The Royal Ghost

by Linda Stratmann

  ‘I trust that we may find a better way,’ Mina said, taking his arm. Together they approached the great statue. Hope stood before it, gazing up at the sandstone face, absorbed in his thoughts.

  ‘Is it a good likeness?’ Mina asked.

  He turned to her, startled. ‘Miss Scarletti! Mr Scarletti! What a pleasure to see you both again. Yes, the statue is a fine likeness, so noble and courageous, although nothing; no words, no image, can capture the essential goodness of the man I knew.’

  ‘I can see that you are very drawn to it.’

  He sighed. ‘I am not a son of Brighton as he was, but if I had been then by rights it would be my statue there and Pechell, an ornament to his family and the town, would be standing here in my place, feeling keen sadness at the cruel death of a friend.’

  ‘Why by rights? Surely his death was a chance of war?’

  ‘In a sense it was, as so much is chance, but I am sorry to say that I must bear some of the blame. The day before, being young and foolhardy, I took too many risks, and against all pleading, placed myself in danger and received a leg wound. Had I not done so I could well have been where Pechell was and been killed in his stead while he was on another part of the field. He and all the men with him were torn apart by a fusillade.’ He breathed a deep sigh, and Mina saw tears start in his eyes. ‘This place, yes you are right, I am drawn to it – I can feel Pechell’s spirit demanding that I come here – it is such a powerful focus of energy. Dr Lynn, so I have been told, was here on the very day of the extraordinary encounter, and he too attracts spiritual energy, though he does not know it; indeed, he continues to deny it against all the evidence. Mystic Stefan undoubtedly has psychic abilities, too, and he may prove to be, if anything, a more powerful medium than Dr Lynn. The butterfly illusion you saw is almost unique in that form and elegance to the performances of Dr Lynn but Mystic Stefan does it equally as well. If I could only draw together all the things that brought so much energy into one place at the same moment then we might even divine the secret of what the Misses Bland experienced. I thought it might have been possible when Stefan made his wonderful demonstration, but it was not. Perhaps something is missing?’

  Mina smiled. ‘There was the chess automaton, the Wondrous Ajeeb, but I would not attribute any special powers to what is after all only a child’s plaything built large.’

  Hope stared at her, his jaw dropping as if seeing a vision appear before his eyes. ‘Of course! That is it! The Wondrous Ajeeb! I am so grateful to you, Miss Scarletti. Why did I not think of it!’

  ‘Because it is just a machine, Mr Hope,’ she reminded him gently.

  ‘Oh no, he cannot be. He is surely imbued with the spirit of the great Turk, the one who has gone before but whose outer form has sadly perished. But Ajeeb is no longer here in Brighton, I believe?’

  ‘No, I think he must be back at the Crystal Palace where he continues to exhibit.’

  ‘Then he must return,’ said Hope, clenching his fists with a look of unshakable determination. ‘And we must be prepared for wonderful things.’ He laid his hand on the arm of the statue. ‘Pechell, you are here, I can feel it. And I hope that you can forgive me.’ He turned to Richard with a more benign look. ‘I gather that the Pavilion committee has smoothed the way for your play to be performed?’

  ‘They have,’ said Richard. Realisation dawned. ‘Was that your influence?’

  Hope smiled. ‘Oh one just needs to know whose ear to whisper into. I look forward very much to seeing it. I shall take ten tickets and recommend it to all my friends in Brighton.’

  ‘I owe you my thanks,’ murmured Richard awkwardly.

  ‘You owe me nothing,’ replied Hope. He glanced at Mina. ‘Have you given further thought to my request for a statement? Please say that you have.’

  ‘Now you know we cannot discuss that here. I am under strict orders from Mr Phipps.’

  Hope made a gesture of frustration. ‘I cannot understand why you fail to see a truth that is so very clear to others and has been proved again and again. Is it because you do not want to? I do so hope you are not secretly one of those materialists who believe in nothing at all and can have no comfort in life. They seem to me to be the saddest of creatures. Some of them even deny God; they certainly deny the spirit, the existence of the immortal soul of mankind. What a terrible empty world they must live in! You have said that you go to church and pray, but I cannot help but wonder if that is only a matter of form.’

  ‘I pray often and most earnestly,’ replied Mina. ‘But whatever I might believe in my heart, it will not change the truth, a truth I cannot yet know.’

  ‘And are you not hungry for the truth? Do you not seek it?’

  ‘The truth is the truth whether I seek it or not. I am content to apply my energies such as they are to living this life as best I can.’

  He sighed. ‘That is the difference between us. I know that the truth is out there, in the great wide world we inhabit. I need to seize it, and lead others to it.’ He stared at her, a deep imploring look. ‘I want to lead you to it.’

  ‘But I do not wish to be led. Whatever is there I must see and recognise it for myself, not have it forced on me. But to be blunt with you, the truth that you believe in is one I do not recognise. Miss Eustace and her friends only succeeded in demonstrating to me that the works of spirit mediums are a fraud. Some are merely entertainers, some do bring real comfort to the bereaved, but there are also those who are thieves and must be punished. There may be genuine mediums, but I do not know of any. I have read about the trickery of the Davenport brothers, the supposed flight of Mrs Guppy and the crimes of Mr D.D. Home, and all I have learned supports my original impression. I ask to see the Misses Bland and they are strangely reluctant to see me. What do they have to hide? Are they afraid I will unmask them as cheats? I think they are.’

  ‘Not a bit of it, but you do have a reputation as someone with a profound negative influence on the delicate constitution of spirit mediums.’

  ‘Well that is a very convenient excuse, is it not? The perfect reason to avoid me and thus avoid the danger of exposure.’

  ‘That is not the reason they are unwilling to meet you. They are very private persons, timid even, and do not go about in society. Their new powers they find very disturbing and are afraid for their health if they exert them too much or encounter anyone such as yourself while they are still in the process of development.’

  ‘I think that is nonsense. If they are genuine, and as powerful as you say, they should hardly be afraid of me. They should want to meet me, in order to convince me that they are genuine. This avoidance further convinces me that they are tricksters.’

  Hope frowned thoughtfully. ‘If I could arrange a meeting, would you agree to sign the document regarding Miss Eustace?’

  ‘You know we cannot discuss that here.’

  ‘I only wish I could persuade you to attend a séance conducted by some of the leading practitioners of that art. The Davenports have returned to America, but there are others.’

  ‘Mr Home or Mrs Guppy I suppose?’

  ‘Yes. I have attended their séances, which you have not, and can heartily recommend them both. You would see wonders beyond imagining, and I can promise that you would be received into the fold of believers with great happiness.’

  ‘I would rather not meet Mr Home for fear that he would make an attempt to fleece me of my property.’ Hope opened his mouth to protest but Mina waved him to silence. ‘Do not try to defend him, the Lyon case is a matter of court record. And as for Mrs Guppy —’ Mina was suddenly struck by a new thought. ‘Do you really believe that she can fly through the air and pass through walls?’

  ‘Yes I do! There are many competent witnesses who say she can. Educated men and women of the most impeccable reputation were present at that extraordinary event and have signed affidavits to confirm what they saw. Oh I know the men of the press have greeted the news with insults and ridicule, but they were not there. Had they been, they too w
ould have been convinced.’

  ‘If this lady can really do what she claims, and I for one cannot believe that anyone can fly through walls, but if she and other spiritualists can do this, then why, pray, are men risking their lives going to Africa? Why are they marching through lands infested by flies and deadly disease, facing starvation and wild animals, dangerous rapids and murderous attacks; why are they doing this and suffering and dying? I can see the importance of finding trade routes but it comes at such a price – the lives of brave men. Why do the spirits not take pity on us and send a medium to find the source of the Nile and then come back and tell us where it is? Why do they not find Dr Livingstone and rescue him and bring him home, if he is alive, or carry his body back for burial if he is no more?’

  ‘I do believe you are mocking me,’ said Hope.

  ‘I am afraid that you open yourself to mockery by telling me that you believe a lady, who I understand is of somewhat generous dimensions, can fly through the air and pass through walls without leaving a sizeable hole.’

  ‘Yet you refuse to see her and witness it for yourself.’

  ‘Not at all. But I am a negative influence. More to the point I am not a credulous believer, and it would be known that I was looking for fraud. I would never be admitted, and even if I were, there would be no wonders to behold that day, as my mere presence drains away whatever powers the medium claims to be using. Everyone would be disappointed, and it would all be my fault.’

  Hope sighed and shook his head. ‘I am so sorry that your mind is closed to these wonders. I do wish you would reconsider. Please, allow me at least to send you the paper I wish you to sign. Read it through and let me know if you can oblige.’

  ‘I will receive it only if you send a copy to my solicitor.’

  ‘Very well, I will. And since we may not discuss the issue except before him, then I will with some reluctance ask him to arrange a time when that can take place. Good day.’

  As Hope bowed and walked away Richard stared after him. ‘What a very dangerous man,’ he said.

  As they stood there contemplating the conversation that had passed, a gentleman, very plainly dressed, who had been paying careful attention to the row of busts of the Brighton worthies, noticed that Hope was leaving the Pavilion and discreetly followed him.

  Thirty-Two

  Next day Mina received a note from Mr Ronald Phipps, saying that he had been supplied with a document by Mr Hope and wished to arrange a meeting at his office at a time convenient to all parties. Mina had also received the document that Hope wanted her to sign, and it was everything she feared. It read:

  To whom it may concern

  This is to certify that I, Mina Scarletti, have attended séances conducted by the spirit medium Miss Eustace, and declare that I am convinced of the genuineness of the manifestations and materialisations she has produced in my presence. I also renounce all statements I have made in the past which might suggest that I do not believe that Miss Eustace is wholly genuine and apologise for any distress my words and actions may have caused her.

  My signature is appended below in order to establish the truth of my beliefs and I confirm that I have not been offered any inducement of whatever nature to secure that signature.

  Mina felt she needed to discuss the document with someone who was already conversant with the circumstances, but Richard was absent once more and Dr Hamid and Anna were busy with patients, so Mina took the paper to the one person she would be sure would advise her – Miss Whinstone.

  ‘Oh my dear,’ said that lady, perusing the document, ‘you cannot, must not, sign such a thing.’

  Mina had hoped that the report in the Gazette of Mr Hope’s recent talk on spiritualism would strengthen her case and weaken his but following the previous adverse comment this new review was more muted in tone, and while not actually praising the speaker, neither did it take a contrary point of view. Mr Hope’s address, said the correspondent, had been ‘interesting’ and ‘informative’ and suggested that ‘further study of the subject might be necessary’. Mina felt that a support had been knocked away from under her, and Enid was jubilant.

  She had been giving some thought to her last conversation with Mr Hope in which the Wondrous Ajeeb had been mentioned, and accordingly sent a note to Mr Merridew asking if he would be kind enough to let her know if the great automaton should make a future appearance at the Pavilion. He replied quickly, promising to inform her the instant he had any news, and also, if she was interested, to introduce her to Mr Mott the chess champion, who might be able to provide some fascinating information as to the working of the mechanism.

  Mina arrived at the office of Phipps, Laidlaw and Phipps a few minutes before the time appointed for the meeting and asked if she could be admitted to speak to the young solicitor before Mr Hope was there. She was conducted to Mr Phipps’ faultlessly neat domain, where he was already studying his copy of the document. They took the precaution of comparing his copy with the one in Mina’s possession and established that they were identical.

  ‘I do not trust Mr Hope at all,’ commented Mr Phipps. ‘One must take every precaution.’

  ‘He is not a wicked man,’ said Mina, ‘but he is driven by the need to be correct. I recently encountered him at the Pavilion when I was accompanied by my brother, who was a witness to our conversation, and Mr Hope revealed that he feels some personal guilt concerning the death of Captain Pechell, which may be one of the keys to his obsession. I do not think the guilt is justified as the Captain’s death was a tragedy of war, but Hope clearly thinks that had circumstances been different he and not the Captain would have died that day. His belief in spiritualism is a means of comforting himself, and we can never shake it. But there was one other thing I observed – when Mr Hope left the Pavilion another man who was standing nearby followed him. I wondered if that man was a detective, and if so, whether he had been sent by you.’

  Mr Phipps went slightly pink in the face. ‘It seemed like a wise precaution. For all we know he could be undertaking some unlawful action in the pursuit of his ends, but so far it seems he has not. I know he has met with some members of the Pavilion committee, and he has hired and paid for three apartments, the banqueting room, where we saw the performance by the Mystic Stefan, the chess club room, where he means to exhibit an automaton, and the music room gallery, although I am not sure what that is for.’

  ‘That is on behalf of my brother who means to perform a play there. He did so unasked, and I am sure we understand his purpose.’

  ‘Indeed we do. He is also paying for the Misses Bland to occupy lodgings very near to the Royal Albion Hotel, and he does meet them from time to time, but he is never alone with either. The only thing that I have been able to establish is that he might be conducting an intrigue with another lady. My man has been instructed to discover her identity, as the secrecy of their meetings suggests that she might well be married.’

  Mina did not know what to say without giving away what she knew. ‘Surely you do not intend to drag a lady’s name through the mud in order to attack the character of Mr Hope?’

  ‘That ought not to be necessary, but it could well be a bargaining counter. I am sure he has no wish to be named in an action for divorce.’

  ‘No indeed,’ said Mina, appalled at the effect that this would have on her family.

  Phipps looked at her anxiously. ‘Are you quite well, Miss Scarletti? I hope the journey has not fatigued you.’

  She laid a palm against her forehead. ‘I may have caught a slight chill, that is all.’

  He nodded understandingly. ‘Well we will conduct the meeting as quickly as possible so that you may return home and take care of yourself,’ he said with unexpected gentleness.

  A clerk knocked on the door and announced the arrival of Mr Hope, who was ushered in. He looked annoyed to see Mina already there, and although he did not voice his suspicions that they were plotting against him, it was obvious from his demeanour.

  He sat down, his body t
ense like a lion about to spring, his deep chest thrust forward aggressively. Mr Phipps was not a large man and the presence of Mr Hope made him seem smaller than he was. It was an uncomfortable meeting since Hope and Phipps clearly disliked each other, and each man eyed the other like two contestants about to fight a duel, not actually wanting to meet, but recognising that the safest place to have one’s enemy was where you could actually see him. Phipps looked unusually apprehensive and Mina realised that neither he nor she really knew how low Mr Hope might stoop in the pursuit of his obsession. Mr Hope might be risking his reputation by his own actions, but Mr Phipps could well be suffering from a sense of shame over something – his true parentage – that was in no way his fault.

  ‘I come here,’ began Hope, ‘in a spirit of peace and reconciliation. I wish to be good friends with Miss Scarletti. Few ladies of my acquaintance rank higher in my estimation, few have earned so much of my respect in so short a time. It pains me therefore to find that Miss Scarletti is so opposed in every way to Miss Eustace, who is a lady of exceptional talents, and it is my greatest wish to bring them together in harmony and friendship. I should mention that I am here only on behalf of Miss Eustace and have nothing to do with the gentlemen currently under arrest. She has been most dreadfully led astray by others and cannot be held to account for any doubtful proceedings, for which she is entirely blameless. It is this misunderstanding that has led to Miss Scarletti attributing to Miss Eustace the iniquity of her former associates. My mission is to see that matters are put right.’

  ‘Miss Scarletti, would you like to comment?’ asked Mr Phipps.

  ‘I would. With respect to Miss Eustace’s claims to be a spirit medium and Mr Hope’s request that I sign a statement, I had wondered if it was possible to arrive at a form of words that would satisfy all parties, but now that Mr Hope has presented me with this document I can see that we are very far from that. All the evidence of my senses has proved to me beyond any doubt that Miss Eustace’s supposed mediumship is a fraud. I cannot therefore sign a paper to attest to any other point of view, and neither will I retract any of my past statements on that subject or apologise to Miss Eustace for any of my words or actions. If a paper such as this one should emerge in the future which has my signature on it then I declare it now to be a forgery.’ Mr Hope’s expression was severe. ‘There is one more thing. I am supposed to declare that I have not been offered any inducement. This is untrue. It has been suggested to me by Mr Hope that Miss Eustace intends to accuse Miss Whinstone of committing perjury; a very serious matter. Mr Hope intimated to me in a private conversation that if I would sign a paper sympathetic to Miss Eustace then she would be willing to abandon that defence and propose only that Miss Whinstone had been mistaken and confused.’