The Richard Jackson Saga: Book 13 : Regicide

by Ed Nelson

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “It is the way of the world.”

  I hadn’t stopped walking as we talked. I was just about past his position when he was gone. Not got up and left but was just gone. I looked around and found no one.

  When I asked back at the castle, I was told that it must have been John Brown. His ghost had been seen more frequently in the last decade. It was felt that he was about to give up on Queen Victoria coming back to him.

  If that were true it would confirm a lot of rumors that had been spread about. As I was leaving the lobby where I had asked the question, I saw two of the younger footmen elbowing each other as though they had played the greatest joke of all time. Maybe they had.

  I went back to the book on Scottish farming, at least it keeps me out of trouble. It did as I fell asleep with it open in my lap. I had to be woken to change for dinner.

  As Harold assisted with my coat, he informed me that there was to be a ball at the castle Saturday week. If Mum hadn’t used phrases like that, I wouldn’t have known he meant a week from Saturday.

  Several other guests were staying at the castle. I think they were all poor relatives that were living on the Queen's charity. When I came into the reception room where we gathered for dinner, two men and three women were chortling at a joke that had been pulled early today on that Yank upstart.

  They became quiet when I walked in.

  Now I wonder who and what they could be talking about?

  Chapter 31

  I decided what was good for the goose was good for the gander. I was banking on the fact that the older generation revered the memory of Queen Victoria and wouldn’t want anything to sully her memory.

  “I had the most interesting afternoon in the garden. I talked to the ghost of John Brown. For being dead he is talkative. He told me how he and the Queen were lovers and he missed her so.

  Now the pranksters said nothing of the sort. If the dinner crowd denied he said that they would be giving the game away, so they kept mum. One gentleman harrumphed and stated that Brown had to be lying.

  “Why would a ghost lie?”

  Now here is where the fun starts.

  “I’m going to tell the American press what he said, I’m sorry that will blacken her reputation, but the public must know the truth.”

  Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

  One of the ladies was the first to crack, “Reggie tells him the truth.”

  “What truth is that,” I asked.

  “It’s a prank we play on all newcomers that walk in the garden. The footmen are in on it. When a new person goes out there, I dress up as John Brown. I put on a false beard and all the other kit.”

  “It is hard to see, but the way one tree grows in front of another you can ‘disappear’ by stepping aside. I never said anything about Brown being the Queen's lover.”

  “I know it, I just wanted to smoke you out. I would never talk to the American press unless forced. Much less degrade Queen Victoria. You really shouldn’t still be laughing when your victim comes into the room.”

  “Now let me tell you some real ghost stories.”

  I proceeded to regale the dinner table about my visit to New Orleans on that publicity tour.

  May-ling and her mother were sitting there open-mouthed. They couldn’t believe that Americans would let the spirits and the ghosts wander about. What was the priest doing?

  China is China.

  The next day I spent a lot of time with the huntsman, who was an expert at unarmed combat. He knew his stuff. I was younger and quicker but experience and muscle memory count. He mopped the floor with me time after time.

  Our bodies were glistening with sweat. The young ladies of the castle gathered around. At one point my opponent had something to say to me. As he had me pinned once more, he whispered.

  “You’re a sneaky sod aren’t you. This isn’t about training at all. This is to attract the birds.”

  “And a pretty lot they are.”

  My plan worked.

  The next morning, with a smile on my face I went to the archery range and worked for several hours. After that, it was the firearms turn. I was improving. Nowhere near May-ling’s level, but I wasn’t in competition with her. Was I? Where did that thought come from?

  As I was cleaning the .45 pistol I had been firing, I heard a familiar clanging and banging. Someone was using swords. Well, two people.

  I hadn’t noticed it before because it was surrounded by hedges but there was a squared-off area where two people were going at it with Claymores. Those are those great two-handed swords the old Scots used.

  I had to watch those guys go at it. I’m classed as being excellent with one-handed swords, only fair with two-handed. These guys were fantastic.

  I declined a chance to take on the winner. Who wants to get beaten by a six-foot-long iron bar?

  I told them I would love some single-handed exercise. They replied that was for southerners. I had to think that through. They meant Englishmen.

  That’s how I spent my days at Balmoral, other than dialing back my running to my normal five miles. In the middle of the week, one of the Gillies asked me if I wanted to go on a hunt.

  I thought that would be interesting, so I agreed. It was a hunt for a particular Stag. The herd needed thinning so they wouldn’t starve over the winter. This Stag was getting up there in years and there was a younger one that had replaced him as the leader of the herd.

  We got up in the middle of the night to be in position above a pond which the Stag was known to frequent. I was loaned a Lee-Enfield rifle that shot a .303 round. As the British army had phased them out in 1957 there were plenty of these floating around.

  I was covered by the estate management hunting license, so all was good.

  We laid in wait for almost an hour when this magnificent beast came to drink. I had been told that they went up to five hundred pounds. This one was every ounce of that. It had a breathtaking antler crown.

  The Gillie nudged me to take the shot. I couldn’t do it. I could kill people in battle. I couldn’t execute this wonderful creature.

  When the hunter realized, I wasn’t going to shoot, he did. To him, it was culling the herd for their betterment, just a job.

  After we field-dressed the deer he asked me how many men I had killed. He knew some of the things that I had done. I told him that I had lost track.

  He shook his head at this, silly American being sentimental over a deer while being able to kill men.

  I’m sure that he would enjoy telling the story over a glass of whisky.

  Speaking of whisky, I had a tour of the whisky distillery. The Royal Lochnagar Distillery is only a mile from the castle. I’m not a whisky drinker but the sample I tried was smooth as silk. That is until I took too large of a sip, and it burned like fire, all the way down.

  Harold was in a tizzy, from hunting in the morning until the ball tonight I would wear five different changes of clothes. I would shower between every change, so it seemed like all I was doing was changing.

  First off was the hunting outfit. Then jeans and a pullover for breakfast. We were able to get away with this as the guests hadn’t started to arrive yet.

  Lunch was more formal with a sports coat and tie. This must have been to impress the early arrivals as we normally stayed in jeans and pullovers for most of the day.

  After lunch, it was back to jeans and pullovers until time to dress for dinner and the ball. This was to be a holiday, but I found out that my afternoon was to be a series of meetings with British industrialists that wanted a piece of the Jackson pie.

  All I could do was take notes on each proposal, ask them to send a more formal presentation to Jim Williamson at our head office in the states. This whole exercise was futile. Why would I be interested in a company that made sweets for poppers?

  Saturday was the day of the Royal ball. That meant Queen Elizabeth was its official sponsor. Being it was at her house that seemed appropriate.


  I thought there might be a few local couples, the upper crust if you will. There were gobs of people most come up from London.

  There was a security screen set up five miles out from the castle. You had to have a written invitation to the Ball to get any closer.

  Vehicles were parked in a barnyard about a mile from the house and a bus sat waiting to take the attendees to the Castle.

  Guests would be staying overnight in one of the fifty-two bedrooms. Upon arrival, they would be escorted to their room by one of the many staff. Tonight, there would be one hundred staff on duty.

  Normally there was fifty or sixty full-time. The extras were part-timers from the estate. You would think the guests were moving in from the sizes and numbers of suitcases they had with them.

  I hope the staff had workmen's comp for their backs. I made the mistake of being in the lobby when one group arrived. The eldest son of the family summoned me over, I went thinking he knew me or something.

  “Boy, take these to our room, it is room forty-two on the second floor.”

  You would think he would realize that I wasn’t in uniform. All the footmen seemed to be very busy at the moment, so I grabbed two bags. I was told to be gentle with them. I have no idea who he was but that was a bit too much. I dropped the bags with a resounding thud.

  “I say, I will have your job for that.”

  His parents turned at the commotion. Father knew who I was. He rushed over and started to apologize.

  “You don’t owe me an apology, Sir, you weren’t the rude one.”

  He turned to his son and told him to apologize to My Grace, the Duke of Hong Kong. It was a still and quiet moment in the lobby, well except for the peals of May-ling’s laughter.

  Chapter 32

  I had a thought some weeks ago and had acted on it. The Chinese Empire was new, so it had little in the way of traditions. This included clothing and crown jewels. When compared to the richest of the British Crown, they had nothing.

  When I visited General Booth in London, I had made a stop at the House of Garrard to place an order for two pieces. They were to design a tiara for May-ling and a crown for Empress Ping.

  They had designed the pieces and sent me drawings. With the contrivance of the serving staff at the Forbidden City, I was able to ascertain their hat sizes. I thought it was a hoot that they came with lifetime repair warranties. Not the lady’s lifetime but the lifetime of the Chinese Empire.

  The cost was north of ten million dollars, but I thought it was well worth it. Why did I do it? I’m not certain, it just seemed like the thing to do at the time. It was not as though money seemed real to me anymore.

  I’m just glad I haven’t ended up like Tommy Manville or the way Howard Hughes was heading. They were disasters, though at least Hughes had accomplished things in his life.

  On the day of the Ball, an armored car with a police escort came to Balmoral. It was accompanied by a representative from the House of Garrard to ensure the tiara fit correctly.

  The Royal Crown wasn’t ready yet and would be shipped directly to China. Were there armored airplanes for delivery?

  I had told Empress Ping what I was doing. If I gave the tiara directly to May-ling without the Empress knowing all sorts of things could be misconstrued. I made certain that it was understood these were part of the Royal Crown Jewel collection and owned by the empire, not the family.

  She thought that was wise. When she asked me why I was doing this, I told her it would be tacky to give my class ring to May-ling to show we were going steady.

  “Are you, going steady with May-ling that is?”

  “No, she has made it clear that she will be marrying for China so her husband will be a rich powerful Chinese.”

  “I’m glad she has her head on straight and not confused by this romantic nonsense you westerners believe in.”

  “So, I wander the earth looking for my true love.”

  “That’s what I mean Rick, have your parents find a suitable girl for you. You are still young, but it is time to start looking.”

  I shuddered to think what sort of woman my Mum would pick.

  Before we hung up, she asked me if I still carried my Chinese passport. I told her it was always in my case with my American, British, and British Diplomatic ones.

  “Oh, we need to get you a Chinese Diplomatic one. It will make things easier when you come into the country as a Chinaman.

  The Ball was unusual at least to me. There was no purpose to it rather than a bunch of people getting together for a good time. Mum’s Charity Balls required you to bring your checkbook.

  At least I knew that I would be escorting May-ling tonight, I didn’t have to worry about it being some psycho like that one in California.

  I would be wearing my Coldstream Guards dress uniform tonight with all the real ribbons and sash with knightly orders. In other words, in full fig.

  Harold was hovering over me all afternoon making certain all was correct. He had even arranged for a barber to come to my room to give me a haircut and a shave. He had mentioned a manicurist, but I put my foot down at that. I don’t know if I should be insulted or not, but he did check my fingernails to make certain they were clean.

  I couldn’t say too much as I hadn’t got all the dirt out from under them from picking up and pulling arrows out of targets from my morning session on the archery range. Maybe I should have had a manicure. Who needs a man card anyway?

  I went to May-ling’s room with the present in hand. The tiara was in a fine leather tooled box. The leather was deep red, it had the five-toed dragon embossed in gold on the lid. The hinges looked like they were made of real gold. And that was just the box!

  The lady from Garrards was with me. I had tipped off the Dowager Ann of what was going on so she wouldn’t be surprised. For some reason, I was as nervous as I was when I went to my first prom.

  This wasn’t like a date or anything. Heck, she was nice to me but that was it. She had made it clear that I had no chance with her.

  May-ling looked up in surprise when I walked into the room followed by Phyllis Jones from Garrand’s. She hadn’t started to change yet as it was too early.

  I didn’t mess around.

  “May-ling, here is a present to the Chinese Throne.”

  I then handed her the box. Not very dramatic or romantic whatever you want to call it, but I just wanted it over and done.

  Not knowing what to expect she opened the box. Her gasp was all I needed. It was a success. Inside the box was the tiara. The platinum wired frame held over two thousand diamonds with a two hundred carat diamond at the center.

  The large stone didn’t rival the ones in the British Crown Jewels but was the largest fine stone on the market at the time.

  The lady from Garrand’s helped her put it on for the first fitting. The platinum could be twisted some to give a better fit. I thought the experts could do that. I would hate to break it on its first day.

  I explained that they weren’t her personal property but that of the Chinese Throne and its heirs. She didn’t have to worry that it was something serious like my class ring.

  She gave me a funny look at that, I understood, it was a dumb thing to say. I went on to explain that I had also commissioned a crown for the Empress and that when it was completed it would be sent directly to her. The Empress was aware of everything.

  “And she approved you presenting this to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I know you are wealthy, but this is incredible, I don’t think until now I knew how wealthy. It is a shame you aren’t Chinese.

  Suddenly I felt very uncomfortable.

  “It is, isn’t it.”

  I left the room to start dressing for the evening. I remembered the conversation with the Empress about my passports.

  Considering I could put on a shirt and pants in five minutes or less it took forever to get dressed. Harold fussed and fretted about the hang of my uniform. In one case undoing a seam in my shirt and resewing i
t so it hung better.

  I must say the hour and forty-five minutes it took to get dressed were worth it. I had never looked better, dressed that is.

  Hat under my arm I marched to the Crown Princess’s suite. You don’t walk in a uniform like this, you march.

  The Crown Princess was ready. She was stunning in the dark blue empire waist dress with her hair hanging down in ringlets by her ears. It was done high in the back. This arrangement highlighted the tiara for the whole world to see and admire.

  She wore high heels which brought the top of her head even with my chin. Her necklace was made up of diamonds of the first water. I didn’t know it but when I informed the Empress what I was doing she commissioned a matching necklace for the tiara.

  Not only was she the Crown Princess, but she also looked like a Crown Princess should.

  Official photographers were taking our pictures as we gathered at the head of the stairs which descended to the grand ballroom. While there were no official representatives from the press there, there were several people in attendance who would give descriptions of what was worn.

  When it was our turn at the top of the stairs the Majordomo announced to the world.

  “The Crown Princess May-ling Ping, heir to the Throne of the Empire of China escorted by Colonel the Duke of Hong Kong Sir Richard Jackson.”

  We were a long way from Kansas.

  My biggest fear going down those steps was stumbling. I lightly held May-ling’s hand to steady her but we both looked straight ahead as we descended.

  The applause started halfway down and grew louder as we came down.

  After we were safely down, we took our position at the foot of the stairs and awaited the true stars of the evening.

  “Lords, gentlemen, and Ladie’s Her Majesty the Queen escorted by her consort, Prince Phillip.”

  I’m glad they didn’t use all her titles, or we would still be standing there.

  Chapter 33

  Elizabeth and Phillip descended the stairs with the ease of long practice. We all bowed as a sign of respect, even May-ling. I was murky on what the etiquette would be in her case, and I suspect she was also. Better safe than sorry.