Chapter 5: The Mysterious Voice

"How did you get this number?"

"Your friend, Boyd Wainwright. He's a colleague of mine. He mentioned you in passing, and I told him I needed to contact you."

Robert frowns. "Boyd works at the science center where I live. He can't be your colleague. Don't tell me you've got Walsingham hacking trying to find us."

"Robert, you don't understand. I'm in Sunset Valley, too."

"Not you, too!" Robert nearly throws the phone across the room in frustration. "What are you doing here?"

"Working and raising a family, same as you."

"You gave up a cushy job with Henry Tudor to move out to the middle of nowhere to tend carnivourous plants? You seem to have lost your ambition rather early in your professional life."

"I assure you, that job is anything but cushy. There's a reason old Harry Tudor is plagued by ulcers. I rather fancy being there to see my son graduate from high school. In any case, my reasons for coming here are my own, but I swear I had no idea you were here." There is a pause. "What did you mean when you said, 'Not you, too?'"

"You're the one who is supposed to be the genius." When the voice fails to respond to his taunt, Robert continues. "You aren't the first 'old friend' we've heard from. First Bess Hardwick turns up with Walter and their friends, now you're here! We left to get away from everybody!"

There's a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. "Bess Hardwick is here?"

"She goes by Bess Raleigh now, but yes, she lives here."

"Has she had contact with you or Elizabeth?"

"Yes. She and Elizabeth seem to have patched things up and they have been spending time together. Elizabeth likes having a friend who is in a similar position in life with whom she can talk."

Robert hears a few oaths being uttered on the other end. "Robert, I know you aren't the sharpest tool in the box, but did it occur to you that contact with Bess Hardwick was a bad idea?"

"Listen, you," Robert growls into the phone, "I told Elizabeth from the get go that I didn't trust Bess. I told her to be careful. She said she would. I know you think that I'm a moron, but aren't you the one who always told Elizabeth that she was the brains in our relationship? Don't you trust her judgement?"

"I do trust her judgement...for the most part," the voice says evenly. "Despite that, Elizabeth, for good or for ill, is woefully ignorant of the manipulative nature of the people her family surrounds themselves with."

"Such as yourself," Robert mutters.  He hears a humorless chuckle on the other end.

"I may be manipulative, Robert, but I never betrayed Elizabeth, or her family. Nor do I intend to. I owe the Tudors everything, and, more importantly, Elizabeth is my dear friend. I would be your friend, too, if you didn't irrationally dislike me so much."

Robert pouts. "You were the third wheel in our relationship. You couldn't expect me to react positively to that. She spent nearly as much time with you as she did with me!"

"I assure you, I've only ever had platonic feelings for your wife, even in high school. I wanted my friend, you wanted your girlfriend. It was an unfortunate tug-of-war. But high school is long past. You love your wife, I'm smitten with mine. Can we move on to more pressing matters?"

"Fine. What's so important that you felt the need to harrass my friend and track me down?"

"Several things, now that I know Bess Hardwick is in town."

"Well, list them. You always loved making lists."

"I like being organized. Anyway, the reason I called you initially is that I wanted to tell Elizabeth that her father is fading rather quickly."

Robert is momentarily in shock.  He's not all that fond of Henry Tudor, but the thought of that big and forceful man dying is unbelievable. "I see," he says. "I'll inform her. I trust Edward is his heir?"

"Naturally. But not the sole heir. Henry just redid his will. Elizabeth stands to inherit some of the fortune, as well as some significant shares."

"I can't speak for my wife, but I doubt she wants the shares."

"I doubt she wants them either.  Before, it was a simple matter of selling them to someone within the company or simply declining the offer and leaving it for Henry's estate to deal with. Now that she's friendly with Bess Hardwick, however, the situation becomes infinitely more complicated."

"How so?"

"It boils down to the fact that John Hardwick will be exploiting any jealousies amongst the Tudor siblings to bring the Tudors down. He's not above using his daughter to help him, and Bess has no qualms in helping her father. "

"I see. Just tell me who she should sell the shares to, and she'll do it. She wants to avoid conflict. Do you have the paperwork? You always have the paperwork. Why don't you..." Robert grits his teeth, not happy at all with what he is about to say, "come over for dinner and talk this out with Elizabeth?"

"It's not that simple, Robert. Selling the shares just the first problem. If she takes my advice, she'll sell the first half to Mary, the second to Edward. This goes beyond shares."

"No, it bloody doesn't."

"Yes it does. Robert..."

"No, I've heard enough of your intrigues. Just send us the blasted paperwork. We want no part of your scheming or plotting."

"Fine. I'll send the paperwork. But listen to me, Robert. You mustn't let Bess Hardwick sway Elizabeth's decision to split the shares evenly. If she's her father's agent, she'll dissuade her from that course. If not, the subject won't come up at all. In fact, Elizabeth should be wary if anything involving her father, Edward, Mary, or the company comes up. Do you understand?"

"I'm not an idiot. My wife most certainly is not."

"Of course you're not. Your wife is brilliant. " The voice is quiet for a moment. "You know, I half expected you would just hang up on me. Thanks for hearing me out."

"You've always annoyed me, but oddly enough, that never prevented me from trusting you."

"I'm touched."

Robert rolls his eyes. "I'll tell Elizabeth you called." He pauses. "You'll keep us informed while the matter is being settled, right? Neither of us knows a whole lot about the company and the players, and we trust you."

"My eyes and ears are open. Whatever I know will be passed on to you two immediately."

"Thank you."

"It is my pleasure."

"We trust you.  If you betray us...I'm not old Harry Tudor, but I'll find my revenge."

"Duly noted. I won't disappoint. Give my greetings to Elizabeth and hugs to your children."

"I shall. Thank you...for everything."

Robert hangs up the phone. He rubs his temples, allowing the information to sink in.

Elizabeth walks in from the kitchen. "Who was on the phone, honey?"

Robert smiles at his wife and takes her in his arms.

"We just got a phone call from an old friend. We need to talk."
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Short update, few snapshots, a bit of an info dump. Unfortunately, this plotline came to me after everyone aged up to adult, so instead of a face to face run-in, we're using the mysterious phone call.  Oh well. Robert looks way too happy in these photos, but Sims can't really make angry phone calls, so this is what I'm left with. You'll find out who the mystery person is in about two chapters, I think.

Random note: that painting in the background of the last screenshot is my least favorite painting in the game. I LOATHE it. Blech.

I have a minimal understanding of how businesses actually function, so I hope this sounds decent so far. If I fudge it up, we'll just pretend that this is how businesses are run in Sim Nation. Hooray for flying by the seat of my pants.

Francis Walsingham was Elizabeth I's brilliant spymaster. He ran a sixteenth century CIA for all intents and purposes, intended to protect Elizabeth from any threats, both domestic and international. It was extremely effective, despite the lack of technology. One of his most famous feats was catching Mary, Queen of Scots agreeing to a conspiracy that would assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary on the English throne. Whether or not Mary was guilty is an ongoing debate, but Walsingham was the one who intercepted Mary's letters. He also gathered valuable information about the Spanish Armada, helping the English plan their defense.  His motto was "Knowledge is never too dear." In this universe, I can totally see him as some sort of computer whiz hacker type.

I feel the need to confess that I mixed up my "Besses." The real Walter Raleigh was married to Elizabeth Throckmorton, another lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I, not Bess of Hardwick. Silly Hayley is silly. *facepalm* Oh well. If every woman from that period wasn't named some variant of Elizabeth, it would make my life as a history student a LOT easier. Bah. It's almost like studying Prussian history, where every king is either named Frederick, William, or Frederick William. I usually am more on top of who married who, but I slipped. Sorry for the misinformation!