The Murders Multiply
22 April 1870, Friday
The house is full of sleepy people today. We had a lovely surprise when we returned home early this morning. Mr Salmalin greeted us at the gates! He had escaped from the hospital because he had a dream that we were in terrible danger from a demon. Sir Cosmo has said he will straighten things out at the hospital and that Salmalin does not have to go back there. I do not know why, but I am very pleased to have him officially join our household.
I will endeavour to record the finale to our adventures of yesterday– though there is much that I was not personally present for, so parts of my account may be lacking in detail.
Sir Cosmo and I went to the offices of Our Employer where he researched the family background of Baron Scarisbrick and I reviewed the files on the Order of St. Jerome and Mr Ramsey. I was satisfied that he could be of help to me. Sir Cosmo completed his research and discovered that the title and lands held by Baron Scarisbrick are one of the few that can pass to daughters of the line– so even though there was no legitimate offspring of the Baron’s only son the title would pass to someone else in the family.
Usually in these circumstances Her Majesty makes the final decision as to who to grant the title to, and it has been her custom to divide the income from the properties between the daughters of the house and pass the title itself on to a person of the next generation. We now may know the reason for the attacks on Robert. Any of the Grandsons of the family may be in line to inherit the title (at the time Sir Cosmo and I only knew of the attack on Robert Ditteridge). We sent a note to the house to inform the rest of the party of this information.
Just before our note arrived, an urgent message came from Caine and Wooster. Jeremiah Basset, another of the grandsons of Baron Scarisbrick had died in a carriage accident– his wife Alice and son Watkyn were both in hospital and Wooster was very nearly poisoned drinking cyanide-laced tea! The house had been searched and Caine found evidence that a Monkey had been hiding in the dumbwaiter. Also, Wooster had discovered that Baron Scarisbrick’s only son had died in the Amazon jungle, having had one son by a Native Mistress. The illegitimate son’s name was Paolo. He had turned up a few years ago and the Baron had given him a job as a lab assistant! It seemed even more urgent that we stop the murderous man and monkey before they could harm any more of the Baron’s family!
Miss Sinclair, Mrs Cuthbert, Mr Frazer, Turgenov, Owen, Miss Namaste, and Edward went in search of Paolo and the Iota. They missed our message and it was only later that we were able to put all the pieces together.
<Later>
Another nap overtook me as I was writing the above. I have had a refreshing Tea with my colleagues and am ready to continue my account.
Sir Cosmo and I left Our Employer’s Office to seek out Mr Ramsey at the Royal Museum. We hoped he could lend his occult expertise to our mystery. It seemed that we would need some way to contain the malicious spirit that had tried to kill Robert Ditteridge. We had a most productive conversation and I feel much better about enlisting Mr Ramsey’s aid in my training.
We were interrupted by a messenger from Our Employer. The rest of the League had apparently blown up a building! There were very few details and we were needed on the scene at once. I spent the journey in quiet anxiety and was very glad to see everyone alive and upright as our carriage pulled up to the scene. A rooming house across from a café had a large smoking hole blown in it and Miss Sinclair and Mr Hammersley (an employee of Wilson and yet another Grandson of the Baron) were arguing fiercely. I was able to get them apart and settled Miss Sinclair in the carriage. I was astonished at her behaviour only until I learned that she had nearly died from ingesting cyanide only a little time before. Her own strong constitution and the quick action of Mr Frazer and Mrs Cuthbert saved her from its deadly effects! Even now I am not clear on what exactly happened– at the debriefing with Our Employer later that night everyone talked at once!
The essence of the events is that the party tracked Paolo and Iota to a boarding house and proceeded to set up a perimeter around it. At this time everyone except Sir Cosmo, Mr Ramsey, and I were on the scene. Miss Namaste spotted the Monkey up in the window of the boarding house and told Mr Cuthbert. He shot at it and after the dust settled Paolo had been dragged from the building unconscious, Iota’s body had been identified but was blown up in the explosion that was set off by Mr Hammersley.
While on the scene I was accosted by the owner of the boarding house, a Mrs McKinnon, who turned out to be none other than Maggie Haywood! She is now a widow and also practises magic. She mistook me for my Great-Aunt at first– I must make an appointment to see her under more relaxed circumstances.
Once the police (and Our Employer’s agents) had the scene under control we removed ourselves (and the unconscious Paolo) to headquarters for the aforementioned debriefing. I found that I was exhausted by this point and I unfortunately do not remember as much as I would like– perhaps Sir Cosmo would let me read his report once he finishes drafting it.
Two things stand out in my mind. We were introduced to a Mrs Godwin of the Order of St. Jerome and Mr Paolo Ditteridge turned out to be the Legitimate son of the Baron’s only son. The police had tracked down the Priest who preformed the marriage ceremony all those years ago. How sad! Perhaps if Paolo had known of his status he would have been content to wait.
However, he did confess to the crimes and it became apparent that Iota the Monkey was actually the mastermind of the plot. Our Employer has moved Paolo to a place he cannot use his dark magic to escape. For part of the time during the debrief his spirit was held in a Sphere of Thessaly while the Powers That Be decided his fate.
There are still a few things to follow up on. I would like to send a note to Our Employer asking about repairs to Mrs McKinnon’s boarding house. I also plan to send her a note asking for an appointment sometime when it may be convenient. I feel a duty to check on Alice and Watkins Basset– for even if they survive their injuries they will have lost a husband and father and may be in need of support.
I will postpone these actions for now. Just documenting our adventures has made for a long day. I will join the rest of the household in an afternoon nap and go early to my rest this evening.
<Later>
The nap did me quite a lot of good. We got some surprising news in this afternoon’s post. Sir Cosmo, myself, Miss Namaste, Miss Sinclair, Dr. Wilson, Mrs Cuthbert, Mr Cuthbert, and Lieutenant Wooster are all invited to Lord Greyminster’s Opening of Parliament Ball. Miss Sinclair and I immediately stirred ourselves to go dress shopping. My ball gown was a bit worse for wear after the adventures the other night and Miss Sinclair does not have anything suitable to such an occasion. By coincidence the next of Miss Namaste’s formal dresses arrived today. It has a beautiful crimson skirt with a lovely reddish brown bodice. It brings out the rich tones of her skin and the glimmer of her thick dark hair.
We have just returned from our outing. The dresses should be ready in time for the ball next Wednesday. I do hope we put on a good show and do not embarrass Sir Cosmo!
23 April 1870, Saturday
I managed to get two notes written before Mr Ramsey came over for tea. I sent them off by the afternoon post– one to Our Employer asking after Mrs McKinnon’s boarding house and one to the lady herself in sympathy for the mess her house was in and asking for a future appointment, at her convenience.
Mr Ramsey and I had quite a nice tea. He brought me five different books that he hoped would give me a grounding in the basics of using my powers. They are densely written and will take some time to work through. I will try to use the same approach I used to learning Chemistry and hope that it will be effective.
An item of note that come out of our conversation– since I cast the Stroke of Luck spell on the entire Ditteridge family it was just a likely to benefit Paolo as anyone else in that extended family. It is very vexing to think that a murderer and scoundral like him may have benefited from the energy I expended. As I write this, I realize that I forgot to as Mr Ramsey if there is a spell I can use to go back and look at weather a spell I cast was effective or not. I do not know how I shall learn anything if I can not document measuerable results!
24 April 1870, Sunday
Mr Graham joined us for Sunday Dinner today. He was sporting a large black eye. I tried to get him to tell me what had happened– he would not share the details. I left Miss Namaste alone with him and listened at the door while he told her the details. One of his cousins had cast aspersions on Miss Namaste’s character and Graham had responded. He apparently won the fight with his older and larger cousin. Sir Cosmo, Miss Namaste and I discussed it later and determined to pay a visit to the Graham Household at the end of the week. Certain things should be made clear to Graham’s family!
25 April 1870, Monday
I had a lovely tea with Mrs Cuthbert today. I know we are both living in the same house– all the same it was very nice to sit down with her alone and chat about many different subjects. We had a wide ranging conversation that was very relaxing. We made a pact. I will endeavour to teach her Hindi and she will help me practise my magic. We will start with what she knows best– contacting the spirits of the dead.
I read through part of one of the books that Mr Ramsey loaned me and have been practising seeing the Auras around people. Sometimes I do it by accident (like when I could see Paolo’s spirit loose from his body) but I would like to have more control over the process and know what it is I am seeing. Looking at Miss Sinclair with this sense is very interesting. Mr Ramsey calls it a gift of quiet– I am not quite sure how to describe it and am glad I can look at her with my normal eyes and just enjoy her company. She has been busy with Edward these past few days so I have seen little of her (though heard much of him!).
26 April 1870, Tuesday
Tomorrow is the Big Night. Today was spent in a whirlwind of preparation. Miss Sinclair and I received our dresses today. Mine is black. Just the other day I was happy to be restricted to black but now I long for a bit of colour in my wardrobe. Maybe I will make coloured petticoats next time I need replacements. Given the formality of the occasion I will wear a little jewellery. I have a very nice pair of jet earrings that Mother gave me after Father’s death. I had not planned on wearing them so soon but I feel a need for a little sparkle.
I spent the afternoon with Miss Namaste. We worked with her hair some more and found a lovely formal arrangement that still allows some of her black hair to cascade down her back. While we were making the final adjustments Sir Cosmo appeared. He had a gift for Miss Namaste. It was a lovely ruby pendant on a gold chain– very thoughtful and not too ostentatious given the jewels that other women will be wearing tomorrow night. Miss Namaste was completely speechless! It was lovely to see.
28 April 1870, Thursday
The ball was splendid! We returned home in good time to sleep well and I am awake unusually early. Miss Oakes is awake and had made tea for herself and Graves and she let me take a cup for myself. The household is quiet and I am taking an opportunity to update this record in the Library.
Sir Cosmo (well really Graves) got us out the door on time to make a good entrance at the ball. I covertly inspected all of our party and found that we made a very satisfactory impression! We were announced and presented by the Major-Domo. Miss Pinker greeted us at the door and helped orient us. I could tell that this was a Working Party. The ladies in our party were some of the youngest in the room and much of the action was taking place in the card room or the smoking room. Mr Cuthbert and Lieutenant Wooster found each other at the bar. Wooster is despondent because Miss Glossop declined his suit, citing some rather alarming examples from her family tree when Woosters and Glossops married and produced children. Apparently Mr Hammersley is an example of all that can go wrong with such a union. Needless to say I did not see the Lieutenant out on the dance floor.
All the ladies of our party were invited to dance. I danced the opening quadrille and then retired from the floor for the evening out of respect for my mourning Father. I did receive several more invitations to dance. Mrs Cuthbert, Miss Sinclair, and I all contrived to chaperone Miss Namaste while allowing each some time on the dance floor.
I was approached several times during the evening by people attempting to confirm rumours they had heard. Apparently it has got about that Miss Namaste is an Indian Princess who is here incognito to treat with the Government regarding some political issues. I even heard it said that the Indian Servant in our group (Salmalin on his first official outing as footman) is actually her bodyguard and proof positive that she is a princess. She certainly looked the part tonight and her dance card was in high demand! The other rumour making the rounds (and this no one said to my face) was that Sir Cosmo had Words with Sir Phillip in the smoking room and Warned Him Off from meeting with any of the women in our group except in his professional capacity. Sir Phillip did seem to avoid us for the balance of the evening!
Not long after we made our appearance we noted the arrival of one Lord Blackhall. His Aura of black magic that was so strong I did not need to make any effort to see it. Mr Ramsey went up to greet him. I could not hear the words but I could see that it was not a friendly conversation. I remembered from Mr Ramsey’s dossier that Baron Blackhall was at the heart of a kidnapping scheme and the Intelligence Service believes that the girls who were kidnapped were destined to be used in a mystical ritual and that Mr Ramsey disrupted those plans, saved the girls and rescued a stolen text. Baron Blackhall seems a man to avoid!
Just before dinner, near the end of the first half of the dance, Baron Blackhall attempted to approach Miss Namaste. I sent Miss Sinclair to intercept him. I just had a feeling that a man so soaked in black magic would have an adverse reaction to a woman with Miss Sinclair’s peculiar Gift. In the meantime Mrs Cuthbert and I moved to shield Miss Namaste from the Baron. The three of us worked together unthinkingly– as if we had rehearsed the moves for days beforehand. The diversion worked and the Baron veered off at Miss Sinclair’s approach. Though I am rather afraid that our actions may have added fuel to the fire of the rumour of the Indian Princess!
We went in for dinner shortly afterwards and all was going very well until Miss Namaste tumbled a vase from its plinth. She caught the vase before it could crash to the floor but then a bust of a former Lord of the House fell from high shelf and smashed to pieces. In an instant Salmalin was there taking the vase from her shaking hands. It only now occurs to me that if she had not turned back to catch the vase that the bust might have landed right on top of her. Am I seeing actions where there are just accidents? Three weeks as a secret agent may have made me overly jumpy– but I will mention my thoughts to Sir Cosmo.
The rest of the ball was lovely. We left before the second set of dancing began (all the women were tired– even Miss Namaste). We had an enjoyable evening. Nothing exploded. And we had our very own Fairy Princess!
Proceed to 4. A Mishap and a Reminder
Return to Miss Whitnell's Diary Index
Contents this page copyright 2001 by Kristin Fontaine. All Rights Reserved.