Tuesday, 1 August, 1871
The day began pleasantly enough. The ladies continue their daily exercise. Even Mrs Frazer, though it really must be a strain at this point in her condition. The master had more errands to do in town, while the lady of the house needed to catch up on her correspondence.
When the master returned to the house in the early afternoon he asked Mr Salmalin to await him in his office. The master next asked Lady Cowperthwaite and Mrs Salmalin to join them. I learned later that the purpose of this interview was to present Mr Salmalin with a pardon, protecting him from any future prosecution for any actions which took place while he was a member of the Hand of Kali. Since merely being a member is still a capital offense, this is welcome news. Our Mr Salmalin has conducted himself so exceptionally, risking his life several times to save members of the league, that he should not live the rest of his days under threat.
The master and lady came out of the office and requested tea in the parlour. I had scarce began pouring when Lt Wooster's distinctive voice could be heard outside giving rather confused instructions. The Lieutenant has been shopping again. He bought some very fine looking, and rather overlarge, steamer trunks.
We soon had his new bags stored away, and then it was time for the household to prepare for the evening's event. The Royal Society and Linnaen Society is having an exhibit of the work of English Naturalists. Some of Mrs Frazer's drawings (to complete the a book by Sir Meacham Murbles) will be among those displayed. Mrs Frazer and her husband are to attend a reception before the opening of the galleries to the general public this evening.
Both the master and Sir Spencer had also received invitations some weeks ago, and have since obtained additional invitations for the rest of the League. Miss Wilhelmina is particularly pleased to go, her pink dress from the wedding having been altered to accommodate her rather pronounced growth spurt. She was twirling around the music room showing off the violet and pink skirts before everyone left.
Nearly everyone. Lt. Wooster begged off attending, saying he is feeling less than festive, having just returned from the burial at sea of his former commander, Post-captain Symington. The solitude of the house must have become too much for him, as an hour or so after the others left, he decided to join them after all.
The rest of the staff had gone off to bed, and I had just sat down to record this day in my diary when there was an insistent knock at the door. I found Mr Tebbit, from the Foreign Office, carrying an important message for the master, and quite prepared to wait all night if need be. He assured me that no one in the League is in any sort of danger, so far as he knows. He has fallen asleep in the chaise in the parlor. I think it would be cruel to wake him.
Wednesday, 2 August, 1871
The League arrived home before sunrise, at least. Things were more than a little muddled. Poor Emily was clearly distraught it took Patsy and Mrs Murphy some minutes to convince her to sit with a mug of hot chocolate. No one was injured, or so we thought (I learned later that both George and Mr O'Flaherty were somewhat the worse for wear, but as the latter had gone directly to his lodgings on Dorset street, and George didn't say anything until Edward noticed some bruises, it was lost in the shuffle).
I had to get most of the story from George and Salmalin while the others slept.
The evening at Burlington House went pleasantly enough, despite some awkwardness involving Mrs Cuthbert's sister, Madame Lillian De Vere, and a few odd conversations. Among those Lady Cowperthwaite became acquainted was the Ambassador from the Empire of France, Vicomte De Mulineaus. While Mrs Frazer had a long discussion about pollination and propogation of vines with the Comte de Montelimar. Which almost became awkward, as Montelimar is a staunch supporter of the Bourbon claimant to the French throne, whereas clearly De Mulineaus has accepted the Bonaparte regime. Inspector MacGreggor was also attending the reception, escorting Miss Shorrock, Miss Emily Shorrock, and Miss Helen Shorrock.
All seemed innocuous enough until a footman, whose manner seemed somewhat suspicious to Mrs Frazer, slipped her a note which read, "The Young Cobb's organization is not yet defunct." And then he vanished. Mrs Frazer had barely had an opportunity to discreetly begin alerting others in the League to this unusual occurrence when Mr Salmalin brought the news that a footman's unconscious body had been discovered in the alley, and his uniform taken.
Inspector MacGreggor went to investigate, while the League began searching the building for suspicious activity as discreetly as possible. Mrs Cuthbert and Mrs Salmalin attempted to render medical aid to the wounded footman.
Sometime before this happened, someone had slipped Mr O'Flaherty a note, reading, "If you are interested in sport, see the Rusty Nail." He had revealed this information to Sir Spencer, Lt. Wooster, and Insp. MacGreggor. O'Flaherty had assumed the Rusty Nail was a tavern somewhere. MacGreggor explained that "the Rusty Nail" was a nickname of Mr Niall Malloy, a person whom the inspector would very much like to put behind bars.
The League had determined that the footman had been incapacitated by a drugged dart. He would recover, but he had no recollection of what had happened to him.
Meanwhile, Sir Spencer, Lt. Wooster, Mr O'Flaherty, and Prince Lukas of Florin (who has over the last month or so become quite cordial with Sir Spencer), decided to go looking for the public houses owned by Mr Niall Malloy. Sir Spencer did think to bring some of his employees along, in case the situation was the trap which the Inspector and the ladies feared. But he did not consult with the rest of the League before setting out.
Ambassador De Mulineaus brought a disturbing detail to the master's attention: Sir Spencer's carriage seemed to be followed as it left. The ambassador believed the coachman of the trailing carriage was a member of the household of the Comte de Montelimar. The League had no way to know whether the Ambassador was correct, and if so, whether it was a coincidence. Since someone had gone to such trouble to sneak about Burlington House in disguise and slip disturbing notes to various persons, it seemed wisest to proceed with caution. If there was a nefarious plan afoot, it might be aimed at any of the guests attending the exhibit.
Inspector MacGreggor escorted the Misses Shorrock to the home of their cousin, while the master, Salmalin, George and the Frazers searched the building discreetly. Miss Bertilde and Miss Wilhelmina stood watch at the carriage while Mrs Salmalin and Mrs Cuthbert attempted to use magic to determine the location of the gentlemen and to discover the origin of the note.
By the time MacGreggor has returned, Mrs Cuthbert and Mrs Salmalin had ascertained that the gentlemen were somewhere on Pickled Herring Street, and that the man who had given Mrs Frazer the note was also somewhere on Pickled Herring Street. They hurred to follow.
Meanwhile, Sir Spencer, Lt. Wooster, Mr O'Flaherty, and Prince Lukas had located an unlicensed public house belonging to Rusty Nail Malloy located inside a warehouse. After making the acquaintance of Mr Malloy and some of the customers, Mr O'Flaherty aggreed to a "friendly boxing match" with the local champion, a Mr Box. Mr O'Flaherty won the fight, and was in the midst of celebrating his win when the rest of the League arrived on the scene.
Mrs Salmalin and Mrs Cuthbert, not knowing precisely what had happened, saw an unconscious man being carried into a back room. They attempted to reach him to see if he required medical assistance. A group of men tried to block their progess. Mrs Salmalin tried to brush them aside. One of the men made the mistake of grabbing Mrs Salmalin.
Mr Salmalin was within arm's reach of the foolish man, and he took rather an exception to the other man attempting to manhandle Mrs Salmalin. According to Mrs Cuthbert, the fellow never knew what hit him, and was hurled halfway across the room.
The crowd, all at least somewhat inebriated and most of a rather rough and rowdy character, broke into a brawl.
Mrs Frazer, Miss Bertilde, Miss Wilhelmina, Edward, George, and Inspector MacGreggor were waiting outside watching the front and rear exits. They interpretted the noises coming from inside as being a boxing match still in progress. Additional noises and shouts, particularly one which George described as "the voice of Kali" soon made it clear that trouble of some sort were in progress. By this point the party outside the warehouse had identified one of the "industrial shapes" on the roof of the building as some sort of areo-vehicle, which was preparing to leave.
Insp. MacGreggor began trying to climb up the side of the building to investigate the balloon. George suggested the inspector remain with the others and scrambled up the wall instead. The balloon or aero-cruiser or whatever the vehicle was, began ascending. Edward got out his version of the Wilson Patented Instant Ascendor, intent on catching the vehicle. At this point a brief argument occured. Miss Bertilde, Mrs Frazer, and Insp. MacGreggor thought Edward's plan unwise. Edward believed that Miss Bertilde was needed inside the building, and the others would be needed soon. Finally, Mrs Frazer extracted a promise from Edward that he would drop a rope to them so that the adults could climb up. Edward ignited his rockets and ascended.
Meanwhile, Mrs Salmalin and Mrs Cuthbert had reached the back room, where they saw the unconscious man being raised through a hole in the room into the balloon. Several men dressed in the black clothing that had been worn by the so-called "ninjas" the League had encountered in Edenfield were accompanying him. Mrs Frazer attempted to use magic to stop them.
Miss Bertilde had entered the building from the alley, and found herself in the same room.
The black-clad men hurled glass containers which, when they broke, emmitted a gas that caused Mrs Salmalin and Mrs Cuthbert to be temporarily blinded. The effects on Miss Bertilde were somewhat more disturbing. Mrs Cuthbert believes the gas induced hallucinations, causing Miss Bertilde to experience a waking nightmare. Believing herself to be under some kind of attack, Miss Bertilde began swinging her weapons about at random, damaging barrels of beer and cider.
Out in the main room of the "public house" the master had heard the screams at the back of the building, and decided that it would be safer for her and Lady Cowperthwaite to bypass the brawling crowd. Using the new grapple cane, he secured a line to one of the rafters, and carrying his lady over the heads of the crowd and into the same storeroom.
Unfortunately, their landing was not as graceful as the master had invisioned, and a large rack filled with bottles of distilled spirits was knocked over. Brandy, whisky, and other flammable liquids quickly covered the floor. And the "puddle" was expanding into the main room.
Mrs Cuthbert and Mrs Salmalin were able, with a bit of magic, to bring Miss Bertilde's nightmare to an end, and she collapsed into a deep sleep. They carried her back out into the alley just as something, probably and lantern that had fallen to the ground, ignited the alcohol.
While all of this was going on, Mrs Frazer and the Inspector had gotten one of the carriages turned the right direction and were chasing Edward's rope, which was dangling from the canopy of the aero-vehicle. The aero-vehicle was flying east, more or following the river. They had to drive the horses quite hard to catch the rope.
Back at the warehouse, Sir Spencer had hastened Prince Lukas and Lt Wooster out of the building as soon as the fight broke out. Mr O'Flaherty was still inside when the fire started. He realized that the crowd would never get out through the two small doors in time, so he broke a large hole in one of the walls, making a new exit. Mr Frazer, the master, and Lady Cowperthwaite helped people escape the flames. Mrs Salmalin and Mrs Cuthbert cast a spell to put out the fire. Sir Spencer extracted three rifles from his carriage, and wagered Lt. Wooster and Prince Lukas concerning which of them could disable an engine of the aerovehicle first.
George had grabbed hold of the bottom of the gondola just as the vehicle was lifting off. He had just gotten inside the gondola, where he confronted four of the "ninjas" when Edward flew past the windows. One of the ninjas went outside the vehicle to deal with Edward. That left the other three to try to subdue George. George said they almost succeeded. He managed to knock one out a window when the vehicle was over the river. And he knocked an oil lantern to the floor, which set the gondola on fire. This created enough of a distraction for the one ninja still conscious to allow George to leave the gondola and assist Edward.
The fourth man was clinging to the side of the balloon, attached to the rigging of the balloon with a special harness. He had engaged Edward in an argument, attempting to reason with him, or perhaps just to lure him away from the parts of the balloon which Edward was cutting open with his knife. George had grabbed a cable from the winch mechanism which had been used to lift the wounded boxer out of the warehouse on his way out of the gondola. He snuck upon the ninja clinging to the side of the balloon and attached the cable to the man's harness.
George then slid down the cable to the winch and engaged the winch's clutch, which was situated to draw power from one of the engines. The ninja was dragged down off the balloon and entangled in the winch.
During all of this excitement, bullets from Sir Spencer, the lieutenant, and the prince, were striking various parts of the vehicle. And somewhere along the line the inspector had caught hold of the rope, and been yanked off the carriage. As the aero vehicle flew over the river, Mrs Frazer was forced to halt the carriage and watch, helpless, as MacGreggor dangled below the vehicle.
Mr O'Flaherty, the master, and Lady Cowperthwaite, had joined the chase, but only caught up with Mrs. Frazer as she stopped on the river embankment. They all watched the vehicle, which had begun losing altitude, fly across the river and over the West India docks. Inspector MacGreggor clung to the rope.
George made his way to the other side of the balloon just about the time that Sir Spencer disabled the starboard engine. Which made the craft start drifting to port. George had secured two more of the safety harnesses, and with Edward's help, cut one of the hydrogen cells out of the frame. They leapt from the aero vehicle and drifted downward. They attempted to rescue the inspector, but he refused to let go of the rope. George believed MacGreggor had become delirious by that point, because he insisted that he had to hang onto the rope for Mrs Frazer. Edward managed to cut the rope.
With MacGreggor's weight, their improvised vehicle dropped more swiftly, but they managed to land in the rigging of a docked ship without coming to any further injury.
The aerovehicle did not fair so well. The remaining hydrogen cells exploded, and the wreckage of the gondola, engulfed in flames, fell into the Thames.
The rest of the League drove back to the Tower Bridge, crossed to the north embankment, and eventually found George, Edward, and Insp. MacGreggor limping toward the Borough.
The League escorted Prince Lukas back to his embassy, where they were greeted with less than enthusiasm. Inspector Bradstreet had been summoned, because the embassy had received a message indicating Prince Lukas had been abducted by Sir Spencer. The Prince quickly quashed that idea, though the embassy personel still seemed very suspicious.
Dawn was fast approaching. Once Bradstreet was satisfied, everyone could go home.
Except, of course, that those living here at No 18 Charlse Street were greeted by Mr Tebbit, with urgent news from the Foreign Office. The master read the letter from A, then shared the contents with those of us that were awake enough to listen. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has filed a protest with our government against Sir Cosmo in regards to some of his actions last summer on St. Damian Island, particularly regarding the two Dutch citizens rescued from the island, and some equipment salvaged from the lagoon.
As the Netherlands is currently a valuable ally of Britain, the Foreign Office is anxious to settle the matter with as little fuss as possible. Unfortunately, the communique from the Dutch indicates they are quite willing to go public with all of the details of the situation. This could jeopardize certain treaty negotiations with several other European powers currently in motion. The master is advised to avoid any activities which may provoke the situation further. He is to meet with A and others as soon as is convenient to discuss how to resolve the situation.
I advised Mrs Murphy to prepare more chocolate…
Proceed to Scattered to the winds
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