We all rather guessed that the murder of William Stover would mean trouble for the residents of No. 65 Belgrave Square. It was bad enough that whomever had killed the man felt the need to dump his corpse in front of the posh townhouse, but matters only became more complicated when Ellen’s mentally-challenged brother showed up—covered in blood—in Mrs. Pepper’s scullery.
Punch managed to calm Mr. Barrett despite the fact that the household was in chaos. Gerard had been attacked, too, leaving a nasty gash in the man’s head which was quite similar to the injury Mr. Barrett had sustained. How were the two injuries related? And, what did any of it have to do with the murder of Mr. Stover? Robert thought that Mr. Barrett was most likely responsible for William’s death, but Ellen protested, stating her brother’s innocence.
Punch sent Ellen and Charles to investigate Mr. Barrett’s hired rooms (after the wild man had been heavily drugged). Though the footman and the governess quarreled all the while, they found nothing except a note that Roger’s caretaker had taken off. Who could blame him? The two returned to Belgrave Square to resume watching Mr. Barrett while Punch tried to regain control of the household. This task proved difficult when Eudora Stover (the dead man’s sister) and Hortence (their former maid) showed up at the front door with Tom. Yes, Tom, the page. You see, Tom is Eudora’s son and she’d been using the boy to spy on the Duke’s household. Now, we know that Eudora and Hortence had been in league since the latter was dismissed by Robert. Originally they wanted to make the Duke and the Doctor pay for sacking the girl. However, that night, they showed up wanting “justice” for William’s death. Of course, to them, justice meant cash. The women implied that Robert had something to do with William’s death and Punch wanted no part of it.
Punch rashly and falsely declared that he had murdered William—much to the shock of Robert. Charles, Gerard and Speaight supported Punch’s lie as all of them strove to protect Robert. Punch even went as far as to make this declaration to the beadle who seemed to buy the story. Eudora, Hortence and Tom left in defeat, but not before announcing that they hadn’t finished with the residents of No. 65. Robert, as one might expect, proceeded to freak out. Punch, however, insisted that Robert had no reason to worry and that he would do anything to protect his companion.
Expecting the arrival of an inspector from Scotland Yard, the household prepared itself. Charles and Gerry took Roger Barrett back to his hired rooms where he’d be looked after by a new man—a young physician in training hired by Robert. Robert and Punch made their peace with the apologetic governess who seemed to show a queer interest in learning more about Grange Molliner—Punch’s Scottish ancestral home which he inherited from his father, Sir Colin.
While Punch was upstairs trying to work, Robert and Speaight discussed the household. The front door rang. Speaight and Robert feared the inspector had come early and were shocked when Queen Victoria and her entourage were on the other side of the door. The Queen found Robert to be sensitive and charming and confessed her fondness for the Duke. Her Majesty tried to convince Robert into telling her the truth about the murder, but Robert wouldn’t budge. The Queen, however, managed to trick Punch into telling her the truth. As both Robert and Punch panicked, the Queen assured them that she would look after them.
So, now what? With Queen Victoria on their side, will things quiet down for Robert and Punch? Nah. This royal involvement will only complicate matters, especially when Prince Albert finds out about it. Meanwhile, Ellen’s up to something. What’s on her mind? Is she only trying to get a comfortable home for her brother or is there more to it? Gerard will face some further challenges as he finds himself given more medication and this will cause some trouble with Gamilla. Ellen and Charles continue to spar, and Mrs. Pepper gets a shock when a face from her past arrives at the area door.
Make sure to come back on Monday for Chapter 53 of Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square. It’s going to be an exciting week. If you’ve missed any chapters, you can find links to them as well as brief summaries of each in the Chapter Archive.
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