Poor Mr. Punch! At the start of the week, he was panicking because Queen Victoria had deduced that he was lying about the murder of William Stover. Thankfully, Her Majesty commended Punch on his loyalty to Robert—to whom the Queen had taken quite a shine. The Queen promised she would make sure that the matter disappeared and invited Robert and Punch to the palace the following day. Queen Victoria asked Robert to examine her since she was not thrilled with her usual physicians and Robert suggested that Punch perform a puppet show for the Sovereign—an idea which did not go over too well with Punch.
On their way to the Palace, Punch worried that his puppet show would disappoint the Queen, but it turned out to be a success. Robert examined the Queen and found that her unborn child was smaller than it should be. Still, the doctor soothed the Queen’s nerves and told Her Majesty not to worry. While the Duke and the doctor were away, the staff took a moment to relax. Mrs. Pepper caught Ethel and Jenny chatting when they should have been working. Nevertheless, she was kind to the girls and shared a bit about her life with her late husband. Mrs. Pepper received quite a shock when her youngest son, Georgie appeared at the door. Dismissed from his job at the hosiery factory where he’d been employed, Georgie needed work and Mrs. Pepper promised to talk with the masters about Tom’s old job.
Finally, life at No. 65 Belgrave Square began to settle down. With George hired on to replace Tom and with Gerard and Charles both on the mend, the staff had returned to their usual jolly ways. Even Miss Barrett was more cheerful, knowing that her brother, Roger, was finally getting proper care.
However, upstairs, not everything was normal. Mr. Punch grew increasingly fatigued and experienced bouts of nausea and shaking. One evening, Charles and Robert found Mr. Punch in bed, barely coherent. Robert worried about his companion’s health despite Punch’s protestations that he was fine. Insisting that Punch stay abed, Robert quietly tried to examine his partner, but could find no cause for Punch’s strange condition.
What’s wrong with Mr. Punch? Is he ill or is something else afoot? This week, we’ll find the cause of Mr. Punch’s malady and it’s probably not what you expect. The result will change the lives of everyone in the household and will see the return of some unwelcome faces. You won’t want to miss a chapter.
Each chapter of Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square is archived for you here along with summaries of each chapter. I can’t wait for this next drama to begin. Thanks for reading!
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