Interview with Thomas
Main character of: The White Swan Affair
Alaiel: Thanks a lot for stopping by my blog, Thomas! It’s a pleasure to have you here.
Thomas: Thank you, Miss Alaiel. I am delighted to visit with you today.
Alaiel: As an adventurer in love with the sea, what caused you to own property in any city and why London?
Thomas: While I would always rather be on the deck of my ship or exploring a far off port, London is the greatest city in the world. My partner, Edward Hannay and I decided to locate our warehouses here because it allowed us the greatest scope. We have always wanted to make a success of our company and without false modesty, I believe I may say that we have done so admirably.
And I don’t dislike London as much as I dislike the restrictions I face on dry land. Society’s constraints don’t sit well with me. I’ve never been one for doing the pretty. Too blunt. Too fond of speaking the truth. (laughs) It makes me a far from ideal dinner guest, I’m afraid.
Alaiel: How long had Robert Aspinall and his sister been your lodgers before you first took notice of Hester?
Thomas: I noticed Hester the very first day we met. It is not very gentlemanly of me to admit it, of course, but even dressed in mourning, she caught my eye. She is a very beautiful woman. Of course, I often went months at a time without the privelege of meeting with her. My business often sees me abroad but whenever I was in High Holborne, I hoped to see her. Perhaps that explains my sudden fondness for that corner of the metrópolis?
Alaiel: What was it about Hester that drew you to her?
Thomas: There are many things I love about her. I was first drawn to her by her gentle manners.
Alaiel: Do you have any qualms about engaging romantically with any woman, given that you aren’t the sort of man to settle down in the traditional sense?
Thomas: Of course I had qualms. No right thinking woman wants a man like me for a husband. Never in the same country from one month to the next, always setting out on another sea voyage. That was enough to prevent me from seriously considering matrimony for years. But sharing my life with Hester, I have come to realize that I am not settling. Adventure will still be mine, only now I will share it with the woman I love.
Alaiel: What were your first thoughts when you found out about the trouble Hester’s brother Robert had gotten into?
Thomas: I sympathized with Robert’s plight. I know there are many who condemn sodomites. Who think them unnatural or perverse but if there is one thing I have learned in my travels, there are few absolutes in this world and that despite what my uncle the bishop may claim, an observant Mohamadan has as strong, or stronger a claim, to virtue than most Englishmen. We all have secret desires, things about ourselves that others would decry. My own behaviour with Hester – the secret longing I held for her for so long – was something I was deeply ashamed of. Who am I to say then that my sin is less, merely for the fact that I love a woman and not a man?
Every one who is accused of a crime ought to have a proper and well-argued defense at a trial that lasts longer than eight minutes. I know that our system of justice is lauded as superior to that of the Continent but when I see children of seven and eight, being tried for capital crimes or people transported for seven years for stealing a used shift worth 4 shillings, I have my doubts.
