Doctor Who_ The Adventures Of Henrietta Street Part 2

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Rebecca nudged the Doctor's arm and nodded through the crowd, towards a woman her name never recorded leading a well-dressed gentlemen out of the throng and in the direction of a well-known Coffee-Shop. The Doctor agreed that the three of them should follow, and Juliette's initiation into his 'war' truly began.

It was a good month for political initiations. Some time later, on April 20, the King held court at St James's Palace to meet with the Whigs who'd pushed their way into the government. It was supposed to be a 'Drawing Room', one of those events at which the King and Queen would regularly meet with the lords and ladies of society, but the King was so thoroughly dejected at the thought of handing over power to ugly little men like Fox that instead of holding the usual ceremony he just sat grumpily in his chair while the Whigs filed into the hall looking smug. Tradition held that any any lady or gentleman was welcome at such a meeting, and somehow both Scarlette and Lisa-Beth were there to witness the new political age being clumsily born. Perhaps the sorcerors of the Service gave them leave to enter. lady or gentleman was welcome at such a meeting, and somehow both Scarlette and Lisa-Beth were there to witness the new political age being clumsily born. Perhaps the sorcerors of the Service gave them leave to enter.

The reason for the visit was clear, however. Scarlette, already in the process of uniting the more dubious dubious elements of high society, wanted to show Lisa-Beth the battlefield on which they were now playing. Like the Doctor, Scarlette knew how important it was for all the 'soldiers' of the House to be of one mind. There was a tradition, in seraglios run by women, that after a while the biological cycles of all the women in the House would synchronise: that when 'the Prince' came every lunar month, it was as if the House elements of high society, wanted to show Lisa-Beth the battlefield on which they were now playing. Like the Doctor, Scarlette knew how important it was for all the 'soldiers' of the House to be of one mind. There was a tradition, in seraglios run by women, that after a while the biological cycles of all the women in the House would synchronise: that when 'the Prince' came every lunar month, it was as if the House itself itself were bleeding. This was what occurred on Henrietta Street that April. The House was getting into the rhythm of a new and terrible world order. The question is, was the rhythm set by Scarlette or by the Doctor? were bleeding. This was what occurred on Henrietta Street that April. The House was getting into the rhythm of a new and terrible world order. The question is, was the rhythm set by Scarlette or by the Doctor?

Mere yards from the body of the King himself, the two courtesans stood in the select crowd of spectators and respectfully bowed as the King grudgingly pa.s.sed the symbolic garter to the senior Whigs. Scarlette noted that Lisa-Beth acted with great decorum, not scowling, swearing or even shuffling her feet. It's reasonable to say that Lisa-Beth knew at least as much as Scarlette did about how to behave around the upper cla.s.ses. In fact, Scarlette must have been far more uncomfortable than Lisa-Beth was. To see the friends of America given such power... it can hardly have helped that the Whigs were handed a garter garter, the traditional symbol of witchcraft recognised for over a hundred years.

But earlier, on April 3, the 'synchronisation' of Juliette was to be far more disturbing than a simple attendance at a society function. After Rebecca pointed out the nameless prost.i.tute in the crowd, she and her a.s.sociates followed the woman and her client into the Coffee-Shop, only to see them vanish through a rear door and into a small backstreet nearby. What's most notable about all this is that, to the Doctor, the idea of chasing after a prost.i.tute and her client was a perfectly straightforward task. The streets behind the shop were narrow, s.p.a.ces between the rear walls of buildings rather than actual thoroughfares. Given the nature of the time, then, it's entirely believable that a streetwalker might have taken her client there even in the afternoon. Few people would have pa.s.sed by, and those that did would have been wont to turn a blind eye, especially if the gentleman were a gentleman gentleman.

It's impossible to say exactly how many babewyns babewyns were sighted in London during the first two months of the Doctor's war. Accounts are many, but as with the story of Anne-Belle Paley many of them are almost certainly folklore, older tales of escaped wild animals given a s.e.xy new dimension by the rumours of what was happening on Henrietta Street. And the newspapers were hardly likely to report drunken tales of cannibal apes told by the ladies of Covent Garden, even if such tales were all the rage in coffee-houses. But the manifestation behind the Coffee-Shop, in which Juliette came face to face with the horror ahead for the first time, can't have been the only such incident since the night of the ball. The only real description of the event comes from young Emily, and though she doesn't name her source it's easy to see that the story was related to her by Juliette: were sighted in London during the first two months of the Doctor's war. Accounts are many, but as with the story of Anne-Belle Paley many of them are almost certainly folklore, older tales of escaped wild animals given a s.e.xy new dimension by the rumours of what was happening on Henrietta Street. And the newspapers were hardly likely to report drunken tales of cannibal apes told by the ladies of Covent Garden, even if such tales were all the rage in coffee-houses. But the manifestation behind the Coffee-Shop, in which Juliette came face to face with the horror ahead for the first time, can't have been the only such incident since the night of the ball. The only real description of the event comes from young Emily, and though she doesn't name her source it's easy to see that the story was related to her by Juliette: Such horror! It was a thing thing, I am told, such as in any zoological garden, but if it had bin fed on raw meat or even (dare I say) human flesh. The ape had a b.l.o.o.d.y snout and jaws that mite have dripped the blood of its victims. There was spit around its mouth and it had claws that swung like blades. 0 my dear Lady, the face of the thing describ'd to me was enough to make me feel quite ill. It could have bitten a man in two, I'm told, but the worst thing was its family family, for just as sure as it stood there in the alley there were a hundred others of its kine only waiting for there opportunity to make themselves known.

This may well all be exaggerated, but it makes a point. When Lisa-Beth had reported her own experience at her rooms, there had only been one babewyn babewyn, and it had been summoned (real or imagined) by the practice of black coffee black coffee. But two weeks later, things had worsened. As the prost.i.tute behind the Coffee-Shop isn't even named, she probably wasn't known to anybody at the House and therefore would have most likely been a white coffee white coffee girl. a.s.suming the Doctor and friends had followed the woman and her client at speed, the encounter in the backstreet can hardly have begun by the time the creature appeared: Emily's account suggests that it launched itself at 'my friend' (Juliette?) as soon as it had materialised, with the unfortunate prost.i.tute and her client vanis.h.i.+ng amidst a fury of screaming, 'still unbraced'. It hadn't been some obscure ritual that had called this beast forth, but a perfectly normal, if sordid, backstreet transaction. If the woman had used any form of girl. a.s.suming the Doctor and friends had followed the woman and her client at speed, the encounter in the backstreet can hardly have begun by the time the creature appeared: Emily's account suggests that it launched itself at 'my friend' (Juliette?) as soon as it had materialised, with the unfortunate prost.i.tute and her client vanis.h.i.+ng amidst a fury of screaming, 'still unbraced'. It hadn't been some obscure ritual that had called this beast forth, but a perfectly normal, if sordid, backstreet transaction. If the woman had used any form of tantra tantra, then it could only have been a mild version, perhaps picked up from one of London's many foreign prost.i.tutes. No doubt it was only the special 'sensitivity' shared by Rebecca and the Doctor which had led them to the scene in time.

There's a sense here that the babewyn babewyn attacks were becoming more random, less predictable. And not all of them involved prost.i.tutes. In the months that followed, there'd be similar 'savage animal' stories as far afield as Ostend and the French West Indies. Like cautionary tales, there was to be an underlying theme in these folk stories that the victims had been attacked because they'd attacks were becoming more random, less predictable. And not all of them involved prost.i.tutes. In the months that followed, there'd be similar 'savage animal' stories as far afield as Ostend and the French West Indies. Like cautionary tales, there was to be an underlying theme in these folk stories that the victims had been attacked because they'd done done certain things which were best left alone. It's notable, too, that the Coffee-Shop incident occurred in a dirty alley. In the old days, no real gentleman would have considered such a tryst outside a House, and it was the lure of these female-run Houses that had made many women in London rich enough to own vast tracts of Covent Garden... far more than a supposedly certain things which were best left alone. It's notable, too, that the Coffee-Shop incident occurred in a dirty alley. In the old days, no real gentleman would have considered such a tryst outside a House, and it was the lure of these female-run Houses that had made many women in London rich enough to own vast tracts of Covent Garden... far more than a supposedly respectable respectable woman would have been allowed to achieve. A Puritan might have argued that with the arrival of the apes, the professional women of London were paying the price for their success. woman would have been allowed to achieve. A Puritan might have argued that with the arrival of the apes, the professional women of London were paying the price for their success.

Evidently the Doctor felt that he was capable of holding off the beasts, at least in small numbers. Scarlette calls his method for dispelling the apes a 'banis.h.i.+ng', and it's possible he may have taught the technique to Rebecca soon after his arrival on Henrietta Street. It's also possible that he was attempting to teach Juliette the same thing, which might be why, despite his great regard for her, he brought her to attend the Coffee-Shop manifestation. In Lisa-Beth's notes, there's the implication that the ring he gave to Juliette was in some way a weapon, or at least a protection against the monsters, despite the fact that by April Lisa-Beth knew full well what the real significance of the item was.

Emily states that Juliette 'was ask'd once more by Doctor _____ after that whether she wished to a.s.sist a.s.sist him further' (notice the emphasis on him further' (notice the emphasis on a.s.sist a.s.sist, implying something much greater), and Juliette did her duty, as usual, by telling him that she did. Perhaps significantly, Emily also records that 'my friend came away from the terrible thing with her dress splashed by its beastly blood, from jaws where it had bit its kine to be first into the lite'. Again, the image of blood and blooding, the hint that from this point on Juliette was marked marked and that there was no way back for her now. and that there was no way back for her now.

Perhaps the Doctor wished there had been. There was certainly a lot on his mind. By April he'd been at the House for six weeks, but he understood that it wasn't his real place of power. Scarlette's journal relates that one evening, she found him staring into the looking gla.s.s on her dressing-table. She watched him for a while, before realising that his attention seemed fixed on his beard and moustache. From time to time he'd raise his hand to stroke it, as if he couldn't quite believe the reflection was his own. It's worth repeating their conversation in full.

SCARLETTE: Do you feel well?DOCTOR [after some hesitation]: It's all right. I think I've just worked something out.SCARLETTE: Oh yes?DOCTOR: I think I know how to change myself into pure energy. Which means, I suppose, that I could move as fast as light.SCARLETTE [playfully]: Impressive. How would you do it?DOCTOR: Well, it wouldn't be easy. It'd need a lot of concentration. I'd have to slowly self-adapt my biology. The tricky part's forcing my body to convert the cell formations without disturbing the overall balance. It'd take a lot of practice and meditation.SCARLETTE: Oh? How much much meditation? meditation?DOCTOR: I'd say it should take me about... ohhh... three thousand years. Less, if I could find a way of stopping myself getting distracted. SCARLETTE: Three thousand years. To become a creature of pure light.DOCTOR: I'm trying to decide whether it'd be worth the bother.

Odd as it might sound, there is is a connection between this conversation and the Doctor's beard. It's hard to escape the impression that the Doctor was unsure of his role in the struggle of Henrietta Street; that his new position, as House elemental and co-owner of a seraglio, was outside his usual frame of experience; that he was starting to feel unsure of the limits of his person. Scarlette states that he had no beard when he arrived in February, and it's easy to feel that he grew it as a deliberate change, just to see whether he a connection between this conversation and the Doctor's beard. It's hard to escape the impression that the Doctor was unsure of his role in the struggle of Henrietta Street; that his new position, as House elemental and co-owner of a seraglio, was outside his usual frame of experience; that he was starting to feel unsure of the limits of his person. Scarlette states that he had no beard when he arrived in February, and it's easy to feel that he grew it as a deliberate change, just to see whether he could could. Described by many as a man of habit, the Doctor was starting to see some great and terrible change in the universe around him, just as the whole of London society was. He must have wondered whether he himself should be engulfed by that change, and being who he was he saw little difference between growing a beard and metamorphosising himself into energy.

And there were other matters playing on his mind, other 'changes' he knew had to be made.

On the same day as her society outing at St James's, Lisa-Beth met once again with the mysterious R_____ at the Shakespeare's Head. This time she was evidently more direct with him, and as she didn't return to the House until the early hours in the morning it's even possible she may have been paid to perform some black coffee black coffee act. There are many contemporary reports of peculiar rites in the 'offices' of the Service, in which a single woman would be hired to act as a priestess in a symbolic sacrificial ceremony, standing naked in a star-shaped chamber during a ridiculous-sounding rite designed to 'bring vitality to the soil of Great Britain'. But at first she supplied R_____ with more information about the activities of the Doctor and Scarlette. Lisa-Beth told the agent that Juliette had been prepared for the ceremony to come, not just by her 'blooding' but in a more elaborate ceremony in which she was dressed and instructed by Scarlette herself. Lisa-Beth also revealed that the Doctor was making desperate moves to contact the more awkward names on the 'red list' of thirteen, something that apparently required the presence of what he called a ' act. There are many contemporary reports of peculiar rites in the 'offices' of the Service, in which a single woman would be hired to act as a priestess in a symbolic sacrificial ceremony, standing naked in a star-shaped chamber during a ridiculous-sounding rite designed to 'bring vitality to the soil of Great Britain'. But at first she supplied R_____ with more information about the activities of the Doctor and Scarlette. Lisa-Beth told the agent that Juliette had been prepared for the ceremony to come, not just by her 'blooding' but in a more elaborate ceremony in which she was dressed and instructed by Scarlette herself. Lisa-Beth also revealed that the Doctor was making desperate moves to contact the more awkward names on the 'red list' of thirteen, something that apparently required the presence of what he called a 'Tardis' . And behind Scarlette's back perhaps more to spare her feelings than anything the Doctor had asked the other women to gather any information they could about an individual called 'Sabbath' who'd been present at the Gordon Riots in 1780, or about the dying Polynesian tribe called the Mayakai Mayakai.

So it was that all this information ended up in the files of the Service. But the information wasn't all one-way. Lisa-Beth discovered much from agent R_____, including the fact that the five highest councillors of the Service had met to discuss the situation (no doubt in their star-shaped chamber), and that some of them were considering putting pressure on the watch to shut the House of Scarlette down. The King was in a precarious position, said the mandarins. His Majesty might not have known the first thing about demons, but the last thing he needed was some mad tart of a witch reminding people of the h.e.l.lfire Club and the excesses of the King's old court. Certainly, n.o.body in the Service was paying the slightest bit of notice to the red envelope their agent had received at the ball. The invitation inside, said R_____, was clearly an irrelevant fancy on the part of either Scarlette or her pet elemental.

Naturally, by this time Rebecca knew all about the contents of the red envelopes. The message inside each one took the form of an invitation, and one copy still survives. The card on which the invitation is printed is black, the calligraphy a sombre red in colour. The only thing that immediately needs explaining about the invite is the name given to the Doctor: 'Jack-of*the-Moon' or 'Flighty Jack' was a term used at the time to denote someone who dwelt on high-minded things at the expense of the everyday world, and there's no reason to think that this was supposed to represent a real name (or even a nickname) for the Doctor. It's also worth mentioning that the name 'Vierge' is also likely to be a false t.i.tle used for the sake of convenience.

The card reads: Your representative is cordially invited, on the first day of December, seventeen-hundred and eighty-two, to the wedding of DOCTOR 'MIGHT JACK-OF*THE-MOON' and MISTRESS JULIETTE VIERGE. The ceremony is to be held according to the strictest traditions at the Church of Saint Simon, St Belique; and in the Vault thereof. House colours will be observed throughout. Political colours will not not be acceptable for ladies or gentlemen, except with the express permission of the House of Mistress Scarlette. All protocol will be considered while in Church by the parties involved. be acceptable for ladies or gentlemen, except with the express permission of the House of Mistress Scarlette. All protocol will be considered while in Church by the parties involved.A response would be appreciated at some time prior to December.

Acts of Magic A city which might have been built for human beings, but with the rooftops collapsing into rubble and the bleak, endless weather wearing down the walls; buildings that once might have looked as fine as those of the Grand Tour cities, of Florence or Venice, faded to grey and reduced to drab, endless ruins; ditches full of bones where there should be ca.n.a.ls; a dry, never-ending wind; the scent of animal dung and blood-matted fur on every corner; a hundred thousand idiotic apes, scratching and mating and chewing at each others' pelts in the debris; b.l.o.o.d.y, rheumy-eyed baboon-creatures lazily spreading themselves over the streets of bone; the all-pervading sound of grunting and howling, as the residents feed and sweat in the wreckage of a dead civilisation...

This was what lay ahead, according to the Doctor. Juliette is known to have dreamed of it on more than one occasion, as is Rebecca, and Lisa-Beth, and possibly even Scarlette herself. Perhaps the biological rhythms of the House's women had already started falling in line by April, synchronising their dreams as well as their bodies. Or perhaps the influence of the Doctor had pressed the importance of their mission on them so greatly that they couldn't help but dream the same dreams.

Or perhaps it was a kind of prophecy. At various times between March and May, the Doctor apparently changed his mind about whether the destroyed city was the fate that would befall the world if the House failed in its task, or simply the place from which the babewyns babewyns had come. But what's inarguable is that the vision disturbed Juliette greatly. had come. But what's inarguable is that the vision disturbed Juliette greatly.

Right from the time when Scarlette obtained the House, Juliette had been given the room at the top and the front of the four-storey House, a cosy boudoir with a large window overlooking the narrow, cobbled byway of Henrietta Street. As the only woman in the House who wasn't available for hire by the gentlemen of the city, Juliette must have spent many an evening watching the men get out of the hackney cabs outside and nervously stroll up to the front door, wondering whether she'd eventually be asked to take up the same occupation as the other girls (although, as she must have known, she was expected to remain a virgin at least until the marriage ceremony). Dutiful as she might have been, it's not surprising that Juliette felt anxious and restless. She knew she was to be an important part of something, but she had no immediate role to play and nothing to do but a.s.sist the Doctor in his cellar. Did the dreams start to play on her mind?

Thanks to Emily, it's possible to say that the answer was a definite yes. Because from March onwards, Juliette was performing her own form of ritual in the privacy of her upstairs room. The Doctor was unaware of this, and at least once Scarlette had explicitly warned her not to attempt any kind of ritual without the guidance of the Master or the Mistress of the House. But like Scarlette herself, Juliette was inquisitive, and literate in both English and French. Alchemical texts were her favourite form of reading matter. She consulted several of the works in Scarlette's office, books in which Scarlette herself had only a pa.s.sing interest. When she was sure that n.o.body in the House was likely to disturb her, she'd often sneak materials out of the Doctor's cellar and perform her own small experiments behind closed doors. Again, it's important to note that this wasn't out of any kind of ambition or personal desire. Juliette felt herself to be part of something she couldn't quite grasp, and most probably only wanted to understand it better. More than that, she perhaps felt she had a duty to something she couldn't quite define. Her exact words: 'I do love them [the Doctor and Scarlette] as much as I can. But I feel a great undertaking has been put before me... in which the world has never given me option. I would never wish to disappoint them.'

Her only confidante in these little 'dabblings' was Emily, who witnessed several of Juliette's experiments in the top-floor room. Emily records that on two occasions, Juliette mixed a variety of esoteric materials in one of the Doctor's gla.s.s beakers and surrounded it 'with such a variety of strange devises' (meaning occult charms rather than actual machines). The mixture of substances might sound scientific, in an amateur sense, but in fact Juliette's aims were ritualistic. The experiments were always accompanied by a large amount of ceremony and incantation, and once Juliette even managed to get hold of Scarlette's own personal totem a piece of old, jagged gla.s.s, which Scarlette usually wore on a chain around her neck and to which she attributed great power (about which, more later) to some effect. When the fumes from the combined chemicals filled Juliette's room, both she and Emily seem to have been overcome by the noxious vapours. In Emily's words: There was such an air [i.e. gas] in the room that I feard I mite choke. But when my eyes started to water I heard a crack and I saw the gla.s.s jug from the cellar had broken open. But, o! The peeces did not fly at all directions or fall. I saw them hang in the air for a moment after the jug broke. I thought this mite be the water in my eyes, but my friend was staring at the gla.s.s in an intens manner and saying her charms under her breath, so I knew that it was she who held them in place. It lasted a second or little more before the peeces flew out.

Some might argue that this was a demonstration of the 'potential' which the Doctor saw in Juliette. However, it seems more likely that (as Emily herself considered) it was an effect of the fumes: noxious gases can indeed make time seem to slow down, under certain conditions. This doesn't mean that Juliette's experiment was worthless, though. She'd been told to maintain her virtue, and so had set about entering a state much like the Shaktyanda Shaktyanda of the of the tantrists tantrists through chemical/alchemical means. She was trying to alter time, or at least her perception of time, and with remarkable success. It's indeed lucky that this didn't lead to an infestation of the 'demons' so feared by the Doctor. through chemical/alchemical means. She was trying to alter time, or at least her perception of time, and with remarkable success. It's indeed lucky that this didn't lead to an infestation of the 'demons' so feared by the Doctor.

(Incidentally, it shouldn't be thought that Emily was just a giddy-headed, witless observer. When the artist Romney used the young Emily as a model for his painting of the mythical sorceress Circe Circe, he portrayed her as a vivid, dark-eyed, secretive beauty. Perhaps there was more of a witch inside Emily than many of her friends suspected.) Juliette's restlessness was echoed not just amongst the other women of the House, but in London in general. Beginning in the spring of 1782, there was an increasing hostility in the public and the press towards the city's prost.i.tutes, an ill-feeling that seems hard to explain or justify. It's as though London's inhabitants noticed noticed that something was wrong, even if they couldn't say exactly what and were hardly likely to attach any credence to stories of ape-faced monsters. More and more, the women of the seraglios were blamed for bringing some terrible moral catastrophe down on the heads of the English. The subtext of the many editorials in the press was that some terrible darkness was waiting to engulf the city, a darkness that the houses of leisure could only worsen. that something was wrong, even if they couldn't say exactly what and were hardly likely to attach any credence to stories of ape-faced monsters. More and more, the women of the seraglios were blamed for bringing some terrible moral catastrophe down on the heads of the English. The subtext of the many editorials in the press was that some terrible darkness was waiting to engulf the city, a darkness that the houses of leisure could only worsen.

The women of the House were cursed, then. Rebecca might have blamed herself for this, as if her impure blood had somehow brought shame to Covent Garden. Scarlette might have seen it in more ritualistic terms. After all, the March ball had been designed as a kind of ritual, to bring together the women and make their resistance known: the decor of the ball itself, the black-and*red drapes and blossoms, was almost a reflection of the blue-and*white b.a.l.l.s held for the Whigs at Devons.h.i.+re House. Scarlette might have said that her her art was all about changing the ma.s.s-mind of the people, and she must have perceived society as a battleground where the forces of black/red magic and white/blue magic would meet. And ready to strike from the shadows, the real enemy: the apes, and anyone who might have been controlling them. art was all about changing the ma.s.s-mind of the people, and she must have perceived society as a battleground where the forces of black/red magic and white/blue magic would meet. And ready to strike from the shadows, the real enemy: the apes, and anyone who might have been controlling them.

Lisa-Beth, on the other hand, already knew that the Service was turning against the seraglios. She doubtless would have understood that the mood of the press was largely controlled by such cliques: in the single year from 1782-83, around 2,000 (a ma.s.sive amount in eighteenth-century terms) was spent by agents of the government on bribes and pay-offs to newspaper editors. If the mood was changing, then it was with the consent, if not the actual backing, of the Service. Lisa-Beth's solution to this was presented to the House on the night of April 10, the very same evening that Juliette and Emily observed time slow down in the upstairs boudoir.

Lisa-Beth had been given a room on the ground floor of the House, into which she'd moved most of the furnis.h.i.+ngs and effects from her old residence near the menagerie. On that night she'd been seen taking a client into her room, definitely not not, records Scarlette, one of the House's regulars. Apart from Katya, none of the other women were occupied on that evening. While Lisa-Beth attended to her gentleman, Scarlette, the Doctor, and some of the other women were in the main salon of the House, reclining on the red velvet chaise longues chaise longues and engaging in the normal evening pursuits of cards and town gossip. The Doctor was apparently engrossed in a copy of the and engaging in the normal evening pursuits of cards and town gossip. The Doctor was apparently engrossed in a copy of the Gentleman's Magazine Gentleman's Magazine, most particularly the science pages.

At around half past nine, Lisa-Beth walked out of her room and addressed all those gathered in the salon, telling them that there was something she thought they ought to see. Curious, the others followed her back to her room, the Doctor and Scarlette at the front of the party.

The gentleman client lay on Lisa-Beth's bed, stripped to the pantaloons, his wrists and ankles tied to the bed's four posts (bondage was as great a part of eighteenth-century prost.i.tution as it would be in later centuries). There was a gag in the man's mouth, and from the sweat on his face the gentleman in question was scared out of his wits. But most importantly, several words had been painted on to his chest in a thick red ink, words in an alphabet Scarlette didn't recognise but which she later described as 'almost Egyptian'.

All this was Lisa-Beth's work. When Scarlette asked, reasonably, what on Earth she thought she was doing what on Earth she thought she was doing and while the Doctor simply looked curious Lisa-Beth moved to the end of the bed, extended a finger in the man's direction, and spoke five simple words. and while the Doctor simply looked curious Lisa-Beth moved to the end of the bed, extended a finger in the man's direction, and spoke five simple words.

No record reveals these words. Whatever Lisa-Beth might have said, the effect on the man was immediate. His 'eyes widened like billiard-b.a.l.l.s', and he immediately began to struggle (if one believes Lisa-Beth) or cry (if one believes Scarlette).

Even if the words themselves have been erased from history, their import is obvious. They were the five secret names of the Points of the Star, as represented by the Service's star-shaped room. The five names were the most secret of secrets in government circles, and by using them in this context Lisa-Beth was demonstrating a very real power. In retrospect it's clear what she'd been doing, since the beginning of the month. She'd been consorting with agents of the Service, indulging in black coffee black coffee with them, possibly even acting as a 'priestess' in their ceremonies. While the Service had believed her to be a mere woman of leisure, Lisa-Beth had carefully been digging out the Service's secrets, either by unravelling the ceremonies or by using her extraordinary musculature to seduce the answers out of the five gentlemen of the Star Chamber. True, she'd pa.s.sed on the secrets of the House, but while they'd gloated over this information she'd quietly and efficiently prized far more powerful knowledge from her supposed paymasters. with them, possibly even acting as a 'priestess' in their ceremonies. While the Service had believed her to be a mere woman of leisure, Lisa-Beth had carefully been digging out the Service's secrets, either by unravelling the ceremonies or by using her extraordinary musculature to seduce the answers out of the five gentlemen of the Star Chamber. True, she'd pa.s.sed on the secrets of the House, but while they'd gloated over this information she'd quietly and efficiently prized far more powerful knowledge from her supposed paymasters.

The man on the bed was an agent of the Service, and Lisa-Beth had made the threat plain. If the Service continued to hara.s.s the House of Scarlette, then the sacred names would be distributed throughout Covent Garden and within a week every brothel-goer in central London would have these most secret words either written or tattooed on their chests. To the Service, symbols were power, none more so than the five Names of the Star which had been pa.s.sed down by Dr Dee ten generations earlier. When written on the body, the words were intended to lend a great and holy strength to the Service's men. And if such power real or simply imagined were to be given to all and sundry... as Scarlette said, they now had the Service 'aux les couilles'.

Shortly afterwards the man was untied, and left to go on his way, picking up his clothes and (as Scarlette records, with her usual rude humour) 'leaving the House with his tail between his legs'. Scarlette had always considered Lisa-Beth to be a mercenary, but Lisa-Beth knew which way the wind was blowing and by now had become convinced that the Doctor was their only hope of holding back the babewyns babewyns. Not only would this performance hopefully stay the Service's hand, it might also be used as leverage, to ensure the Service's attendance at the December wedding. The Doctor was said to be 'delighted' by this, although he confessed that Lisa-Beth's methods left him rather puzzled.

Lisa-Beth had proved without doubt which side she was on. More importantly, she'd shown that in spite of insurmountable odds, in spite of public hostility, aristocratic apathy, and the distrust of the thirteen groups on the 'red list', the plans of Scarlette and the Doctor could be put into operation. The Service had been cowed, if not exactly brought to heel, and the House still had another seven months in which to bring the other groups around. By this one ritualistic, magical, symbolic symbolic act, Lisa-Beth unlikeliest of soldiers had proved the war to be worth fighting. act, Lisa-Beth unlikeliest of soldiers had proved the war to be worth fighting.

But at roughly the same time, several factors were continuing to complicate matters. Just two floors above, Juliette was showing a kind of initiative that might have both disturbed and appealed to the Doctor. And meanwhile, at Westminster, other events had been set in motion.

The Countess and the Lord When it came to ritualists, there was no solid line between one lodge and another. The Masons had links with the Service, the Service had links with the Ministers, and the Ministers slept with the black coffee black coffee artistes in the bagnios. Sooner or later, it was inevitable that factions would overlap and supposed enemies would find themselves on the same side. Such is politics. artistes in the bagnios. Sooner or later, it was inevitable that factions would overlap and supposed enemies would find themselves on the same side. Such is politics.

For example, on April 16 the watchmen in charge of the territory just north of the Thames found something suspicious in the inner grounds of Westminster Abbey. It happened in the shadows of the western towers, and the watch had to bring in lamps before they could make sense of the scene, but at the centre of it all was a well-dressed middle-aged man who seemed to be engaged in some form of satanic practice. A circle had been scratched into the stone path around the side of the Abbey building, and inside that circle the reason the watch had been alerted in the first place was some species of b.l.o.o.d.y-snouted ape. The ape was in a fury, tearing and clawing at the air, as if the circle were in some way keeping it confined. Its heavy forelimbs were bleeding, as though it had torn its fingers to shreds ripping at a wall that wasn't there. The man, meanwhile, looked terrified when the watch appeared and began to blubber that none of this was his fault.

The watch knew when they were out of their depth, and via the 'gentleman's network' of Westminster called in people more qualified. Masonic archives reveal that the first two 'experts' called in to attend the scene were Lord _____ and the Countess of Jersey (neither of them are named in the archives, but the Countess at least is easy to identify from her description), who promptly dismissed the watch and attended to the matter themselves. After the Battle of the Saints and the ruination of the French fleet in the West Indies, things actually seemed to be going right for the new Britain, so the last thing these two establishment arcanists wanted was for somebody to rock the boat now.

These occult troubleshooters have already been described, in part. It's tempting to think that Lord _____ would have arrived at the Abbey in the same blood-red hood he'd worn to Scarlette's ball; and that the Countess, another attendee, would have arrived carrying her pipe. An ambitious, manipulative, somewhat vulgar but unquestionably seductive n.o.blewoman, the Countess was known in society for her affiliations with both the more shadowy demi-reps demi-reps and members of the royal family itself in the future, she was to have a long-lasting affair with the Prince of Wales. Though she never smoked it at respectable society b.a.l.l.s G.o.d forbid when attending the more sinister functions she was usually seen with a pipe, filled with a noxious weed which certainly and members of the royal family itself in the future, she was to have a long-lasting affair with the Prince of Wales. Though she never smoked it at respectable society b.a.l.l.s G.o.d forbid when attending the more sinister functions she was usually seen with a pipe, filled with a noxious weed which certainly wasn't wasn't tobacco. It was unladylike, but it was rumoured to induce celestial visions of some form. She despised Scarlette, despite receiving an invitation to the March ball, where many remarked that the blue smoke-rings from the pipe quite wilfully clashed with the colours of the House. (Aptly enough, the Countess was indeed one of the blue-and*white Whig brigade.) tobacco. It was unladylike, but it was rumoured to induce celestial visions of some form. She despised Scarlette, despite receiving an invitation to the March ball, where many remarked that the blue smoke-rings from the pipe quite wilfully clashed with the colours of the House. (Aptly enough, the Countess was indeed one of the blue-and*white Whig brigade.) The 'lost' Masonic archive at Musselburgh, Scotland, claims that this seemingly ill-matched pair who'd apparently worked together before wasted no time in getting to the bottom of things. The terrified man at the Abbey was a member of the House of Lords, described only as the Marquis of M_____. Both the Lord's Masonic lodge and the Countess's inner circle would have known about the babewyn babewyn threat, but even they must have been surprised to learn that this Marquis had summoned the ape intentionally. The ritual of summoning is described by the Masons in detail, but it's incredibly tedious and self-important, involving a variety of pseudo-mystical pentagrams and Greek incantations. threat, but even they must have been surprised to learn that this Marquis had summoned the ape intentionally. The ritual of summoning is described by the Masons in detail, but it's incredibly tedious and self-important, involving a variety of pseudo-mystical pentagrams and Greek incantations.

The reason for the Marquis's attempt to call and bind the ape? Because, he said, he'd been told to. He was in the employ of a higher power. While Lord _____ 'dispatched' the babewyn babewyn, the Countess demanded to know who or what this power might have been, and with some reluctance the Marquis told her that he believed his employer to be working for the Service.

Wheels within wheels, then. The Countess was convinced that no agent of the Service would do something so risky, particularly not in the occult 'hot zone' of Westminster Abbey, whose western towers had after all been designed by the architect Hawksmoor as a monstrous satanic joke. Yet the ritual used to call the beast did seem to have the Service's po-faced air about it. Both the Countess and the Lord must have realised the implication of this: that a Service ritualist, evidently a powerful and influential one at that, had acted alone for unknown reasons.

There were few things more dreaded then a rogue Serviceman. After all, master-agents were trained not just to be a.s.sa.s.sins but survivors of almost superhuman talent. Though the minor agents might have been little more than information-gatherers, the top men of the department were trained in all the arts of combat, subterfuge, psychology and mysticism. As disguise was an important element in fieldwork, it was a nigh-impossible task to even find a gifted Serviceman, let alone bring him down. Indeed, there's some evidence that the great mystique of the Service was really just a control mechanism, a way of balancing the agents, convincing them that they were part of a greater daemonic whole and that to break away from the organisation was to invite the wrath of h.e.l.l itself, or at least the wrath of True Government. Similar practices had been employed ever since Dee's experiments with the Enochian language in Elizabethan times, a process best described in modern terms as 'brainwas.h.i.+ng by angels'. So unsettling was the idea of a rogue ritualist that the Service even set up its own sub-clique in 1760, euphemistically known as the rat-catchers rat-catchers, to enforce the conditioning of the department. By 1782, only one renegade had ever escaped the rat-catchers' zealous eye.

Was a rogue Service agent responsible for this affair, then? The Countess and the Lord must have suspected as much, even before they managed to extract from the unfortunate Marquis the name by which his employer was known. The information didn't come easily, as the Marquis was under the impression that if he said too much then other agents of his employer would hunt him down to the ends of the Earth.

But surely, both Jersey and the Lord would have understood the significance of the name 'Sabbath'.

Back at the House, the Doctor was certainly beginning to. In the wake of Lisa-Beth's triumph over the Service, the Doctor spoke privately to many of the women in the House, giving each of them instructions and advice (but never actually orders orders) as to how they might prepare themselves for the challenge ahead. Now that she'd demonstrated her loyalty to Scarlette's faction, the Doctor seems to have opened up a little more to Lisa-Beth. It was only now, for example, that she started to understand the true significance of the marriage ceremony planned between the Doctor and Juliette. It had always been quite clear to her that it wasn't a bond of true love, although there's no doubt that the Doctor had the greatest affection for Juliette and that Juliette had the greatest respect for him. The Doctor spoke in hints, apparently always distracted by other matters, but gradually Lisa-Beth began to understand the symbolic significance of the wedding. She did, however, insist on referring to it as 'the virgin sacrifice'.

The dreams of the House's women also began to intensify. There were further visions of the realm of the beasts, particularly (no surprises here) during that time of the month when the House en ma.s.se en ma.s.se was visited by the Prince. Sometimes human beings would be seen in the dreams, rendered limb from limb by the claws of hungry, demented apes. A throne was glimpsed, obviously made out of the stacked skulls of feeding-victims, and on it was perched a figure so dark and bloated that it became impossible to properly envisage. On one occasion the sky over the doomed city grew quite black, as if something dark and truly monstrous were gazing down on it. There was the general feeling that the apes were watching them, judging them, ready to impose their own b.e.s.t.i.a.l law on the House and its occupants. was visited by the Prince. Sometimes human beings would be seen in the dreams, rendered limb from limb by the claws of hungry, demented apes. A throne was glimpsed, obviously made out of the stacked skulls of feeding-victims, and on it was perched a figure so dark and bloated that it became impossible to properly envisage. On one occasion the sky over the doomed city grew quite black, as if something dark and truly monstrous were gazing down on it. There was the general feeling that the apes were watching them, judging them, ready to impose their own b.e.s.t.i.a.l law on the House and its occupants.

Many of the women, Juliette especially, came to think of the Doctor as a tragic figure: an elemental cast out of his own world, trapped at the House perhaps as a kind of penance. It was as though he'd been removed from his place of power, and had the uncomfortable sense that he was interfering in things which were now none of his business. It's probably true to say that he often wondered whether Scarlette, with her fragments of ancient lore and her determination to pull the House together, could have done the same job without him. But Scarlette obviously felt she needed him around, perhaps because he was the best justification she had, the best proof that her tradition still had power.

Yet ironically, he still had to move behind Scarlette's back on occasion. The morning after Lisa-Beth's victory, the Doctor went to the top of the House to speak to Juliette in private. The exact conversation is lost to time, but they must have discussed many things, including their forthcoming marriage. Later, Juliette would tell Emily of the conclusion.

There was, said my friend, a certan man man who was wanted by Doctor _____. Scarlette knew of the appearance and history of this man, but her hart was sore from it and it would do her no good to speak of it. It was the Doctor's thinking that this who was wanted by Doctor _____. Scarlette knew of the appearance and history of this man, but her hart was sore from it and it would do her no good to speak of it. It was the Doctor's thinking that this man man had a certan knowlege of the terrible apes, but how or why he could not say. It was the task of my friend to use all her talents to find this had a certan knowlege of the terrible apes, but how or why he could not say. It was the task of my friend to use all her talents to find this man man, who had many agents that mite have left trails behind them... the Doctor felt there was something in my friend which made her fit for this [but] perhaps this was to be an intation [initiation?] of a kind. The Doctor I'm told was most grave when he said this and did not know for sure whether it was rite to involv her in such danger. He told her she would have help, in that other elementals would be called to do her bidding.

The reference to 'other elementals' is the first indication that the Doctor had friends outside of the House who could be 'summoned' to give him aid. These unearthly friends, he told Juliette, would soon arrive at the House. He couldn't say when, as before he could call them he had to complete certain scientific work in his laboratory-study.

It's true that the Doctor was spending longer and longer periods downstairs. This could partly be explained by his work on the process of summoning, but there's another possible explanation. On the last day of the month, Scarlette knocked on the door and received no reply: there was no sound from within, not even the crackling of his electrical devices. Being the only one in the House who ever risked disturbing him, she opened the door and descended the stone steps into the cellar.

There she found the Doctor, a nearly burned-out lamp by his side, slumped over the big wooden table in the middle of the room. She took him to be asleep, but later realised that his state was closer to what might in modern terms be called nervous exhaustion. She thought it best not to awaken him, although in her journal she does pause to wonder how many hours he spent asleep or unconscious behind that door.

He'd been sick when he'd arrived in London, for reasons Scarlette couldn't deduce, but which she felt may have been related to the absence of his Tardis Tardis. Now he was obviously getting worse. And, ritualistic as she was, she couldn't help connecting his malady to the malady of the House itself. Lisa-Beth's victory wasn't enough to permanently lift the House's spirits, especially not when, on April 24, Katya was attacked in Maiden Lane: not by an ape, but by a crowd of drunks who tore off her dress and nearly left her scarred with a broken bottle before she managed to make her escape.

And there was one final ill omen. During the Whig campaign in Westminster, Charles Fox had asked several notable political figures to help him drum up support. One was an individual whom many still saw as a spokesman for liberty despite his reputation, an individual who'd been responsible for a great deal of damage in the past who'd once even been thought of as insane but who'd now repented and was eager to prove himself a force to be reckoned with in the new era.

His name was Lord George Gordon, instigator of the Gordon Riots of 1780. The skin of London continued to p.r.i.c.kle.

3.

England A Night Out In the first week of May, 1782, a box at the Drury Lane Theatre was reserved at the request of Miss Scarlette of Henrietta Street. This is remarkable in itself, given her reputation: boxes at the Theatre were generally the preserve of the particularly fas.h.i.+onable or royal. The names attributed to her party include 'Doctor J', also of Henrietta Street; Miss Juliette Vierge, to whom he was said to be engaged; Mr Fitzgerald Kreiner (a German, apparently, rumoured to be a distant relative of the royal Hanoverians); and Miss Anji Kapoor. When the party entered the box there was hissing from the crowds below, but this was nothing unusual. The Theatre was a noisy place, and the bon ton bon ton liked to judge their standing in society by the reaction they were given from the cheap seats. Scarlette would have been easy to recognise as one of the 'suspect' liked to judge their standing in society by the reaction they were given from the cheap seats. Scarlette would have been easy to recognise as one of the 'suspect' demi-reps demi-reps, though she, of course, didn't even acknowledge the sound. She was reported to have had a satisfied smile on her face as she took her seat.

Because so many of the accounts of Scarlette come from Lisa-Beth, it's easy to see this Procuress of Henrietta Street as a woman living in a world of her own. But even apart from the great impact she obviously made on those around her, tales of her exploits are legion. She was said to have bested the famous dandy highwayman and wencher 'Sixteen-String Jack' in a drinking contest shortly before his public execution, and to have disarmed him of his weapon one-handed after he took the defeat badly. And she was just as formidable on the night of the Theatre visit. Arriving by hackney cab outside, her party had been met by a group of prost.i.tutes from south of the river who abused her friends and threatened her with violence, stating that she was bringing disrepute even to their their kind. According to one popular story Scarlette responded to this by casually drawing a musket and pointing it at the leader of the women, saying: 'If it's blood you wish to see, then let it be on my hands.' kind. According to one popular story Scarlette responded to this by casually drawing a musket and pointing it at the leader of the women, saying: 'If it's blood you wish to see, then let it be on my hands.'

In fact, this story is apocryphal. The truth about the encounter was stranger yet, as later events would show.

Scarlette's demeanour was one of perpetual calm, and she appeared amused by events around her no matter what the threat. In this respect, she must have got on with the Doctor remarkably well. She spent more time in his company than any other individual at the House, leading to (entirely untrue) rumours that they were having an affair; that his marriage to Juliette was part of some dastardly plot masterminded by Scarlette herself; even that the Doctor was some demonic reincarnation of Francis Dashwood, a rumour given weight by the fact that the founder of the h.e.l.lfire Club had died (in suspicious circ.u.mstances, naturally) just weeks before the Doctor had arrived.

One night the Doctor and Scarlette spent the entire evening, alone, drinking wine in the salon of the House. Scarlette claims that they lay together on the floor, staring up at the rafters in the ceiling, trying to see through the wood and into time itself time itself. This was punctuated by some giggling even from the Doctor, it would appear and the pair attempted to outdo each other with tales of their adventures, the Doctor claiming that he'd once been invited into the boudoir of Marie-Antoinette, Scarlette claiming that she'd once ridden a woolly mammoth (still not believed entirely extinct) which had been a gift to George III from Catherine of Russia. It was probably now that the Doctor made his notorious 'two hearts' claim, exactly the kind of story which would have been told by charlatans like Cagliostro in France. When either the alcohol or the meditation caused them to be successful in their efforts to see through the ceiling, Scarlette fas.h.i.+oned a pair of crowns for them to wear out of dyed paper and declared them to be 'the King and Queen of All Tune'. The Doctor ostensibly stated that he was reluctant to become any kind of king, so Scarlette instead crowned herself the Queen and declared him to be her Physician in Ordinary. (She jokingly said that she was still waiting for somebody truly truly special to be her Physician in Extraordinary.) special to be her Physician in Extraordinary.) At the Theatre, many members of the party were evidently nervous at the crowd's reaction, particularly Mr Kreiner and Miss Kapoor. They must have been taken aback by the audience, and probably put out by London society's habit of loudly talking through the performance about the latest scandals amongst the bon ton bon ton. Drury Lane was a place in which one was seen, not a place for seeing. Scarlette had chosen the performance believing it to be a fantastical story of 'unlikely adventures on the newly-discovered star, Georgium Sidius', but the information was inaccurate and she spent much of the evening using her discretion-gla.s.s to observe the other boxes.

There were more women waiting outside for them when they left. This time they spat at Scarlette and her friends. The Doctor urged Scarlette to ignore the distraction and move on, but Scarlette insisted on stopping right in front of the delegation of prost.i.tutes. This is where the story of the drawn musket probably originates. Scarlette reached into the top of her dress, but the item she drew from her corset, dangling on a piece of cord, was no firearm.

It was a piece of jagged gla.s.s: the greatest surviving relic of the b.l.o.o.d.y, gothic events of 1762, when Mary Culver slit her own throat in the name of ceremony. Did the women outside the Theatre understand the importance of this totem, or was it simply Scarlette's determination that had an effect on them? Either way, all accounts agree that the leader of the women visibly flinched. There was no more jeering as Scarlette's party climbed into the cab and told the driver to head home.

It's worth stopping here to consider the nature of the two newcomers, Mr Kreiner and Miss Kapoor. They'd arrived at the House on the first day of May, one of the most important dates in the calendar of ritual, coming as it does straight after the ma.s.s wenching-and*exorcism ceremonies of Beltane. And it's true that according to Scarlette the newcomers had been 'summoned', though by her own admission the charms and totems used to call them had been the curious devices in the Doctor's study. Even so, May 1 was one of the House's 'bleeding days', and it was due to this (said Scarlette) that the Doctor's more mechanical experiments had succeeded.

The stories of the summoning are varied and contradictory. It's clear that something something happened, and the one recurring theme is that of a 'great light', like 'an indoor comet' or even 'the great opening of a door'. There must surely have been much electrical crackling from the Doctor's study before the Doctor himself ran out of the door at the top of the stairs and excitedly warned everyone in the salon to take cover behind the furnis.h.i.+ngs. A lot of the women later described the experience in surprisingly biological terms, as if the energy came from within their own bodies. Juliette was one of those who saw 'blood before her eyes... and a series of visions'. She later claimed she'd seen the future, not just the world of the happened, and the one recurring theme is that of a 'great light', like 'an indoor comet' or even 'the great opening of a door'. There must surely have been much electrical crackling from the Doctor's study before the Doctor himself ran out of the door at the top of the stairs and excitedly warned everyone in the salon to take cover behind the furnis.h.i.+ngs. A lot of the women later described the experience in surprisingly biological terms, as if the energy came from within their own bodies. Juliette was one of those who saw 'blood before her eyes... and a series of visions'. She later claimed she'd seen the future, not just the world of the Shaktyanda Shaktyanda but an but an actual actual future, in which she'd glimpsed a great metallic war-machine and realised that such things were inescapable. Scarlette herself could only comment that 'the horizon had opened' for a moment. future, in which she'd glimpsed a great metallic war-machine and realised that such things were inescapable. Scarlette herself could only comment that 'the horizon had opened' for a moment.

The end result was agreed on by everyone. Two human figures emerged from the doorway to the study, both of them stark naked and somewhat bewildered, the woman more put out by this than the man. Born out of the blood, fire and time so recurrent in the accounts, the House immediately identified them as elementals. Their nudity was described by the Doctor as a 'teething problem'. (There is, of course, the possibility of some chicanery here. If the Doctor did indeed have something of Cagliostro's showmans.h.i.+p in him, then it's only fair to mention that Cagliostro himself used elaborate pyrotechnic trickery and weird alchemical fumes to work his 'miracles'.) It's hardly surprising that Scarlette and her kin should so readily have accepted Fitz and Anji as elementals, or at least people from elsewhere. The previous year, Herschel had discovered a seventh planet orbiting the sun, which he'd named Georgium Sidius Georgium Sidius (George's Star) in honour of the King: Herschel was never one to let politics temper his judgement, or he might have called it (George's Star) in honour of the King: Herschel was never one to let politics temper his judgement, or he might have called it Was.h.i.+ngton's Star Was.h.i.+ngton's Star instead. Herschel had made it quite clear that he expected the new world to be inhabited, but then, he expected instead. Herschel had made it quite clear that he expected the new world to be inhabited, but then, he expected all all worlds to be inhabited, and this most famed of Royal Astronomers believed he was just a step away from categorically proving the existence of people on the lush and verdant gra.s.slands of the moon. He also made a point that the sun was almost certainly occupied, under the hot surface ('we need not hesitate to say that the Sun is richly stored with inhabitants,' quoth he). The people of the new Seventh Planet were a recurring theme in theatre and literature, though mostly these aliens were of the man-in*the-moon variety. Next to the speculations of Herschel, the arrival of the Doctor's a.s.sociates from some other realm of being would have seemed almost mundane. worlds to be inhabited, and this most famed of Royal Astronomers believed he was just a step away from categorically proving the existence of people on the lush and verdant gra.s.slands of the moon. He also made a point that the sun was almost certainly occupied, under the hot surface ('we need not hesitate to say that the Sun is richly stored with inhabitants,' quoth he). The people of the new Seventh Planet were a recurring theme in theatre and literature, though mostly these aliens were of the man-in*the-moon variety. Next to the speculations of Herschel, the arrival of the Doctor's a.s.sociates from some other realm of being would have seemed almost mundane.

The summoning of the elementals on May 1 must have been a welcome omen, because the mood was worsening by the day. Although the Service had ceased its press campaign, Scarlette was starting to become aware that the women under her were being tempted away from the House. One of the girls (her name isn't known) had already left by early May, and at least one other was considering a move upmarket to Marylebone. It was almost as if money was being supplied to other houses of leisure by some unknown source, giving them the resources to 'poach' the staff. This left Scarlette with a problem. In order for the Doctor's plans to succeed, the House had to operate as a seraglio, but with Scarlette's grim reputation finding new staff was almost impossible.

Her task was made harder still by the fact that she had ethics. In this respect, Lisa-Beth was right: Scarlette was a relic of the old days, when women of surprising virtue had kept orderly disorderly Houses and thus become some of the wealthiest landowners in England. But the age of the pimp was coming. Organised men would 'rescue' poor young girls from the gutters, giving them food and clothing until the only way the girls could pay them back was by selling themselves, quite legally, into the men's service. Scarlette would never have resorted to these methods, and as the women began to vanish around her she realised the extent of the difficulty.

Shortly after the arrival of Fitz and Anji, a meeting was held in the salon of the House with everyone in attendance. Fitz (dressed in ill-fitting knee-length socks and a waistcoat that was ten years out of fas.h.i.+on already) and Anji (in an old dress of Rebecca's) looked thoroughly uncomfortable while Scarlette asked the women whether there was anything they wanted to say to her face. n.o.body spoke, but a few stared down at their shoes. Even Juliette looked uncertain, perhaps still shaken by the visions she'd had on May Day. Lisa-Beth notes that Scarlette gave Juliette an awkward glance during the long silence, apparently knowing what was waking up inside the girl's mind.

What was it that had caused the women to be drawn away from House and home? To understand that, it's necessary to move outside the confines of London and focus on events unfolding in Cambridge, where those two ill-matched investigators the Countess and the Lord were continuing to follow up the trail of the Westminster affair.

Ways to Avoid Drowning Cambridge had always had a morbid reputation, especially the ancient University. In the 1740s the notorious 'Appalling Club' had become extinct when its seven founder members had all been slain, one by one, the last few members apparently murdered in a sealed room by the ghosts of the earlier victims. Though all this had been smartly glossed over by the relevant authorities, and the alleged haunted area of the University had been hidden behind a hurriedly-constructed brick wall, Magdalene College was still something of