18 May 1870, Wednesday
~late morning~
Last night, after the negotiations ended, our party, Lieutenant Lochsley’s men, and the French were escorted back to our ships. The Griffin, la Victorie, and la Regeneree are in port and have not fired upon each other. I believe that Sir Cosmo has managed to completely conceal the Dutch presence in these matters.
By the time we had all boarded our respective ships I was so tired that I set this journal aside and slept for nearly twelve hours. I feel much better, though still somewhat frayed at the edges.
By common consent we resumed both our self-defence class and our Hindi sessions. It was nice to return to our routine. Miss Gordon’s company was very enjoyable. She has quite an ear for languages. I also enjoyed working with her to transcribe the Letter of Agreement reached by all sides as a part of the negotiations after the battle. It was very interesting to be included in that process. I was quite please to learn that Mr Pym has been appointed Interim Ambassador to Kor from England.
I don’t remember if I mentioned this earlier in this journal, but Zhakali was certain that Pym’s memory problems were the result of ingesting one of the potions used by the priestess as part of one of their rituals. The potion is known to cause hallucinations and memory loss. If Mr Pym had been under the influence of such a drug when he was captured by the French it would explain how his eye-witness account came to be so distorted.
The Letter of Agreement opened diplomatic relations with both England and France, declared Kor’s neutrality in all matters between France and England, and bound both governments to a promise to keep knowledge of the existence of the City limited to as few people as possible. She Who Must Be Obeyed promises not to blow up our ships as long as no hostile actions are taken against her or her City. The Agreement was surprisingly short, given that several hours were spent in negotiation. However, I got the impression that this was really just the beginning of the negotiation process.
I hope Her Majesty selects someone of strong character for this post. I know that it is unprecedented, but I cannot help but think that a woman would a good choice for this post in the long term. SWMBO seems overly fond of males, and given her previous history, it would be hard for me to trust that many men could be in her presence for long and remain uninfluenced by her. Though, perhaps it will be enough if they send someone who is not in the mold of Lieutenant Wooster, who, while quite handsome in a military way, is sometimes several steps behind when certain topics are discussed.
The French have set sail and their ships have been growing smaller every day. We met for our lessons this morning and plan to meet again after lunch to share the information that we learned over the past few days. Sir Cosmo spent much of yesterday closeted with Captain Rogers while we were left to our own devices. Miss Sinclair and I both found time to update our journals and sit on the deck enjoying the sun and not moving much.
I also took a moment to speak to Edward in private. He surprised me by gifting me with some papers from the Necromancers library. I thought I knew everything that he carried away from the underground Temple. I should have known better! I locked the scrolls up in my case and thanked Edward. The real reason I wanted to speak with him in private regarded his Secret and who might know of it. As far as I know, I am one of three who Know and Miss Sinclair is not one of them. Given that she is Edward’s Tutor I urged him strongly to confide in her.
Edward then told me that he was sure she would not keep it to herself. I tried to assure him that Miss Sinclair could, indeed keep such a secret, but I found myself equivocating. I am nearly certain that she would understand the reason for the deception and Edward’s desire to maintain it for the future. As I have already noted, Edward is already thinking and planning on ways to attend a college when he is grown and if certain facts do not come to light, his path may be much easier. However, I also hold to the hope that the position of women in this society will be much improved in the next decade, rendering Edward’s Secret unnecessary. Perhaps I should have a conversation with Sir Cosmo regarding this matter. Some time when Edward is working on the sinkable boat and Miss Sinclair’s acute ears are distracted.
19 May 1870, Thursday
The Griffin has begun the work of salvaging Undersea Boat 2. Now that the French are well out of sight work can begin. Edward is Ecstatic. Dr Wilson has recovered quickly from his severe injuries and has volunteered to join the teams using the Salvage Suits.
I have decided to use some of the time while we wait to practice spells that interest me. I am currently working on trying to raise a tiny model ship from the water in a tub. But as none of my spell books seem to have an appropriate spell I am working on my own and not getting very satisfactory results. Several members of the League have made helpful suggestions but so far I get the best results when I reach in with my hand and lift the model out of the water.
20 May 1870, Friday
It has been so nice to have these quiet days at sea to recover from the fright and fatigue I experienced on the Island. The salvage work goes well and the crew hopes to have the Undersea Boat 2 loaded on the tender in two more days time.
Sir Cosmo has made plans with Captain Rogers and Lieutenant Nottle to push the engines to their maximum for the return trip home. He seems very excited about giving them a proper run before we return home. This plan will necessitate a stop at Praia on Sao Tiago Island for coal.
21 May 1870, Saturday
Today I spent the afternoon, between lunch and Instruction by Mr Ramsey, watching the salvage men at work. Dr Wilson was working with the team underwater. I was very interested in the morse code they used to communicate between the divers and the surface.
While out on deck, I found Miss Sinclair scrubbing at her shoe and muttering under her breath. She has been working on them every day since we rejoined the Griffin. She has yet to successfully remove the remains of the Necromancer’s head from the shoe. The substance is not at all like skin or blood. It is quite gray and gummy and is proving very difficult to remove. Miss Sinclair is quite vexed.
This evening, after dinner, Sir Cosmo asked for me in my capacity as Miss Chigwidgeon’s chaperone. He wished to speak with her, and I suppose to some extent at me, about the letter we had both read. During the negotiations on the Island I had given him the letter I wrote in the tunnels. I presume that he has read it.
During our walk Sir Cosmo took great pains to explain that the letter he had kept, while it expressed his true feelings, was too open to mis-interpretation for him to have, in good conscience, given it to Miss Chigwidgeon. They then talked for a while, and it seemed that, after many awkward words, they reached some sort of mutual understanding. It was very hard not to speak my mind while they were babbling but, as it was, I manage to limit myself to a decorous encouragement them to enjoy each other’s company.
Later, when Sir Cosmo was alone, I did make the quite cheeky and out of line suggestion that if he married Miss Chigwidgeon then we could be done with all this chaperoning nonsense. I do not know if he took me seriously or not. I really must leave it to them to decide. But, after my own unhappy marriage, to see two people so obviously devoted to not act upon those feelings drives me to distraction! Miss Sinclair would not approve.
22 May 1870, Sunday
This morning I attended the services provided by the chaplain. Since these were the first services since our battle we prayed for the souls that we had lost. I also prayed for SWMBO, that she might become more humble and aware of the damage her great power can cause.
I have been informed that we should be underway this evening if all goes well with the salvage operation. I have every confidence that it will.
23 May 1870, Monday
We got underway last night as I was sleeping. We should be in Praia by mid-morning on Tuesday and then full speed for home.
The Undersea Boat 2 is loaded on a tender behind the Griffin and is secured to its cradle by a great many ropes and chains. The raising of the Boat went very smoothly and most of the time yesterday was spent making certain that the Boat would in no way come lose from the Griffin. Everyone had worked to hard to risk losing the Boat in the deep water of the ocean.
Now that we have settled into a routine it seems to me that Lieutenant Lochsley is paying a great amount of attention to Mrs Cuthbert. He seems to be much around when she and I are out on deck together and he has stopped by our cabin several times in the past few days.
Mrs Cuthbert requested the private use of our cabin for an hour before bed last night. All she would say was that she needed to talk to Bertie (her dead husband). It is all very strange.
24 May 1870, Tuesday
It has now been a full week since our ordeal in the labyrinth. I am surprised by how much, and how deeply I have been sleeping. Today was the first day I awoke a my normal time and with my normal vigour.
We have been and gone to Praia and my suspicions about Lieutenant Lochsley have been confirmed. He came to our cabin only a few minutes ago with three bolts of lovely green fabric to offer to Mrs Cuthbert. He had noticed that her bodice had torn during the fight and wanted to get her something she might like.
She thanked him gracefully and then suggested a walk on the deck. I asked if she wanted a chaperone and she gave me such a look!
It seems my days as a chaperone are numbered.
Proceed to 1. Running about the city!
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