‘Oh, I suppose we just sit and hold hands,’ said Eliza. ‘Is there a special way we should be ordered?’ She looked enquiringly at Mina.
‘I am not aware of any,’ said Mina.
‘I believe,’ said Dr Hamid, ‘that Miss Eustace likes to alternate ladies and gentlemen, but due to the preponderance of ladies it has never yet proved possible.’
‘Then there are those positive and negative influences that Mr Clee is so clever about,’ said Eliza. ‘And they must be alternated too.’ She looked thoughtful. ‘Mina, you and I are both positive, so we must be facing, and not joined. Daniel?’
‘Oh I think we can assume that I have no ability in either direction,’ said Dr Hamid.
‘And of course we can know nothing of Anna or Mr Scarletti,’ said Eliza. ‘What a quandary! If Mr Clee was here he would know at once. I did ask if he could attend, but I fear he cannot come.’ She shook her head regretfully, an emotion which was not shared by her companions.
No one moved and all attention was fixed on Eliza as she considered the difficulty. ‘Very well,’ she said at last, ‘I will have Daniel and Mr Scarletti on either side of me, and then Mina you may take your brother’s hand to your left and Anna’s to the right.’ Everyone immediately complied with her wishes. ‘That is perfect!’ she said happily, when everyone was seated. ‘I am sure that this is the best arrangement; in fact I can feel the power in me already. Daniel, if you would be so kind as to turn the light out, and resume your place.’
‘You wish there to be no light at all?’ he asked.
‘I do; it is best,’ she said authoritatively. ‘Light can absorb all the power of the medium and then nothing is possible.’
Mina recalled that the dreadful Mr Home was one of the few mediums said to scorn darkness, which served to explain the devotion of his adherents. Nevertheless she felt sure that there were some tricks equally well performed in the light. A conjurer who demonstrated his tricks on the variety stage but would only work in the dark would not, she thought, enjoy a long and successful career.
Dr Hamid obediently extinguished the gas and made his way carefully back to his seat. The curtains had been closely drawn and not a single thread of light intruded into the room. Everyone clasped hands. ‘And now,’ said Eliza, the tension evident in her voice, ‘I entreat you all to complete silence. Sometimes when the spirits come they are very quiet.’
Silence fell, or what counted for silence in a room occupied by breathing people, and they all sat very still. There would be no trickery this time. Mina had made Richard promise on pain of her great displeasure and a cessation of money supplies that he would only observe and not influence events, and she knew that Dr Hamid and Anna would not want to encourage Eliza into believing she was a medium any more than she did herself. Eliza’s belief seemed genuine, in that she truly thought that spirits would come through her supposed supernatural powers, and it seemed unlikely that she would play tricks to convince her companions.
There was a very faint squeaking noise.
Eliza gave a little gasp. ‘Joey? Is that you?’
‘I am truly sorry,’ said Richard, ‘I moved and my chair creaked.’
‘Was it not the spirit that made you do it?’ she asked, hopefully.
‘I regret, no.’
The breathing stillness fell again, a calm in which Mina almost thought she could drift into a dream. There in her curious inner life were the stories she found – she never really felt that she constructed them, but that they existed already like gems to be mined, and she lifted out them whole and brought them into the light and polished them. Time passed, five, ten, fifteen minutes or more, she could not tell, maybe as much as half an hour, and she discovered a new story of a gathering such as this, in which everyone waited in the dark silence and nothing came, until, with the company on the point of giving up, there came a ghostly tapping at the door.
She was so lost in her tale, that she did not realise at first that the tapping was real.
‘Who can that be I wonder?’ said Anna.
‘Well, we will find out soon enough, and it seems the spirits will do nothing tonight, Eliza,’ said Dr Hamid. ‘So let us end the attempt there.’
He turned up the light, and the maid announced that the visitor was Mr Clee.
‘Oh!’ exclaimed Eliza, clapping her hands, ‘that is wonderful! Please show him in, I had thought he was engaged elsewhere. Perhaps we will have some success, now.’
Mr Clee appeared, and was very apologetic. ‘Please excuse my lateness,’ he said. ‘Miss Eustace had asked me to usher the visitors at her séance tonight, and I thought I would not be able to come here, but she has a slight headache and will not be appearing after all; so here I am. I hope I have not inconvenienced you.’
‘Not at all!’ exclaimed Eliza. ‘You are just the man I was most hoping to see.’ He beamed delightedly and sat beside her. ‘We have been sitting here in the dark holding hands for ever so long, and I am afraid Joey could not come, and we are all very disappointed,’ she confessed.
‘How were the sitters arranged?’ he asked. Eliza described the order of seating and he nodded. ‘There was not a great deal wrong in that, but you see the numbers were odd and for the better flow of energy they should be even. ‘
She gave a little gasp. ‘Oh! I was not aware of that – but of course now you are here the numbers are even and we may try again!’
‘I hope you won’t tire yourself, Eliza,’ said Dr Hamid, anxiously.
‘When I am tired, I will be sure to let you know,’ said Eliza with a hint of reproach. ‘Oh, Daniel, can we not try just one more time?’
He relented. ‘Very well, but a few minutes only, and then I must insist you rest.’
‘Oh, we will see if I need rest or not!’ she exclaimed, laughing. ‘Mr Clee please advise us on where we are to sit.’
‘But of course!’ said Mr Clee. ‘I recommend that I as a negative sit between the two positives.’ He took Eliza’s right hand and indicated that Mina sit on his other side. ‘And everyone else must simply alternate male and female.’ Mina took Richard’s hand and then Anna and Dr Hamid completed the circle. ‘That is an excellent arrangement, I doubt that it could be bettered.’
The lights were lowered again. The air was close and still like ink. Mina could hear Eliza’s breath as her constricted lungs struggled under the excitement. Richard to her right was unmoving, but a tremor began in Mr Clee’s grasp to her left. It was hard to tell, but it felt as though his entire body had started to shake.
‘Do you feel that, Miss Hamid, like a spark or a flame of electricity? It is most pronounced!’ said Clee.
‘Yes! I do!’ Eliza exclaimed. ‘Do you feel it Mina?’
‘I feel – something,’ said Mina, cautiously, ‘but I am not sure what it is.’
‘Are we all holding hands?’ asked Mr Clee. ‘No one must let go!’
Everyone assured him that they were holding tight.
Several moments passed during which the quivering and shaking of Mr Clee’s body intensified. ‘It is the power!’ he exclaimed ‘I have none myself, but it moves through me!’
‘It grows stronger,’ said Eliza. ‘I can hardly hold on to your hand!’
‘You must not let go!’ he cried, and Mina for her part was determined not to release her grip on Mr Clee.
The shaking continued for a full minute, then there were three loud knocks on the centre of the table.
‘Oh – it is Joey!’ said Eliza, joyously. ‘He is here! He is here!’ There were three more knocks. ‘Can you play the tambourine, Joey? I bought one especially for you.’
High above their heads there appeared a glowing light, not the solid brightness of the little dancing fairy points that had appeared at Miss Eustace’s séance, but something softer, a little cloud, that hovered over the table, and turned and twisted and revolved, and as it did so, grew slowly larger.
‘Oh Joey, my dear, is that you?’ gasped Eliza. ‘Will you show me your face? I shoul
d so like to see your face!’
The cloud changed, as clouds do, and gradually attained a shape that could almost be called a face. There were no eyes or even a mouth, but something like a nose was at its centre and there was a straggly fluff around it that could have been hair. It hovered in front of Eliza, and seemed to nod, as if bowing to acknowledge her, then it swirled about, circling the table.
‘Oh Joey, can you speak? Please speak to me!’ asked Eliza.
The face danced in an odd jerky pattern, still hovering high above the table, and there were two loud raps.
‘Two?’ said Eliza, mystified, ‘Oh – that was not a yes or a no – perhaps it means that he cannot.’
There were three raps.
‘Joey, can you play the tambourine? Oh please do!’
The face bowed again and there was the sound of the tambourine being lifted off the table, and a soft rustling like the wind stirring through metal leaves.
Eliza laughed with joy to hear it. ‘Oh Joey, I wish I could reach out and touch your dear face – will you let me?’
There was a louder rattle on the tambourine. ‘Do not think of it,’ said Mr Clee, nervously, through clenched teeth. ‘Keep tight hold of my hand, or all will disappear! Remember it is your own energy that creates the substance of this apparition and plays the instrument. It must not be disturbed!’
In a few more moments the tambourine started a good clattering rhythm, which it seemed to be doing while hanging in mid-air quite unaided by the cloudy shape, which shook itself, and sailed about over the heads of the sitters like a veil caught in a breeze, and there was an eerie sound like the wailing of a whistle.
Eliza gasped and cried aloud, and even with all the noises that surrounded them, Mina could detect a new and disturbing rhythm to her friend’s breathing, as if she was finding it hard and painful to inhale. ‘Dr Hamid,’ said Mina, ‘I am concerned for Eliza.’
‘As am I,’ he said. The scraping of his chair showed that he had jumped to his feet. ‘Enough! This is enough! She cannot endure any more! I will not allow it!’ His footsteps sounded across the room. There was a loud crash as the tambourine fell to the tabletop, a final strangled scream from the whistle, and the glowing cloud vanished in a trice. As the gas illuminated the scene, Mina saw that no one had moved from the table apart from Dr Hamid, and all other hands were still securely clasped. The tambourine lay on the table, and beside it was a small scattering of fresh flowers. Eliza was pale and struggling for breath. Her sister and brother ran to her at once. Water was fetched, her brow was bathed, and her bent back gently but firmly stroked.
Mr Clee had the good grace to look worried. ‘I do hope the lady has taken no harm,’ he said. ‘The materialisation though a small one was constructed from her own vital energy and it needed at least a full minute to recombine with the substance of her body. The interruption gave it only a few moments. It will have shocked her, like being struck a blow.’ He shook his head.
‘She was already in danger,’ said Dr Hamid, sternly, ‘and I would suggest that this is never attempted again.’
‘Oh, but it was so beautiful,’ exclaimed Eliza breathlessly. ‘Please don’t blame Mr Clee! And look – Joey brought me the flowers he promised!’
‘I blame myself for permitting this,’ said Dr Hamid. ‘Come now, Eliza, I will take you to your room.’ She was too weak to protest. He lifted her effortlessly, and it looked as though it was a child and not an older sister that he held in his arms, then he strode from the parlour.
‘There was really no danger,’ Mr Clee protested, ‘if only—’
‘I tell you what,’ said Richard, standing up, suddenly, and leaning menacingly over the seated man. ‘If you were to leave this house immediately there would be no danger of my striking you.’
Mr Clee took the hint and departed very quickly.
Anna sank into a chair, and Richard, seeing a carafe on the side table, poured a glass of water, which she took, gratefully. ‘There was trickery here, tonight, as I am sure you suspect, and Mr Clee was the trickster,’ said Richard. ‘Miss Eustace has made him her creature, and he is a vile being to prey on your sister in this way.’
‘But how was it done?’ said Mina. ‘I assume he brought the flowers in his pocket, and he could have thrown them on the table at the end, but I had hold of his right hand throughout the sitting, I did not let go for even a moment, all the time the light appeared and the tambourine played, and Eliza had his left, indeed he exhorted her to keep constant hold.’
‘Oh these people have their methods,’ said Richard. ‘It is surprising what can be achieved with a little practice.’ He picked up the tambourine and examined it.
‘Well, at least Eliza will be safe, now,’ said Mina. ‘I do not know what they wanted of her, but I am sure that they will not be permitted near her again. And if she tries to hold séances alone she will find that the power has gone.’
Dr Hamid returned, to say that Eliza was resting, but asking for her sister, and also the flowers. Reluctantly Anna put the flowers in a little dish with some water and went up to Eliza.
‘We will not intrude on you further,’ said Mina, ‘but let me know when Eliza is well enough to receive visitors, and if she would like to see me, then of course I will come at once.’
‘I am expected at Miss Eustace’s séance in two days’ time,’ said Dr Hamid. ‘Should I go? Or would it be better to sever all relations with that circle?’
Richard raised his eyebrows. ‘Miss Scarletti asked me to watch carefully at these meetings to see if the sitters were being duped,’ Dr Hamid explained.
‘I leave the choice to you,’ said Mina. ‘Of course your sister is your first concern, I understand that.’
‘Oh, I think if you need a spy, Mina, that can be arranged,’ said Richard. He was thoughtful as they made their way home. ‘So is that the summit of these charlatans’ achievements so far? Rappings, tambourines, flowers, a shape that could be almost anything and Miss Eustace in glowing draperies?’
‘As far as I am aware.’
He was still carrying the tambourine which Dr Hamid, who was glad to see it gone, had presented to him.
‘Then I do not think Nellie has anything to learn from her, rather Miss Eustace must look to her reputation.’
‘I fear that we must both now be deemed an unacceptable presence at Miss Eustace’s performances,’ said Mina.
‘Oh, I shall find a way around that,’ said Richard. ‘Leave it to me.’
The following day there were two pieces of news, which were brought to Louisa by Mrs Bettinson. Miss Eustace, she said, was suffering from a bad cold and had decided not to hold any further séances until her health was improved. Mina wondered if that was true, or simply an excuse to avoid possible detection. For all she knew Miss Eustace was even now packing her bags to leave Brighton, something that would happily resolve the difficulty. The second communication was more unsettling. Miss Whinstone, who had refused to tell even her closest friends what was troubling her, had been briefly absent from home on a number of occasions for reasons she would not divulge, and had, according to her servant, recently gone away, her destination, purpose and date of return unknown.
Richard had also departed, and Mina found herself for a time bereft of company. She wrote to Edward, saying as little as possible about Richard’s visit, and expressing her hopes that Miss Eustace would not trouble her further.
Miss Whinstone did not appear in church on the Sunday and neither did Mr Bradley. Mrs Bettinson, in a towering mood of frustration, revealed that she still had no idea of Miss Whinstone’s whereabouts, although she had called again and been told by the servant that a letter had been received from her employer, giving her instructions and promising to return very shortly. The servant had, to Mrs Bettinson’s extreme annoyance, refused to divulge the contents of Miss Whinstone’s confidential missive. Mina thought that had such an incident occurred in one of her stories then Miss Whinstone would by now have been murdered for her money, he
r body, probably headless, hidden in a cellar, and a letter forged to conceal the crime, but she doubted that this was really the case. Mr Bradley’s absence was more easily explained. Mrs Bettinson said that he had had an interview with the Reverend Vaughan and as a result had decided to attend another place of worship. She had also been making enquiries after Miss Eustace, and learned that the lady was in better health and hoped to resume her séances later in the week. Mr Clee, she added significantly, was also said to be slightly indisposed.
When Mina returned from church a very troubling note awaited her. Anna Hamid had written to say that although Eliza had recovered from her shock, she had since fallen ill. A heavy cold had settled on her lungs; she was too unwell to receive visitors, and was being nursed night and day. Mina sent a note to express her concern, enclosing one of her stories, which she hoped Anna might like to read to Eliza. The next day she received a reply from Anna who said that Eliza had enjoyed hearing the story and sent her kind wishes to Mina, hoping she would be well enough to see her soon.
Mina’s mother had received information that Miss Eustace hoped to be sufficiently recovered to hold another séance in four days’ time, and Miss Whinstone was expected home that evening. Mina had heard nothing more from Richard, and was unwilling to rely upon him, since that course of action was more likely to result in disappointment than anything else. For all she knew the delightful Nellie Gilden had decided to return to M. Baptiste, or Richard had thought of another scheme to make his fortune. Dr Hamid and Anna would be devoting themselves to their own concerns and she was left to pursue her worries alone.
Mina wondered if there was, unknown to her, another possible ally. Perhaps one of the ladies who attended Miss Eustace’s séances was a sceptic like herself, but had been nervous of speaking out. While she might have visited all the ladies concerned, she decided on a faster and simpler method of interview. It took very little prompting for Mina to achieve her aim, and two days later, Mrs Bettinson, the two widowed sisters Mrs Mowbray and Mrs Peasgood, and Mrs Phipps all came to take tea with her mother.
Mr Scarletti's Ghost Page 17