Mr Scarletti's Ghost (26 page)

‘Then what can I do?' she pleaded.

He hugged her. ‘Oh, Mina, you cannot save the world from itself! I know you are concerned for Mother and that is very good and right of course, but you are not Miss Whinstone's keeper, or even her friend.'

‘I am Eliza Hamid's friend,' said Mina.

‘And she has a loving family to protect her,' said Richard.

‘She has been very ill these last few days,' said Mina. ‘I believe that she caught a cold from Mr Clee who is young and well able to shake off such a thing, but it has affected her lungs.'

‘Mr Clee will not be allowed near her again,' said Richard, firmly. ‘When she is well I will get Nellie to entertain her with some conjuring tricks. Perhaps Miss Hamid can host a salon of magical entertainment that will be amusing but not as tiring as a séance. And she will forget all about Mr Clee's phosphorised handkerchief.'

‘Phosphorised?' asked Mina.

He shrugged. ‘How else do you think it glowed in the dark? It's an old trick. I am amazed that people are still taken in.'

‘Do you recall the Davenport brothers?' she asked, thinking of Dr Edmunds and his mystification at the coat trick. ‘They caused a great sensation only two or three years ago. People still talk of their confounding the laws of science.'

‘Oh, who can forget the magical Davenports and their cabinet of wonders!' he declared. ‘I fear they went to some expense for that. Never trust a medium who has his apparatus specially constructed. Well – never trust a medium. Yes, they had a startling and novel array of tricks but in the end the whole act boiled down to just the one. Only allow that they had some means of getting their hands free, as any good magician can do very quickly and easily, and all is explained. But I cannot fault them as businessmen.'

‘Richard,' pleaded Mina, ‘don't you think you should consider some means of income which would be more – well –'

‘Respectable?' he asked.

‘Yes. And less likely to result in your being put in prison,' she added. ‘Mother would never forgive you.'

‘Oh, you know she would, and so would you! But prison is an uncomfortable place, and I promise I shall make every effort to avoid it.' He jumped up. ‘And now, my dear, I have a dozen things to attend to, and you may be sure to receive your ticket very soon.'

‘Where is this event to take place?' asked Mina. ‘At Miss Gilden's lodgings?'

‘Oh no, the rooms are far too small. But I have made some enquiries and found a little band of spiritually minded ladies who like to meet and talk ghosts over their sherry and biscuits, and so I smiled prettily at them. One of their number, a Mrs Peasgood, who has a delightful home in Kemp Town, has been kind enough to let me use her drawing room gratis. There is ample space for both guests and performance.'

‘Mrs Peasgood the surgeon's widow?' asked Mina.

‘Why, yes, do you know her?'

‘She is one of Mother's new friends!' exclaimed Mina, in alarm. ‘Will you be there?'

‘But of course! I am the master of ceremonies for the evening.'

‘Richard, you cannot do this!' said Mina. ‘Supposing Mother goes, or Mrs Bettinson or her other friends who all know you, as they very well might! What then? Mother would never be able to hold her head up again, and she would find some reason why it was all my fault.'

Richard was unperturbed, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. ‘Have no fear, my darling girl! I have thought of everything!'

It was some hours after he left that Mina noticed that the oriental vase in the front hallway had vanished.

Despite accepting the fact that there was nothing further she could do for Miss Eustace's dupes, Mina was still curious enough to pay a visit to Mr Jordan. A Brighton directory and a few discreet enquiries soon provided the information that he was the proprietor of an emporium supplying suits of clothing to young men of fashion. He and Mr Conroy, who dealt in ties, cravats, cummerbunds and hats, had once had separate establishments and had long glared at each other from across the way, but one day they had met by chance, struck up a crusty sort of friendship and gone into partnership. This had flourished so well that they had recently taken another shop next door for ladies apparel, the supervising angels being Mr Conroy's wife and Mr Jordan's sister.

Mr Conroy was a bluff uncomplicated gentleman, with a talent for putting his customers at their ease, but Mr Jordan adopted a manner that was both imperious and condescending, as if to suggest that while the customer he was serving was neither noble nor royal there were others who were. He employed a hard-pressed assistant, but was always in evidence, looking on with a hard critical eye and making sure to give the wealthier customers his personal attention. The word in Brighton was that Mr Jordan was little more than a jumped-up tailor, although no one would have said it to his face.

The shop was redolent with the acrid, nostril-stinging scent of new freshly steamed wool, with a citrus hint of gentlemen's cologne. When Mina entered she found Mr Jordan overseeing his assistant, who was showing a gentleman a display of fabrics. His watch was in his palm as if he was timing the exercise, but when he saw Mina he snapped it shut, and put it in his pocket. ‘Miss Scarletti, how may I assist you?'

‘If you have a moment, Mr Jordan, I would be interested in discussing your encounter with Miss Phoebe – or should I say Miss Eustace, since I understand that you claim they amount to one and the same person.'

He grunted, and beckoned Mina away to one side of the shop, out of the earshot of his customer. ‘You are not one of her acolytes?' he said with an unattractive sneer.

‘Not at all,' said Mina, choosing to ignore the rudeness of his manner in the interest of extracting information. ‘In fact I had a recent experience when I stumbled and fell against the spectre, and was thereby convinced that it was a living person, and female. It can only have been Miss Eustace. I understand that you went further than this and deliberately clasped her.'

‘I did,' he said with some dignity. ‘May I assure you that it is far from my nature to treat a lady in such a rough and indelicate fashion, but then Miss Eustace, whatever her pretensions, is not a lady. I cannot be sure quite what she is, or indeed who she is, but honest and selfless as she likes to claim, she is most assuredly not.'

‘And you were quite certain that Phoebe is just Miss Eustace in draperies?'

‘Oh beyond a doubt,' he assured her, with a short barking laugh. ‘The supposed spectre struggled and kicked me most unmercifully as I took hold of her. She has all the good manners of a fishwife. I will admit that I cannot explain the mechanism of the imposture, but that is not my business.'

‘Do you intend to take any further action against her?' asked Mina.

‘No, none,' he declared. ‘I have written to the newspapers of course, but my efforts are swamped by those of her credulous adherents, and she is now unassailable. Really, if these people wish to be parted from their money then I can only leave them to their fate. And now, I understand that there is to be a new sensation in town, a Miss Foxton and her – well, I hesitate to say what he might be – her theatrical manager shall we say, a Mr Ricardo. Are you acquainted with these people?'

‘I am not familiar with anyone of that name,' said Mina, truthfully.

‘He has sent me a letter today with a free ticket, and of course I shall attend and they must look to it or I will show them up to be the cheats and charlatans they are, and if I can see them both in prison I will consider my work well done.'

‘I may well attend myself, as a matter of curiosity only, of course,' said Mina. ‘And what of your partner Mr Conroy? Did your actions convince him that Miss Eustace is a fraud?'

‘Mr Conroy prefers not to speak of that night,' said Mr Jordan, shutting his mouth with a snap no less firm than his watch.

Mina was naturally abiding by Eliza's instructions not pay her a visit, although she was anxious for news, and after leaving Mr Jordan's she turned her feet towards Dr Hamid's baths, which was not far distant, hoping that someone would be in attendance who would be able to let her know how her friend was progressing. Although Mina's exercises, which she continued with a dedicated determination, concentrated on developing her shoulders, back and chest, there were some that strengthened her legs and Anna had encouraged her in her usual habit of taking short refreshing walks. Mina still limped, and accepted the fact that she would always do so, but at least she could now limp faster and for longer and without pain.

As she approached the baths she noticed two gentlemen standing outside the building peering closely at something in the window but making no attempt to enter. Initially she supposed that it was an advertisement, but as she drew closer she saw that the interior of the establishment, seen through the glass, was in darkness although it was well within its usual hours of opening. A sensation of cold dread settled over her.

The gentlemen stood aside as she approached and she saw that they were looking at a notice bordered in black. ‘It's closed up today,' one of them said, and they turned and walked away. Mina, her eyes clouded with emotion, could barely read the sign, which offered apologies for the fact that the establishment was closed due to a family bereavement, and promised that it would reopen on the following day. For several minutes she leaned against the door, making no attempt to control the tears that were coursing freely down her face, and ruminated on how cruel life could be. She thought of Eliza's sweet face and quick mind, and their lively conversations. She thought of how much she had looked forward to writing stories for her friend and encouraging her to seek new amusements. As she stood there several people came up and read the sign and went away, and some asked her if she was well and needed any assistance, but she said that she would recover, it was due to the shock of the bad news. One kind lady, who was a friend of Anna's and had known of Eliza's illness, confirmed what Mina had feared, and they talked for a few minutes until Mina felt able to leave.

She did not want to go home unless she could be certain of being able to escape to her room in order to be alone with her grief, and that was far from sure. She thought it likely that her mother would be entertaining her friends that afternoon and did not feel equal to feigning politeness in the company of Mrs Bettinson and her like; neither did she want to carry the tragedy home as if it was simply another piece of town gossip to be bandied about by chattering ladies. She walked instead towards the seashore, where she could best think about the muddled uncertain line between two worlds, and what might happen when crossing from one to the other.

Brighton was beginning to welcome the first of the new season of visitors, but on the eastern side of the town it was not so busy. A great swathe of building work had cut through the approach to the old Chain Pier and carved it away to make room for the new aquarium, but the new truncated entrance to the pier was not unpleasing. Close by, one could stand and take in the sight of the great iron structure that seemed to power its massive way into the sea like a steam train, and see the waves beating against its supports. In mild weather, as it was that day, the waves appeared to be caressing the pier with a firm but approving affection, but Mina knew that they could suddenly turn to rage and resentment. She saw the figure of a man standing alone and looking out to sea, and recognised him as Dr Hamid. She hesitated, then approached him.

‘I have just come from the baths,' she said. ‘I saw the notice. I don't know what to say. I am so very sorry.'

‘I must apologise for closing the business today,' he said quietly.

‘Please, there is no need for any apology,' she reassured him.

‘There are patients who rely on us for regular treatment; some are elderly, some in great pain. I have a duty to them.' He sighed. ‘Anna is at home making all the arrangements, and I would help her but I think I am not very useful at present; at any rate she suggested I go out and take the air for a while.'