Sunday, 29 May, 1870
What a busy two days it has been! The household arrived home well past midnight last night, several of them bandaged and bruised, and all of them tired and hungry. I heard some of the story of their adventure while they were eating and as I and Patsy helped Miss Whitnell change the dressings on several wounds. Mr. Salmalin, Edward, and Miss Chigwidgeon each gave me further details while we were setting out breakfast.
When the League arrived at the Eagle Commercial Hotel, Mr MacGregor pointed out which window led to Mr. Sentenza's room. Miss Sinclair and Edward climbed onto the stable to peer into the dark room. Miss Sinclair noticed evidence that someone had recently exited the hotel via the stable roof. The room appeared to be deserted, the only light coming from embers in the fireplace. Several members of the league joined them on the roof, while the master, Mr. MacGregor, and most of the others, went through the front door of the hotel.
Miss Whitnell, Mrs. Cuthbert, and Miss Gordon waited in the alleyway where they could watch the hotel window and the stable door.
Under pretext of renting a room for a business partner, the party advanced to the third floor. The master rapped on Sentenza door, and when there was no answer, picked the lock. Miss Sinclair and the others entered through the window. The league searched the room, finding a few things out of the ordinary. There were two sheets of paper in which various notes were written down, including the names of many of Dr. Wilson's associates. There were also several newspapers and a postal map of London. The room was protected by a "witch's bottle," which, according to Mr. Ramsay, had been executed correctly so that anyone other than Mr. Sentenza, trying to use magick in the room would have experienced great difficulty.
Meanwhile, Miss Whitnell and Mrs. Cuthbert had decided to do some magickal detective work, trying to conjure a vision of the nature or whereabouts of Sentenza's unusual horse. They became even more convinced that the creature was supernatural from what they saw, but didn't learn anything substantial.
While the rest of the league was discussing the contents of the sheets of paper, Edward decided to retrieve the camera from the barouch to record some of the evidence. While he was setting up his "shot" he noticed that there were two pencil "x"'s on the postal map: one at the location of the master's house, and one at the location of Lady Ottoline's school.
Since Lady Ottoline was also on Sentenza's list, it seemed clear that Lady Ottoline's school would be Sentenza's next target. As Miss Whitnell said, "If the ghost is looking for unrepentant women, he would find them there."
The league rushed outside and hurried across the city to Notting Hill. Upon arriving at the school, they met two of the girls leaving in haste, intent upon summoning the police because of the "mad man" inside. Some of the girls were rounding up all of the students and bandaging the wounds of a pair of the girls who had been stabbed. The girls indicated that Lady Ottoline was fighting the mad man in the practice hall.
Most of the league charged down the hallway. In the ballroom which Lady Ottoline has converted into a physical fitness practice room, they found the Ghost, armed with his unusual swords, in a fierce sword fight with Lady Ottoline, Miss Vicky, and Mr. Chigwidgeon. Miss Sinclair told me that Mr. Chigwidgeon, armed only with a club, was yelling at the ladies to flee while he kept the murderous fiend busy. IT was clear, however, that even the three of them were not going to hold the fiend for long. Each of them was bleeding from at least one wound, and were visibly tiring, while the swordsman seemed inhumanly fast and showed no sign of exhaustion.
Mr. Caine, the master, and Lt. Wooster all grabbed swords from the wall and jumped into the circle to engage the creature.
Dr. Wilson and Mr. Cuthbert continued through the room, out into the garden, fearing that Sentenza was also lurking nearby. Miss Sinclair went back out to the front of the building with a similar fear.
Mrs. Cuthbert, Miss Whitnell, and Mr. Ramsay began a magickal ritual which they hoped would defeat the swordsman.
The fight was quite a spectacle, I am given to understand. Both the master and Lt. Wooster fought with both swords and their pistols. Bullets seemed to have no effect on the creature whatsoever. Although several of the fencers managed to slash the ghost of the sword or stab him quite deeply, he seemed to shrug off the injuries. When a sword was knocked from his hand, it vanished in mid-air and reappeared in one of his scabbards. Even against six foes, he had go trouble keeping up the parrying and thrusting.
Edward, meanwhile, had climbed onto some of the gymnastic equipment and leapt onto the fiend's head.Unfortunately, it didn't destract the ghost long. He slashed Edward's arm (the master seemed quite shaken by this, he indicated that for a moment he thought the arm had been cut off!). Edward fell to the floor, insensible and bleeding profusely. The master threw his empty pistol at the fiend's face and called out a signal to Lady Ottoline and Miss Vicky. They executed a high-low attack, almost succeeding in knocking the swordsman off his feet. The distraction was enough for the master to snatch Edward away and begin first aid.
Mr. Salmalin, who had unsuccessfully been attempting to get one of the other six to let him at the swordsman, leapt into the spot vacated by the master, and joined the fight. The Thuggee whom Edward calls "Cousin George" seemed to materialize at about this point, and joined in the fight as well.
The fiend by this time was beginning to show some signs that all of the wounds previously inflicted were taking a toll, but it is impossible to know how long it would have taken them to wear him down, for Miss Whitnell, Mr. Ramsay, and Mrs. Cuthbert completed their ritual, and it had a very dramatic effect. The fiend froze in place, screaming. With his defenses suddenly stopped, the six assailants all landed what would have been a killing blow. And then the creature seemed to be pulled toward Miss Whitnell, shrinking as he flew through the air, and was absorbed into the silver brandy flask Miss Whitnell had taken from Lt. Wooster.
Mrs. Cuthbert laid hands on poor Edward and healed him. Miss Whitnell and Sir Cosmo began bandaging the wounds of the others. Miss Whitnell asked George if he knew where the Chapterhouse of the Order of St. Jerome was. When he said yes, she sent him to fetch Mrs. Godwin.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wilson, Mr. Cuthbert, and Miss Gordon had noticed the garden gate ajar, and signs the Mr. Sentenza had, indeed, been lurking about earlier. While investigating the gate, they noticed strange activity in St. Bartholomew's church, across the part. The church has been undergowing extensive renovations, and should likely be unoccupied at that hour of a Saturday evening, however, someone was clearly doing something up in the belltower, which as a commanding view of Lady Ottoline's school.
They headed toward the church. Sentenza's unusual black stallion attacked them on the way, and apparently was quite demonic. All agreed that his eyes glowed red, and whatever he struck with his front hooves began to burn.
It became quickly apparent that the horse wanted to hurt Dr. Wilson, so while Wilson kept the horse busy, Mr. Cuthbert and Miss Gordon hurried to the church. Inside the church, the each immediately fell. Mr. Cuthbert slid the full length the building. He said it was as if the floor was completely frictionless. Miss Gordon found herself stranded in the middle of the chancel, sprawled on the supernaturally slippery floor, hardly able to move.
Mr. Cuthbert could reach the prayer rail, and pull himself to within reach of the first pew. In this manner he crawled toward the stairs.
Dr. Wilson's gun jammed when he tried to shoot the stallion. So he pulled his rocket gun. When the stallion next charged him, Wilson stood his ground, then dove under the creature at the last moment, letting the stallions momentum carry him far enough away that the rocket explosion wouldn't also harm Dr. Wilson.
The stallion proved as frustratingly impervious to harm as the ghost swordsman. The explosion knocked the horse off it's feet, but it was clearly still strong enough to fight.
Miss Sinclair had heard the sounds of the fight in the park, and had hurried that way. She had tried to distract the horse by pelting it with stones. Then she noticed the man in the bell tower.
Mr. Sentenza was calmly watching the fight from the tower, smoking his pipe. He was standing beside a contraption which contained a large rocket, aimed directly at the school. Miss Sinclair called out to Dr. Wilson, drawing his attention to the rocket in the tower.
Wilson fired at the tower.
Miss Sinclair said that the sight which followed was almost comical. Sentenza saw Wilson firing. He looked at the enormous rocket next to him, filled with who knows how many pounds of powder, his eyes growing large with fear. He dove out of the tower a moment before the first rocket hit. He was still falling when the larger rocket exploded.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cuthbert had reached the stairs, and managed to climb to the third floor. As the two explosions shook the building, he saw what seemed to be a body crashing through the scaffolding. He headed back downstairs and exited the church from a second floor window. By this time, Miss Gordon has reached one of the doors.
Between Sentenza's fall into the scaffolding, plus the concussion of the explosions, and the falling masonry, the entire structure of the scaffolds had collapsed into an enormous heap of wreckage.
The stallion abandoned his attack on Wilson and began pawing at the rubble.
Mr. Cuthbert noticed something under the rubble moving. It was clear that Sentenza was still alive, digging himself out of the wreckage. He stationed himself nearby, his hunting rifle pointed at where he expected Sentenza's head to emerge.
Mr. MacGregor, who had remained at the hotel to questions the conceirge, had by this time arrived at the school and found the well-organized group of girls out front. Hearing the explosions and commotion behind the house, he hurried toward the sounds.
The rest of the League had arrived at the pile of rubble by this point. Miss Sinclair had noticed the Sword, which had been stolen from St. Eglantine's church, hanging from the saddle of the stallion, and was trying to maneuver close enough to the horse to get it. Mr. MacGregor decided the best way to help get the sword, was to run up and leap into the saddle. Which he managed to do.
Although the stallion began bucking and trying to throw Mr. MacGregor almost instantly, his leap did take the horse's attention off Miss Sinclair just long enough for her to snatch it.
By this time, Sentenza had nearly dug himself out of the rubble. After seeing Mr. Cuthbert's gun, he stop struggling and just glared. Miss Gordon started to tie his hands together (since he had gotten both arms free before he stopped), he suddenly made a choking noise and seemed to die. Miss Gordon was concerned, particularly since his flesh was cold to the touch, but other members of the league were certain that it was very poor subterfuge.
Miss Whitnell, for one, perceived a magickal aspect similar to the undead creatures they had fought on St. Damian Island. Edward and Salmalin were dispatched in the small carriage to A's office to summon assistance while the League tried to decided what to do with an undead bounty hunter and a demonic horse. Miss Whitnell thought they should attempt a magickal ritual to weaken, bind, or dispel Sentenza. Mr. Ramsay was of the opinion that they should try to exorcise the horse.
Miss Whitnell decided to use her magic to put out the fire in the church. Mrs. Cuthbert and Mr. Ramsay decided to tackle the horse. Mr. Chigwidgeon, hearing all the talk about Sentenza being undead, dug a sledge and a pipe from the rubble, and proceed to securely "nail" Sentenza to the ground. Miss Chigwidgeon went on at considerable length about this part, how her father seemed so matter-of-fact about the undead and even admitted he has had to put two such creatures down in the past.
Sentenza stopped pretending to be dead sometime during this, and seemed more perturbed than actually harmed by having a pipe driven through his body. Miss Whitnell gagged him, so that he could not attempt any magicks.
The fire was quickly eliminated.
The horse fled, full gallop, from Mr. Ramsay's spell, carrying Mr. MacGregor with him. The stallion leapt into a shadow, vanishing, leaving Mr. MacGregor to collide with the wall.
Police bells were approaching by this time. Mr. MacGregor and the master went to the front of the school, where the girls and Lady Ottoline endeavored to keep the constables from examining, too closely, Mr. Sentenza in the rubble. Mr. Cuthbert has his man bring his carriage around and park it in front of Sentenza, to help keep him out of sight of the onlookers.
Some of Mr. Ramsay's colleagues arrived at the scene and began consulting on what could be done with the undead bounty hunter. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Godwin arrived. Upon mystical examination, she said that Sentenza's soul was entangled in some demonic force, and that he held a third creature, some sort of elemental spirit, inside him, as well.
She effected to bypass the demonic spirit and interrogate the mortal soul. Apparently Sentenza was killed in the shoot-out which Mr. MacGregor said took place in 1862. A manitou, which I am given to understand is powerful spirit from native american legend, captured his soul before it could reach it's eternal destination, and took possession of the body. Since then, he has killed another legendary creature, "The Great White Stallion of the Planes" and absorbed it's power. He enslaved the black stallion, which is apparently the white stallion's counterpart.
He came to England and had targetted Dr. Wilson because he was paid to do so. It seems that a wealthy man back in America by name of Skidmore blames Wilson for the death of his brother and sons. Sentenza has paid a sum of $1000 (which I believe would be about 200 pounds sterling) in advance toward a larger reward. I didn't hear all of the amounts, but apparently there were larger amounts to be paid if Wilson's reputation was ruined, if it was ruined sufficiently that Wilson was protrayed as a villian in the shilling shockers, and the largest reward would be had if Sentenza captured Wilson and brought him back to Skidmore.
All very uncivilized. It did not escape my notice, however, that Dr. Wilson seemed most annoyed that the bounty wasn't larger still.
Sir Sebastion Ffolkes, the undersecretary for police and prisons, arrived on the scene and took charge of the constables. After dispersing the constables, he let it be known that he had been sent in A's stead. After consulting with the League and Mrs. Godwin, he agreed that the Order of St. Jerome should remove Sentenza to a safe holding place beneath the Chapterhouse.
Sir Sebastion agreed to take the sword back to the church, and place a guard on it, round the clock. Sir Cosmo will undertake to design a more secure reliquary for St. Englantine's church. The silver flask, currently containing the ghost, will be secured in a separate location.
Everything seeming to be under control at last, the League returned home, bloodied and bruised, but victorious!
Before everyone had finished eating and discussing what to do about some of the as yet unresolved matters, Edward fell asleep on the shelf about the sideboard. Mr. Cuthbert had fallen asleep in the parlor long before this. Everyone dispersed to their rooms. Mr. Salmalin offered to tell me about the adventures on St. Damian Island, which I have still only heard part, but I urged him to rest. As I walked the house one last time, making certain all were locked up safely, I heard Miss Whitnell trying to teach Miss Sinclair how to mediate.
Eventually, everyone was asleep. Even, it seems, Miss Sinclair.
After their exhausting night, I was surprised that Miss Whitnell and Mrs. Cuthbert awoke in time for church. The rest of the household came down to breakfast at nearly noon. A letter had arrived from young Nigel, posted in Northhumberland, in Saturday evening's mail. Something he described had disturbed Miss Chigwidgeon, and when she showed it to Miss Whitnell, Miss Whitnell became equally agitated. She wrote a note to Mr. Ramsay and asked that I get it sent to him by fastest courier. Very shortly thereafter, Mr. Ramsay arrived at the house. He, Miss Whitnell, Mrs. Cuthbert, and Miss Chigwidgeon shut themselve in the music room for nearly an hour.
They decided that Nigel was safe. I don't know precisely what disturbed them, though I can infer that the boy continues to have eerily accurate dreams. I heard Mr. Ramsay say something about a "theatre of the vampires" at one point.
After this conference, Miss Chigwidgeon and Miss Whitnell accompanied the master to Lord Greyminster's home. The master has been worrying about the Earl's health. They were gone for several hours. When they returned, Miss Chigwidgeon seemed happier than usual. The master informs me that the Earl seems to be on the mend. He was feeling well enough that he decided to give the ladies a little lesson in the art of vote trading. On the other hand, he confessed that he is under orders from his doctor to avoid being outside in the damp and cold, and so he asked the master to go, in his stead, to the operatic performance at the Criterion Theatre, and a reception to benefit the Legion Fidele afterwards. Miss Whitnell and Miss Chigwidgeon will be accompanying him.
Miss Sinclair and Edward spent much of the day in lessons. Edward was not entirely pleased with the choice of subject matter. They are like two irresistable forces, at times. The last lesson of the day, when Edward was sent to collect and identify insects, seemed much more to his liking.
There was some disturbing news later in the day. The Order of St. Jerome had located Sentenza's second hide out, where he had secreted his magickal books and other important items. The place had been cleaned out. Apparently the "ghost owl" that the League fought with briefly is another of the bounty hunters confederates--though they are not sure whether his is a red indian shaman or if he is a spirit.
The master has informed me that Lord Greyminster confessed all today. Edward and Miss Chigwidgeon had informed the master some weeks ago that they believed the Earl was acting more sickly than he really was. At the time, the master told me that he thought the only way to find out what the Earl was doing was to play along. For some reason, and I suspect it might be something that transpired in the conversation with Miss Whitnell and Miss Chigwidgeon, the Earl decided to explain. He didn't say precisely what the scheme was, but he wants some of his opponents to believe that he is tottering with one foot in the grave. The master gave his word to play along, but only on the condition that the Earl also confess to Miss Pinker, who has been worrying herself to distraction over the Earl's health.
The master also informed me this evening that Edward will be going out to visit his friend at the palace. I have notified Mr. Salmalin, so that we can both listen for his return.
Proceed to Tears of Joy
This page copyright 2002 by Gene Breshears. All Rights Reserved.