31 May 1870, Tuesday
I had a frantic moment at breakfast when I realized that tomorrow is the opera and reception that Lord Greyminster asked Sir Cosmo, Miss Chigwidgeon, and myself to attend. Tattvik reminded me that my only evening gown was damaged in the fire at Mr Robert Ditterage’s flat back in April. Between one thing and another I have not had an opportunity to replace it.
I was just about to alert Sir Cosmo to my predicament as he came to the table, fortunately, he spoke first and reminded Miss Sinclair, Miss Chigwidgeon, and me that we had appointments at the dressmaker for final fittings of our new gowns this afternoon.. I felt such a fool. We selected the material for our new outfits last month before leaving for the Cape Verdi Islands. The whole experience went right out of my head; I must find to better remember my more mundane appointments.
Sir Cosmo had secured an interview with Lady Ottoline at tea this afternoon for myself, Mrs Cuthbert, and Miss Sinclair.
I have sent a note around to Mr Ramsey to see if we could meet before I set out upon my errands. At the present I am between classes. Both Hindi class and Mr Salmalin’s lessons go well. It is very enjoyable to have both the mental and physical challenges that the two classes present each day. Languages definitely come more easily for me than the movements Mr Salmalin teaches us, however, even I can see improvement over the last two months. My stamina is greatly improved and I have some gained some needed strength in my arms.
After my meeting with Mrs Goodwin I have added incentive to learn to defend myself physically. She was careful to stress that magik does not work reliably on vampires and, if Mr Nigel’s letter is any indication, we may face that threat at some time in the not-too-distant future.
These notes remind me that I must consult with Mr Ramsey on the best way to build my own kit of anti-vampire materials. Many of the items on the list will be simple to acquire. The holy water may be problematic, however. I am certain the Watchers must have a source for this material. I would feel most uncomfortable asking my own priest to fulfil this request. He would think I was either a silly, superstitious woman or worse. I wonder if the blessing of the water changes it in some, reproducible way. If we could find out what it is about the water that is harmful to vampires, perhaps we could make a more effective weapon against the undead. I will have to send a note round to Mrs Goodwin. Or better yet, bring it up during my alchemy lesson on Thursday.
Now I must set off to Mr Chigwidgeon’s house to inform him and Mrs Chigwidgeon of their daughter’s engagement. Or, more precisely of Sir Cosmo’s offer of marriage. I do hope the interview goes well. I could not bear it if Mr Chigwidgeon were opposed to this match. There has been much talk in the household about some of the obstacles that Miss Chigwidgeon will face marrying above her station, but it seems very little thought has been given to how this proposal will impact her relationship with her kin.
~Later~
I returned with Mr and Mrs Chigwidgeon in tow. They both seemed stunned, but happy by this turn of events. We arrived just as Lord Greyminster and Mrs Pinker were departing from their meeting with the new couple.
Once ushered into the house by Graves and served tea by Patsy, Sir Cosmo and Miss Chigwidgeon joined us. Mr Chigwidgeon came straight to the point—he wanted whatever would make his daughter happy. If marrying Sir Cosmo made her happy then that was settled. He did manage to imply that making his little girl unhappy would be a mistake.
I left the four of them to their tea and returned to my room to prepare for the afternoon’s errands. Graves stopped me on the stairs and gave me a note from Mr Ramsey, he is not able to change his schedule on such short notice but he did confirm our lesson tomorrow.
~Later~
At Lady Ottoline’s we had a very instructive tea. Lady Ottoline confirmed that Tattvik is doing very well in her studies and promised a more detailed report in writing at a later date. While we were there we met a young woman Lady Ottoline employs as a weapons instructor. She was introduced as Miss Emily Bertilde and appeared to be quite shy until she began speaking about subjects of interest to her. She gave a very informative presentation on modifications we can make to our clothing to accommodate our active and dangerous assignments.
At some point in the conversation it became apparent that while Miss Emily’s ideas were very well thought out and interesting, her presence in our household would be even more helpful. We adjourned to the gymnasium and asked Miss Emily and Edward to play a game of tag. Miss Emily is very fast. She is not quite as good a climber as Edward, but neither does she have his natural advantage of an extra set of near-hands for feet. Her stamina was more than equal to his and Lady Ottoline assures us that she is competent in many weapons.
We proposed, subject to Sir Cosmo’s approval, that Miss Emily take on a post as assistant to Miss Sinclair and bodyguard to Edward. It took some convincing but Miss Emily bowed to Lady Ottoline’s request. Lady Ottoline arranged to visit Sir Cosmo that afternoon and, by the time we returned home, Miss Emily and her rather astonishing collection of weapons was being settled into one of the spare rooms near Edward. Miss Emily apparently satisfied both Salmalin and Sir Cosmo that she could live up to Lady Ottoline’s recommendations.
Our other errand, the dress fitting, went quite smoothly and there should be no difficulty having the dress by tomorrow mid-day. My dress is black, of course, with a minimum of flounces and frills. It is a subdued and subduing dress and should be quite appropriate for most formal evening events. I still need a new ball gown but that can wait on Mr Willoughby’s response to my letter detailing my expenses. The dressmaker had also put together several outfits for day-wear in our new style of reform dress with a more conventional overskirt. I am pleased with the results.
When we arrived home Miss Emily was being settled in. I took her to be introduced to Tattvik (who she knows from weapons class) and took the opportunity to give her a brief tour of the house. Miss Emily seems to be more comfortable with women and I had forgotten just how formidable Sir Cosmo and Mr Salmalin must seem to an outsider. Miss Sinclair joined the tour to more fully brief Miss Emily on some of Edward’s more exasperating habits. Miss Emily has agreed to attend both our Hindi class and Mr Salmalin’s class. Perhaps she will be able to offer Mr Salmalin more of a challenge than we have to this point.
After a quiet dinner, the household spent the evening in the library. Miss Chigwidgeon and Dr Wilson read and commented aloud about the newest ‘Kid Rocket Adventure’ published in the Weekly Companion. Dr Wilson seemed quite vexed at some of the actions attributed to him. I was just glad that Lieutenant Wooster was out with Mr Caine as there was a rather unflattering description of a character intended to represent the Lieutenant.
I worked on indexing my Great-Aunt’s spell book and, in the process, discovered a few simple spells that I have not yet tried. The Gaelic lessons that Mr Ramsey incorporates into my magik lessons are already enabling me to more easily read the older portions of Great-Aunt Hethalyn’s book.
I took advantage of the quiet to make and early night of it. Tomorrow Mrs Cuthbert and Mr Cuthbert take possession of the house next door and we go to the opera.
1 June 1870, Wednesday
We had some disturbing news with the paper this morning. Lord Clarendon died last night at his desk in the foreign office. He has been a fixture of every government I can remember, his death would be distrubing even in the most peaceful of circumstances.
The newspaper claims the death was of natural causes but we are not so sure. A message from Inspector MacGregor arrived not too long afterwards to ask us if he could come to tea and discuss matters. Sir Comso agreed but suggested that we meet a little earlier to allow time to prepare for the opera and reception.
Miss Emily joined us for class this morning. English is her only language at this time, so it will take a bit more planning to teach her the fundamentals than has been necessary with Edward. I must remind myself that Edward is unusual. Miss Sinclair might be of some help in preparing a lesson plan that is more suitable. I will try to remember to ask her when we have a quiet moment to ourselves.
Miss Emily is also unusual. Her physical skills are extra-ordinary. She is amazing. I can only imagine what it is like to command such physical prowess. Miss Emily will make an amazing addition to our League. If we can get her to wear a dress…
She was informed after class that she would be attending the opera. She immediately protested that she did not own appropriate clothing. I enlisted Miss Chigwidgeon’s aid. She and Miss Emily are of similar enough size to allow Miss Emily to borrow one of the many dresses Sir Cosmo has bestowed upon Miss Chigwidgeon in the past two months. Miss Emily eventually bowed to necessity that and a commanding tone of voice. I hated to do it but I had too much to do today to spend much time talking her into it. Lady Ottoline made it clear that one her hopes for this assignment is that Miss Emily would gain some experience in society and part of that is knowing what to wear, when.
Once Miss Emily’s situation was settled to my satisfaction. I went downstairs for lunch. Mr Ramsey had come early so we could complete our lessons before I need to dress for the opera. I invited Miss Chigwidgeon to join us. Mrs Cuthbert spent the morning coordinating the move into the house next store and, as such, was unable to join us. She sent a message that she would join us for tea. Tattvik got permission from Lady Ottoline to stay home and help Miss Emily settle in and help me get ready for the opera and reception. Deciding what to wear will not be a problem since I only have the one dress.
Tattvik tells me that Inspector MacGregor is here.
~Later~
Inspector MacGregor came for a quick visit. He informed us that, while Lord Clarendon’s death appears natural, evidence has been found to indicate that someone crept into his office and made off with several of the Lord’s papers. He has spoken with George Villares, Lord Clarendon’s private secretary, who confirmed that several reports that were listed in the log are missing from Lord Clarendon’s office.
The inspector could not stay long as this case is commanding his full attention. He did mention that he has met with Mr Frazier, who is also working on the case. He also had discovered that the thief had been forced to hide for sometime in one of the unused rooms in the Foreign Office and had left behind an elaborately folded piece of paper in the shape of an animal.
I agreed to give what help we can, and immediately thought of Mrs Cuthbert. I had Graves send over to the Cuthberts at their new house. We quickly assembled the materials we would need to summon Lord Clarendon’s spirit. I invited Miss Chigwidgeon to assist. She and I supported Mrs Cuthbert as she tried to get some answers from Lord Clarendon.
As soon as the power was summoned events took an unusual turn. Miss Chigwidgeon was possessed by the spirit of Kali. Kali told us that Lord Clarendon had been taken by the Left Hand. The implication was that Lord Clarendon’s spirit was being held somewhere we could not access. As quickly as she had come, Kali departed, leaving Miss Chigwidgeon none the worse for wear.
As soon as we were certain that Miss Chigwidgeon had suffered no ill-effects, we sought out Mr Salmalin hoping that he could shed some light on Kali’s cryptic statements. Mr Salmalin said that he had heard of both a left-hand aspect of Kali as a judgement-vengeance figure and a left-had god as a separate but related entity to Kali. One of the factions of the former Cobb has named itself the Hand of Kali but it was unclear if one had anything to do with the other.
The only thing that we did learn from all this is that Something Suspicious happened to Lord Clarendon. Not much help in the current situation.
I have made arrangements to visit the office in which he died to see if a history spell would reveal more. While I am out I will pick up my dress for the event this evening.
~Later~
After Tea
I have only a few minutes to update this record as we are in the midst of preparing to leave for the opera. Luckily Tattvik is here to help me dress.
This afternoon I stopped by Lord Clarendon’s office to perform my history spell. What I learned is most disturbing. Lord Clarendon was in his office and alive when a very tall man stepped in. The man made some sort of ritual gesture and Lord Clarendon slumped onto his desk. I fear that, at that moment, he was dead. The odd man stole several papers from the desk and office. He seemed to have a very clear idea of what items he wanted to take, leaving several valuable office trinkets and only taking papers. Before I left I gave Mr Frazier a list of the locations that items were taken from as well as a description of the man I saw. In my vision, the man escaped down the outside of the building, nimbly negotiating the drainpipes, to a carriage waiting below. There was nothing distinguishable about the carriage.
I am afraid I added very little to the picture Mr Frazier and Inspector MacGregor had already pieced together. However, I am even more certain that a crime of the most serious nature has been committed against Lord Clarendon.
I can hear the carriages pulling up to the front. I must go now.
2 June 1870, Thursday
Several notable events happened last night. Not the least of which was that Mr Salmalin was nearly killed in a battle at the Black Lion. I still shiver with anger and fear thinking of how close we came to losing him last night.
I must back-up and put things in their proper order to give myself some perspective on the evening’s events.
Tattvik and I had our hands full ensuring that both Miss Chigwidgeon and Miss Emily were properly attired. Miss Chigwidgeon, no matter her distaste for formal events and formal dresses, is making quick progress in mastering the complexities of dressing for such an event. It does not hurt that all of the dresses Sir Cosmo has bestowed upon her are beautifully made and suit her dusky complexion and sparkling eyes exactly.
Miss Emily was a bit more of a trial. She never expected to dress above her station and is still very concerned about what she sees as a wealth of fabric and jewels that we are requiring her to wear. She settled down a bit when I mentioned that I had submitted a bill to Mr Willoughby for a dress that was damaged in the line of duty. I also reassured her that, as soon has we had a spare moment we would get her some evening wear more to her own peculiar specifications. I can understand, a little, how extravagant this life must feel to her, having my own generous pension, and knowing that it would be just barely enough to support Tattvik and I should we ever be required to live on our own.
Once into her dress and the most modest set of jewels in Miss Chigwidgeon’s extensive collection, Tattvik assisted me with my own dress and we were on our way.
The concert was tremendous. Madame Ducarrielle preformed a stirring selection of arias from French operas. I feel privileged to have attended. I must send Lord Greyminster a note of thanks for the opportunity.
After the concert, we adjourned to the reception. Miss Emily was quite nervous and, as Miss Sinclair had caught her playing with one of the knives she carries in her hair pins during the concert, we both took pains to remind her that she was here to finish trouble, not to start it. Since her nerves caused her hands to fidget I gave her my fan and told her the trick my mother had taught me for getting through the most tedious of formal events. Smiling and nodding we made our way around the edge of the room.
Sir Cosmo and Miss Chigwidgeon were besieged by well-wishers and the morbidly curious regarding their engagement.
Three conversations of note took place before things got completely out of hand.
Baron Blackhall introduced Count Lukasha Zironovich Orlov to Mr Ramsey and myself. Mr Ramsey was the true target of the attentions but I did not want to leave Mr Ramsey alone with his enemy and so bustled over and inserted myself in their conversations. Blackhall’s aura is as tainted as ever and it was difficult standing next to him and pretending to be pleasant.
In the meantime, a very strange woman, Lady Miranda Derwent, introduced herself to Sir Cosmo and Miss Chigwidgeon. Miss Sinclair and I exchanged looks and she took over with the Baron while I steered the strange lady away from Sir Cosmo and Miss Chigwidgeon. As we were leaving their circle she said something to Miss Chigwidgeon about the ‘First Consort’. It was a very out-of-context statement and it seemed to me that she was implying that she and Miss Chigwidgeon had something in common.
I dragged Lady Derwent off and babbled about opera to her for a time.
Rather earlier in the evening, Lady Ffolks had introduced me to the Marquis de Montmerial de Dragagulan, her escort for the evening (her husband being tied up in investigating Lord Clarendon’s death). It became clear that the Marquis was also an associate of Our Employer.
I broke off my conversation with Lady Derwent and found Miss Sinclair and Miss Emily. It was getting late and I felt a need to check on Edward.
We went out for some air (Mr Frazier trailing Miss Sinclair) and just as we approached our carriages we noted a very tall man disappearing at the end of the street. Edward was fine but Mr Salmalin indicated that the man was known to Edward. We followed in the man’s wake, leaving Otto and the Cuthbert’s driver to guard our carriages. We walked for a few blocks, and found two more animals folded out of paper. Fearing that this was some sort of distraction, we returned Edward and Mr Salmalin to the carriage and went back in.
We were just at the door when Mr Ramsey, pale of face, handed me a note.
Sentenza’s body had been stolen from the St. Jerome Chapterhouse.
A flurry of activity ended with Mr Ramsey and I crowded into the Marquis’s gig and the rest of the League following along behind in the coaches. The Marquis’s horses were very fast, giving me very little time to worry. What time I did have I spent wondering if the thieves had also taken Mrs Goodwin’s spirit ball, really the more dangerous of the two items. If Sentenza’s confederate was making his move we might be facing a dangerous enemy all over again.
Once at the Chapterhouse, I was relived to learn that the spirit ball was secure. Mrs Goodwin had also sent agents to the church to ensure the security of the Sword. The Ghost was still trapped in the brandy flask and the flask secured. It seemed that our primary goal would be to retrieve the, hopefully inanimate, body of Sentenza.
The rest of League arrived quickly and through a combination of Mystical and Physical means we were able to track Sentenza to the neighbourhood of Limehouse. Working with another watcher, Mr Ramsey, Mrs Cuthbert and I were able to determine that the body seemed to be in the basement of the Black Lion Inn. I was very surprised to hear Mr Chigwidgeon’s voice from inside the inn. Miss Chigwidgeon and I ventured in and asked Mr Chigwidgeon to consult with us outside. He said that he had not seen anyone bring a large package in through the main entrance but that there was a delivery entrance in back that accessed the basement independently. He returned to his duties and we made our way around back.
The basement was warded with a lesser ward and, given our experience with Sentenza hiding a greater ward inside a lesser I wanted to take some precautions before entering. While we were trying to decide how best to approach through the cramped dark tunnel leading into the basement (that was looking more and more like a trap, given the relative ease with which we tracked Sentenza’s movements) Mr Salmalin disappeared.
Mrs Cuthbert whipped out her crystal and we soon beheld a frightening scene. Salmalin was confronting seven thuggees on his own. One of them struck and we all rushed in to the rescue. I called up as bright a light as I could and managed to illuminate the corridor and the room in which the battle was taking place. Everyone else was already rushing in, ready for battle. I stayed behind to ensure that the door could not be closed, locking us in and that no further ambush seemed planned. My own anxiety and curiosity got the better of me and I followed down the corridor after the rest of the League.
By the time I arrived a bloody battle was being fought. I had thought to endow Salmalin with a spell to enhance his already formidable abilities but he was already bleeding from a terrible wound to the shoulder. If not for Miss Emily and a truly amazing shot by Mr Cuthbert, Mr Salmalin would be dead.
A thuggee’s head flew bloodily though the air, nearly causing me to lose control of the power I had summoned and the battle was over. One of the thuggees escaped though a hole he punched in the wall. Dr Wilson and the Marquis gave chase.
I used my power to cast a spell that would make tended wounds heal more quickly and then set about helping Mrs Cuthbert with Mr Salmalin and Miss Emily. The seven thuggees were dead. I regret their deaths, but it seemed at the time, that they would go on until they killed Salmalin and the rest of us if we had let them. It is frightening how quickly it happened.
Edward found another room in the basement. It looked to have been cleared out of anything of use to an investigation. But a cabinet full of tools of torture had been left behind. I was not able to make Edward understand the stench of evil that the tools had been left with and it was only when Mr Frazier arrived and declared them evidence that our argument of what to do with them was ended. Edward wanted to salvage them, I wanted to melt them down, preferably there on the spot.
Dr Wilson and the Marquis returned, soaked in a substance that only the most charitable or most desperate would call water. The had fallen into the sewers in their pursuit of the man Salmalin called Master Tandu. The Marquis left us to return home and get a change of clothes. He promised to buy me a new rapier as he had borrowed mine and lost it when he fell in the sewer. Dr Wilson was cleaned off as best we could manage.
While we were waiting for the police, I had what I intended to be a quiet word with Salmalin. However, it seemed that nearly every person in the League managed to interrupt or comment upon our conversation at some point. I’m afraid I was rather sharp with Inspector MacGregor.
I could not make Salmalin understand that my anger stemmed from fear that he could have been killed. Perhaps if I had more direct about my own personal feelings he would have understood why I was so very angry that he had crept off alone into such danger. Ever since our conversation in Sir Cosmo’s basement, when he was an agent of our enemy, I have felt this odd connection to him. I do not understand it myself but I worry greatly that he will get himself killed.
It was an embarrassing conversation and while I felt certain things needed to be said, I perhaps did not pick the best of times to say them.
I will go find Mr Salmalin and apologize for my behaviour. He is a grown man with skills that I can only admire.
I hear Mrs Murphy calling us for breakfast.
I have very little stomach for it this morning.
Proceed to 4. Very perplexed
Return to Miss Whitnell's Diary Index
Contents this page copyright 2001 by Kristin Fontaine. All Rights Reserved.