Doctor Who_ The Adventures Of Henrietta Street Part 3

He must have become less comfortable still when Fitz and Juliette first inspected Sabbath's rooms. Although they found nothing of their prey, Fitz did notice traces of chalk on the floorboards, evidently recent and not properly erased. When he questioned the Professor on this, the Professor 'shuffled his feet' and claimed that errant students were always taking over unoccupied rooms for their own illicit social functions. Fitz was suspicious, and speculated that the rooms were still being used for some form of foul practice. He told the Doctor that if they could find out what was being done at the University now now, they might have some clue as to what Sabbath had done there.

Scarlette's journal doesn't record the Doctor's reaction to Fitz's letters, because throughout the later half of May Scarlette was spending time in Windsor. So was Lisa-Beth.

It seems odd that Scarlette would spend so much time away from the House in the company of someone she'd only just come to trust, but it has to be remembered that Scarlette was a master (mistress?) when it came to manipulating personal circ.u.mstances. For example, two nights before Fitz and Juliette left for London most of the Doctor's 'coven' were a.s.sembled in the salon of the House. Young Emily was present, and describes 'the room ful of fumes, from some devise put by Scarlette in the room for the enjoyment of all'. She describes the fumes in much the same terms as those from Juliette's secret experiments, and notes that many members of the House present probably not including the Doctor slowly entered a merry, intoxicated state. Only Juliette remained stony-faced, as alert as ever, while Scarlette lightly flirted with Fitz (Emily writes as if Scarlette were older than Fitz and toying with him like a teenager, though in fact he was her senior by far). Emily writes: ...Mr. K [Fitz] became gla.s.s eyed and philosophickal in the fumes. It was as though he felt he could see further than most in this euphoria and the Doctor appeard conserned though he said nothing... Mr. K said that he now understood how fragile was the world, and more that beloe it he could see the way the horison had changed. Scarlette teased him at this before asking him a question. 'Tell me Mr. K,' said she. 'Did you ever feel that the world was but a dream, and should someone pinch you you would wake to another world all together?'. Mr. K appeard serious and said that he did. To which Scarlette said: 'Perhaps someone should pinch us, Mr. K, so that we should know for sure.' At this Mr. K whose propriety was lessened by the fumes, reached out and pinched Mistress Scarlette on the top of the leg... there was a look of shock on Scarlette's face, but then in a blink Scarlette vanished before our eyes! We were amazed and none more than Mr. K (though the Doctor thout it most funy).

It's best not to take this story at face value. Scarlette may have 'disappeared', but as Emily points out the room was both 'hidden and intoxicated' by the fumes, and Scarlette spent some time before her disappearance building up the correct atmosphere for those a.s.sembled to believe in her seemingly magical transportation. It was, by her own admission, a kind of trick: and only the Doctor seems to have spotted how it was done. But it must have made an impression on Fitz, who regarded Scarlette as a powerful presence from that point on.

Now that Juliette had left London, Scarlette knew there were certain issues she had to address with Lisa-Beth, and felt it was best for the two of them to get out into the fresher, greener atmosphere of Windsor. She and Lisa-Beth would regularly display themselves in the Park during their visit, wearing their best clothes (Scarlette in red, Lisa-Beth in black), letting the rich young gentlemen of the town buy them coffee and chocolate. On one occasion they even saw the King himself, taking his stroll through the grounds of the Park surrounded by family members and rod-wielding guardsmen. Scarlette and Lisa-Beth both bowed when the procession went past, but Lisa-Beth noted that Scarlette was uttering a curse under her breath that the King-father would have to 'bleed like a woman': Scarlette still blamed George III for what had happened in America, and though it's doubtful that this 'lunar curse' actually contributed to the King's eventual madness Lisa-Beth did point out that from 1782 the King did look curiously haunted. Then again, that was probably just politics.

The two women also visited the bookshop in Windsor, itself often frequented by the King. Literacy was probably the strongest bond between them. It was during such a visit, while browsing through the latest publications, that Scarlette first brought up the topic she'd brought Lisa-Beth here to discuss.

In their journals, neither Scarlette nor Lisa-Beth overtly state what this matter was. But it's not hard to guess. As early as April, there were certain rumours rumours circulating in the House, rumours about Juliette's past and pedigree. After all, Juliette had been brought to London some might have said 'summoned' by Scarlette, who'd never given any indication of where this girl had come from or why she was important. Lisa-Beth's own notes suggest that when Lisa-Beth first visited the House, she recognised Juliette at once. Was Lisa-Beth the source of these rumours, then? And if so, then what were they? circulating in the House, rumours about Juliette's past and pedigree. After all, Juliette had been brought to London some might have said 'summoned' by Scarlette, who'd never given any indication of where this girl had come from or why she was important. Lisa-Beth's own notes suggest that when Lisa-Beth first visited the House, she recognised Juliette at once. Was Lisa-Beth the source of these rumours, then? And if so, then what were they?

And in Cambridge, Fitz was already forming his own opinion of Juliette. When the Professor left them alone to investigate Sabbath's rooms, Juliette suggested to him that they should hold some form of ritual to look towards the horizon horizon and divine the answers they needed. Fitz quite rightly felt that such a ritual wouldn't be practical (and besides, having seen Scarlette's idea of a 'ritual' he must have been worried about what they'd actually have to and divine the answers they needed. Fitz quite rightly felt that such a ritual wouldn't be practical (and besides, having seen Scarlette's idea of a 'ritual' he must have been worried about what they'd actually have to do do in the room). But he was struck by the matter-of*fact way in which Juliette suggested the idea, a trait which, he wrote to the Doctor, 'reminds me of you'. in the room). But he was struck by the matter-of*fact way in which Juliette suggested the idea, a trait which, he wrote to the Doctor, 'reminds me of you'.

In retrospect, he might have been closer to the truth than he thought. Throughout his stay at the House the Doctor had been starting to change his usual routine, as if he felt that the limits of his old life needed redefinition, although it's ironic that this wish to expand himself should result in the wedding (an act that would permanently 'root' him to the House). Though he might not have consciously realised it, there was a sense that Juliette, Scarlette and their kind were taking on the mantle of his own people, the mantle of the Doctor himself. In short, he was beginning to think of Juliette as the next generation of elemental, the inheritor of a legacy with which he no longer felt comfortable.

It's no surprise, then, that when Fitz and Anji had arrived at the House the Doctor had decided that Anji another elemental influence should share Juliette's room. Juliette had accepted this, even though the cohabitation doesn't seem to have been very successful. Juliette found the Doctor's companion to be snappish, overbearing and impatient, but in fairness this was probably only because the two of them came from such different lifestyles that Juliette interpreted Anji's somewhat sarcastic wit as actual aggression. Certainly Anji would shake her head disbelievingly whenever a 'client' visited the House, a kind of contempt that Juliette hadn't seen even in Lisa-Beth.

Also, although Anji's history was uncertain, she was obviously of Indian descent. Juliette seems to have had difficulty with this, although the reasons hadn't become apparent and Anji must have (wrongly) believed it was down to blind prejudice. The other women in the House still tended to think of Anji as a force of nature, and on more than one occasion Katya sat at the feet of Anji to ask her worried questions about the future, as if Anji were a kind of prophet. (The women must have seen Fitz as an oracle, too, but they had a tendency to giggle every time he walked past, so they weren't likely to share their intimate problems with him in quite the same fas.h.i.+on.) Part of the Doctor's rationale for sending Juliette with Fitz was that it could hardly have hurt her to spend more time with other human beings, or at least very minor minor elementals, before being permanently bound to him in December. Also, it gave him the opportunity to complete some tasks of his own. He'd already sent the invitation out to his 'Family', and now he was busy trying to find a priest who'd agree to the wedding ceremony it was quite vital that the marriage should be legally binding, as well as symbolic not to mention having to decide who was going to be his best man. If he saw any problems in Juliette spending so much time with Fitz, then he obviously didn't let it bother him. elementals, before being permanently bound to him in December. Also, it gave him the opportunity to complete some tasks of his own. He'd already sent the invitation out to his 'Family', and now he was busy trying to find a priest who'd agree to the wedding ceremony it was quite vital that the marriage should be legally binding, as well as symbolic not to mention having to decide who was going to be his best man. If he saw any problems in Juliette spending so much time with Fitz, then he obviously didn't let it bother him.

The Masonic Account The chalk circle on the floor of the Cambridge rooms was drawn there mere days before Fitz's visit. Those responsible were the Countess and the Lord.

On their last day of interrogating the Marquis of M_____, the two arcanists had finally cut through enough of the Marquis's babble to uncover the reason reason he'd summoned an ape at Westminster. The ape wasn't simply to have been he'd summoned an ape at Westminster. The ape wasn't simply to have been called called, it was to have been bound bound: the implication was that the Marquis had been attempting to gain control of the beast rather than just setting it free to cause havoc. When the Lord asked his contacts in the Grand Lodge to examine the ceremony, the Masons concluded that it had been phrased in Greek simply because the Marquis happened to be familiar with that language. In fact the 'workings' of the ritual were quite original and in no way ancient, the summoning designed for maximum efficiency... engineered engineered, one might say.

Until recently, those tantrists tantrists who'd noticed the presence of the apes had concluded that some form of 'natural' phenomenon was the cause. No individual, as Scarlette herself pointed out, could possibly move the horizon and cause demons to appear in the world: even the summoning at Westminster would have seemed impractical, even who'd noticed the presence of the apes had concluded that some form of 'natural' phenomenon was the cause. No individual, as Scarlette herself pointed out, could possibly move the horizon and cause demons to appear in the world: even the summoning at Westminster would have seemed impractical, even silly silly, a few years earlier. Now the Countess and the Lord were faced with the possibility that the ape manifestations were an attack. Those who'd read the Kama Sutra Kama Sutra in its Sanskrit form knew that the book was a manual of spells as much as it was a list of s.e.xual tactics, and knew that (unlike the early English translation produced at Medmenham) the original continually hinted at the 'demons' which could be brought forth by malice or carelessness. Though Sabbath wasn't believed to be vengeful he was thought to have his own agenda, and to regard the Service as a trivial distraction rather than a sworn enemy it must have worried many to think that the rogue agent might want to get his own back on those parties who had, on at least two occasions, tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate him. in its Sanskrit form knew that the book was a manual of spells as much as it was a list of s.e.xual tactics, and knew that (unlike the early English translation produced at Medmenham) the original continually hinted at the 'demons' which could be brought forth by malice or carelessness. Though Sabbath wasn't believed to be vengeful he was thought to have his own agenda, and to regard the Service as a trivial distraction rather than a sworn enemy it must have worried many to think that the rogue agent might want to get his own back on those parties who had, on at least two occasions, tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate him.

As they moved through the halls of Cambridge, one with a crimson hood over his face and the other with her pipe still in her mouth, the Lord and the Countess must have asked themselves why apes, rather than any other kind of beast, should be anyone's weapon of choice. But the details weren't as important as the implications. Because if Sabbath was now capable of summoning and binding the demons, then anybody anybody was. was.

There were protocols of the highest importance, amongst the Servicemen, amongst the Masons and amongst the various British witch-cults, forbidding any of their number to deliberately upset the balance of the ritualist community. Most of these protocols were utterly ignored when, in the middle of May, the Countess and the Lord transferred the Marquis of M_____ to the rooms which had once been occupied by Sabbath. It was a place of power, and if the two investigators wanted to see the beast tamed then this was the best place for it. The Service may have joined forces with the Lodge in this. The agents of the King had very little else to do, now that all British military operations in America had been officially suspended.

The Marquis was led into the old rooms, quite terrified, at the stroke of three o'clock. The Lord had sent word to London regarding this potentially dangerous affair, and the Service had responded by sending three of its rat-catchers rat-catchers to attend the event, all of them dressed in the finest black and all of them hidden under the black-and*gold hoods of their order. They stood silently at the back of the room while the Marquis was given his instructions, hands folded politely behind their backs, and their presence can only have further intimidated the man. In front of all those present, the Marquis was requested to attend the event, all of them dressed in the finest black and all of them hidden under the black-and*gold hoods of their order. They stood silently at the back of the room while the Marquis was given his instructions, hands folded politely behind their backs, and their presence can only have further intimidated the man. In front of all those present, the Marquis was requested requested requested to etch the circle in chalk in the middle of the wooden floor. to etch the circle in chalk in the middle of the wooden floor.

What happened next is difficult to ascertain, as although the Masonic archive records events in detail it does so in an annoyingly obscure code which insists on describing everything in alchemical terms ('scrying-bone' for chalk, 'red dragon' for sulphur, etcetera). What can be said with some some certainty is that the ape appeared, and began tearing at the walls of its invisible prison. Traditionally any summoned thing is incapable of crossing a chalk line, and in the Westminster account the animal tore its fingers to shreds trying to rip its way out of the circle. There was a lot of blood ('fire vitae') on the floor, and the screaming of the ape was so great that students as far away as Pembroke College were said to have complained that a murder was being committed. When the Marquis began the binding process, the ape didn't calm down, and by the time the ritual was finished the saliva from its jaws was so thick that it looked as if it had become rabid. certainty is that the ape appeared, and began tearing at the walls of its invisible prison. Traditionally any summoned thing is incapable of crossing a chalk line, and in the Westminster account the animal tore its fingers to shreds trying to rip its way out of the circle. There was a lot of blood ('fire vitae') on the floor, and the screaming of the ape was so great that students as far away as Pembroke College were said to have complained that a murder was being committed. When the Marquis began the binding process, the ape didn't calm down, and by the time the ritual was finished the saliva from its jaws was so thick that it looked as if it had become rabid.

It was at this point that the Grand Lodge's representatives told the Marquis to step into the circle.

According to the principles of the ritual, this was perfectly safe. The only way to complete the binding was to step over the chalk line, leaving oneself at the mercy of the animal: only when the ritualist made this 'sacrifice' could the beast come under his will. It goes without saying that the Marquis was horrified at the suggestion, but he doesn't seem to have had much choice. It wasn't just that the traditional penalty for those who disobeyed the Grand Lodge was to be hanged below a bridge with their intestines cut out. It was that the Marquis needed the Lodge's protection. He was betraying Sabbath even by revealing the ceremony, and that must have scared him even more than the rat-catchers rat-catchers did. did.

So the Marquis, it seems, stepped into the circle with the ape. The Masonic account becomes increasingly obscure at this point, but the 'fire vitae' is mentioned quite a lot.

Evidently, Sabbath's ritual wasn't exactly foolproof. Indeed, in the weeks that followed there was some speculation that the binding process didn't work at all, and that Sabbath had concocted the entire thing as some monstrous practical joke. Days later Fitz and Juliette found the scrubbed remains of the chalk circle on the floorboards, but there's a contradiction here, of course. In his letter to the Doctor, Fitz doesn't describe any blood: it's difficult to remove bloodstains from wood at the best of times, but the idea that a floor could have been washed clean of blood yet still have chalk marks remaining yet still have chalk marks remaining is nothing less than ridiculous. Possibly Fitz's account is incomplete, or possibly the Masonic archive is, not unusually, exaggerating. Scarlette would no doubt have claimed that the ghost of the chalk circle had worked its way up through the ground, just like the ghost of Newgate Prison. Whatever the reason, Fitz believed the marks to be significant, and (rightly) found the behaviour of the Professor/guide suspicious. When he finally asked the Professor for access to one of the University's more esoteric archives, in the hope of finding material written by Sabbath that hadn't been destroyed by the Service, the Professor filibustered for some time (waffling about 'bureaucratic process') before granting Fitz admittance. is nothing less than ridiculous. Possibly Fitz's account is incomplete, or possibly the Masonic archive is, not unusually, exaggerating. Scarlette would no doubt have claimed that the ghost of the chalk circle had worked its way up through the ground, just like the ghost of Newgate Prison. Whatever the reason, Fitz believed the marks to be significant, and (rightly) found the behaviour of the Professor/guide suspicious. When he finally asked the Professor for access to one of the University's more esoteric archives, in the hope of finding material written by Sabbath that hadn't been destroyed by the Service, the Professor filibustered for some time (waffling about 'bureaucratic process') before granting Fitz admittance.

As expected, nothing of importance was found in the archive. But doc.u.ments relating to Sabbath were already in Fitz's possession. Scarlette had known Sabbath before his fall from grace with the Service, and (through routes she never cared to explain) some of the doc.u.ments earmarked for collection by the Servicemen had fallen into her possession two years earlier. Fitz had been given copies of these ma.n.u.scripts before leaving London. In its original form, the writing is in Sabbath's own hand, and it's a first-hand account of his initiation. Sadly, it doesn't reveal how Sabbath escaped the deathtrap of the Thames, though it does record his thoughts on sinking below the surface: I knew, then, that there are certain boundaries mankind should make every effort to cross. I also knew that the majority of human beings are in no way prepared for this crossing. It is often said that a drowning man will sense a great calm and clarity as he dies, and this was certainly my experience. There was a moment, I recall, when the inevitability of my own death became tangible. The understanding this brings a man cannot immediately be described... it was then that I saw the bed of the river below me, and then that the shadow fell over the sand and the silt before my eyes. I knew at this moment that Leviathan Leviathan had come to find me, although on reflection the blackness may have merely been the blackness of unconsciousness. I thought of Jonah and his whale; I thought of the island-fish of the Arabian Nights. had come to find me, although on reflection the blackness may have merely been the blackness of unconsciousness. I thought of Jonah and his whale; I thought of the island-fish of the Arabian Nights. Leviathan Leviathan was there, a power and a darkness that swam at the bottom of the river and waited to consume the dead. It was only then that I remembered my purpose here was not to die, but to avoid dying. was there, a power and a darkness that swam at the bottom of the river and waited to consume the dead. It was only then that I remembered my purpose here was not to die, but to avoid dying.

(The biblical references here are typical of a Serviceman. Religious imagery was common in Service lore note that many agents chose Biblical confirmation names, including 'Hiram of Tyre', 'Meshelemiah', even 'Sabbath' himself even though the majority of recruits were freethinkers. It should be remembered that although the Service was dedicated to a form of mystic logic, the organisation was technically sworn to protect the King and the Protestant Church.) However useless the archives might have been, Fitz and Juliette do seem to have been inspired by the atmosphere of Cambridge. It was on the first night of their investigation, for instance, that Juliette related to Fitz the vision she'd had back at the House, when Fitz and Anji had first stepped out of the light. And so it was that, in a hired room over a public house in Cambridge, Juliette first told Fitz about the apparitions she'd seen: about the shadow which had filled up the sky, and the engines of war so well-doc.u.mented by Lisa-Beth, cold and dark and metallic.

Fitz reached the conclusion that the darkness in the sky was some form of G.o.d, something powerful and elemental, which almost certainly controlled the apes. And Sabbath? Perhaps he too was now an agent of the shadow, given the odd reference to Leviathan Leviathan in his writings. The theory must have found favour with the Doctor, who for some time even before coming to London had been nursing the suspicion that in his writings. The theory must have found favour with the Doctor, who for some time even before coming to London had been nursing the suspicion that something something was affecting the 'horizon' and therefore time as a whole. was affecting the 'horizon' and therefore time as a whole.

But a week after his arrival in Cambridge, Fitz found an entirely different kind of lead.

On May 20, Fitz and Juliette visited the University archives for the last time. Their session in the reading-room was cut short when the Professor arrived, flanked by three tall and serious-looking men who never spoke a word throughout the entire encounter. The Professor hurriedly explained that 'circ.u.mstances had changed', and that for a variety of reasons Mr Kreiner would no longer be allowed to consult University records. Fitz responded by flouting his (forged) Service credentials, but this time the Professor was unmoved.

Three large men. Were they the three rat-catchers rat-catchers, still in Cambridge after the Marquis incident, but this time unmasked? In any case, Fitz took the whole thing quite lightly, curiously giving the startled Professor a large and unmanly hug on the way out of the University grounds.

That evening, the Professor left his rooms at the University and, keeping his face down under his coat, made his way towards the banks of the nearby river Cam. Fitz's last letter from Cambridge records this in some detail, because Fitz was following the man at a suitably discreet distance. The letter suggests that Fitz employed some kind of device to keep track of the Professor's location, possibly one of the many peculiar electrical gadgets created in the Doctor's cellar laboratory By half past nine there were few people by the part of the Cam closest to the University grounds, so when the Professor covertly met with an acquaintance behind the Harbourman's Tavern n.o.body was around to witness it... except for Fitz, naturally.

Fitz was forced to keep his distance in order to remain unseen, but he still saw enough of the Professor's contact to send a good description back to the Doctor. The Professor was meeting with a female, probably below the age of twenty, who wore a black winter cloak despite the mild weather. The woman's head was largely obscured by the hood of the cloak, which Fitz suspected was designed to hide her hair rather than her face. The cut of the hair seemed unusual, certainly for that period. Fitz had never seen her before, yet described her as 'sort of oriental... with this smooth-looking skin'. In a word, Polynesian.

The Doctor would have wasted no time in making the connection. The Professor reporting to the Mayakai Mayakai; the Mayakai Mayakai reporting to Sabbath; Sabbath working towards... what? Fitz tried to follow the girl, but he had no way of keeping track of her as he did with the Professor, and as a result all he could report was that she vanished along the path by the side of the river. reporting to Sabbath; Sabbath working towards... what? Fitz tried to follow the girl, but he had no way of keeping track of her as he did with the Professor, and as a result all he could report was that she vanished along the path by the side of the river.

It was during the following days, while Fitz and Juliette saw the sights in Cambridge and considered their next move, that Fitz slowly developed his new theory. At some point he began to make a connection which n.o.body else had made, and which even the rat-catchers rat-catchers (with a less impressive knowledge of the historical process than even a minor elemental, one a.s.sumes) hadn't spotted. (with a less impressive knowledge of the historical process than even a minor elemental, one a.s.sumes) hadn't spotted. Leviathan Leviathan, Fitz must have thought. Sabbath, initiated in the Thames. Sabbath the occult engineer. Juliette's vision, of metallic, futuristic war machines...

The next few weeks in Cambridge would be a flurry of letter-writing, as Fitz communicated with the Doctor and via the House sent missives of enquiry to all manner of officials, artisans and tradesmen across Britain (Juliette must have helped him, surely). By the end of May, Fitz had learned enough not only to decide that his guess was correct, but actually to make a good guess as to where Sabbath's current 'place of power' might have been.

By then, Scarlette had returned to Henrietta Street from Windsor. She arrived to find that business had dropped radically in her absence, as the Doctor, never one for practicalities, had neglected the housekeeping in favour of his own studies. To her surprise, though, no more of the women had left while she'd been gone. Perhaps they were wary of turning their backs on the elemental and his Indian oracle. No sooner had she stepped through the front door than Scarlette discovered that, with little regard for the cost, all all the remaining women of the House had been dressed in new clothes: dresses of black velvet, but decorated with red muslin, the colours of the House turned into something approaching a uniform. Even Anji wore such a dress, though she looked distinctly awkward in it and insisted on adjusting it so as to make it appear less glamorous. Only the Doctor remained in his own colours. the remaining women of the House had been dressed in new clothes: dresses of black velvet, but decorated with red muslin, the colours of the House turned into something approaching a uniform. Even Anji wore such a dress, though she looked distinctly awkward in it and insisted on adjusting it so as to make it appear less glamorous. Only the Doctor remained in his own colours.

When Scarlette asked the Doctor why he'd done this, and while Lisa-Beth wondered how much the couturier's bill had come to, the Doctor replied with some enthusiasm that events were moving on apace. Fitz and Juliette had discovered something of importance, he said. The great struggle that had been antic.i.p.ated ever since the babewyns babewyns began to appear was beginning. With that, he cheerily announced that 'a grand outing' was planned for the whole House. All the loose ends in London had been sorted out, the Doctor claiming to have worked out who he wanted as best man. For now, though, Scarlette's extended family described by the Countess of Jersey as 'an army of the pox', led by two elementals and the last great h.e.l.lfire Mistress had certain tasks to perform, and to begin with all of them had to go straight to the heart of Sabbath's power. Northwards, to Manchester. began to appear was beginning. With that, he cheerily announced that 'a grand outing' was planned for the whole House. All the loose ends in London had been sorted out, the Doctor claiming to have worked out who he wanted as best man. For now, though, Scarlette's extended family described by the Countess of Jersey as 'an army of the pox', led by two elementals and the last great h.e.l.lfire Mistress had certain tasks to perform, and to begin with all of them had to go straight to the heart of Sabbath's power. Northwards, to Manchester.

Scarlette simply asked who was going to pay for all of this. It must have occurred to her that if Fitz and Juliette really had had found a lead to Sabbath then Sabbath would know they were coming. found a lead to Sabbath then Sabbath would know they were coming.

4.

The Kingdom and its Environs Bees There was another ape attack in June. This time it took place on board a mercantile s.h.i.+p en route en route from Dover to Ostend, curiously in the same part of the ocean where, a year later, the Great Fireball would explode into sparks and vanish beneath the waves. The Service tried to maintain the nation's dignity, as ever, by claiming that the 'cannibal ape' story was just an exaggerated folk tale put about by sailors. And true enough, the only evidence that an attack occurred on the s.h.i.+p at all comes from the friend-of a friend anecdotes of the seamen. The crewman who allegedly had his heart torn out inside a closed and bolted officer's cabin was never named, so it's impossible to say what he might have done to attract the ape-G.o.ds' attention, although there were the usual whispers that the s.h.i.+p had been carrying 'unholy relics' in a secret smuggler's compartment below decks. from Dover to Ostend, curiously in the same part of the ocean where, a year later, the Great Fireball would explode into sparks and vanish beneath the waves. The Service tried to maintain the nation's dignity, as ever, by claiming that the 'cannibal ape' story was just an exaggerated folk tale put about by sailors. And true enough, the only evidence that an attack occurred on the s.h.i.+p at all comes from the friend-of a friend anecdotes of the seamen. The crewman who allegedly had his heart torn out inside a closed and bolted officer's cabin was never named, so it's impossible to say what he might have done to attract the ape-G.o.ds' attention, although there were the usual whispers that the s.h.i.+p had been carrying 'unholy relics' in a secret smuggler's compartment below decks.

By the summer, the authorities had more than enough to think about already. The King had reportedly stated that he wished he were 'eighty, or ninety, or dead'. He looked haunted, and, he wasn't the only one. Some gentlemen of the civil service even began to whisper that a conspiracy was afoot, that the tales of monstrous beasts were part of an elaborate conspiracy to weaken the resolve of the state. One of the busiest centres of business, they might have argued, was Manchester... and a new group of women, with more than a whiff of the occult about them, had in recent weeks been noticed frequenting the Manchester docks. There was a feeling in some circles that these women were the ones spreading the horror stories amongst the merchant seamen.

This 'cult' was, of course, the Doctor's army. The women of Henrietta Street arrived in Manchester in early June, and in the weeks that followed they were often seen stalking the streets near the s.h.i.+pyards after dark, patronising the taverns where the dock-workers hung out. The intrigued gentlemen of Manchester couldn't fail to notice these curious females, all of whom wore the same colours as if they were in uniform. But not all the attention was welcome.

Manchester already had more than enough prost.i.tutes of its own, although, unlike the Covent Garden breed, they'd never been objects of fas.h.i.+on and were coldly, aggressively practical about their work. After all, Manchester was about to become the most industrialised city in Europe, even the world. Within a few years, the machines would be moving into the factories by the thousand; the skyline would be choking with great black towers and devious machines; families would begin to live underground, in dark, damp, crowded s.p.a.ces without ventilation or highly-taxed windows; the ca.n.a.ls would become the black, pulsing arteries of the industrial age; and as a result, Manchester would be the cradle of some of the greatest technological progress in history. By 1782, even the prost.i.tutes were becoming part of the machine.

The first fight occurred two days after the arrival of Scarlette's party, and predictably it was Katya who was the cause of it. In a tavern Scarlette calls 'The White Hart' (ironic, in such a pitch-black city), one of the local women turned her back on a potential gentleman customer for two minutes in order to relieve herself in a back-alley. When she returned, she found Katya sitting on the man's knee making what Scarlette calls 'a great show of her fat chest' and using the red ta.s.sels on her dress in a most improper fas.h.i.+on. Needless to say, the local woman wasn't happy. There was ill-feeling towards the London set anyway, the Mancunians referring to them as 'the b.l.o.o.d.y bees' (because of their uniforms?) and sarcastically calling them 'courtesans'.

The distinction between 'wh.o.r.e' and 'courtesan' was always a fine one generally it depended on how rich your clientele was so although it might have been a compliment to Scarlette's crew in London, here it was a reminder that Manchester was built on sweat and cotton, not on cla.s.s. Even in the north of England, people had heard of Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies, that most fas.h.i.+onable guide to the bordellos of London, and the women of Manchester would have known by reputation the kind of threat Scarlette's crowd presented to business. In the end, it was actually a fairly muted Doctor who ended the squabble in the tavern.

There was actually another reason for the women's animosity, and that was soon to become clear.

So why had the Doctor insisted on coming here? The answer lies with Fitz. Fitz was also spending time at the docks, although (thankfully) for very different reasons. On June 15, after some weeks of chasing leads, he and Juliette finally found a location at the docks which, he was convinced, was the next step on the trail to Sabbath. The site was a building which no longer exists, but which was later described as: Enormos... it was part of the s.h.i.+pyards, tho while most of the grand vesels of Manchester were built at dock this place of construction had been covered by a truly giant ceiling of canvas and struts of what I took to be iron. There was a reserve [i.e. reservoir] of water at the hart of the bilding with wooden platforms all around for the workers, so I took it that the waterways themselves had been bent in there course to fill the place. There were workman on every platform that worked in metal with fiery tools, and there were small boats tied to posts for perhaps rowing out to the rest of the river. The whole of the construction smelt of burning things, [but] I did not see any s.h.i.+p in the water there tho there was sertainly room for one.

This 'indoor s.h.i.+pyard', then, was more reminiscent of one of the new factories than a normal dockyard. To Fitz, who seems to have had no difficulty infiltrating the building and observing the workmen cutting steel and hammering metal plate, it was confirmation that his theory had been correct. Sabbath was an engineer; Sabbath seemed to stick to water, whenever possible (perhaps a compulsion left over from his initiation); Sabbath had seen, or believed he'd seen, a Leviathan Leviathan in the Thames; and one of the key images in Juliette's visions was of in the Thames; and one of the key images in Juliette's visions was of metallic metallic war machines. Fitz's conclusion was simple. Sabbath would be found on a s.h.i.+p. Indeed, given the man's propensity for finding resources, Sabbath would almost certainly have his war machines. Fitz's conclusion was simple. Sabbath would be found on a s.h.i.+p. Indeed, given the man's propensity for finding resources, Sabbath would almost certainly have his own own s.h.i.+p. s.h.i.+p.

Of course the Service had never reached this conclusion: they, unlike Fitz, were victims of their own age. In the 1780s, the majority of s.h.i.+ps were still uneasy, wooden things, lethal in naval war but hardly a place in which anyone would choose to reside. n.o.body in the eighteenth century would ever have considered a s.h.i.+p as a headquarters headquarters. But things were different, Fitz would no doubt have claimed, in the world of elementals. To him, a s.h.i.+p could be something as solid as pig-iron. And you couldn't build your own battles.h.i.+p without someone noticing. In their last weeks at Cambridge, Fitz and Juliette had dispatched subtle missives to exactly the kind of suppliers, administrators and engineers Sabbath would have needed to create his own metal Leviathan. The trail had led here.

In modern times, in an age when metal battles.h.i.+ps are exclusively owned by governments, the idea of one man building his own s.h.i.+p might seem odd. But in this era, it wasn't unusual for s.h.i.+ps to be built by public subscription. Indeed, in 1782 the d.u.c.h.ess of Devons.h.i.+re herself a recurring name in this story announced that she wished to start a subscription to construct her own battles.h.i.+p, just as the fas.h.i.+onable adventuress-women of France had done during the American war. Curiously, nothing officially came of these plans... as the d.u.c.h.ess was certainly one of those high-society 'resources' being tapped by Sabbath, perhaps the proceeds of this subscription helped fund his own project. But when Fitz and Juliette arrived at the yard on June 14, there was no sign of any s.h.i.+p. Most of the workers there had retired for the evening by then, and Fitz avoided the rest for long enough to deduce that as there were smaller rowing-boats around the covered yard, the wars.h.i.+p he was looking for was somewhere out of dock.

By this time Fitz no longer had to make written reports to the Doctor, so accounts are maddeningly short on detail. What's certain is that as Fitz and Juliette left the dockyards to report back to the Doctor, they were waylaid and surrounded in the darkened streets near the banks of the ca.n.a.l.

This time their attackers weren't babewyns babewyns, Polynesians, or agents of Sabbath. They were all women. Juliette must have immediately identified them as the working women of Manchester, and realised that they'd waited in ambush outside the covered yard, recognising her and Fitz as 'b.l.o.o.d.y bees'. It's not known what Fitz's reaction was, when surrounded by a mob of prost.i.tutes.

Meanwhile the Doctor was with Scarlette, and, as on most nights, they were at the White Hart. By now Scarlette and her family had established themselves as regulars at the tavern. The Doctor was uneasy with this state of affairs he seems to have been particularly disturbed to see Rebecca attaching herself to the drunken riverworkers who frequented the place but Scarlette insisted that if you took a coterie of demi-reps demi-reps on this kind of adventure, you had to expect them to employ themselves. The Doctor and company would sit in the downstairs rooms of the tavern most evenings, while Anji and Lisa-Beth often sat together glumly at the back of the room. Partners in aloof cynicism, Anji had taken to covering up her uniform in order to avoid approaches from the men of Manchester, and even Lisa-Beth was starting to give her potential clients short shrift: Whatever she and Scarlette had discussed in Windsor, it was still playing on her mind. on this kind of adventure, you had to expect them to employ themselves. The Doctor and company would sit in the downstairs rooms of the tavern most evenings, while Anji and Lisa-Beth often sat together glumly at the back of the room. Partners in aloof cynicism, Anji had taken to covering up her uniform in order to avoid approaches from the men of Manchester, and even Lisa-Beth was starting to give her potential clients short shrift: Whatever she and Scarlette had discussed in Windsor, it was still playing on her mind.

It was just before nine when Juliette entered the tavern, out of breath and with the black velvet ripped to shreds across the front of her dress. She aroused much attention amongst the crowd, but made her way straight to the Doctor, who says Scarlette 'jumped straight to his face with a look of the gravest concern on his feet' (either an error or an obscure joke).

Juliette hurriedly explained what had happened at the docks. Although Juliette had been 'manhandled' by the attackers, it was, strangely, Fitz on whom the local women had focused. They'd descended on him like a pack of animals, said Juliette, for some reason calling him a 'killer'. Juliette had thought it was odd that they should have attacked with such precision and determination. They'd eventually dispersed, leaving Fitz a bruised and bloodied wreck.

What Juliette didn't explain, and what only became clear after Fitz made his own report to the Doctor, was the reason reason the prost.i.tutes had dispersed. Exact events are unclear, as Fitz was half-unconscious at the time, but it seems that the women backed off only after Juliette the prost.i.tutes had dispersed. Exact events are unclear, as Fitz was half-unconscious at the time, but it seems that the women backed off only after Juliette said said something to them. Yet if Juliette had succeeded in facing off an entire mob of attackers, despite her age and size, then why didn't she mention it herself? Modesty? It should be noted that the encounter wasn't unlike the occasion when Scarlette had intimidated a crowd of London women outside the theatre... and of course, at this time Juliette still wore Scarlette's gla.s.s totem around her neck. something to them. Yet if Juliette had succeeded in facing off an entire mob of attackers, despite her age and size, then why didn't she mention it herself? Modesty? It should be noted that the encounter wasn't unlike the occasion when Scarlette had intimidated a crowd of London women outside the theatre... and of course, at this time Juliette still wore Scarlette's gla.s.s totem around her neck.

The Doctor instructed Juliette (somewhat unnecessarily) to sit down and recover herself, while he headed off to find the semiconscious Fitz. It's interesting to note that both Scarlette and his fellow elemental Anji stayed at the tavern: although the Doctor did take a companion with him to the docks, it was Rebecca Rebecca he chose for the job. As Juliette had already told him about the covered s.h.i.+pyard, it's possible that the Doctor felt Rebecca's talents might have been useful there. Whatever the reason, Rebecca accepted this mission 'with a shrug'. he chose for the job. As Juliette had already told him about the covered s.h.i.+pyard, it's possible that the Doctor felt Rebecca's talents might have been useful there. Whatever the reason, Rebecca accepted this mission 'with a shrug'.

Juliette was right in thinking that the actions of the prost.i.tutes were unusually determined. When the Doctor arrived at the s.h.i.+pyards he found Fitz coughing up bile and with his face covered in bruises propped up in a darkened side street, with his back against the wall and, fortunately, n.o.body else in sight. The Doctor apparently made a great show of checking Fitz's health, but he was probably even more concerned about the tale Fitz had to tell.

According to Fitz, after Juliette had left him the prost.i.tutes had vanished into the night: but once he'd crawled into the side street, he'd seen other figures heading towards the great reservoir building. Fitz estimated that there'd been six of the men, all sticking to the shadows of the old buildings by the side of the ca.n.a.l, converging on the s.h.i.+pyard.

The Doctor put together the pieces at once. Service records confirm that throughout the 'Sabbath affair', the Service's spies in Manchester were using the local streetwalkers as surveillance agents. The women had been following Fitz and Juliette not just out of spite, but because they'd been paid to. Had they also been hired to rough up Fitz, to distract the Doctor's people while they made their own plans? If the women did indeed refer to Fitz as a 'killer', then perhaps somebody told them he worked for the dangerous courtesans of Covent Garden, whose exploits had already caused several prost.i.tutes to suffer grisly deaths.

As in Cambridge, the Service's watchers were everywhere, letting the Doctor's party lead them to Sabbath. Now they evidently felt their prey to be close, as the six hooded rat-catchers rat-catchers were moving in to raid Sabbath's s.h.i.+p-building operation. The Service intended to get to their rogue agent before anybody else, and the Doctor clearly felt he couldn't allow that. So it was that Fitz ended up being left in the side street, declaring himself to be well enough, if battered, while the Doctor and Rebecca made their way into the covered dockyard. were moving in to raid Sabbath's s.h.i.+p-building operation. The Service intended to get to their rogue agent before anybody else, and the Doctor clearly felt he couldn't allow that. So it was that Fitz ended up being left in the side street, declaring himself to be well enough, if battered, while the Doctor and Rebecca made their way into the covered dockyard.

If either of them were perturbed by the idea of following half a dozen highly-trained government-funded a.s.sa.s.sins into unknown territory, then neither of them mentioned it when they came to tell the story later on.

It Awakens What exactly did the Doctor and Rebecca find in Sabbath's s.h.i.+pyard? Although getting a straight answer out of Rebecca was always difficult, she later related that there was definitely something something under the dock's canvas roof. When asked why Fitz hadn't noticed it, all she'd say was: 'He couldn't see properly.' under the dock's canvas roof. When asked why Fitz hadn't noticed it, all she'd say was: 'He couldn't see properly.'

There were no Servicemen to be seen, though. Those few workmen who remained at the site aren't mentioned in Rebecca's stories, so either the Service had chased them out or in some way neutralised them. As has already been recorded, there were a number of smaller boats tied to posts around the dock, and when the Doctor arrived several of them were missing, presumably taken by the rat-catchers rat-catchers. The Doctor himself wasted no time in climbing into one, gracefully holding out a hand to help Rebecca before taking to the oars.

And that, says Rebecca, was when 'the Leviathan woke up'.

Back at the White Hart, trouble was brewing once again. The tavern apparently saw the Doctor as Scarlette's male protector ironically enough, even her pimp just as Scarlette saw him as her elemental elemental champion. Not half an hour after his departure, a group of local women entered, all of them wearing blue and white. It was as if it were a deliberately rehea.r.s.ed statement, the locals developing a uniform (and in Whig colours, no less) to challenge Scarlette's. They may well have been from the House of Mother Shaw, a well-known procuress in the area of the docks. For the first few minutes, the blue-and*white brigade merely stayed on the opposite side of the tavern, eyeing up the compet.i.tion but saying nothing. Anji and Lisa-Beth buried themselves in their ales and tried to look inconspicuous. Scarlette couldn't fail to notice Juliette fingering the gla.s.s totem, 'as though the thing were her own'. champion. Not half an hour after his departure, a group of local women entered, all of them wearing blue and white. It was as if it were a deliberately rehea.r.s.ed statement, the locals developing a uniform (and in Whig colours, no less) to challenge Scarlette's. They may well have been from the House of Mother Shaw, a well-known procuress in the area of the docks. For the first few minutes, the blue-and*white brigade merely stayed on the opposite side of the tavern, eyeing up the compet.i.tion but saying nothing. Anji and Lisa-Beth buried themselves in their ales and tried to look inconspicuous. Scarlette couldn't fail to notice Juliette fingering the gla.s.s totem, 'as though the thing were her own'.

At around half past nine, someone threw the first beer gla.s.s. Accounts differ as to who started it, but Katya was upstairs with a local magistrate so for once she can be absolved of the blame.

And meanwhile, Rebecca and the Doctor were busy boarding Sabbath's battles.h.i.+p. If this seems like a big jump in the narrative, it's only because of the distracted, non-linear nature of Rebecca's stories (although the sudden appearance of the s.h.i.+p is something that will be dealt with shortly). Suffice to say that Rebecca soon found herself staring up at a great 'wall of metal', as the little rowing boat drifted up alongside the vessel in shallow waters. The Doctor obviously had some difficulty boarding the vessel, as the deck was a good five yards above him, and he noted at the time that the rat-catchers rat-catchers had obviously come prepared for this with boarding-ropes. The s.h.i.+p was eventually accessed by a method that seems as remarkable as everything else in Rebecca's unpredictable tale. The Doctor pulled a device from his pockets, she says a certain gla.s.s-tipped item fas.h.i.+oned in his bas.e.m.e.nt workshop and, with a smell 'like the burning of a forge', set about attacking one of the metal plates at the side of the s.h.i.+p. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that he attacked the material which held the plates together. had obviously come prepared for this with boarding-ropes. The s.h.i.+p was eventually accessed by a method that seems as remarkable as everything else in Rebecca's unpredictable tale. The Doctor pulled a device from his pockets, she says a certain gla.s.s-tipped item fas.h.i.+oned in his bas.e.m.e.nt workshop and, with a smell 'like the burning of a forge', set about attacking one of the metal plates at the side of the s.h.i.+p. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that he attacked the material which held the plates together.

The s.p.a.ce below the decks of the metal s.h.i.+p was dark, but what Rebecca found most notable was the noise of it all. There was a kind of humming humming in the walls, something she'd never heard of in any of the wooden s.h.i.+ps of the day. As she headed through the darkened s.p.a.ces inside, right on the Doctor's coat-tails, she admits to having been greatly disorientated: as if the noise, the vibration and the all-pervading smell of gunpowder had been designed deliberately to throw her off-balance. When they got closer to the heart of the s.h.i.+p, it grew lighter, revealing dirty steel walls held together by 'big bolts and lines of purest black'. in the walls, something she'd never heard of in any of the wooden s.h.i.+ps of the day. As she headed through the darkened s.p.a.ces inside, right on the Doctor's coat-tails, she admits to having been greatly disorientated: as if the noise, the vibration and the all-pervading smell of gunpowder had been designed deliberately to throw her off-balance. When they got closer to the heart of the s.h.i.+p, it grew lighter, revealing dirty steel walls held together by 'big bolts and lines of purest black'.

The wars.h.i.+p can't have been more than twelve yards across, so it couldn't have taken as long as Rebecca suggests to find the first of the Servicemen. He was dead by the time the Doctor stumbled across him.

When it came to death, Rebecca tended to swing between disturbing casualness and utter silence, and on this occasion she inclined towards the former. There was blood, more of the 'fire vitae' described at the Cambridge slaughter. The Doctor knelt over the corpse with some concern, although he can hardly have been feeling for a pulse: the man had been virtually disembowelled. Rebecca described his face, or rather the absence of it, a hood pulled over his head in the manner of an executioner with a golden triangle sewn into the forehead, clearly modelled on the Masonic hood. The Doctor didn't uncover the man's face. He believed the wounds to have been caused by an animal, which had presumably come at the man out of the humming darkness and torn into him with its fingers. There was a blood trail nearby, suggesting that either the animal or another rat-catcher rat-catcher had gone away wounded. had gone away wounded.

Regardless, they carried on into the bowels of the s.h.i.+p. Given what they later found, it's almost certain they would have heard heard something of what they were about to walk into. something of what they were about to walk into.

It's best at this point to take a step back and consider the whole picture. Despite the best efforts of the Service, the rat-catchers rat-catchers' attack on the s.h.i.+p clearly wasn't unexpected. Indeed, by the time the Doctor found the first body another of the small rowing-boats had already been lowered out of the wars.h.i.+p, carrying one of Sabbath's envoys the young Mayakai Mayakai in response to the Servicemen's a.s.sault. Had the Doctor known this, he might have reflected that the survival of himself and Rebecca depended on the discretion of the s.h.i.+p's owner. in response to the Servicemen's a.s.sault. Had the Doctor known this, he might have reflected that the survival of himself and Rebecca depended on the discretion of the s.h.i.+p's owner.

At some point during the exploration, Rebecca saw the Doctor stop dead in the gloom ahead of her. They'd reached a larger area, a full-sized chamber rather than the narrow iron pa.s.sages they'd seen so far. The Doctor, Rebecca later recalled, stood for a few moments observing the scene in front of him. At more or less the same time that Rebecca stepped forward to see for herself, the chamber became suddenly well-lit, as the Doctor calmly took 'one of Mr Franklin's lanterns' from his pocket and began casting the light around him.

Even Rebecca must surely have been unnerved by what she saw in the flickering light. When she told the tale to Scarlette she was as non-committal as ever, but when Scarlette wrote it down there was a certain black romance to it: It was not unlike being in the heart of a throbbing, black machine. The chamber was iron as [was] the rest of the vessel, high as it was wide, the walls being laid with pipes or pa.s.sages through which the oily life-blood of the device ran... there were levers and wheels smeared with grease so that pressures and differences could be measured. But though it was these things that caught the attention of Jack [her name for the Doctor], Rebecca's interest lay elsewhere. For they were not alone in this dark and brooding hall of metal. There were galleries and platforms set round the walls of the chamber, so from these Jack and Rebecca found themselves watched by burning and sunken eyes. The machine was a s.h.i.+p of apes... the creatures leered from above like the gargoyles that gave them their names. They hooted and cackled, with black lips drawn back in hisses of venom. The smell from them was great enough to overcome the [smell of] oil. Their pelts were dark and matted, in some cases their snouts wet with blood, not without reason. Rebecca recalls that there were at the least three bodies there, all in blackened hoods. They had been eventre eventre [French for 'eviscerated'] by the Beasts. Their bodies had been torn open by terrible, animal hands. In one case an ape had torn from a cadaver the bone of a thigh, still red though stripped of flesh by its teeth, which it shook at Jack. They shrieked their l.u.s.t at my a.s.sociates, yet from all Rebecca says Jack appeared unshaken. 'This,' he said, 'must be the crew.' [French for 'eviscerated'] by the Beasts. Their bodies had been torn open by terrible, animal hands. In one case an ape had torn from a cadaver the bone of a thigh, still red though stripped of flesh by its teeth, which it shook at Jack. They shrieked their l.u.s.t at my a.s.sociates, yet from all Rebecca says Jack appeared unshaken. 'This,' he said, 'must be the crew.'

While all this was happening, Scarlette was still at the White Hart, where a major brawl had begun. Lisa-Beth, in concert with Anji and two of the other London women, had been drawn into a fight in which they'd enticed two of the rowdier gentlemen to battle for their honour. Juliette was trying to calm down some of the other locals, probably not using the gla.s.s totem in such an indiscreet place. But Scarlette simply sat at her table, contemplating her cup of cheap, watery chocolate, by her own admission hardly taking an interest in the events around her. It's odd to think that none of the combatants bothered her.

According to Scarlette's journal though not Lisa-Beth's during the fight one of the male denizens of the tavern edged his way through the violent crowds and quietly seated himself at Scarlette's table. Though no name is given for the man, Scarlette says that he was 'a gentleman of distinguished nature', clean-shaven and dark-haired, and at first she thought he might have been in the market for business. She does note, however, that on the lapel of his black clothing he wore a rosette in blue-and*white. It would have marked him out as a member of the Opposition, but nonetheless he was quite gracious and civil.

The man was as untroubled by the violence as Scarlette herself, evidently having seen much of it before. Despite their obvious differences, the two of them began to talk. They spoke of current events; about America; about the rumours from London which stated that the Prince of Wales had become obsessed with the Countess of Jersey, who'd in some way bewitched him (although the Countess denied everything, claiming that if 'the Prince has fallen in love with me then it's not my fault'). The society affairs of London, the stories of illicit couplings in theatre boxes and sedan chairs, were notorious even in Manchester. At one point a bottle was thrown across the room, and Scarlette ducked her head to avoid it. At this point the man is said to have simply glanced at the brawl, tutted, and said: 'Politics.'

Perhaps because the man was a complete stranger, the two of them ended up speaking of things which Scarlette had never even confided to the Doctor. She explained her fears for both Juliette and the House, and seems to have talked of them as being very nearly one and the same. She also feared that 'summoning Juliette had been an error', though as Juliette was clearly a normal girl and not any kind of elemental this says interesting things about the way Scarlette perceived her.

'So many changes,' mused the man with the blue-and*white rosette, in the end. 'So many unforeseen circ.u.mstances.' They both drank to that, while the violence went on around them.

It was an oddly tranquil scene, but then, it may not really have happened. It's not that Scarlette lied in her journal: it's that she used a language just as obscure as the irritating alchemical code of the Masons. Even the name of the tavern is suspicious. No 'White Hart' is known to have existed in that part of Manchester described by Scarlette, so either she got the name wrong or simply changed it to something she felt more fitting. 'Hunting the White Hart' is a familiar mythic ritual in folklore, and may have an alchemical significance. (Certainly, later in the year one of Sabbath's agents would write of his 'need for the Black Hart', suggesting a more sinister version of the same ceremony... opposites were common in alchemical thinking, so, for example, it was said that when the Duc de Richelieu performed his his dark ceremonies his 'evil monks' would sacrifice one white goat and one black.) Was Scarlette, in this story of unexpected friends.h.i.+p in the White Hart, saying something in code? And if so, then what? dark ceremonies his 'evil monks' would sacrifice one white goat and one black.) Was Scarlette, in this story of unexpected friends.h.i.+p in the White Hart, saying something in code? And if so, then what?

The meeting seems especially odd given the events unfolding at the docks. The next account that should be related comes from Fitz, but the stories he later told the House make even less sense than those told by Rebecca. Unwilling to be left out of the action, Fitz left the side street as soon as he felt himself able to, and instead of returning to his lodgings cautiously headed back towards the s.h.i.+pyard.

He found n.o.body there, although he spent a few moments calling out for the Doctor. He was on the verge of leaving, or so the story goes, when he heard the noise. It's described as being much like the noise Rebecca noticed on the s.h.i.+p, a dirty, heavy, mechanical rumbling, which 'shook the very boards under Mr. K's feet'. It was at this point that his attention was drawn to the large expanse of water in the middle of the covered area, which presumably led out to the ca.n.a.l. Fitz later described the way the water began sinking sinking, but only in the middle, as if some great force were pus.h.i.+ng on it from above and (bizarrely) making a dent in the water itself. As the rumbling grew louder, Fitz considered leaving, but before he could act...

...and this is where accounts don't merely differ, but become so horribly jumbled as to render them meaningless. Based on Fitz's claims, Scarlette writes that at this point 'it flickered into being, its grand and ugly body guttering like the light from a newly-lit oil lamp'. Other claims are wilder still, and involve the stopping of time; a blazing, electrical light; even a mult.i.tude of visions and hallucinations. Lisa-Beth puts things in purely tantric terms when she describes the arrival of the s.h.i.+p as 'a rendering [of flickered into being, its grand and ugly body guttering like the light from a newly-lit oil lamp'. Other claims are wilder still, and involve the stopping of time; a blazing, electrical light; even a mult.i.tude of visions and hallucinations. Lisa-Beth puts things in purely tantric terms when she describes the arrival of the s.h.i.+p as 'a rendering [of Shaktyanda Shaktyanda?] like none ever seen... I can only think that so much wanton l.u.s.t had been built up in the world that even something on this scale could manifest itself.

So what, precisely, happened? One moment there was nothing: the next, the s.h.i.+p seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Fitz believed that the s.h.i.+p had been magically transported to the dock, but this is scarcely feasible even by the tortured logic of elementals. Bearing in mind Rebecca's comment that the Doctor could see something in the dock that Fitz couldn't bearing in mind, also, that the Doctor deliberately brought Rebecca with him, a woman known for h