The Royal Ghost by Linda Stratmann

Author:Linda Stratmann
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780750969253
Publisher: The History Press

Twenty-Three

On the evening of Mystic Stefan’s demonstration Mr Hope was kind enough to call on the Scarletti household with a carriage to convey Louisa, Enid, Mina and Richard to Mrs Peasgood’s. All three ladies were treated with the same warm courtesy and gallant attention, but as he handed Enid into her place there was something about the glance that passed between them that Mina found worrying. She began to hope for the early return of Mr Inskip and a removal of Enid back to London and out of danger. Richard, who had been out until very late the previous night and then slept through breakfast, was looking uncommonly cheerful, which Mina feared was to do with the absence abroad of Nellie’s husband.

‘Was there no difficulty about my attending this event?’ asked Mina, when they were on their way. ‘You know, of course, that after certain incidents I was declared persona non grata at séances. Or does Mystic Stefan not know of my reputation for chasing away the spirits?’

Mr Hope chuckled. ‘This is not a séance, Miss Scarletti. Mystic Stefan assures me that he does not receive messages from those who have passed, although many of the mysteries he performs are beyond my powers to explain, and quite probably beyond his also. But you are all my very special guests, and while believers in the unexplained are always welcome, doubters are doubly so, for they will one day swell the ranks of the believers.’

Those doubters, Mina knew, would include most members of Mrs Peasgood’s select circle. She only hoped that the evening would pass without any upsetting incidents.

Mrs Peasgood was usually the best of hostesses, conducting her gatherings with smooth and practised assurance, but that evening she looked uncomfortable, as if she was already regretting giving in to the entreaties of her friends and nervous about what Mystic Stefan might do. Mrs Mowbray, however, appeared to have no such reservations, although Mina was sure that it was not the presence of the conjuror but of Dr Hamid that largely occupied her thoughts.

Mrs Mowbray was a large but active lady with a prominent bust, which she believed was her best feature, and a substantial amount of whalebone had been employed to ensure that no one could ignore it. Although the doctor had been widowed for only a few months she had convinced herself that all she had to do was wait out a suitable interval of time and he would one day glance in her direction. She had been heard to say that Dr Hamid was the nicest-looking and cleverest man in all Brighton, and no one had sought to contradict her. The fact that Dr Hamid seemed wholly unconscious of the passion he had aroused she doubtless put down to his still missing his late wife, which, in her estimation, only went to show his loving and devoted nature, and his excellent credentials as a husband.

Nellie arrived wearing an extraordinary hat with a silver grey demi-veil that was sure to be

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