Guardians of the Poor by Jackson Marsh

Author:Jackson Marsh [Marsh, Jackson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

Letter

Lord Clearwater, Larkspur Hall, Cornwall

Silas Hawkins, Clearwater House, London, W1

August 4th, 1890

Dear Silas and Jimmy,

I have now heard from Mr Blaze what I believe to be the full story. I now know who ‘They’ are, and why they want our two men dead. (See the attached notes and time of events.) Also, I have a theory concerning Mr Tanner’s whereabouts.

When Mr Blaze arrived at the Hall, I found him in a more relaxed state than I had during the afternoon. I imagine that, following our earlier meeting, he had done some thinking, or perhaps had spoken to the others about me, but whatever the reason, he was willing to tell me much. In fact, he spoke so fluently, I imagined he had longed to tell his story for some time, and, until we found him, had no-one in whom he could confide. As the evening progressed, he spoke more passionately to the point of gushing, and I had to ask him to slow down. The wine we shared may have had something to do with that, but if so, the alcohol did not affect his speech, and it remained unwavering.

He spoke much of Mr Tanner, and made it apparent that there was more to their relationship than friendship in adversity. He rather skimmed over this, and there were few details, but I understood what he was trying to say, and I felt no need to probe further. It would have embarrassed him, and there was no point. The two coexisted closely, and had to in order to survive.

The current master, Capps, brought with him staff of a ghastly character, namely a replacement teacher by the name of Avery, and a head porter called Skaggot. (More of an assistant and henchman, in my opinion.) Those names will be familiar to you, Avery being the barrister who prosecuted, and Skaggot the man who reported our men to the police. We are fairly confident Avery the teacher is likely related to Avery the barrister, and if that isn't enough to ring alarm bells, what Mr Blaze then told me set the entire peal clanging as though London was on fire.

Our men were witness to the most appalling acts of violence against inmates, carried out in the name of punishment. (I shan't detail them here, but I am writing to Sir Malcolm Ashton with my concerns.) The severity of these punishments compelled our men to act, and what brave souls they are for doing so. They devised a hasty plan which, I must say, was as audacious as it was naïve.

Full details are in the accompanying report, but in summary, Capps runs two sets of records, one for the Governors’ inspection, and one that is truthful. In the latter, in a coded fashion, he keeps records of the beatings and, I suspect, deaths and injuries resulting from them, and in another book, records of illegal financial activity.

These two books Mr Tanner took from the premises to hide. Where, is one of our mysteries, but here is some information, Jimmy, that might help you.

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