So, what’s wrong with Mr. Punch? For weeks he’s been ailing—queasy, dizzy, tired, blurry-eyed. He was strong enough to go to the Queen’s birthday dinner, but after that, he only got worse. Even Robert can’t figure out what’s wrong with Mr. Punch.
Thankfully, the household has rallied around their master. Gerard and Charles have spent a lot of time with the Duke/Mr. Punch, playing games, chatting and trying to keep his spirits up. Gamilla visits Punch’s room often. In fact, much to Robert’s chagrin, at first anyway, Gamilla left some Voodoo gris-gris under Punch’s pillow to help him “feel better.” Mrs. Pepper has been making special snacks for the Duke. Even Ellen has been taking some extra time to bring treats to Punch’s room and tell him all about the activities of the nursery.
Punch and Ellen actually had a nice long chat. She asked him if it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to get out of London for awhile for some rest. Punch explained that he and Robert had hoped to do just that—after, of course, the Queen gave birth. Ellen thought it was a great idea and said she’d have no problem coming along, too, to help with Colin.
When Queen Victoria went into labor, she called for Robert since she was dissatisfied with Dr. Snow. With Robert away, Gerard and Charles kept the Duke company. Over-tired, the Duke seemed to pass out. Little did the valets know, but Punch had retreated to the private little space inside the body that he shared with Julian. In that space which only they knew about, Julian and Punch talked and Julian reminded his other half of the time they were poisoned by a former footman. When Punch awakened, he asked Charles and Gerard about the possibility.
Robert returned home with news of a newborn Prince—Leopold. Punch, Charles and Gerry quickly shared Punch’s theory that he was being poisoned. Robert soon realized that if anyone was poisoning Punch, they’d have to be doing it with the sugar cubes that only Punch used. Robert quickly called for Ellen. But, why?
Can Robert really think that the governess is poisoning his companion? Is Punch really being poisoned at all? What exactly has been going on at No. 65 Belgrave Square and what does it have to do with the murder of William Stover? Come back next week to see how our Mr. Punch fares and what happens when Robert speaks to Ellen. I promise a great many surprises this week, so make sure not to miss a chapter. If you do miss a Chapter, each is summarized in the Chapter Archive where you can also find a link to each chapter.
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