Wilhelmina's diary of the sixth session, Death on the Iron Rhine

The Diaries of Wilhelmina Brody

Dear Father,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. We are currently on holiday in France. It has been a eventful trip.

We set off for Belgium on the 16th of July, for a hunting trip. We had hardly been in the country for a day when a Prussian military unit, who was in the country unlawfully mind you, managed to have a power accident. The explosion demolished the Grand Hall of the Knights of St. Mary in Antwerp. Many of the building's neighbors were upset to hear the final report, which concluded that over three hundred pounds of high quality black power and explosive cannon shells were stored in the buildings basement. If it were not for a sudden summer storm the damage to the city would have been much more horrible. Needless to say we quit the city for the peace and quiet of the countryside at the first opportunity.

While sequestered away I worked on an automatic skeet launcher for Lt Wooster while everyone else was orchestrating the hunt. It would have turned out better if I had not been called away at the last minute and Wooster had not taken it upon himself to attempt to finish the project. Deciding to make the most of our stay in Belgium several of us took the opportunity to visit one of Sir Cosmo's colleagues in the rail business. The new engines are most impressive but I saw at least two places where improvements could be made. I took some samples of the new steel alloy they are using, I am hoping that when we return to London I can coax Miss Sinclair into examining it with me. She has a very good grasp of the natural sciences but has a disinclination to work on engineering, chemistry, and metallurgy. While there we arranged for the use of a private train that will take us around the country to the best hunting spots.

Traveling to a small town just north of Metz we were stopped at the border for several hours. While we were off hunting boar, France and Prussia thought that it would be a jolly time to have a war. We changed our itinerary and proceeded to the city of Metz. We found lodgings in the consulate. Mrs Cuthbert was delighted to discover that this was where her Son in law had been posted. We spent several days touring the city, we even managed to take a tour of the citadel. While at the consulate I discovered a large collection of historical maps. While I was not able to make copies of all of them, I did manage to replicate eight of what I believed were the most authoritative. You should find them attached along with current annotated maps of London, Antwerp, and Metz .

It looks from like from here we have to head over to Berlin. Someone remembered Sir Cosmo's Letter of Commission and now that peace has broken out he is being called on by Queen and Country to help negotiate a treaty. We leave in the morning.

Your Loving Daughter
Wilhelmina

Proceed to Scurrying off to someplace else

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