Mr Scarletti's Ghost (22 page)

‘I only want to do what is best for Eliza, but I hardly know what that is,' said Dr Hamid.

‘If we all take care of her tomorrow night,' said Mina hopefully, ‘she will have a little pleasure followed by a disappointment, but that will soon pass, and she will then be more used to company and so we might find her willing to try another form of entertainment. A ride in the fresh air; views of the sea; a tour of the flower gardens. There is a grand new aquarium being built. I mean to go to it as soon as it opens, and I will ask her to accompany me. She will need a bath chair of course, but she would not be the only person in Brighton to do so; they are a very common sight on the esplanade, so she would not attract the curious.'

‘You are a kind friend,' he said, with a sad smile.

‘Only promise me that you will not falter in our bid to expose Miss Eustace. There are some who think it is foolish old ladies who are the most easily persuaded, but in reality it is men of education who understand the world and want to understand it better who are the greatest fools.'

He was thoughtful for a moment, then he nodded. ‘I promise,' he said.

W
hen Mina next saw her new friend she felt ashamed of herself for even having thought of trying to persuade her that she was being duped. Eliza's shining eyes, her animated nature and sense of anticipation were all too obvious, and if they were doomed to be dulled by failure then Mina promised herself that she would help to avert the worst of the blow and quickly suggest some alternative interest that would be a better direction for this new and otherwise laudable energy.

The tiny woman had been brought downstairs, and was perched on a padded chair in the parlour enveloped with pretty shawls, in such a way that it was not obvious that her twisted body was being carefully supported so that she could sit upright. There she held court, and graciously and smilingly and intelligently conversed with all the company. Richard was his usual handsome charming self, the Hamids were perfect hosts, and the evening would, thought Mina, have been wholly delightful had there been no thought of holding a séance.

‘But Mr Scarletti,' said Eliza, to Richard, ‘I have not told you or dear Mina – I know we have not known each other long, but I do hope I may address you so – of what transpired when Miss Eustace and Mr Clee called on me.'

‘I am all ears,' said Richard, affably. ‘I have not so far met these fascinating people, but hope to do so very soon.'

‘Oh, they have the nicest manners, and are very kind,' said Eliza. ‘Of course we talked at great length about how Miss Eustace was achieving remarkable things with the spirit world and she said that you, Mina, are the most wonderful medium yourself, but you do not know it yet.'

‘I am certainly not aware of having any abilities in that direction,' said Mina. ‘However, I promise faithfully to use no mediumistic powers at all tonight. The only influence exerted will be yours. That you can depend upon.'

‘We dared to hold a little séance ourselves, just the three of us,' said Eliza, ‘but at first nothing at all happened. Miss Eustace told me that she was very weary that evening and when she tires all her powers desert her for a day or two and will not come back until she has rested. Then they saw that I was disappointed so they agreed to try once more, and this time there were the most extraordinary raps and knocks, and all coming from a spirit called Joey, who I think is a child and quite a mischievous little fellow. I thought, of course, that he had come through Miss Eustace, but he said he had not, because she had no energy he might use, and it was all my doing!' She beamed with pleasure and excitement, and her breath laboured under the emotion.

Anna and her brother, who had undoubtedly heard this account before, looked at each other sorrowfully but said nothing.

‘And did Joey have any messages?' asked Richard.

‘Only that he liked very much to play on the tambourine, and he asked if I could procure one for him so that he could play it for me, and if I did then he promised that he would give me some flowers. Is that not extraordinary?'

‘If he is a little scamp you must take care he does not steal them from an honest tradesman,' said Richard, ‘or pick them from a public garden.'

‘Oh, I hadn't thought of that!' exclaimed Eliza. ‘Well, perhaps since he is a spirit he can just conjure them up out of nothing; Miss Eustace says that spirits can bring wonderful gifts sometimes. She had a basket of strawberries only the other day.'

‘I do not think,' said Dr Hamid, gently, ‘that even a spirit may make something like a flower or a strawberry where there was nothing at all before. Think of how long it takes for them to grow in nature.'

‘Well, we must try it and see,' said Eliza, with a touch of defiance in her voice. ‘Science does not know everything, and if Joey
does
bring me flowers tonight you may have hard work to explain it.'

‘You must not be disappointed if he doesn't come,' said Mina.

‘Oh no, I won't be,' said Eliza, brightly, ‘I don't suppose the spirits come every time, and if he does not then we will try again another day. But let us begin. Anna, please be so kind as to arrange the table for me.'

The table was brought to the centre of the room, and positioned so that Eliza could rest her hands on its surface; chairs were put in place around it, and a tambourine was set in its centre. ‘Now where are we to sit?' asked Anna. ‘You direct us, Eliza, and we will do whatever you wish.'

‘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 should 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.