2 August 1871, Wednesday

The sun had risen by the time I finally slept. It seemed only minutes before I woke again, as Miss Wilhelmina and I had an appointment at Nile House with Sir Matthew. We managed a small turnout for our regular exercises. Miss Bertilde remained in her room. She is still very upset, poor dear. I have already suggested to Mr Salmalin that he take the earliest opportunity to teach her some of the mental disciplines he possesses in hopes that it will help her guard against such attacks in the future..

Mrs Frazer came over to share a letter she received in the morning post from Miss Metzger. Apparently the good woman was safely delivered of her child and finds her new visitor not so objectionable as we feared. From the tone of the letter, it appears that Kapitan Stahlmacherson is looking in on her regularly. Mrs Frazer commented that she will send her next letter care of that sturdy gentleman as he seems to be infinitely more reliable than the post.

I invited Mrs Frazer along on our outing, once I realized that I had forgotten completely to tell her about it last night in all the bustle created by the mysterious Mr Box and his infernal little notes. I have also asked Miss Bertilde to accompany us. She is, after all, engaged to watch over Wilhelmina and Edward. Beside, half the morning spent sulking in her room is quite enough for one day.

~Tea~

We are taking tea at Nile House. The staff very kindly put a little something together after it became apparent that we would be here for quite some time. Mrs Frazer, Miss Wilhelmina, Miss Bertilde and I arrived on time for our appointment this morning only to find that Inspector MacGreggor and Mr Frazer were already here, responding to a report of assault on Sir Matthew and a further report of theft of antiquities from Sir Matthew’s personal collection of Egyptian artifacts. We were escorted to him by Lance-Corporal Tobias Gregson, nephew of Lieutenant Wooster, nodding acquaintance with my brother James, and newly minted member of the Metropolitan Police.

Inspector MacGreggor very kindly allowed us to stay and do what we could to help further his investigation. Apparently he had sent a note to both Sir Cosmo and Mrs Cuthbert asking for their aid in this matter, so it would not be long before they would be on hand. Mrs Frazer and I checked on Sir Matthew. His staff had done what they could to make him comfortable. I examined him, and while his aura looked strange to me, I could not identify the source of the oddness. Knowing that a more experienced hand was on the way and being as certain in my own mind as one can be in such a situation, I decided to wait upon Mrs Cuthbert before trying any of my own spells or remedies.

Mrs Frazer took a moment to examine the clothes Sir Matthew had been wearing at the time of the attack. They retained a earthy-smoky scent. It reminded me of some of the preparations that Mrs Cuthbert uses in her rituals but I was unable to identify any specific substance. Mrs Frazer had no better luck.

We then retired to the workroom that had been at the heart of the matter. Several objects were obviously missing. These included: a crown, bracelets, and a ‘jeweled glove’ all linked in some way to the ‘Queen of Abydos.’ In addition, an artifact, or more properly a machine was missing. Both the original and a reconstruction had been on the premises. It was the reconstructed model that was taken. Also of great concern, a young assistant to Sir Matthew, Davy Hawkins, no more than 11 years of age, was reported missing by the other staff.

I overheard at least one of the policemen assigned to the house suggesting that young Hawkins must have been in on the crime. Miss Wilhelmina took offence at this suggestion. She and Miss Bertilde went out to the stable block, where young Hawkins had been housed, to see if they could discover anything of interest.

With Inspector MacGreggor’s permission, I began work on reading though the remaining diaries (several had obviously been stolen along with the artifacts) to seek to discover if any other objects had been taken and if there existed drawings or detailed descriptions of the above listed items.

Mrs Frazer went into the kitchen for a cup of tea and to see if she could pick up anything from the staff that they might not feel comfortable sharing with a Police Inspector. Her condition is quite advanced and she is so tiny to begin with that, once she is seated with her feet up, she looks quite harmless.

I did not find anything of particular use before Mrs Cuthbert arrived. I am quite worried about the reconstructed machine that was taken because the original has turbinite rods in it. By my calculations, the amount of turbinite used in the reconstruction would be quite sufficient to make an explosion large enough to level a small city.

I left that particular puzzle to Sir Cosmo, Lady Cowperthwaite, and Miss Wilhelmina and went with Mrs Cuthbert to check on Sir Matthew. She examined him and discovered that he was possessed by many fragmented spirits. We recruited Lady Cowperthwaite and Mr O’Flaherty and set up a proper ritual. After several attempts Mrs Cuthbert was able to find Sir Matthew in the mess of spirits tangling up his soul and escort him back to possession of his own body. With that he awoke and was able to tell us his story. Mrs Cuthbert and I were able to confirm most of it using a history spell a bit later in the day. This, then is what we learned:

Sir Matthew had risen early, as young Hawkins had alerted him that the replica of the machine was complete and ready for testing. They were able to activate their replica and it seemed to resonate with the crown, hand-glove, and bracelets mentioned above. In addition, they had a metal tablet and a scepter that were also attributed to the ‘Queen of Abydos’ that became active once the machine was turned on.

They determined that the scepter had knobs on it that would seem to fit in the machine. Once joined to the machine the artifacts became even more active and Hawkins reported that he felt that the crown was ‘talking’ to him. Sir Matthew decided to put the crown on his own head. Upon doing so, he fell down in a faint.

It was at that point that the ninjas entered the room. Their were six of them and they carried off the articles mentioned above, as well as Hawkins, who was also unconscious at this point. Sir Matthew’s account ended with his faint and the history spell ended as the thieves left the house via a large window in the workroom. We reported all we Saw to Inspector MacGreggor. Now that we know they took Hawkins, Mrs Cuthbert and I will try to locate them using her Talent at Divination.

~Supper~

I have only a few moments to update this record. We have returned from Sir Matthew’s and are taking a quick supper before setting out to try to rescue Davy Hawkins from the ninjas. We would also like to recover the turbinite-powered device and any other artifacts belonging to Sir Matthew. However I know for myself, that young Hawkins is our most important objective.

Mrs Cuthbert was blocked in her attempt to divine Hawkins’s location by her sister Lillian De Vere. How that woman is mixed up in all this I don’t care to guess but it has made Mrs Cuthbert, normally the most genial of souls, quite tight in the lips. If she were a cursing woman, I suspect we would hear a few choice words from her. As it is, we were able to use some books and an obviously treasured chocolate wrapper belonging to Hawkins as the focus for a successful locate spell. We have determined that the boy is being held in the Plumstead Marshes.

Fortunately for us our Lieutenant Wooster is in command of the Rhinoceros at the moment and it has a shallow enough draft that he will be able to take us quite close to our target. Sir Cosmo stopped on the way home to consult with Our Employer and we are to be given access to the Rhinoceros and her commander.

Mr Salmalin has come to fetch me. The others have finished eating and are gathering in the entry hall to be sorted out into carriages for the ride to the docks. We will be picking Commander Wooster up from the Bombards Club on our way to the ship. Mrs Frazer insists on coming with us and there is none that would gainsay her wishes on that matter. In my experience we are much safer when we are all together, than when we let one or more of us go off alone.

Proceed to After I had been shot…

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