Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 263

Today's picture prompt was taken by Montblanc Pen Lover over on Flicker. These are special edition Montblanc Skeleton ink pens. To give you an idea of cost, the one on the far right is going for USD 9,300 on a luxury website! Just the nibs alone run at around USD 300 dollars. But it's their steampunk qualities that attracted me, so let's see what they inspire. 

Took me a while to find this story and maybe one day there might be more. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

A Reasonable Man
He opened the ornate wooden box on his desk. It had been delicately carved out of mahogany and had his initials stamped on it: HEA. His parents had given it to him when he had left for university. It had contained the first of his collection of special Montblanc skeleton pens. The pen was exquisite in its depiction of the world map which had been etched in gold. Henry found himself admiring the detail whenever he pondered a missive.

And that’s what he had in front of him today, some thirty years on, a missive he was reluctant to sign, but one that warranted the weight of such a pen, both in its value as well as its physical presence.

Henry watched the gold nib glide across the paper while transferring his consent on what had become a contentious issue.

‘I hereby grant permission for Mrs Isabella Aston to be transferred to the psychiatric wing of St James’ hospital without delay. It is with regret that I will be unable to attend the transfer as our son will be in my custody and I will need to reassure him that all is well.

At no point prior to the agreed time and date should Mrs Isabella Aston be made aware of this transfer to avoid undue stress and anxiety.

All the required paperwork will be present, along with the injunction and the judge’s decree.

I expect a swift and smooth operation. There will be extra bonuses made available to those who diligently adhere to the required gentle handling of this sensitive matter.’

Henry signed and dated the letter and put it on the top of the other legal papers required to complete this transaction.

He carefully replaced the lid on the pen and sat back in his office chair, pondering his choices.

Isabella had proven difficult and defiant the longer their marriage had gone on, and in recent months even combative. Henry wasn’t an unreasonable man, but he had built a large business empire and wanted his son to take it over. He couldn’t risk her snatching him away and an acrimonious divorce to take place. He hoped that once she had been in the psychiatric wing for a few days she might be more compliant and open to finding a compromise. He hoped they could find a way forward, if not together at least in a way that would suit them both.