Sunday, May 27, 2012

Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square will continue on Tuesday





The luncheon with Prince Albert had gone smoothly, if not quickly.  Mr. Punch and Robert Halifax were pleased to have that chore behind them and were happy to be on their way back to their son, their staff and their luxurious townhouse at No. 65 Belgrave Square.  That is, until their carriage pulled up to the house and they saw the beaten corpse of Robert’s old “friend,” William Stover.

Hutchinson, the driver, went for the beadle.  The Constable was relatively understanding, but seemed suspicious of Robert who lied to the copper about the time of death.  You see, Mr. Stover had been killed hours before and moved to the front of the house.  Robert fudged the details a little.  After the body had been removed, Punch and Robert tried to explain what had happened to the staff.  Luckily for them, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert kept the press silent.  Everything seemed to be settling down until a scream from downstairs sent the whole household into a panic.
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It seems that Roger Barrett, brother of the Duke’s governess, Ellen, had gotten into the house and was hiding in the scullery where Ethel found him.  Worse still, he was covered in blood and bits of hair.  Robert concluded that Roger had killed Mr. Stover, but Ellen protested.  Punch managed to calm the mentally-disturbed man down and soon saw that Roger was badly injured—hence the blood.  Who had hurt Roger?

Perhaps it was the same person who killed William Stover.  And/or, perhaps it was the same person who attacked Gerard who was found in the area with a gash to his head.  While Robert patched up Gerard, Mr. Punch and Mrs. Pepper bonded and Charles and Ellen went to investigate the suite of rooms where Roger usually stayed.

Charles and Ellen returned with little to report except that Roger’s caretaker appeared to have left without any trouble, leaving Roger to escape.  And, what of Gerry?  Gerard had no idea what had happened to cause him to be uninjured  This, of course, wouldn’t have surprised Charles who was the only one who knew that Gerard had been sneaking medicine from the doctor.  The fact that Robert gave Gerard another bottle of the stuff isn’t going to help matters.

With the household mostly quiet, Punch and Robert went to bed.  The two argued about the fate of Roger.  Punch contended that Roger was innocent, but Robert insisted that they pin the Sotver murder on Ellen’s brother.  Robert’s fear was that, otherwise, he would be blamed for it and would run the risk of being separated from Punch and Collin.  As Punch convinced Robert to protect Mr. Barrett, visitors arrived downstairs.   Hortence, Eudora Stover and Tom arrived to find out what the Duke and the Doctor intended to do about the death of William.

This coming week promises to be explosive.  Don’t miss a chapter!  You can catch up on any you might have missed in the Chapter Archive. 

We’ll be taking Monday off, but Chapter 48 of Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square will be posted on Tuesday.  Here’s wishing everyone a peaceful Memorial Day.  

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