44 June 1870, Saturday
We are back on the boat, headed into London via the Thames. Mrs Cuthbert has ministered to Miss Bertilde, allowing the young woman to get some much needed rest. She does not do very well on boats, apparently.
My clothes were still quite damp this morning as I struggled back into them– quite an awful feeling. However, the household was such a stir when we awoke that it did not occur to me until much later to try one of the spells I had come across in my research. A few moments of concentration and my clothes were much more comfortable. I shall still have them cleaned when I return home, as it is hard to believe that magik does quite as good a job as actual soap.
Mrs Cuthbert and I were in the midst of discussing a pair of very odd dreams we had awoken from, when Mr Salmalin knocked on our door and asked if we were safe. He indicated that he sensed the presence of his old master, the Young Cobb, and was concerned for our safety. The odd thing was that Jerrold Moriarty had appeared in both Mrs Cuthbert’s and my dreams.
I realized then that I had forgotten to ward our rooms in the inn before falling into bed last night. Is it possible the ghost of Moriarty took advantage of this to try to communicate with us? Usually, other than Great Aunt Hethalyn, the dead to not usually seek me out. Maybe it was my proximity to Mrs Cuthbert. I noted down some salient points of my dream earlier this morning and will try for a detailed reconstruction at the end of this entry. However, I did wake with the strongest feeling that Moriarty had asked me to pray for him and to do what I could to prevent his return from the dead. I feel a strange surge of compassion for the man... ghost... what-have-you and prayed for the repose of his soul this morning.
Right now there is not much to do. The boat is small, which makes the job of chaperoning Miss Chigwidgeon simple. That, and she and Sir Cosmo seem to be taking advantage of this interlude to spend some quiet time together– giving me time to update this record.
The odd thing about our dreams was that they seemed to be interconnected with each other. I dreamed of playing croquet with Great-Aunt Hethalyn and could see Miss Chigwidgeon and Sir Cosmo out in a rowboat on a lake. Mrs Cuthbert dreamed of attending Sir Cosmo and Miss Chigwidgeon’s wedding and coming out to see the couple row off in the boat and seeing myself and my companions playing croquet on the lawn. Miss Chigwidgeon dreamed of being in the boat with Sir Cosmo and seeing Mrs Cuthbert and myself upon the grass. Sir Cosmo’s dream was substantially similar to Miss Chigwidgeon’s and all of us dreamed of seeing Edward work on one of his projects along the shore.
Miss Chigwidgeon’s dream had one more disturbing element than the rest of our dreams. She dreamed that Nigel Graham weighed himself down with religious symbols and threw himself into the lake. This portion of the dream caused Mrs Cuthbert and I great concern. The young man has had many shocks of late and has dreamed of his own death at least twice that he has shared with us. I have learned that mystical gifts, can feel like a great burden at times. I have only accepted it as well as I have because I am surrounded daily by all manner of strangeness that makes my new-found talents useful. I do not know what I would do if I were still living at home. I suspect that I would try to hide my strangeness. I should have learned long ago that hiding does more harm than good, but old habits die hard, especially when one is living with the people who instilled them in you.
I fear that Nigel may be tempted to do the unthinkable if too great a conflict manifests between his experiences with the League and his day-to-day life. I do not think that the Watcher training will be enough to cushion the shock should one more thing happen to him.
Dream of 3 June 1870, Friday into Saturday
I dreamed that I was playing croquet with my Great-Aunt Hethalyn. It was my turn. I lined up a shot and hit the ball soundly.
Inspector MacGregor appeared and congratulated me on the shot. My ball had narrowly missed hitting Lady Miranda Derwent in the head. She was in a deep hole digging down in to the dirt. She said something about when she finds It, our game will be over.
Mr Salmalin walked though the game saying that there was more here than met the eye. He then continued on his way.
A small monk appeared and said Nam et ipsa scienta potestas est. I was surprised because it has been so long since I dreamed in another language. The man looked like a Buddhist monk but was really Jerrold Moriarty. When I recognized him he quoted Paradise Lost, saying something about being without respite or reprieve.
Then the most annoying man appeared. He was dressed like and old-fashioned school-master and drew the ire of my Great-Aunt by constantly interrupting the conversation with non-sequiturs about cheese. Finally Great-Aunt Hethalyn took her croquet mallet and shot a ball his direction. He thought it would not hit him and scolded her. She said “Never mess with an old witch,” as the ball bounced off the stake and hit cheese-man in the head. He popped like a soap bubble and disappeared.
While Moriarty was talking to Great-Aunt Hethalyn, Inspector MacGregor, and I (and cheese-man was interrupting) Lady Miranda complained that he (Moriarty) was not supposed to be helping us. He said very clearly that if she wanted to help him she should pray for him and not follow him.
Moriarty said several things by quoting, or almost quoting Marlow. The two that I remember are: “Our swords shall play the orators for us.” And “See, see where Kali’s blood streams in the firmament! One drop would save their souls– nay half a drop!” Though I had to refer to the house library copies of Faust and Tamburlaine the Great to reconstruct the quotes. I remember quite clearly that he replaced Christ with Kali in the latter quote.
While we were discussing our dreams, it became clear that Moriarty had tried to give us all similar information about swords and the blood of Kali. Salmalin broke his usual silence to share that, while in Jerrold Moriarty’s service, he had seen his then-master’s two ritual daggers. Mrs Cuthbert recognized Salmalin’s description as the daggers from the dream she had where Lady Miranda sacrificed members the League and raised Moriarty from the dead. It was becoming clear that we needed to find those daggers before Lady Miranda. George then shared that he had been given two packages to deliver after Jerrold Moriarty’s death. They were about the right size and weight to be the daggers. George was charged to deliver the packages to two different addresses, unfortunately, he does know the addresses of either of them. He did say that he could lead us to one of the delivery locations– the other was “General Delivery.”
Based on this information, slim as it is, Mrs Cuthbert and I are determined to find the daggers and dispose of them before Lady Miranda or her allies can take possession of them. When we return home, I shall contact Mr Ramsey and we will begin our search. In the meantime, I will make use of this time on the boat to research a spell that can hide our search from other magik users. I do not want to tip our hand before we have the daggers under our control.
Edward did share something of his own dream that reinforces my idea that Moriarty is in some way looking for redemption. He said that Moriarty told Wilhelmina that he used to believe that ignorance was the only sin and that he was wrong. He then warned Wilhelmina not to follow in his footsteps. I hope that Wilhelmina listens to him and Edward too for that matter.
Salmalin has just come over to ask if I would like to participate in today’s lessons. Miss Bertilde is still asleep but Salmalin would like to hold class none-the-less. Some activity would be good after this morning’s strange awakening.
~Later~
We arrived home to find great piles of mail awaiting us.
I had a letter from my mother, bless her. My father’s chemistry set and a few other items I had requested are on there way to me. Her letter seems to have arrived in advance of them, so I was able to alert Graves to expect a shipment for me. My mother also had some sound advice for Miss Namaste in regards to the difficulties that she and Sir Cosmo may face as their relationship moves forward.
I was not quite shocked to learn that mother came down so firmly on our side. She was surprisingly sympathetic to my concerns that my status as a divorcee might further prejudice people against the match. I shared the letter with Miss Chigwidgeon right away as the suggestions in it greatly concurred with her own thoughts about how to handle her situation. I was especially appreciative that my mother had included the information that badly mannered people would receive correction from other family members. Miss Chigwidgeon can perhaps take comfort in knowing that punishment will be meted out behind the scenes in some cases.
In my pile of letters was a note from Miss Pinker thanking me for suggesting that Sir Cosmo might be in need of a private secretary. She has consulted with Lord Greyminster regarding a suitable candidate. I checked in with Graves to find that all was well in hand and the man recommended is scheduled to come for an interview soon.
On the ride home Mrs Cuthbert, Miss Chigwidgeon, and I had devised a plan to deal with some of our concerns about Nigel. We shall draft Mr Caine to deal with some of the more worldly elements of Nigel’s recent experience and Mrs Cuthbert and I shall endeavor to provide support of a more spiritual nature. Miss Chigwidgeon will stay out of matters as much as is possible. To that end, I sent a note off to Mr Caine asking him to come as quickly as possible on a personal errand as soon as his situation permits.
Graves informed me that Mr Ramsey had been by both yesterday evening and this morning and wondered when we would return. I sent note off to him, indicating that we were back and in need of his assistance.
Lunch has just been called. Before I go down I must make note of a rather strange letter that came to me today. It was from Mr William Weasley and the Office of the Lord High Warlock, Department of Thaumaturgical Prosecution. He wants to make an appointment to see me regarding ‘illicit activities’ that I have witnessed.
I sent a note back immediately, indicating that I had returned home and would be glad to be of assistance. I hope I will be, I have never heard of such a department before, and it gave me rather a start. I do not know how quickly I shall hear back from Mr Weasley.
~Late Afternoon~
Well, we have missed our tea. We had a, instead, a trip into the Southwork neighborhood.
Two of our companions from our adventure at sea showed up just after lunch. Lieutenant Lord Robert Lochsley and Lieutenant Pellew came with the news that our Lieutenant Wooster had been released from jail into the arms of his sister, Mrs Gregson. Apparently Lieutenant Wooster’s grandfather is very ill and he is, therefor, swept up in family responsibilities. Lieutenant Pellew brought a gift for Edward, a very lovely book, one the Lieutenant had enjoyed as a child. He said (according to Ruth) that it was the book that spurred his interest in maps and navigation.
I did not find any of this out until later as Mr Ramsey arrived with very disturbing news. Mr Graham had sent a note to Mr Ramsey at the library saying that he was following the albino assassin. Mrs Cuthbert and I put on hold any plans to search for the daggers and concentrated on locating Nigel instead. We were very lucky, in that, Mr Chigwidgeon walked by the pub that Nigel was waiting in while Mrs Cuthbert was scrying the area. She could see very little when she focused on Nigel but when she changed and focused on Mr Chigwidgeon we were able to identify the area of town he was lurking in.
An expedition was organized. Sir Cosmo suggested that we use this opportunity to forge an alliance with Proctor Xanthus (the ‘albino assassin’) if we could meet up with him. Given that Xanthus has tried to murder Sir Cosmo in the past, I did not think this was a very good idea. Fortunately, Inspector MacGregor showed up about the time we were trying to get ourselves organized and gave us some valuable information about an unexpected alliance between the Billingham and Malloy families. We are going to pursue that option rather than deal with the dangerous Mr Xanthus.
The Inspector’s information revealed that Wilhelmina’s mother was living at the house of one Bertie ‘Peanut’ Malloy, much to his Aunt’s disgust. Add to that the fact that the two senior women of the Malloy and Billingham families take tea together regularly and support the relationship of Charlie Billingham (currently being framed by Claude Moriarty) and Charlotte Malloy (daughter of Peanut) we may have found allies in both camps who can help us derail some of the plans of our enemies. We hope tomorrow, to find a way to remove Wilhelmina’s mother from the care of the Malloys and into a safer place, secure from the machinations of Lady Miranda and her cohort.
However, before that could happen, we needed to track down Nigel. Eventually we all ended up going along, including the Marquis and the two Lieutenants. Somehow the Marquis was paired up with Lieutenant Pellew in the Marquis fast gig and they ended up getting down to Southwork before us. However, they had the least information about what we were looking for, and so, ended up just hanging around looking for anyone who might make trouble for us.
Before we left the Marquis presented me with a beautiful replacement for the fencing sword that he had lost in the sewers when we confronted Master Tandu and his men. My old sword was a gift from my parents but was in no way comparable to the one that the Marquis gave me. Mr Ramsey says he must have gotten it at one of the shops the Watcher’s frequent as it has silver inlay along the cold-forged Toledo steel blade, a holly wood grip, a holy water vial in the hilt blade, and the entire thing has been blessed. A very practical weapon for my new line of work. I must remember to write him a thank you note. I in no way expected anything so beautiful or practical when I asked that he replace my lost blade.
After all that, the retrieval of Nigel went very smoothly. In addition, Miss Chigwidgeon got to meet the half-brother that she only just learned of last week. Fong Chigwidgeon is a performer in a Burlesque Review (just across the street from the pub where we found Nigel). The astonishing thing for Miss Chigwidgeon, was not where he works, but that the two of them, even with different mothers, and genders, look almost exactly alike. How odd to have a half-brother that looks more like an identical twin.
Once home, Mrs Cuthbert, Mr Ramsey and I all had private conversations with Nigel. In addition to taking time share a little bit about the difficulties with discovering our odd gifts late in life we learned that Nigel had not followed Mr Xanthus to the Southwork area, he had a dreamt that Xanthus would be there. He thought that if he got there in advance of the time in his dream he would be able to learn more about what Xanthus was up to. This was very thoughtful, and at the same time, very foolhardy of him. At least he had the good sense to inform Mr Ramsey as to what he was up to.
The League discussed the option of returning to Southwork later this evening. Edward asked to be allowed to go meet with some of his street friends and see if he might be able to enlist their aid in tracking all of our advisaries. Between Claude Moriarty, Baron Blackhall, Lady Derwent, Lord Robert St. Simon, Master Tandu, and Proctor Xanthus it has become quite difficult to keep track of all the activities against us. I agreed in part because Edward agreed to let Miss Bertilde and George act as his bodyguards, I know that if we had refused permission, he would have found a way to slip out of the house alone and unprotected. I was still very anxious about the matter, until I happened to notice Lieutenant Pellew slip out and follow Edward. I believe the Lieutenant has a much better chance of blending in and not being associated with Edward or our household may be able to provide effective back up. That, and he seems to have developed a rapport with Edward that few adults manage.
Mrs Cuthbert has come in to tell me that our room is prepared for the spells we plan to cast in search of the ritual daggers that belonged to Jerrold Moriarty.
~Late Evening~
Things quickly spiraled out of control, after my last entry in this book, as they often do when the League is involved in something.
When Mr Ramsey, Mrs Cuthbert, and I finished our work we had a general location for both items. If things went as planned, we hid our activities from our enemies. We do not want to give Lady Derwent or any of her allies additional help in finding the daggers if we can help it. Once we had plotted the two areas for further search, we went downstairs to consult with Sir Cosmo. Our plan was to take one of the carriages and move our search closer to the location of one of the daggers to allow us to more accurately pinpoint its location.
Upon consulting with Sir Cosmo, it was decided that the entire League would go. It turned out that Edward with Miss Bertilde and George as bodyguards, and Inspector MacGregor were already down in the area we intended to Search. That being so, and with Nigel’s vision that Xanthus would be putting in a appearance in the same location, we felt that our associates might be walking in to more than they could handle. We divided up in carriages as before. Lieutenant Lochsley rode with the Marquis in his gig. What speed it has! I have only ridden in once, the night we retrieved Sentenza’s body from the thugees, and I was impressed.
Upon arriving at area of the Burlesque club we found a commotion of constables. Inspector MacGregor was overseeing the clean-up of a nearby roof-top. He was talking with Lieutenant Pellew. The story they gave me at the time was that Pellew had seen a gang of thugs set up some innocents and had taken it into his head to even the score. During the fray the children escaped leaving the Lieutenant to finish the job. The constables apparently believed this because Pellew is some sort of boxing champion out of Oxford and the Navy.
What Inspector MacGregor told me when we finally got back to the house, was that Miss Bertilde and George had been attacked by thugees in the employ of Claude Moriarty. Claude himself had taken the time to talk to Edward and try to lure him away from the League. There was little chance of that as Edward has already expressed his opinion of Claude and it was not a favorable one. Or as Miss Sinclair says: sometimes a Claude is just a Clod.
Edward made to escape but Claude blocked him, it was at this point that the Lieutenant entered the fray. As a result of the battle, Edward learned that Claude was not his father. Claude and the Lieutenant aren’t even related. Between the four of them, Miss Bertilde, George, Edward and Lieutenant Pellew, managed to stop the fourteen thugees and Claude. Which gives more credence to Pellew’s claim to Edward’s paternity. That and the Lieutenant is obviously so much more intelligent than Claude.
I saw Claude being bundled into an aid wagon as we arrived and suggested to the Inspector that Mrs Cuthbert might be able to ensure that he would live to be questioned. The rest of the League hung back upon our arrival, allowing Edward, Miss Bertilde, and George to rejoin us (and with a little quick action by Ruth’s handkerchief) appear as if they had been with us all along. It was the Inspector’s idea to keep Edward, George, and Emily out of the official police recording of the incident.
Mrs Cuthbert consented to treating Claude, whose real last name is Smith. After she completed that task, we three retired to our carriage to further pin-point the location of the Kali dagger in this neighborhood. By the time we had finished, we had narrowed the area we needed to search to a city block.
In the meantime Sir Cosmo, Lieutenant Lochsley, Dr Wilson, Mr Cuthbert, Miss Chigwidgeon, Miss Sinclair and Mr Graham went into the Burlesque where Mr Fong Chigwidgeon works as an entertainer. This was over Miss Sinclair’s protests. However, I needed to work with Mrs Cuthbert and Mr Ramsey on finding the dagger and someone needed to chaperone Miss Chigwidgeon. At times it feels like our household is filled with women all stepping on each others skirts, however, at times like this it feels like there are far too few of us to get our work done and still meet the demands of propriety. And while it is not really proper to let a young woman of Miss Chigwidgeon’s soon-to-be status enter a burlesque at any time our work sends us to the strangest places. That and her brother works there.
Speaking as one of those whose reputations is already damaged in the eyes of society (through no fault of my own I might add), I would encourage her to maintain and discover her family connections. If not for my family and very close friends my return to England as a divorced woman would have been much more difficult that it was. As it was, I did appreciate the efforts my mother made on my behalf while I was living at home. Now that I am a few hundred miles away it is easier to see the strain my situation may have placed on her.
I can see Miss Sinclair’s point however, if either of us were to loose our positions in Sir Cosmo’s household and the League we would be in difficulty. Tattvick and I would probably be forced to return home and, while mother and I get along just fine by correspondence, living with her and John and Emily without father as a buffer between us would quickly become unbearable.
Ruth’s position also difficult as our current mode of life has unfitted her for the tamer waters of squabbling siblings and other Trials of the Governess. Neither of us is wealthy enough to be allowed to pursue our eccentricities without the support of someone like Sir Cosmo. I wonder if the Order of St. Jerome pays it operatives? That might be an option if the unexpected happens. Of course, I also have Aunt Hethalyn’s cottage, should I decide to try to live on my own. I wonder if someday I will be strange Great-Aunt Victoria to one of my siblings grand-children?
I see that I have gotten seriously off track from recording the events of this evening.
Once our work was completed, Mr Ramsey, Mrs Cuthbert, and I joined the rest of the League in a box on the upper level of the theater and were in a position to see the arrival of a Mr Grey. He took a box one level down and to the left of our own. Mr Ramsey pointed him out to me and said that he is Mr Dorian Grey and he has a file in the Watcher records. Apparently he doesn’t age like the rest of us. He had a very strange aura but I soon distracted by other things.
The first distraction came when Mr Fong Chigwidgeon came on stage in his persona as Princess Quan Lee. He had a lovely singing voice, but I did not get to hear much of it as Nigel fled the box and Miss Chigwidgeon and I plowed after him. Fortunately, he stopped just outside of our box. It seems that no one had thought to tell him that Mr Chigwidgeon would be preforming or that Mr Chigwidgeon bears such a striking resemblance to Miss Chigwidgeon. He had nearly choked on his wine when he saw the performer on stage. Miss Chigwidgeon resumed her seat and I kept an eye on Nigel until he was ready to return to his seat.
Not long after we were all settled back in to our seats, Mr Ramsey discreetly pointed out a trio of men who had entered the theater and taken seats on the main floor. The men were unmistakably Undead and further, Mr Ramsey said that they were vampires.
As I studied the trio more carefully I realized with shock that I recognized the men. Ruth and I turned to each other at nearly the same moment with the same name on our lips. Peter Sinclair! The men at the table were the ones I had seen in my vision when I cast the History spell on Ruth’s letter from her unscrupulous cousin. Startled as we were to see them there, Ruth did not seem surprised at her cousin’s conversion to a vampire.
While we were talking, Mr Cuthbert asked what would happen if we put holy water in their drinks. I am normally so cautious and careful that it is hard to believe what I did next. Mr Cuthbert and I took my vial of holy water downstairs to the bar, and, determining that the three vampires had ordered drinks, we paid for them and slipped the water in before the wine was delivered to the table. We watched covertly as the men drank the wine. Peter started smoking and caught fire while his two companions suffered no obvious ill effects. Of course neither of them drank their first glass down in one swallow as Peter did so that might account for the difference in effect.
The owner of the Burlesque, Mitzi, leapt up on stage and exerted the full force of his half-fey heritage causing nearly every eye on the place to fix upon the stage, rather than on the flaming men. It was with great difficulty that I dragged Mr Cuthbert away from the bar and into the night air. There was enough of a crowd gathered that I did not feel too obvious in watching what happened next. The two non-flaming vampires dragged Peter to largish puddle in the middle of the road, threw him into the water and jumped up and down on him as if he were a rug. Once his flames were extinguished, the dark-haired vampire took hold of the red-head and Peter’s body and suddenly all three of them vanished, replaced by a flock of bats. Mr Cuthbert and I went back inside.
We rejoined the League in the box and Miss Sinclair informed me that Miss Mitzi had words with the three vampires as Mr Cuthbert and I were making our way downstairs. Apparently Mitzi had recognized them for what they were and told them that they were not to be feeding off of his staff and customers.
I had seen Mitzi earlier in the evening, acting as the MC of the stage-show. He is a very close likeness to Admiral LeCoq, who we met in our adventure in the labyrinth of Kor. Mr Ramsey says that the two of them are related, and there is a third half-brother out there somewhere as well. Mr Ramsey told me later that he had spoken with Mitzi briefly as we were all leaving the Burlesque. He was apparently amused by what happened to the vampires but assumed that Mr Ramsey, as a Watcher, was behind it.
After all that, the arrival of Mr Xanthus came as a bit of a surprise. I, for one, had been rather distracted by the vampires and had completely forgotten about Nigel’s vision. Mr Xanthus made his way though the crowd. We lost sight of him for a bit and when he reappeared it was in Mr Grey’s box. Miss Sinclair, by dint of her extra-ordinary hearing, was able to hear part of their conversation. When Mr Xanthus rose to leave he left a small box behind on the small table next to Mr Grey’s chair. Miss Sinclair saw Mr Grey pocket the box and heard them say something about a pleasure doing business, or some-such. Mr Ramsey is going to do a bit more research on Mr Grey in the Watcher’s files.
When Mr Xanthus left the box, we lost his trail. The building we were in is interconnected with several others and so Xanthus was able to leave by a different way than he had come. The League made our way out at that point and Mrs Cuthbert, Mr Ramsey, and I were thinking about trying to cast a few more spells to pinpoint the location of one of the ritual knives. We tried to be circumspect but I am terrible about keeping track of who is near us. Lieutenant Pellew overheard our conversation and confided that Mr Jerrold Moriarty had sent him one of the knives after his death. The lieutenant has lodgings not far from here where he keeps the knife. He suggested that he go to his flat and ensure that the knife was secure. He said he would meet us back at Sir Cosmo’s house.
We have since returned home and are waiting for the Lieutenant to return. Mrs Cuthbert tried to get Lieutenant Lochsley to take her out on the town before returning home. He took the hint from the group that it might be unnecessarily risky but framed the refusal as a wish to protect her reputation. She was disappointed, while I was relived. There are at least two very annoyed vampires out there and many hours before dawn.
At our insistence, Nigel is staying here tonight. It is too late to get him home safely. Sir Cosmo, Miss Chigwidgeon and I were discussing how best to protect Mr Graham now that he has been associated with our League. Sir Cosmo suggested that Dr Wilson may be in need of a private secretary, as his fan mail has been increasing. If so, it would be a way for Mr Graham to earn his keep while remaining under our protection. Also, he could aid us in our inquiries, his visions have proven to be very accurate so far and I sincerely hope we can thwart the one that showed him as a victim of the vampires. We just do not know if he would be willing to stay in the same house as Miss Chigwidgeon, though in just a few days Mr and Mrs Cuthbert’s house will be opening and we may be able to place him there for his comfort.
Emily stayed out with Edward and George to finish coordinating with the people that Edward hopes will help us keep track of our adversaries. They should be home soon.
I will mediate on my dream of last night and see if Great-Aunt Hethalyn can give me any guidance as to its meaning.
Proceed to 6. An unending whirlwind
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