Mr Scarletti's Ghost (33 page)

M
ina's next call was on Mr Jordan, who with his watch-cover snapping like a hungry alligator, was bustling with energy, supervising an extended display of fashionable garments and fabrics in the recently opened ladies' emporium. Mr Jordan was, as ever, a smartly dressed and perfectly groomed man, but that day Mina detected something more. He had made himself into a walking advertisement for gentleman's summer clothes, and all about him was new and fresh. He wore a flower bud in his buttonhole, a sparkling pin in his cravat, and there was more than a sufficiency of cologne.

‘The very latest fashions for the summer months,' he said, proudly. ‘French-woven striped silk is all the rage, and there can never be too many bows or flounces. The court train, too, is quite the thing just now; there is nothing better to be had in London!' He drew her quietly to one side. ‘I can assure you of our utmost discretion. Our ladies are very highly skilled in fitting every variation of the female form, and I know you will find something to please you. We also, of course, have a mourning department and our demi-mourning fabrics are both pleasing and tasteful.'

‘That is very kind of you,' said Mina, ‘and I will pay great attention to your display. But my visit today was on another matter. May we speak privately?'

He looked surprised, but after another consultation of his watch he agreed to allow her a few moments of his time and conducted her to a small office.

Mina explained to Mr Jordan the discoveries she had recently made about Miss Eustace, and asked what he thought ought to be done. She had expected him to be very interested in what she had to say, excited that his initial suspicions had been borne out, and eager to progress his campaign. To her surprise and disappointment he was none of those things, and instead appeared worried that some action was expected of him that he was unable or unwilling to perform.

‘Mr Jordan,' said Mina, ‘please tell me that you have not gone over to the spiritualists!'

‘Oh no, not at all,' he said hastily, ‘but you must know that my business partner Mr Conroy and his lady wife are very firm in their belief, and my opposition has caused some unnecessary friction between us. I have decided therefore to withdraw from the fray, and attend to my business. If people wish to be duped then they must take the consequences. I have done all I can, but I believe nothing can save them from their own folly.'

Mina decided to waste no more time on Mr Jordan and returned home, to find a scene of chaos. Rose met her at the door as soon as she arrived. ‘Oh Miss Scarletti, I am so glad to see you – I didn't know what to do for the best! Mrs Scarletti rang for me and she is in such a state! She's in the parlour now.'

‘Is she unwell?' asked Mina, hurrying as best she could to attend to her mother. ‘Where is Simmons? Have you fetched her?'

‘I think she is more upset than unwell,' said Rose, ‘and Miss Simmons is upstairs packing her bags.'

Mina's mother, whose studied fragility had provoked a dramatic collapse under shock, was draped on the chaise longue like a discarded shawl, while the more robust figure of Mrs Parchment stood over her, alternately flapping a lace kerchief in her face and offering whiffs of smelling salts. ‘Oh, Mina!' exclaimed her mother, extending her hand as if the weight of her arm could be supported only with a struggle. ‘Where were you when I needed you?' Mrs Parchment, looking even grimmer than usual, stood back and allowed Mina to sit by her mother. A rapid glance showed Mina that there was, thankfully, no black-bordered envelope or telegraph message nearby.

‘Whatever is the matter?' asked Mina, with the uncomfortable feeling that her mother's distress was in some way connected with the curious mania for the spirits that had so recently gripped the town. ‘Has someone upset you? Have you been to a séance? Please do tell me if there is anything I can do.'

Her mother shook her head as if speech had become difficult, and making little choking sounds in her throat, snatched the kerchief from Mrs Parchment's hands and clasped it to her eyes.

‘Mrs Parchment,' said Mina. ‘Please tell me what has happened. Do I need to send Rose for the doctor?'

‘No, no,' murmured her mother, ‘it is just –' she gulped – ‘I have been so terribly betrayed!'

Rose was standing in the doorway and Mina, seeing that this was an emotional shock rather than the onset of disease, sent the maid to fetch brandy, and set about chafing her mother's cool papery hands. ‘Now then, Mother, you mustn't be anxious, I am here now, and if you like I will see if I can find Richard, and bring him here to see you, I know that will cheer you up.' Mina paused, suddenly fearing that that had been the wrong thing to say, and it was Richard and his adventures that had provoked the scene before her. Fortunately there was no reaction from either her mother or Mrs Parchment. ‘Only tell me what has occurred and I will do my best to set matters right.'

Mina's calming words seemed to have some effect. ‘It is that young person Simmons,' said Mrs Parchment. ‘She seemed such a quiet sensible woman, but I am afraid that she deceived us all. She has had a fit of hysterics, and said some very unkind things to both your mother and myself which I will not repeat.'

‘She is to leave at once,' said Mina's mother, pleadingly.

‘Of course,' said Mina, firmly. ‘She must. Mrs Parchment, please look after my mother and I will go and see to it that Miss Simmons quits the house immediately.'

Before either of those ladies could say another word, Mina left the room and with as much energy as she could muster, took the stairs up to Miss Simmons's room, which was at the top of the house. By the time she had made the climb she was grateful indeed for the exercises she had been doing, as a month or two ago she might not have achieved her object without some pain. The newly developed strength in her grip was both a surprise and a pleasure.

Miss Simmons, who was unusually red-faced, was in her bedroom, throwing unfolded garments into a small trunk, where they lay heaped upon each other in great disarray. She looked around in astonishment when Mina appeared, and while labouring under feelings that seemed to approach anger, had the hard defiant look of someone who thought she was about to be scolded and didn't care.

‘Please calm down,' said Mina, ‘and tell me all that has happened. Don't worry yourself about the trunk, I will get Rose to come and help pack your things. Do you have anywhere to go?'

Simmons breathed more easily and nodded. ‘Yes, I have a sister in Brighton. I can go to her.'

‘Well, that is something. Now sit down. Neither my mother nor Mrs Parchment will go into any detail about the reasons behind this upheaval, and since it was I who initially employed you, I feel I should know everything before you leave. You have been very efficient in all your work, and unless there is some compelling reason not to, I am prepared to give you a character so you may find another position.'

Miss Simmons sat on her bed, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. ‘It is Mr Clee,' she said.

‘Oh dear!' said Mina. ‘What has he done?'

Miss Simmons gave her an anxious look. ‘You do not like him?' she said.

‘My opinion of him is of no consequence,' said Mina. ‘I am only interested in learning what has so upset my mother.'

‘He is a very charming and clever and nice-looking young gentleman,' said Miss Simmons defensively.

Mina had a horrible suspicion where the conversation might be tending but said nothing.

‘I had never thought for a moment that I might receive the admiration of a young man such as he,' Simmons went on, ‘but some weeks ago I chanced to encounter him one afternoon as I was going to see my sister on my half-day, and he engaged me in conversation. We struck up a pleasant acquaintanceship, and after that we used to meet as often as we could. My sister always walked with us for propriety's sake, only she was a little way behind so that that we could talk alone. He never – I mean, there was no – he was always very respectful.'

‘I am glad to hear it,' said Mina, ‘although my mother would undoubtedly have disapproved, especially as these assignations seem to have been made without her knowledge.'

‘That was the reason we could tell no one,' said Miss Simmons. ‘James – Mr Clee – said he wanted very much to meet me more often, but he knew that I might lose my place if it became known.'

‘Did he speak of his intentions towards you?' asked Mina.

‘Oh, yes, and they are the most honourable possible,' said Simmons, happily. ‘Marriage, of course. But he has no fortune and cannot think of it at present. He is, however, the favourite and sole heir of a great-aunt, who is in poor health and unlikely to live long, so he is sure to be a rich man very soon.'

‘I suppose my mother found out,' said Mina, certain that the wealthy great-aunt would prove to be as illusory as any ghost. She declined to mention her suspicions that Mr Clee was already a married man, as she felt that Miss Simmons was quite upset enough without that suggestion.

‘Yes, and I am sorry to say it was Mrs Parchment who told her. She must have seen us walking together and reported it. I think that is very petty-minded, to so destroy the happiness of another. I am not sure the lady approves of marriage at all. From the things that she has let slip, I have gathered that she disliked her husband, perhaps dislikes all men. When I said that Mr Clee and I were intending to announce our betrothal as soon as he came into his fortune, she was very rude to me. She said I was deluded. She accused me of throwing myself at him, and said that it was quite impossible he could have any affection for me. I am afraid I was not at all polite when I replied, and I said a great many things I ought not to have. Still, it is in the open now, and at least your mother knows the truth behind the séance, though it cannot have pleased her.'

‘The séance?' said Mina. ‘Do you mean the one that took place here?'

‘Yes, James asked if I might help him. He said he feared from some incident that had occurred recently that you had lost your faith in the spirit world and he wanted to restore your belief. He hoped very much that the spirits would be able to do all that was necessary, but sometimes, in the presence of an unbeliever, their powers fade and they need help.'

‘So when you said that the table had moved –' said Mina, understanding at last.

‘James said that Miss Eustace would try to get the spirits to move a table or a chair if they could, but if not, he would give me a signal and I was to pretend that something had happened. That would increase the energy in the room and after that the spirits could do all that was necessary. And you did hear rappings, which gave you a message from your father. I had no part in that, it was quite genuine.'

Mina saw that there was no hope for Miss Simmons, who would have to discover the hard way that Mr Clee had no interest in her, and had only courted her with a view to having an accomplice in the Scarletti household. How many other women he had duped in a similar way for the same purpose she dreaded to think.

It took all afternoon to restore the household to some semblance of calm. Mina dispatched a note to Richard, hired a cab for Miss Simmons and her trunk, and wrote a character for her, but not before obtaining her new address in case she might wish to speak to her again. Her mother was settled in a darkened room with her smelling salts and a carafe of water, and Mrs Parchment, whose foot had been restored to its accustomed strength, went out on one of her long walks.

There was very little point, thought Mina, in discussing the revelations concerning the séance with her mother, especially since Simmons, knowing that some of the events had been trickery, persisted in her belief that the rest were not. She could only hope that her mother, lying alone with her thoughts, would make her own conclusions, and come to her senses.

As Mina exercised alone in her room she reflected on the fact that Mr Clee and Miss Eustace had both been very eager to bring her on to the side of the believers. She recalled that Dr Edmunds in his letter to the Dialectical Society had mentioned that when he had expressed scepticism, the spiritualists had tried to persuade him that he was a medium. It appeared to be a common ploy to convert sceptics into believers by promising special powers, but in this case there had been particularly strenuous efforts to persuade her, and Eliza as well. As she pondered the mystery, Mina suddenly realised why both she and Eliza would have been valuable associates to a fraudulent medium, and it was Miss Gilden who had unknowingly supplied the vital clue. Both Mina and Eliza were adults in child-size bodies. Mrs Clee in London had used a child to represent a child's spirit and as a result had been found out and put in prison. She cannot have wanted to risk such an exposure again, yet the ability to produce the form of a child was one that would add greatly to the demands on her services. An adult who could masquerade as a child, smuggled in under cover of darkness, the sound of hymn singing masking any telltale noises, was a considerable asset.

Now that she thought about it, the smuggled confederate was probably the source of the phenomena at the very first séance she had attended. She had sensed another person in the room, and with good reason; there had been one, a very human presence. A figure cloaked in black, moving silently about on stockinged feet, tapping on walls and clinking glasses, while the onlookers, commanded to stay in their seats, had to clasp hands so they found it impossible to turn and look about them. The confederate, in all probability Mr Clee, had then disappeared behind the curtains to wave the glowing apparitions on the end of sticks. There was nothing he had used that could not be hidden under a cloak or in a pocket or up a sleeve. At the second séance the raps on the walls had been more distant, and must have come from someone knocking from the hallway or the next room, but these had occurred when Mr Clee was in plain sight, so there must have been another confederate, the maidservant, perhaps. Phoebe's voluminous draperies must have been made of some soft gauzy material like the delicate wisps that had formed so many yards of Miss Foxton's etheric powers, something that could be rolled up and made very small and carried under Miss Eustace's skirts.