Wednesday, 11 January, 1871
We had a very pleasant train ride to Goxhill after a somewhat busy packing up. Mr. Chadwick seems less than certain that young Mr. O'Malley and "Wee Willy" (he tells me a different surname whenever I ask; I believe it may be a game he's having at my expense) could adequately take care of the salamanders while we are away. Fortunately Patsy intervened and Mr. Chadwick became too flustered to remember to be concerned.
Mrs. Whitnell and Miss Betty had a bit of a set-to during the trip. Miss Betty wishes to attend dinners with the adults, as the dinner table in town has been quite informal these last months. Her mother is adament that Miss Betty is yet too young to be out in society, and there will be entirely too many unmarried men in attendance. I suspect that this is precisely what Miss Betty is looking forward to.
We were met at the station by a pair of carriages. Miss Whitnell, Edward, Miss Chigwidgeon and the master were all in the party. I was happy to see everyone. The master confirmed that I and Mr. Chadwick had brought along the factors he had requested. I learned during the ride to the Manor that both Mr. O'Flaherty and Insp. MacGreggor have suffered broken bones during the current trouble.
The Manor was already awash with guests. Both downstairs and upstairs were as active as a beehive in spring. Mrs. Parks welcomed us politely enough, though she couldn't resist the chance to mention how many details of the master's household I neglected to mention in my first letter. I understand the the war with Edward has been ongoing and intractible.
Arthur met me soon afterward and presented me with my buttonhole. In an effort not to confuse people, we will each be wearing a distinctly coloured flower. Lord Greyminster and the master have approved the plan, and have ordered deliveries of hot house flowers from Hull every day for the week. All the male servants will be wearing carnations. Arthur, as the Butler of the Manor, will wear white, as will the footman. I, and the others operating as valets, are wearing red.
I accused Arthur of trying to make me look like Lt. Wooster. He offered to try to get pale yellow flowers for later days. I made a counter proposal, which he seemed to find amusing.
The ladies had dress fittings in Hornsea. It was enjoyable to see all of our ladies assembled and to assist them into their carriages. Miss Wilhelmina was particularly becoming.
While I assisted the master in assembling his alembics and other equipment to distill some restoratives for MacGreggor and O'Flaherty, he explained how the case had progressed. I was greatly relieved to hear that Mr. Xanthus is in custody and on his way to captivity in the Tower. One can hope that justice will be done at last.
It is tragic that Mr. Percival St. Simon was drawn into the same vengeful cycle as Xanthus. I had always hoped he might have a change of heart, surrender himself to the authorities, and make amends to his cousins. Now his chance is gone.
It is reassuring to know that Major Grey will never trouble us again. Neither will Tandu or Iota. The mystics are quite certain all of those spirits have been laid to rest.
Not all aspects of the case have been closed. The business with Wroth is still unsettled in London, of course. There are also several troubling unanswered questions remaining. Someone in the Foreign Office had been supplying information to Xanthus and his gang. Xanthus claimed he did not know the identity of this person, who always acted through intermediaries. Whoever it was also supplied significant sums of money to the cause.
The master has some suspicions, but believes the best course of action at this point is to continue with our lives while remaining vigilant. "Anyone who would cobble together a plot this elaborate is bound to trip over his own feet soon enough," as he put it.
Inspector MacGreggor is quite miserable. His jaw is broken, so talking is both difficult and painful. He has taken to keeping a slate and chalk nearby so he may communicate through short notes. Mr. Salmalin has been helping him meditate to control the discomfort and speed his recovery.
Mr. O'Flaherty seems more irritated than in pain. He has been finding ingenious ways to exercise even with his arm splinted.
The ladies returned from the fittings. Most gathered in the parlour and music room where many of the other guests were amusing themselves. Mrs. Cuthbert retired to her room.
I learned later that Mrs. Cuthbert had experienced one of her prophetic dreams. In the dream she saw that Miss Wilhelmina's mother was cooperating with the people who were plotting with Xanthus. She had seen two men plotting some horrible crime on the morning of the wedding. She therefore spent the afternoon attempting to locate the conspirators. She and the other mystics were unable to narrow the search further than Yorkshire.
The dinning room table has been extended almost to its fullest size. The guests included: the Duke and Duchess Balmoral, the Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury, Lady Ffolkes, Sir Spencer, Mr. & Mrs. Travers, Lord Eustace St. Simon, Mr. & Mrs. Elijah Balderstoke, Mr. Ichabod Balderstoke, Mr. & Mrs. John Applethwaite, Mr. Silas Q. Scuddamore, Mr. & Mrs. Chigwidgeon, the master, Miss Chigwidgeon, Lt. Wooster, Mr. & Mrs. Frazer, Mrs. Cuthbert, Mrs. Whitnell, Miss Whitnell, Mr. O'Flaherty, Mr. Fong Chigwidgeon, and Mr. Nigel Graham. And, of course, Lord Greyminster and Miss Pinker.
Insp. MacGreggor took soup in his room.
Edward, Humphrey, and Miss Wilhelmina ate in the nursery.
And a seperate dining arrangement was set up for Lady Clara St. Simon and Miss Betty Whitnell in the third second floor parlour. Arthur suggested the arrangement as an alternative to dining in the nursery with the much younger children. I do not believe either young lady is particularly appreciative of the arrangement.
Thursday, 12 January 1871
Only one day to go.
I was finally able to see the fully assembled "Sinkable Namaste." It is a bit larger than I had expected, being less a diving suit than a suit-shaped vehicle. Miss Chigwidgeon, I'm told, is very pleased with it. Mrs. Frazer is not at all pleased with the "culturally accurate" decorations. Edward presented it this morning before the other activities got under way.
The League was quite busy today. The mystics had determined to learn more about the missing co-conspirators. They had reason to believe that one of the persons involved in the plot is a relative of George and Edward, if for no other reason than someone with their unusual toe structure had left a foot print in the ink at the office of the Hornsea Post.
Miss Whitnell and Mrs. Cuthbert concocted a plan to use the footprint as a focus for one of their rituals in hopes of learning more about this person. Since the Post is housed in a building owned by Mr. Earwig, they went to Thorpe House seeking permission to investigate. They were accompanied by Miss Chigwidgeon, Sir Spenser, Mr. O'Flaherty, Mr. & Mrs. Frazer, and Miss Bertilde.
Mrs. Earwig, being an enthusiastic spiritualist recently involved in their endeavors, readily agreed, and even accompanied them, and assisted with the ritual. Their spell allowed them to learn much about this person. First, that he bore a striking resemblance to Edward, that he had assisted Xanthus with portions of the plot, but he was working for another agent, a gentlemen Mrs. Cuthbert referred to as "Spyglass Man," because she had first seen him in her prophetic dream keeping watch on the household through a spyglass.
The Spyglass Man and this Twin of Edward seemed to be headquartered in the town of York. Working with them were two others known to at least some members of the League. Miss Maeve Brody (Miss Wilhelmina's mother) and an obsessed inventor who may very well be Mr. Thomas Dower (a person who inadvertantly assisted Lord Dearingford in 1852).
The revelations of the vision were quite confusing. As I heard it afterward, Miss Whitnell saw the Twin and Mr. Dower working on a device that was probably an analysis engine. Mrs. Cuthbert, however, was quite certain that the machine they had been building as a large cannon or gun, similar to the gun the Prussians had attempted to use in the recent war.
Whatever the device was, it seemed clear to the mystics that Spyglass Man was engaged in some sort of illegal activity. They were also in league with a Mage of some power, whose spells prevent Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Whitnell from learning more specific details.
While they were engaged in these researches, the Frazers, Sir Spencer, et al, were standing watch outside the building. They were approached by Mr. Oliphant, the writer and Times correspondent and former Foreign Office employee. Mr. Oliphant engaged them in conversation, though Mrs. Frazer said he seemed to be fishing for information. He did imply that he knew something of the League's business and that he could be of assistance. Specifically, he suggested that the League should look into the background of Mr. Richard Hawkesworth, who has been covering the Jokking case (and before that the Wroth case and the Pennifeather case) for the Echo. "Hawkesworth is his step-father's name," Oliphant warned them. "You should look into who he really is."
Meanwhile we had a bit of an adventure of our own. Edward had been up all night finishing the Sinkable Namaste. He had been staggering up the back stairs, so exhausted he leaned on George more than once. Not long after I could hear, quite faintly, Edward's familiar snores coming the nursery.
The house was full of guests, of course, with more arriving on each train: Lady Ottoline Cornwall, Miss Victoria Higgins, Mr. Nigel Templeton (otherwise known as Miss Mitzi), Sir Anthony Blakeny & Lady Yvonne Blakeney. Lord Greyminster and the master were greeting the new arrivals, while those of us downstairs hastened to ready their rooms and get their luggage situation.
I heard something disturbing. I had to stop and listen. It took me a few moments to realize what was wrong. Edward had stopped snoring, and I had heard, from the same direction, some alarming thumps and scuffles. I made my way in that direction as quickly as I could. I met Edward hurrying out of the nursery, looking for the master and Sir Charles. Edward quickly explained that someone had attacked George and Humphrey, and had tried to subdue Edward. Salmalin had intervened, but Humphrey required medical attention.
I sent Edward to retrieve Sir Charles, who I knew was reading in his room just down the hall, while I went to extricate the master from his current conversation.
The situation in the nursery was as Edward described it. Salmalin was holding prisoner a young man who could have passed as Edward's twin. He could perfectly mimic Edward's speech patterns and knew a great deal about the household. Edward said his "twin's" name was Natesh, and that he was another cousin.
Natesh had subdued George with the aid of chloroform, and had intended to do the same to Edward. He had not been certain that chloroform would work on Humphrey, due to his unique medical condition, so had built a device to electrofy him. The device had worked far too well. Sir Charles was in tears. Humphrey might not recover, unless we could get him to the laboratory at Goxhill Grange and recreate the experiment which had saved him when he succumbed to the fever.
The master had me fetch a carriage, while they took Natesh and Humphrey down the back stairs so as not to raise an alarm among the guests.
A's gentlemen's gentleman, Fothergill, met me going down the stairs and inquired as to the state of the situation. I informed him the Manor might be under attack from other agents associated with Xanthus' gang. He set off to inform his employer and others who could take effective measures without panicking the guests who were not aware of the special circumstances.
We loaded Humphrey, Natesh, the master, Sir Charles, and Salmalin into the carriage, and Edward whipped the horses to full speed.
By this point, A, Fothergill, and Arthur had joined me at the back door to get the rest of the details. Mr. Templeton had overheard enough to know that something was amiss, and offered to perform a simple ritual to protect the Manor from hostile spells or spirits. A thought this a wise precaution. Mr. Templeton borrowed a few things from the kitchen, and set up his ritual in the ironing room.
Meanwhile, David, Stuart, Fothergill, Arthur, and I searched the house for any other signs of intruders. We soon reached the conclusion that Natesh had come alone.
George woke up with a massive headache and an even larger case of guilt at having been tricked by Natesh.
We heard a carriage approaching the Manor, I was just thinking that it must be the mystics returning from Hornsea, when the grandfather clock in the hall started chiming incessantly. I was making my way to the hall when I heard shrieks from the kitchen.
I arrived to find several impliments and tools moving about under their own power. Mrs. Probert was trying to rally her troops, but two of the kitchen maids were in total hysterics. I heard some odd noises outside. I reached a window in time to see the old clockwork gig, which that master had built one summer when he was no more than 15, rattling down the drive under it's own power. More disturbing, the Sinkable Namaste was marching out of the smithy, clearly unoccupied.
I also saw that one carriage had returned from Hornsea. Miss Whitnell stood in the drive, apparently trying to perform a ritual. Mr. O'Flaherty, Mr. Frazer, and Mrs. Frazer were attempting to corral the Sinkable Namaste. Sir Spencer was chasing after the gig.
We clearly had an out-of-control magick situation.
I turned my attention to the household impliments, and left the other problems to the League. I was informed later that Miss Whitnell, fearing that the Spyglass Man from Miss Cuthbert's vision had a cannon hidden somewhere in the parish and intended to destroy the church (and the entire wedding party with it) had attempted to use one of her spells to locate the cannon and it's targetting device. She had lost control of the spell and all the machines in the parish were animated.
Fortunately, Mrs. Frazer managed to get inside the Sinkable Namaste before it did any damage. As soon as she had hold of its controls, it stopped. There is some disagreement as to whether it was this so-called Gift of Quiet they say Mrs. Frazer possesses that stopped the machine, or some other effect.
The other mystics in the parish assisted with disappating the wild spell. Even the Hon. Mr. Ramsay, who was several miles away on the train approaching Goxhill when the trouble begin, lent a hand in the matter.
No one seemed to be hurt, although one of the maids had to be excused from kitchen duty for the rest of the day.
I learned later that the two carriages carrying Sir Spencer & Co had passed Edward's carriage on the road, and had decided to follow. They reached Goxhill Grange in time to see Sir Charles, the master, and Edward trying to revive Humphrey. After a brief consultation, they left Mrs. Cuthbert and Emily at the Grange to assist with any troubles that might arise, while the rest returned to the Manor.
Because of their visions concerning the Spy Glass Man, they were concerned that a physical threat was still imminent. Knowing that Natesh was in the parish heightened their fear that the remaining co-conspirators were nearby ready to strike. Which is why Miss Whitnell attempted the spell to locate the cannon while they rode back.
Humphrey was resuscitated and seems none the worse for wear.
The League returned to the Manor in time to dress for the tea which the Altar Guild and other ladies of the village are hosting to welcome Miss Chigwidgeon into the community.
Widow Cropley's recipes lived up to what I had come to fear from earlier reports, otherwise the tea was quite lovely.
Then the members of the wedding party met one last time with Rev. Pottle in the sanctuary to rehearse for the ceremony. During the rehearsal, Mrs. Cuthbert had another vision.
She reported that the plot was not to kill members of the wedding or congragation, it was to embarass the master by having Miss Brody stand up during the ceremony and proclaim that the wedding could not go on because she was already married to the master.
As soon as the rehearsal ended, the mystics gathered in the nave and performed another ritual, this time with the assistance of Nanny Chigwidgeon. They determined that Miss Brody and the Spy Glass Man were staying at a room in the Victoria Inn, in Hornsea.
They gathered their forces, including Sir A and Sir S, and went off to Hornsea to capture their quarry. The mission was slightly more than half successful. Miss Brody was captured, as was the man from Mrs. Cuthbert's vision. He turned out to be Mr. Thomas Mannering, younger brother of Sir Robert Mannering, both employed in the Foreign Office. Unfortunately, his mystical companion (the mysterious Mage who has prevented the mystics from foreseeing all of the plot) had left a kind of poison pill in Mr. Mannering, although it was not a physical poison, but rather magickal.
As he was being questioned by Sir A and Sir S, he went into convulsions. Mrs. Cuthbert was able to save his life, but his mind is shattered. It is not certain whether Mr. Mannering was the mysterious person who had been assisting Xanthus from within the Foreign Office, or if he was simply another pawn.
The League had returned from Hornsea just barely in time to dress for dinner. Nearly all of the guests had arrived…
Proceed to Ambush and Ambiguity
This page copyright 2002 by Gene Breshears. All Rights Reserved.