted…

By nine o'clock, Ellena had completed most of her morning duties, and was finishing in the upstairs landing area when Remus appeared. As usual, Ellena would wait before saying anything, as it was difficult to know what mood he was in. Today, he just walked past, confirming her judgement as correct in staying quiet. Saying Good morning at this stage would have been pointless, as he was sure to ignore such polite gestures.

One week to go and it couldn't come quick enough.

Chapter Two

Remus Tallantyre rarely gets involved with the interview process for 'minor' staff roles. He usually leaves this to a trusted senior member of staff. Within his business domain, he employs thousands of people across countless offices, and he rules with an iron fist, dismissing staff at the slightest indiscretion. To work for Remus in his actual home is harder still, as he is even more critical of staff there.

Remus summoned his butler Ezkeil into his study. It was now a week after Ellena had left. As usual, staff leaving was a non-event, no leaving parties or anything like that. Remus would consider them a waste of money.

Mr Manton, I have had a number of temporary staff in to clean since my cleaner left, which is not very satisfactory. I need a full-time permanent member of staff. I require you to do the necessary to advertise for the vacancy.

Very good Sir, I will contact the local employment office tomorrow afternoon when I purchase the food for the household in the coming week. Have you got the basic details, such as working hours, salary, that sort of thing? asked Ezkeil.

Yes, I have drawn up a list, replied Remus. This was quite typical of the man, always very precise. It was clear he planned for everything, even things such as having his magnificent house kept spick and span.

Thank you Sir, replied Ezkeil. Will there be anything else?

No, that is it for now, and with that, Ezkeil left the room.

Over the coming days, a number of people arrived at the house, interested in the job vacated by Ellena. Remus had decided that Ezkeil could be trusted to undertake the recruitment process, as he was his butler and therefore the most senior member of his domestic staff. He created a shortlist of around ten of the most suitable candidates, and then had a formal interview with them. Ezkeil would then discuss the applicants with Remus and they would make a swift decision. This is how domestic service staff were normally selected, and how it would be done with this particular job vacancy.

Most of the prospective people were older women, much like Ellena had been. They wanted a simple job to keep themselves busy before retiring, but there were a few who were younger women, who Remus really wanted for the job as it meant they were more likely to stay longer, rather than just being employed for a short while.

The interview process was quite simple. Ezkeil just chatted about the job to the prospective employees as they came and went over the course of a day. After all, it was a cleaning job, it just required someone who was quite meticulous. As long as they had a good eye for detail, then they were suitable for the job.

The interviews took place on a Tuesday, and at the end of the day, nine of the prospective candidates had been seen, with just one more person to go. She was called Lautitia. She was quite young, about the same age as Ezkeil, and seemed to have the sort of experience that could be good for the job.

A knock on the door announced her arrival. Ezkeil answered it.

Good afternoon, you must be Lautitia Bilbao, said Ezkeil.

Lautitia confirmed his assumption. Ezkeil looked at her directly for a split second before asking her in. She was a fair bit shorter than him; he was a six-footer, and stood taller than most people. She had a face that was bright and attractive, with large eyes and an expression that made her seem 'cute' to Ezkeil. She appealed to him almost instantly. Something said to Ezkeil that this was a good person, and after meeting all the other candidates, this person immediately stood out more than any of the others. She had neatly applied makeup: not over the top, as many other women tended to do when they were involved with business with Remus Tallantyre. She was wearing a hat, which she removed, revealing her black hair, which was tied back into a neat bob.

Ezkeil showed Lautitia around the house, explaining the various duties that needed to be done, before sitting down with her in the study to undertake a more formal interview. At the end, he escorted Lautitia towards the main door. He asked her what she thought of the job, now that she had seen what it entailed.

Good I think, I would like a job like this, I love beautiful buildings, you must be very lucky to work and live here, she replied.

Staff employed by Remus to work in the house lived in their own private area, just like the 'olden days', when a huge number of people worked in domestic service.

Yes, said Ezkeil, the house is really stunning, you will certainly have your work cut out here, the size of it is quite something.

They chatted away until they reached the front door.

Good afternoon, best of luck, Ezkeil said as Lautitia walked outside.

Thank you, she replied as she turned to walk away.

Something about this woman appealed greatly, and he had already made up his mind that he wanted her to get the job. All he needed to do was convince Remus she was the most suitable candidate, as it was his final say as to who would be chosen. It wasn't just for professional reasons why Ezkeil wanted Lautitia to get the job. He found her really attractive, and it would be nice to have such a person in the house. He liked her the moment he set eyes on her.

After closing the door on Lautitia, he walked back to the room, studying the various application forms from the prospective housemaids. He noticed that Lautitia was single, which immediately made him feel good. Maybe this really was love at first sight! She seemed a really nice girl at least, and had a ready smile whenever he talked to her during their brief moment together… Maybe she was just being professional. Going for an interview was hardly the best place to meet people romantically. Unfortunately, house rules forbade any relationships between staff, and Ezkeil took those thoughts with him as he retired for the evening up to his private room. Regardless, she needed to be a staff member first…

Ezkeil hoped that Remus would make the right choice. Normally he didn't really care about which staff became employed, it was not something he involved himself with, other than doing the interviews. This time, however, he cared. There wouldn't be long to wait; Remus was usually quick to decide on things, so in maybe a day or two he would know.

He had a formal meeting with Remus, going through the various candidates with him. Ezkeil had been really careful to word his