by Janina Woods
No one uttered a word until she had reached his side and it was obvious that everyone was as puzzled as I, as to her identity.
“Thank you for the introduction, my dear. I am pleased to see so many of you here tonight on such short notice,” she addressed the room after receiving a nod from Chapman. “Arthur was so kind to invite you all and I am happy we’re here together now. Excuse my desire for the masks... I’m not quite comfortable in this circle yet.”
A low murmur spread through the room. What did she mean by ‘this circle’? I looked closer at the woman, who gave pretty much nothing away. She looked like a local, but her accent was coloured by something foreign, so maybe Chapman had met her abroad. China even?
“But as the evening draws to a close, we will give a sign on which we may all remove our concealments and enjoy each other’s company face to face... by which I hope I’ll have gotten to know each one of you in the comfort of anonymity.”
I leaned towards Lou.
“Do you know...” I whispered.
“No. Never seen her. I’d remember that voice.”
I nodded. It wasn’t a particularly high or low tone, but something in her speech was as raspy as if she had smoked a pipe all her life... though she didn’t actually seem much older than forty years and didn’t suit the image of a smoker all that much. But, no, I couldn’t let myself be led by those assumptions. They were sometimes useful when estimating the behaviour of a group of people, but individuals were harder to judge. Always expect the unexpected, never discard an option. Besides, I knew Lou to be smoking for all of the years I had known her, so why shouldn’t the mystery woman have done so too?
“Thank you, darling,” Chapman then added. “I promised you that we wouldn’t take up too much of your time, so I thank you all for your attention and hope you enjoy a delightful evening!”
The pair bowed slightly to a polite applause, accepted two glasses filled with bubbly alcohol and raised them together with all attending party guests.
“Alright, new plan. We’ll need to find out who the woman is,” Lou said. “I haven’t heard a single rumour about Chapman’s relationship status in months.”
“I don’t yet see how this could be relevant, but-”
“You can’t say with certainty that it isn’t,” my colleague added.
“Precisely.”
We eyed the blonde woman, who had made her way to a group on the far side of the room. She had been welcomed enthusiastically and was already included in the lively conversation.
“You do whatever you think is necessary, then. I have to attend to more serious matters.”
“I’ll show you just how serious this is. Give me your cane.”
“No. I might need it.”
Lou sighed dramatically. “Why can’t you just carry a knife and a gun, like the rest of us?”
“Who’s to say I don’t also have those on my person?”
“Me. I know you better than you think. Cane. Now.”
With a heavy heart I relinquished the black stick with the silver head and the hidden blade to Lou. She thanked me with a nod of her head.
“I‘ll have you know I‘m carrying a gun.”
“No, you‘re not. It would ruin the line of your suit and you‘re vain like that.”
“I‘m starting to wonder why I consider you a friend.”
“Because you need people to call you out from time to time. It‘s only healthy. Now hush and let me do my work.”
“Fine. If I don’t return to your side when you deem it necessary to go, please leave without me.”
“Understood.”
I didn’t see any hesitation or doubt in her eyes. She was still as confident in my skills as I was myself. It was gratifying to have at least one colleague believe in me.
“And, please, use any excuse to get your hands on my coat when you leave. If it remains, it’ll only generate questions, and I’d rather not have anything leading back to you.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
“Only protecting my own self-interests, I’m afraid. I’ve angered Challenger enough.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” She laughed. “Now will you let me go? I believe I might be able to keep everyone sufficiently distracted for you to slip away.”
“Do your magic.” I smiled.
Lou detached herself from me and did a round through the ballroom. I remained standing near the windows, as the large plants allowed me to remain partially hidden. I was always more relaxed when I had a wall at my back. Lou charmed her way through several groups, before she emerged again and stepped confidently into the middle of the room.
On her head, she wore a borrowed top hat, and in her hands were my cane and a cigar. Ah, of course. Now that was a very good distraction. Lou was a master of navigating the social landscape, and that meant an encyclopaedic knowledge of any and all party games. This particular game, though was one that always made me feel strangely melancholic.
Lou would pretend to be a gentleman and shamelessly flirt with any lady she wanted. It was considered a silly entertainment, because it was unthinkable that any lady would ever want to make eyes at another. Like I, myself, just had a friendly chat with Fitzpatrick, nothing more.
I sighed. There was no use contemplating any of this. In a way it suited me, even. A secret man with a secret job should have secret relationships. Well, very secret in my case. None at all since university, in fact.
The music had faded back to a gentle tune, that carried on the in the background, not drawing attention to itself, but providing a positive atmosphere. I glanced at Fitzpatrick, who was now completely lost in his performance. On the other side of the room, Chapman’s mystery companion had joined a small group of brightly coloured ladies and their amused laughter drifted over to us. Lou had drawn the attention of the room and the blonde lady seemed very interested in her already. Of course Lou didn‘t approach her right away - that would’ve been too suspicious - but made her way towards her slowly. All eyes were on my colleague. That was my cue.
As I walked towards a servant at the entrance of the room, I once again eyed the surrounding groups and registered the names and identities of many present people. Mostly engaged in trade, there were also some politicians and the odd Lord from old money, who had definitely played a role in propping Chapman’s business up financially after his fall. It had been his connections that had saved his neck. Few had a better trade network in the Far East, and I was willing to bet he hadn’t given up on his shady deals either. Well, if he turned out to be behind that rather tasteless harassing campaign against me, there would be no way for him to walk free, no matter if he was otherwise innocent.
“Excuse me, but where might I find...” I let my words trail off, but the butler knew what I was talking about.
“Right down this hallway, second to last door on the left, sir. It is labelled.”
“Much obliged,” I nodded and walked away with all the body language of a man, who isn’t used to speaking to his servants, which made the butler scoff slightly and look away.
Thus unobserved, I slipped into a large window recess about halfway through the corridor and hid behind the heavy curtains. The light was low, but bright enough for me to observe the entrance hall for a little while. When I was certain that the butler wouldn’t follow, and that no other guest could see me, I kept on walking, sticking to the darker parts of the walls whenever possible. Just as Lou had described, I reached a simple door, behind which I found the servant’s stairs, which enabled them to visit all floors of the building, unseen by the eyes of their masters. And unseen was just what I needed.
The steps were made of stone, so it was easy to listen for another pair of shoes but even after I closed the door behind me, there was no indication of company. I sent a short prayer to any deity responsible for my luck
and quickly walked up to the second floor. But then my luck ran out. Maybe I shouldn’t have prayed.
Behind the door I could hear voices. Their conversation topics were muffled through the wood, but they were definitely close. I had some time yet - the evening had barely begun, after all - so I wasn’t in any rush to get to Chapman’s office, but there was nowhere I could hide in the stairwell. If someone decided to use it, I was effectively trapped. I could only hope the servants had no reason to visit this floor.
After a while, the voices ceased. No, they were getting quieter. I kneeled on the floor and opened the door slowly. It moved without a sound. Of course the hinges would be well oiled, if the maids were to perform their duties unseen and unheard. The door was partially hidden behind some heavy curtains, like the one on the ground floor. I ducked low and cautiously closed it behind me, before I dared raising to my feet again, back pressed to the wall.
There was a little gap between the fabric and the wall, and when I moved close enough I could observe the hallway behind it clearly. There were four doors on each side, behind that an opening that probably connected to the main stairwell of the house, another door opposite the railing and then a large, double-winged door at the very end. Two men stood guard. One in front of the office at the end of the corridor, one at the top of the stairs.
They were spread far enough that I couldn’t possibly take out both at the same time. The long corridor provided me with no means to conceal myself on my approach. Both men would spot me quite quickly. Maybe... No, if they reacted fast enough, even the first would be able to draw a gun on me before I could touch him. If he didn’t, the second would. And I was under no illusion as to their ability. They looked entirely out of place in this high-society home, and I knew the expression on their faces all too well.
It was then I made a decision. Still undetected, I slipped back into the servant’s stairwell and examined the window in the back. I could open it easily, but immediately the freezing night air rushed into the house and only a few seconds later, a door at the bottom of the stairs was flung close by the change in pressure, with an incredibly loud impact noise. No alternative then. Someone would definitely come to check up on that. I took off my mask and stuck it in an inside pocket of my suit jacket, even though that destroyed most of the feathers, then grabbed a piece of iron on top of the window, pulled myself up and exited it feet first.
The cold air assaulted me - there was no other word for it. The snowfall had waned, so I had a clear view, but the winds came in occasional, unpredictable gusts. I was still wary of the power of nature after my outing to Egypt, but the greatest danger to me right now was to slip and fall on the icy patches that dotted the side of the building. The backside was covered in a veritable jungle of vines, many more than on the front, which was lucky, as I needed them to reach the study. I tested the strength of the plant beneath my feet and was relieved to find it sticking to the wall strongly enough to support my weight. I could even slip into it almost completely to conceal my form - though the copious growth was also a bit of a curse. It would take me awhile to navigate through the tangle.
My coat would’ve only slowed me down, but I longed for a more substantial barrier between me and the elements. The longer I stayed out, the harder it got to use my fingers, as they started to freeze and cramp up every now and then. By now I had passed two large windows, which enabled me to look into a room that was very probably a library, only now deserted and in shadows, while the master of the house was entertaining the party. Only one window more...
It was locked. I should’ve expected that. There were now two courses of action. I could jam my feet into the tangled vines and attempt to break the window open with my tools, but I didn’t particularly want to stay out in the open for much longer. Just then, a metallic noise to my right told me that the window to the servant’s staircase had been closed, effectively cutting off my return path. So I turned back and pursued the second course of action: Enter into the library. The window closer to my position had been left carelessly unlocked. The room behind the glass was still dark, so I took the chance, pushed open the glass and slipped in.
As soon as the opening was closed behind me, I sank to the floor and rubbed my hands together to restore any semblance of warmth to them. It felt like the library hadn’t been heated at all that day, but it was still a lot warmer than the outside.
Alright, what did I have to work with here? I looked around and took in the possibilities that lay before me, just as I placed the mask back on my face, the ruffled feathers adequately representing my current mood. The room was lavishly decorated and featured shelves filled with books on all walls. A desk stood to my right, free of any items, except a selection of pens. To my left, several armchairs were placed around an empty fireplace. In the middle, a marble statue of a jumping horse throned on a pedestal, the obvious centrepiece of the room. A new plan was formulated in a few seconds and put into action shortly after.
I retrieved a curtain rope and fastened it around the statue. Then I removed the carpet directly underneath it to expose the wooden flooring. The rope was long enough for me to stand behind the door and pull at it, so the statue crashed to the floor with a satisfying impact noise. One leg broke off as the whole weight of the stone pushed down on it. It was not without regret that I vandalised the beautiful horse figure, but I figured Chapman had earned it.
There was a small commotion in the hallway and only a bit later, both guards burst into the room. I immediately threw myself at them, but not without a little something to help me out. Ahead of me went the cloth of the curtain, which I had torn down, and with the weight on top of them, they tumbled to the ground.
A few well-placed punches should do the trick... and indeed I managed to knock the guard closest to me right out. But the second didn‘t give me the satisfaction of staying still. He rolled out from underneath the curtain and reached for the gun at his side. I threw myself behind the large desk. The wood probably wouldn’t be thick enough to stop a bullet, but at least he didn’t know my exact location.
“Come out, I don’t want to shoot you!”
“I don’t believe you,” I replied, while I recalled the layout of the room. “Why should I believe you?”
“Look, I was hired to do this. I didn’t expect anyone actually to show up. Chapman’s a bit of a paranoid client, but he pays well. Just surrender and I promise you won’t be harmed.”
Now this was a surprising individual. Either he was really this naive, or it was a clever ruse to get me out in the open. Both options weren’t particularly attractive. My eyes fell onto the rope, which lay a few feet from me, discarded on the ground. I tried to judge where the guard was standing from his continued rambling. This could just work...
I jumped out, taking the man by surprise, and dived directly for the curtain rope. As I kept my momentum, the rope stretched between my hand and the marble statue it was still attached to. It caught my adversary‘s knees from the side and he promptly stumbled, then fell. This was my chance. His gun was in my hand only seconds later.
“I also have no reason to kill you,” I said, when I saw him cower in fear on the ground, as I pointed his own gun at him. Now, at least, I could be sure it was actually loaded. “But I do have to knock you out for just a little while. Because you showed me such courtesy, I’ll try not to hit anything vital.”
The guard took a deep breath and nodded, but never met my gaze. Here was someone, who had no idea what he had been getting into, and was now resigned to his fate. But I didn’t feel bad for him. Maybe next time he would be using his head before getting employed by an unsavoury character. Well, now I was using his head. I raised my fist, but he didn’t even flinch as it approached him. With a well-placed punch, he hit the floor.
A few minutes and a large amount of tugging later, both guards were bound not only together, but also around the heavy pedestal, on which the marble statue had
rested earlier. One last time I placed my hand under their respective noses to confirm they were indeed still breathing. They were misguided, but didn’t exactly deserve to leave this world just yet.
The corridor outside the library was now clear. Thus undisturbed, it took me only a short while to pick the lock on the study’s door and soon I slipped into the darkness of the room behind it. The curtains had been closed, so the room was almost pitch black. But with the overcast sky, it wouldn’t do me much good to rely on the light from outside alone. I cracked the door open again, just a fraction, so that I could locate a light source. There was a cord dangling from the ceiling beside the door, about an arm’s length away.
I pulled at the cord and a yellowish light appeared above my head. A large chandelier, dotted with electric lamps, hung from the centre of the room, which was much smaller than I had anticipated. Ah, no. It only seemed that way because the back half was occupied by many tall, narrow shelves, with only little room to walk between them. The setup made it look like the desk stood at the wall, when it was actually more towards the middle of the room. There was no key to find, with which to lock the door from the inside, so I put a nearby chair under the door handle to buy me at least some seconds, should anyone approach.
Now, to see what Chapman had been hiding. To my surprise, the room was actually quite clean and organised. The desk mirrored this state, as it was orderly, stacked with a surprising amount of sorted documents.
I judged the ones closest to the writing pad to be the most recent, and indeed they had all been dated within in the last two months. There was a contract for the purchase of a medium sized passenger vessel. Curious. I knew Chapman’s trade business owned a number of ships, but they never transported people. There was also a record for a purchase of a large amount of explosives, as well as several, rather huge, monetary transactions with a company in Edinburgh.
Further down the stack I found letters from Chapman’s business partners about one trade or the other - mostly spices and silk. Lou would maybe be interested in some of these, so I quickly wrote down the names of the senders in my little notebook. An open ledger on the side was less cryptic, but also less exciting. It showed the household expenses, written down in a meticulous hand. Everything was recorded, down to the shilling. I turned a few pages, but there was nothing of note.