Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square, Chapter 260

Chapter 260
The Fifty 


“Chum?” Punch said softly as he entered the library.

Robert nodded, not looking up from the large, gilt-edged book from which he was reading. He was seated at the long mahogany writing desk which stood against the heavily-paneled wall at the farthest corner of the grand room. The tall, green-shaded lamp flickered in the corner, casting strange shadows against the towering tufted, six-paneled screen which was used to obscure the servants’ entrance to the room.

“It’s late, Chum.” Punch continued as he approached.

“Hmmm…” Robert looked up finally, squinting.

“It’s late.” Punch repeated. “I already kissed Colin good night and brought Dog Toby to our room.”

“Where did you get all of these books?” Robert asked, absently.

“When pa went to Egypt, he had his library added to Julian’s. He said he didn’t want to leave his books behind at Fallbridge Hall, as I recall it, Chum. So, he had the lot brought to London so Julian could keep ‘em with his things.” Punch explained. “I confess, I ain’t never looked at ‘em. I know Julian didn’t, so, ‘course I never did.” Punch looked at the stack of books on the table. “Most of Sir Colin’s books was ‘bout Egypt and the earth and gems and art and such.”

“And theology.” Robert nodded. “Or theologies.”

Punch nodded. “That were a big part of Sir Colin’s work. Lookin’ in them tombs and such, I reckon that he had to know ‘bout the religions of them dead folk what he studied.”

“Why didn’t Sir Colin want to leave his books at Fallbridge Hall when he went abroad?”

“Dunno.” Punch shrugged. “All I remember is ‘im askin’ Julian to take them here. I were busy inside our body, then, makin’ sure Julian had ‘nough strength to carry on. I tried to listen to everything, but…” He paused. “Oh! I remember! He mentioned somethin’ ‘bout not wantin’ to give neither Barbara nor the Duchess no ideas.”

“I see.” Robert nodded.

“Why?” Punch asked.

“Well, dear Punch, while most of Sir Colin’s tomes are indeed what you thought, there are some which detail other religions which, should either Barbara or your mother…”

“Julian’s mother.” Punch shook his head.

“Julian’s mother,” Robert corrected himself. “Had either of them seen some of the information contained here, they might have used it for ill.”

“How do ya mean?”

“Demonic theology.”

“Like a cult?”

“In a way. Here’s one that’s especially interesting given our situation.”

“What do ya mean?”

“There’s a group which calls itself, ‘The Fifty.’ It was founded in ’41 and limits itself to fifty members only—internationally. Should one die, he or she is replaced by a relative named in advance by the decedant. The members only come from aristocratic families around the world. One of those spots, according to this text which appears to have been published around 1848, was held by one Eustace Rittenhouse of Louisiana. It’s quite possible that this relative of Ulrika’s died and bequeathed his position to her.”

“Why fifty?”

“A member for each of the fifty names.”

“Fifty names?”

“This group has named fifty demons which they believe will one day take over the earth, led by a god of sorts.”

“Who is this god?”

“He’s to be the reincarnation of Marduk, the defeater of all of the demons—the strongest of them all—who triumphed in a war between the evilest entities. Marduk, it seems, was a name given to a chief Babylonian god whose demise meant the demise of Babylon. As of the writing of this text, the group awaited the birth of the new Marduk—their messiah.”

Punch shivered. “These folks really believe that?”

“Yes,” Robert nodded. “They do. They’re waiting. They believe that each of them, by heredity –chosen by the founder of the cult genetically possesses the qualities of each of these fifty demons, and, upon the birth of Marduk, their revolution will begin—allowing each of them a chance to claim their portion of the earth as their kingdom. I see that they believe they will govern for each of the fifty demons. They will be ruled overall by the human individual who represents Marduk—in this case, Eustace Rittenhouse, or…perhaps our Ulrika.”

“She ain’t ours, Chum.” Punch squawked.

“My apologies.” Robert said quickly.

“When is the birth of this ‘messiah’ meant to ‘appen?”

“According to their predictions, in 1852.”

“So, it’s happened?”

Robert shrugged. “They believe it has. The child was to be born of pure evil and is to have a triple grasp and twice the hunger of a normal child, similarly, it should…” Robert looked down at read aloud from the book, “…the child will see at once from each side and speak in dual voices from one heart.”

Punch scowled. “How could there be such a thing.” Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Unless…unless it’s someone like me. More than one man in one body! Oh, dear, oh dear, oh…”

“No, no.” Robert interrupted. “This is a physical description, a literal one…not a mental state such as yours. The text goes on. Listen. ‘Two faces shown at once, the Messiah holds in his third hand, the key to eternal dominance.’”

Punch curled his lip downward. And only these fifty believe this?”

“No.” Robert shook his head. “The fifty are like…church elders, like archbishops. They have followers.”

“I see.” Punch inhaled. “So, somehow, accordin’ to what Ulrika tol’ Lennie, Orpha Polk believes she gave birth to this messiah. She’s evil enough. Maybe she is part of this cult. And, if Ulrika is one of their ‘bishops,’ she would wish to see the child. But, how could it have three hands and all that.”

“You’ve never been to the sideshow?” Robert asked.

“Nuh uh.” Punch shook his head. “Don’t like to see folk suffer. Neither did Julian wish to see their sad faces. I like puppets better.”

“You’ve heard of Chang and Eng?”

“No.”

Robert began, “They traveled in America with Mr. Barnum. Brothers, twins. Born joined together.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Their bodies were connected. Attached. They’re called ‘Siamese Twins,’ though surely there should be a more accurate name for such a condition. While, I believe, Chang and Eng had four legs between them, they had two arms and two heads atop one trunk. Such births do happen from time to time. Sometimes the child appears to have two heads. Sometimes they’re two distinct bodies joined at one point of the body. Other times, a third arm or other deformity is present.”

“You doctors…” Punch shook his head. “Don’t know how you sleep at night.”

“You know very well how I sleep.” Robert smiled.

“Do ya think Orpha’s child could be such a…twin?”

“Could be. We know that the offspring is the result of incest. Any number of abnormalities can arise in such a union.”

“If that’s the case, Chum, Ulrika and the other forty-nine think that this child is their Messiah, Mar…”

“Marduk.”

“The demon king.” Punch sighed. “And, if what you think is true, Ulrika inherits the Kingdom of Marduk…their leader, makin’ her the earthly ruler of the evilest of the evil.”

“Precisely.” Robert sighed.

“Well, that can’t be good.”

“No.” Robert shook his head. “That can’t be good for anyone.”



Did you miss Chapters 1-259 of Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square? If so, you can read them here. Come back tomorrow for Chapter 261.