Thursday, 30 March, 1871
The house is nearly ready to receive guests. The entire staff has been quite busy the last several days with the preparations for Lady Cowperthwaite's first country house gathering.
The master kept himself occupied in the workshop, though not working on the machinery as he insists that the unrepaired engines will make a much better gift for Edward. He used the desk out there to get caught up on his personal corresponce: items that Mr. Chadwick has been unable to handle on his own. The Lady Cowperthwaite and Mrs Salmalin retired to the garden cottage, ostensibly to work on the lady's correspondence.
The rain was quite heavy today. It did not escape my notice that Mr Salmalin took extra opportunities to practice the umbrella walk with the mistress and her secretary.
The beds have been made up. The floors are polished. The silver shines quite beautifully. All has been dusted and cleaned. Mrs Sharps had me make a bit of a show out of the white glove test in the large parlour, the library, and the dining room, then she declared that we were well ahead of schedule and all deserved an extra half hour for tea.
The staff seems to be in good cheer, if all quite grateful that the day has drawn to a close. Thomas is handling his position admirably in most respects, though I did have to have a word with him once today. I think he will feel less stressed when David, Stuart, and George arrive tomorrow. There will be more of us to handle those duties, for one thing. And with the others paired off, as the odd man his place as First Footman will be more clear.
And with the house full of guests, we will all be too busy to worry about these other things.
Friday, 31 March, 1871
The staff was up early and moving with efficiency. As all of the guests were expected today, it was determined that the master and mistress would alternate meeting trains with one of the carriages and a wagon for excess baggage throughout the day.
Sir Spencer and Mrs Cuthbert arrived, along with David and Stuart and the Frazer's luggage, with the news that Insp. MacGreggor and Mr Frazer were involved in an investigation and had delayed in Manchester. Mrs Frazer and Miss Bertilde stopped in Manchester with the gentlemen. The Inspector is investigating a series of burglaries in London, and a person of interest is being held in jail on an unrelated matter.
Lady Cowperthwaite decided that dinner should be delayed, as the Frazers and their party were delayed.
The rest of the guests arrived as originally announced, although the Marquis de Montmerial de Dragagulan had not warned us he was shipping his steam gig along with him. He insisted on firing it up and driving himself in.
I am told that Edward's reunion with Lady Cowperthwaite was quite enthusiastic. It took every wagon and cart we had two trips to transport all of Edward's luggage. He has gotten the clockwork gig into full working order, and had taken to collecting things from the construction site. I haven't quite heard what everything is, though I hope to get caught up with Edward later in the week. If he can be distracted from the workshop long enough. I did overhear him talking about the 'biggest crane in the world' quite enthusiastically.
I also heard, by way of both George and Mr Salmalin, that Mr Balderstoke had had to remove several sticks of dynamite which had accidently made their way into Edward's luggage. Mr Salmalin, with help from Owen, checked all the crates and luggage again and found one more. The master said he will have a word with Edward.
Mrs Salmalin had a moment of confusion at one moment in the late afternoon. When Tattvick and the mistress had finalised the seating chart for dinner, Mrs Salmalin had apparently been distracted or out of the room, and had not realised that she was intended to dine in the dining room. It is not unheard of for a Lady's personal secretary to take at least some meals with the family and guests, but it seemed to discomfort her somewhat.
A telegram from Mr and Mrs Fazer arrived saying which train they were taking to Edenfield. I looked at the time and saw that the train would arrive in less than twenty minutes, so I dispatched Edward to the station, then went to inform the mistress of the arrival of the telegram.
I heard the Marquis' steam engine starting up outside around that time. This proved to be an omen. For not long after, we heard the rather noisy return of the steam gig, along with a rather disconcerting shout, and the crash of something into the shrubbery.
It transpired that the Marquis had made a wager with Edward about who could get to the station and back soonest. Somehow the Inspector had been convinced to ride back in the steam vehicle. When it appeared, to him, that the Marquis did not have it entirely under control and seemed about to crash into the house, he leapt toward a relatively softer landing in one of the lilac bushes.
The gig did stop before colliding with the house, but the Marquis was face down in a flower bed when we first arrived. The engine was still running, and he decided the best way to extricate himself was to reverse gear. At which point the water reservoire sprung a rather loud leak. Edward said the boiler would be quite easy to fix.
Both the Marquis and Inspector were unhurt, although the Inspector's clothing was somewhat the worse for wear. I heard the Marquis offering to have his tailor make the Inspector a new suit, but Mr McGreggor did not seem to take the offer in very good humour. Since later the Marquis' valet was inquiring with the footmen for an inventory of the clothing damaged, I can but assume the Marquis will order the suit regardless. The guests returned to the house. We got the late arrivals settled into their rooms and changed for dinner. Then the mistress instructed me to announce dinner.
Dinner went quite smoothly, the League engaged in lively conversation as they all continued to catch up on one another's news. Much of the conversation concern the Inspector's current case, which began with a series of odd burglaries on Kennington Road in London, which may have a connection with a much older crime right here in Bury parish. Apparently in 1844 the Shorrock family were the victims of a burglary and among the valuables taken was an extraordinary diamond which had been in the possession of the family since being brought back from Bengal by an ancestor who served in the army there.
At the time a longshoreman known as Sean "the Shark" Malloy was arrested for the crime. He professed his innocence, and the valuables were never recovered. Unfortunately, Malloy died during a diptheria epidemic before the case could come to trial. An old acquaintance of Mr Malloy, Mr Algibert "Algie" Timson, having retired from a life of petty crime in London, has been working as an itinerant tinker. Mr Timson had been suspected in the Kennington Road burglaries. The Inspector has established the Mr Timson was in the Manchester jail on a charge of Drunk and Disorderly when two of the burglaries occured. Mr Timson believes he had been named by a witness because of an old grudge.
The Inspector appears to be of the opinion that there is more to it than that, particularly since just before the burglaries occurred in London, Mr Timson claims to have been visited by the ghost of Mr Sean Malloy, and ordered to get out of Bury parish. This is not the only connection between the crimes. One of the victims of the Kennington Road burglaries is the son of a man and woman born and raised here in the parish. The mother worked as a lady's maid here, though the son does not know which family employed her. Among the articles stolen was jewelry which the mother had said she was given by the lady in gratitude for her many years service. Another article stolen was this same former maid's diary.
All three burglaries on Kennington Road were in shops of either a furniture maker or a furniture repairer. In all three cases, old family papers were stolen. From these facts the Inspector deduces that someone knew of this maid's diary, and may have known of the connection to a lady's jewelry, and knew that she had married and subsequently moved with her husband where they opened a shop. However, this burglar must not have known the name of the man the woman married, and may have known only the general nature of the business they had gone into.
The Inspector hopes to interview several residents of the parish, including the Shorrock family, and try to determine who this woman worked for, and what information might be in the diary to make it worth stealing. Lady Cowperthwaite and the master have agreed to make appropriate introductions for the Inspector.
After dinner, the guests retired to the large parlour where the Marquis entertained them with a Magic Lantern. Miss Wilhelmina added some excitement to the evening with some shadow puppets which sent Lt Wooster into a state. Fortunately Mr Caine was able to distract him.
Miss Wilhelmina was persuaded to play a few
songs on her flute. This seemed to put everyone into a musical
mood, and the others prevailed upon the master to play the harpsichord,
which led to several rounds of singing.
Saturday, 1 April, 1871
Having the League back together seems to always lead to something uncanny. The day started ordinarily, with breakfast followed by the ladies exercising. The newer staff had nearly all become used to Lady Cowperthwaite's daily sword practice with Tattvick, but I do not think it quite prepared them for all the ladies practicing together.
The Marquis was delighted to find a shiny new boiler on his gig. Edward has been quite busy in the old workshop. There was also a bit of news. Mr Frazier started telling the gentlemen that he and Mrs Frazer or expected a blessed event. I am not certain whether he was more shocked or relieved that the master had already learned the news from Lady Cowperthwaite.
All of the guests accompanied the Lady into the town of Ramsbottom for Miss Wilhelmina's dress fitting. I have been informed that she was quite pleased with the dress, from its colour to the number of ribbons and the amount of lace. I have also heard that the other ladies were all quite as surprised and delighted at the surprise Lady Cowperthwaite had arranged. The new dresses for them seem to have been as equally well-received.
After luncheon the ladies called on the Shorrocks, while the gentlemen occupied themselves around the estate in various ways. Mr O'Flaherty spent even more time exercising and sparring with George. Insp MacGreggor had reports to write. Mr Frazer and Turgenov went for a long walk. The Marquis went into town to send some telegrams. Edward, of course, continued to work in the workshop.
After their visit, the ladies returned to Edenfield Court and held a seance. They scarcely had time to change for dinner after. Their visit to the Shorrocks had yielded some information, which is why Mrs Cuthbert and Mrs Salmalin decided to contact the spirits. They know now that the diamond is called "the harraye diamond." Lady Cowperthwaite says the name sounds like a slight mispronounciation of the Hindoo word for "green," and the sisters Shorrock confirm that the diamond was a pale green colour. There seems to be some secret about the circumstances under which it was stolen, but the sisters agreed to meet with the Inspector to answer his questions.
The Shorrocks also seem to be uncomfortable discussing an awkward relative who has returned. Mr Frederick Shorrock is their nephew, who was born and raised in Australia, after Mr Horace Shorrock, the younger brother of Mr Nathan Shorrock, went to Australia to seek his fortune. Perhaps not coincidentally at about the same time that the diamond was stolen. Mr Frederick Shorrock has attempted to call on his relatives, but because of past bad blood between his father and their brother, they have asked him to wait until their brother returns from Africa.
Mrs Salmalin witnessed a strange man apparently spying upon the Shorrock house, but was unable to determine who he was or what his purpose may have been.
During her seance Mrs Cuthbert contacted Mr Horace Shorrock, whose recent death seems to have inspired his son to return to the mother country. Mr Shorrock was not able to be very helpful, other than to assert his belief that the Harraye Diamond was cursed. He did disavow any knowledge as to what had happened to the diamond. He was most anxious that Mrs Cuthbert warn his son to "beward the shark." Whether this is a reference to Sean Malloy they can but only guess.
After dinner, the master suggested retiring to the library where he believed the History of Lancaster might contain some information on the Shorrock ancestor who first brought the diamond to England. The league found the entry on Major Daniel Shorrock, but the information there did not seem very helpful.
It was some time after this that we realized Mr O'Flaherty, who had stepped out for some air, had been gone for quite a long time. The immediate vicinity of the house was checked, and several groups of the League went in various directions. I still haven't quite gotten all of the details straight, but as I understand it he went for a walk and near the moors heard some strange noises coming from an ice house. When he investigated, he saw some things which led him to believe the ice house was haunted, and that someone was in some sort of danger. Other members of the League attempted to investigate, and became caught up in some sort of waking dream, in which they learned the Mr Nathan Shorrock is conducting an unusual experiment.
Though what, if any, relation any of this has to the recent burglaries in London, or the loss of the Harraye Diamond in 1844, I do not know.
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