Mr. Frazer and Miss Sinclair have reached an understanding, which is the polite way of saying that they have declared their feelings for each other and have become engaged to be married without consultation with either family. Given their ages and independence, I am given to understand this is not likely to cause any problem.

I introduced the Seed of Self mantra to Miss Whitnell and Miss Chigwidgeon this morning. I believe they were both ready to move on to something more complex. I hope that this will meet their needs.

Morning training went well, though Emily is still rather annoyed at the loss of one or two of her specialized weapons.

The league memebers wish to locate the missing Miss Haverson, as they fear she was abducted under a mistaken impression that she was one of our party. Mrs. Cuthbert's scrying indicates that the young woman is still alive, somewhere in northern Netherlands. The league is resolved, then, to return to Antwerp and attempt to pick up the trail of the abductors there.

The ladies took the opportunity to shop for fabric and supplies to repair clothing damaged in our recent adventures. Mr. MacGreggor, Mr. Frazer, Mr. O'Flaherty, and Dr. Wilson accompanied the party into the shopping district, though they each went their own way for a time, until we all met at a bookseller.

Miss Chigwidgeon was excited to find a new Kid Rocket book in the shop, Le Merveil de Fusée rencontre l'Atlas Irlandais!, until she realized it was a French translation of a tale she had read already. She also found a promotional poster for another tale, Le Merveil de Fusée combat la Ligue d'Anarchiste du Monde, which she suspects may be a translation of another tale she already owns.

The League was finally able to return to Belgium, today. That meant the evening was taken up with re-packing, loading luggage, unloading luggage, loading it yet again, and unpacking finally at the villa outside Antwerp.

Thursday 29 July, 1870

Several members of the League wished to go into the city to either send reports back home, inquire with the Belgian authorities about Miss Haverson, or take care of some shopping. Dr. Wilson was anxious to complete a project in the villa's spacious barn, while Mr. O'Flaherty expressed a desire to join the others in the city. George offered to trade bodyguarding duties with Mr. O'Flaherty for the evening, which seemed to suit everyone just fine.

Unfortunately Mr. O'Flaherty, Mr. MacGreggor, and Mr. Cuthbert became involved in an altercation in a bar. They will be spending the night in jail, despite the best efforts of Sir Cosmo and Viscount Bufton. Apparently our gentlemen have been implicated as the instigators of the barroom brawl, and will have to face a magistrate in the morning.

The ladies of the League seem unable to decide whether they should be disgusted or amused at the behaviour.

Sir Cosmo and Mr. Frazer were able to consult with their counterparts within the Belgian government and have learned of a woman matching Miss Haverson's description being seen in a hotel in Amsterdam, in the company of a man who claimed to be her older brother and another who claimed to be her doctor, taking her to an asylum.

Mrs. Cuthbert and Miss Whitnell used this new information to investigate mystically. They verified that the woman in question was Miss Haverson, and one of her captors was Count Rugin, a Dutch agent who attempted to capture Wooster and Caine some days ago.

Scrying reveals that her current location is probably in the town of Florhooven, in the Duchy of Florin. We will probably be travelling to Florin tomorrow. Once we extract our gentlemen from jail.

Friday 30 July, 1870

I lost consciousness while meditating early this morning.

I then experienced a most disturbing dream. In the dream I was Mr. MacGreggor, except I was still supposed to be myself, but I couldn't remember how to fight or perform mantras, or even how to speak hindi. There was a demon involved. And fighting. The ladies were in danger and I wasn't able to reliably defend them. There were several moments where I was fighting myself or MacGreggor for control of me. I distinctly remember dying before the others had defeated the demon.

When I regained my senses, Miss Bertilde and George were at my door, asking me if I was well. Apparently they had had the same dream.

Miss Chigwidgeon and Miss Whitnell came running down to the servant quarters, even more upset than Miss Bertilde. Miss Chigwidgeon gave expressed relief that I was myself. Then she retreated to the upper floor to check on the others.

Miss Sinclair had arrived by now and also asked me if I were myself. It was rapidly becoming clear we had all experienced the same misadventure as my dream. Miss Whitnell also expressed her relief before retreating to the upper floors. I was quite taken by surprise at the exuberance of her relief. I had to retreat to my own room and meditate until I felt in control of myself again.

During my meditation, I confirmed that the dream had not been a mere nightmare. We had been the victim of a curse. MacGreggor was tricked by a demon into expressing a desire to trade places with me...

The most disturbing part of this is that I remember things from MacGreggor's past. Things I suspect he would rather I not be privy to. I fear that he may be burdened with similar memories from my life. And my suspicions about why he has been distant lately have been confirmed.

Once MacGreggor, O'Flaherty, and Cuthbert were retrieved from the jail, we learned that the demon is now trapped in the form of the sickly dog, and is apparently now powerless to harm us further. At least not through his magicks.

In other developments, Mr. Cuthbert discovered, among the mail awaiting us at the consulate, an invitation from the Duke of Florin. Mr. Cuthbert met the father of the current Duke many years ago in Africa, where they hunted together. The current Duke has invited us all to hunt on his estate in Florhooven.

Given the other information we know about Miss Haverson's abduction, clearly this is some kind of trap. But it is an invitation the League feels they can not refuse. So we are on a train once more. Sir Cosmo and Mr. Frazer are explaining the protocols of address of the persons we are likely to meet at the Duke's residence.

Daniel and Stuart tell me that no one on the Duke's staff will assume we uneducated english servants will understand Dutch. Which, of course, I don't. They will probably communicate with us in French, which I am getting better at but still am hardly more fluent than Miss Bertilde.

~Later~

That ended more quickly than any of us expected.

We were met at the train by the Duke's younger brother, Prince Lukas, with sufficient carriages and wagons to transport us all to the castle. And it was a castle. I overheard Edward and George speculating about which century the curtain wall was added.

We unloaded the luggage as quickly as we could and assisted the League in dressing for an after dinner reception which the Duke was holding to welcome Mr. Cuthbert's party.

The Duke's party was attended by his mother, Her Serene Highness Kristiana of Orange. Also in attendance were Prince Lukas, Count Rugin, and the Bishop of Florhooven. Wooster went to great pains to shake Count Rugin's hand vigorously. I learned later that it was the same hand Wooster had shot days ago when Rugin and his men ambushed Wooster and Caine. For a man who seems to be boundlessly affable, the lieutenant displays a surprising vindictive streak.

After the party the League returned to the rooms, and decided to search them for hidden passages, peepholes, or other inconveniences. A secret door was discovered in Dr. Wilson's room, leading to a spiral staircase.

Edward wanted to explore the stairway, but the ladies didn't wish him to do so alone. A rather large portion of the League tried to creep down the stairs while the rest of the League continued searching the rooms above.

There were door ways along the stairs that led into rooms on other floors, including the Duke's private study, where Count Rugin and the Duke were having a conversation. The Count then used the secret stairs to leave the study and proceed into the basements. Fortunately, Edward signalled the others and they extinguished their light before the Count saw it.

Unfortunately, one of them (both Miss Chigwidgeon and Miss Bertilde have told me it was she who first tripped on the stairs) tripped and fell down the stairs. Rather noisily.

The Count had his rapier drawn by the time they spilled out of the stairs. He also was accompanied by two compatriots -- a large man who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. O'Flaherty, and a white-skinned man.

Miss Sinclair, Miss Whitnell, and Miss Chigwidgeon tried to talk their way out of the situation, and return to their rooms. The Duke had come down behind them and insisted on leading them back up by way of the lighted stairs, "because they would be safer."

Of course, he had more guards that way, and he led the party down into the dungeons.

Edward and I were both following behind them all, and had escaped the notice of the Duke and his minions.

The Duke ordered the ladies into a room clearly designed to hold prisoners, and indicated he was going to manacle them to the wall. The party was going along with the instructions on the assumption they would be able to escape as soon as the Duke left. Unfortunately, the DUke sent one of the minions to get something from another room, which turned out to be a torture device -- a helmet designed to be bolted to a person's head in such a way as to prevent the person from talking.

When the Duke instructed the guard to put it on Miss Whitnell, Miss Whitnell erupted. She drew her sword and charged the Duke. She didn't even see me step out of the shadows and stop the guard. She didn't see anything but the Duke.

This started the rest of the party fighting. Miss Bertilde attacked the Count, who as a swordsman would have been her equal. Miss Sinclair produced a pistol from the folds of her skirt. Miss Chigwidgeon and Mr. Frazer both began attacking guards.

Edward tossed on of his fireworks into the room. I assumed it was meant purely as a distraction, and focused on taking out as many of the guards as I could.

In a few moments it was over. Rugin lay on the floor, bleeding, the guards were wounded or dead. The albino had surrendered. The large man had knocked out one of the guards who tried to attack Miss Whitnell from behind, effectively joining our side.

And the Duke was quite incapacitated. He'd been disarmed Miss Whitnell had her sword to his throat. I had hold of one of his arms, Miss Chigwidgeon had broken the other and was twisting it painfully, Edward was behind him with a katar. Miss Sinclair still had a cartridge in her pistol. Mr. Frazer and Miss Bertilde also had swords pointed toward him.

Mr. Cuthbert, Sir Cosmo, and the remainder of the party arrived at the doorway to the cell at this moment, having been led by Mr. MacGreggor.

The Duke agreed that imprisoning the ladies had been an unwise move. He was quickly persuaded to free Miss Haverson. He ordered the albino to retrieve her from "the pit." Mr. Cuthbert and Mr. MacGreggor accompanied the albino to make certain he didn't bring reinforcements.

The annoying woman was retrieved, and with the Duke still our hostage, we gathered the luggage and took our leave of the castle. The Duke accompanied us until we passed out of his Duchy, at which point we put him off the train.

The giant, Jeroen, agreed to accompany us at least as far as Antwerp. He has indicated he has family in the Duchy of Florin and will need to return to them. He and Mr. O'Flaherty appear to be getting along famously.

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