If Only Bones Could Speak (12/26 3pm)- Xmas 1677

[Charles Whitehurst]

It might have been an odd sight to see a Major in the Life Guard standing beside a stone bench in the royal apartments with two lanterns and a small broom. Yet, the pose Charles struck was one as if there was nothing unusaul at all. It was more important to act as if everything was normal, lest drawing unwanted suspicions upon himself.

 

In the distance he could hear the bell tower chime 3 o'clock. Disguising his impatience, he looked about for the arrival of Susan Herbert. Hopefully the Queen had not detained her.

[Aria]

Susan had been detained by friends wanting to tell her the latest gossip, and it was only when she heard the bells that she excused herself and left the Queen's presence chamber. Would he be waiting for her? She had been given the afternoon off and looked forward to exploring that secret room beneath the palace. Late last night, she had sneaked out of her room with a broom and a lantern and had hidden them just inside the passageway.

 

She saw Lord Langdon standing by a bench with two lanterns and a broom. There was no one else in the corridor at the moment, but she thought best to approach him casually, as if she had not expected to see him here. “Good afternoon, my lord,” she said with a warm smile. Lowering her voice, she added: “I see you have come prepared.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

It would be hard to deny that they were planning to meet each other should someone come across them at that moment. Could it be mere coincidence that the couple each had a lantern and a broom? Unlikely.

 

"Good afternoon my lady," he replied. "Better prepared than the last time." His eyes searched the hallway to gauge their privacy. Reaching for the switch hidden under the bench, Langdon exclaimed "best if we disappear into the passage. We are too obvious here."

 

As the door swung open, Charles held it for Susan to enter first. He followed and closed the door once he unshuttered his lantern. Offering to take Susan's broom as well, Charles led the way. It would take several minutes to go down to the lower level and locate the bones he left to mark the secret door.

 

"Did you learn anything more about the Swan?" Charles inquired quietly as they walked. "I have not had time to explore anything further about the possible meeting place. Perhaps we might find more letters," he offered hopefully.

 

As they finished their descent, the young lord's eyes were focused on the floor of the passageway. Now where is that hand? He speculated that they were drawing close.

[Aria]

“We didn't know what we were going to find last time.” Susan's gaze followed his as he glanced around the hallway. They seemed to be alone for the moment. She nodded when he said they should go inside, and when he opened the door, she preceded him into the dark passageway. Bending over, she picked up the lantern she had hidden by the wall and lit it. Charles offered to take her broom and she handed it to him.

 

He led them through the passages and she stayed close behind him, swinging her lantern to and fro hoping to find something interesting. The hidden corridor was bare of anything but dust, and when she saw a rat dart across the floor into the shadows, she decided it was better if she didn't look around anymore. Susan wasn't afraid of rats, but she would rather not see them.

 

“Right after church, I went to the library and asked Mr. Potts if there were any records of former ladies-in-waiting. I gave him the reason you suggested that I use, and he said he thought there was a book that would help me, and he would locate it for me. I'll go back tomorrow and see if he has found it.”

 

She knew Charles was busy. Perhaps she would look into the meeting place too. She seemed to have more free time than he did, although she couldn't ask for too much time off or the Queen might become suspicious. They had worked out an explanation for their frequent meetings, but hopefully, they wouldn't have to use it.

 

The reached the lower level and Susan tilted her lantern toward the floor, searching for the macabre pointer they had left in front of the secret room. The light glinted off of something white up ahead. The bony hand was just where Charles had left it. “There it is!” she exclaimed, suppressing a shiver. Her voice echoed through the empty corridors. “Did you bring anything to prop the door open with?”

[Charles Whitehurst]

They had no new information upon which to act it seemed. Yet, that might change on the morrow, once Susan had a chance to review the book Mister Potts would recommend to her.

 

The walk was mostly quiet as Charles wanted to be alert for sounds of others in the corridors. His men were known to enter the passages when necessary. Voices could carry, so the Earl reminded himself to speak quietly when they arrived.

 

The hand was still in place, just where he left it. Smiling, Charles announced "I brought an extra metal lantern to wedge in the door." He could use the man's skull as well, but such a desecration should be a last resort.

 

Feeling about with his boot, the young officer attempted to trigger the foot pedal that had been encountered before. Once the door swung open, he attempted to hold it open so that Susan could enter and he could place a spare lantern in the gap. This time they would have plenty of light to find the pedal on the interior side of the door, and brooms to remove the dust away from the door.

 

"Shall we both sweep the dust and cobwebs from the Lion? Let's do it gently so that we might find anything else that might have dropped to the floor shall we?" With an expectant smile, Charles handed the spare broom to Susan, already thinking how he was going to tease her this time. First, however, they needed to be serious in their investigation. The fun and games could follow.

[Aria]

Susan stared at the severed hand, her heart pounding wildly. She had never seen a dead person before, much less a skeleton, and she was about to go into a room with one. Lord Langdon seemed unconcerned about it. He had probably seen more than his fair share of bodies in various degrees of decomposition. She knew that a dead man couldn't hurt her and was more worried about showing fear in front of her companion. The young blonde was not supposed to be afraid of anything. That was the impression she wanted him to have of her.

 

“Good. I know there's a way out, but I would rather not be locked inside again and have to search for it through the dust.” Although being trapped in the room with him did have a certain appeal.

 

Charles found the loose stone that opened the door and Susan walked in, her lantern held high. The light illuminated the skeleton sitting in the corner. His skull seemed to be grinning at her. Susan wanted to flee, but she forced herself to stare at it. This was the Lion, the man who had written so many romantic letters to his love. Nothing was left of him but a pile of bones. Her fright turned into sadness, remembering the contents of his letters.

 

“Yes, I guess we should,” Susan agreed, taking the broom he handed her and moving closer to the Lion, sweeping the dust on the floor to either side to form a clean path. Time had turned his clothes to rags, and if he had been wearing jewelry, it had either been removed before he was thrown in here or stolen by somebody who had discovered the room many years before they had. There was too much dust and too many cobwebs for anyone to have visited it recently.

 

Now she was standing right in front of him, or more appropriately, it. Lifting the broom, she began to very gently brush the dust away from the skull. “I really like his ruff,” she said. “I wonder if he would mind if I kept it.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

Skeletons, in the Earl's experience, were far preferable to the newly dead. The smell and sights of a decomposing body were not something for the light-hearted. His eyes surveyed the rest of the room for furniture and ledges in the chamber, where something interesting might have been placed.

 

Assisting as he could with his own broom, Charles set down his other lantern so as to free his hands. The key was to push the dust away from the area surrounding the fallen lord and push it into a corner that had already been found to have nothing interesting in it.

 

"He should be delighted to see you have it," Charles declared as he paused his sweeping activity to bend down to retrieve the article of clothing for her. "His spirit is likely still here at times," he suggested, sticking with his fascination for ghosts. "We are now his only hope for his story to be told, for his family to know the truth, and for revenge to be exacted. I should think that we are the best friends he has."

[Aria]

At first glance the room appeared to be bare, but there had once been what looked like a cupboard built into the far wall. Most of the wooden shelves had been broken and lay on the floor in a pile of ragged shards. A couple of them were still partially attached, hanging precariously. The top shelf was still intact, but it was close to the ceiling, too far up for even Charles to reach.

 

Susan still held her lantern, brushing the dust away awkwardly with her broom held in one hand. She paused when he said that the Lion wouldn't mind if she kept his ruff. Smiling playfully, she took it from him. “Do you really think his spirit haunts this room, that he is watching us even now?” He would know that she didn't believe in ghosts and that she was only teasing him. “Did he lead us here perhaps, hoping that we would find out what happened to him? I wonder if he has any relatives left.” Her eyes widened. “Maybe the Swan became pregnant with his child and they have descendants here in London. If so, we should find them once we know the whole story.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

In their prior visit, Charles did not have the opportunity to take a good look around. The fact that the top shelf was intact gave rise to curiousity. Maybe something was hidden upon it so as to keep from the view of his jailers. Looking for something sturdy to stand upon, the young earl hoped to take a peek. Was there a bed or cot in the room? Presumably the man was held inside for some time.

 

While it had been Langdon's intention to spook her with ghost stories, he was more thoughtful when it came to the notion of whether dead spirits might hover over where their final remains lay. "I think his spirit must be here Susan. Where else would it go? People go to the graves of their loved ones in order to speak with them. Is this not the grave of the Lion? For all we know, the Swan's spirit may be here as well, or searching for him." It sounded like some romantic love story that might appeal to a young lady. Charles was more jaded about love, thinking it was but a sexual affair surrounded with florid letters. It was hard to know because it was something outside of his experience. Although he was sweet on Davina, would his spirit search for hers throughout eternity? Unlikely.

 

"I would not be surprised that if we read his letters aloud in here that we might feel his spirit's presence. Perhaps he might even give us some clue as to his identity. It would seem like an idea popping into our head I would wager." This talk of a seance gave Charles an idea of how to make Susan feel uncomfortable. He smiled inwardly at the thought, but it would need to wait until they had thoroughly examined the room for remaining clues.

[Aria]

Nothing else was revealed in the murky light of the lanterns, but there was a thick layer of dust over everything. Who knew what would eventually be uncovered?

 

Susan didn't see the remains of the cupboard. She was too busy examining the ruff. It was yellowed with age and the lace was tattered around the edges, but it was surprisingly intact. All she could think of was that the substance that had been used to stiffen it had preserved it from decay. The rest of the Lion's clothes had not fared so well.

 

Charles seemed quite serious about the Lion's spirit being here in this room. She looked at the grinning skull with more interest, wondering if it was true. Susan didn't believe in ghosts, but all people had spirits. Maybe she had released the Lion's spirit when she had first stumbled into the room. The thought of the Swan's spirit searching for him did appeal to her sense of romance. “Maybe she can find him now if she is connected to her ring.” She held up her hand. The pearl on her finger gleamed in the dim light.

 

“We should bring the letters here then and read them aloud again.” Her voice was quiet and soft. “It would be fitting, don't you think? This was where we found them. Maybe they will reveal their secrets if they are read in the Lion's presence.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

Using the broom on the top shelf did not seem to displace anything other than dust. Nothing else was noteworthy except the cupboard. Charles detoured to investigate the remains. Who knew what might have survived inside?

 

There appeared to be no bed, leaving the Earl to wonder whether the Lion slept on the floor or perhaps the bed had crumbled into kindling.

 

Charles smiled as Susan saw the wisdom in assuming the man's spirit might still be present. "That is what I was thinking," he replied to her offer to read their letters aloud. "Tis a shame we do not have any letters with us." His mind was already plotting the letters to be an excuse to kiss her and act as lovers generally, just to watch her squirm. It was a fun way to torment her, or so he thought.

 

"Let us keep looking," he advised as he resumed the sweeping with his broom. There have to be more clues.

[Aria]

Susan didn't wonder where the Lion had slept after he had been tossed into the hidden room. She assumed that he had been left here to die, which was why he was sitting in a corner. Or maybe he had been killed first and then moved into the secret room. There were so many possibilities, so many things they didn't know.

 

But they would find out so that the spirits of the Lion and the Swan would finally find peace. Even if they did locate their descendants, if they had any, Susan didn't intend to part with the pearl ring. She was almost obsessively attached to it, as simple as it was. She wore it nearly all the time and only took it off when she went to bed. So far, neither of her brothers, the Queen, or any of her fellow ladies-in-waiting had asked about it. It was not flashy enough to be noticed.

 

“We should have thought about bringing the letters, but I guess we will have to visit this room again.” She still didn't go close to the skeleton itself. The skull was already on the floor and after she had cleared the area around it, she set the ruff beside it and continued sweeping. Finally noticing the broken cupboard, she moved toward it. “Have you seen this?” she asked.

 

As Charles had done earlier, she lifted her broom and ran it along the edge of the only intact shelf. This time something clinked and shifted, as if it had been pushed farther back. “Something's up there!” she exclaimed, lowering her broom and glancing back at the Earl. “But how do we get it down?”

[Charles Whitehurst]

"If we keep visiting this room, it shall become our secret little meeting room," Charles jested with a broad smile. It was not exactly the most appealing surroundings, but it was private.

 

"Yes I noticed the cupboard," he admitted as Susan conducted her own search. It seemed as if something was on the top shelf after all. The challenge was retrieving it. "We could use the broom to knock it from the ledge I suppose," he ventured, "or do you think you could reach it if you stood on my back? I could lean down like a stool."

[Aria]

Susan hoped he was joking. A room with a skeleton in the corner wasn't exactly her idea of a secret meeting place. And she would never forget her terror when she had been locked inside. Still, she wouldn't mind reading the letters here. It seemed appropriate. And rather romantic, even if the Lion's skull was grinning at her from the floor. Before they left, she would ask Charles to place it back on its body. Hopefully, it would stay put and not roll off again.

 

As for their current dilemma, she didn't think that either one of them would be able to reach whatever was on the top shelf of the cupboard with a broom. She had accidentally pushed it farther back and the shelf was quite wide. However, if she stood on his back, it might be possible. She still wouldn't be high enough to see on top of the shelf, but her broom would have a longer reach.

 

“We could try it,” she said. “But first, let me clear the dust away so you won't get too dirty.” Swiftly, she swept the floor in front of the cupboard until there was more than enough space for him to kneel down. “Are you sure you don't mind?”

 

He was strong and she was small. There was little chance of her hurting him, but serving as a stool for somebody to stand on seemed a bit demeaning to Susan.

[Charles Whitehurst]

Charles was only too happy to have her sweep the floor before he went down on all fours. "It shall be quite alright Susan," he assured her. "You are light as a feather and it is the responsibility of a gentleman to lift up a lady in all ways. This happens to be a novel way," he offered with a chuckle. "Besides, what better option do we have?"

 

Getting down on his hands and knees, the Earl encouraged her. "Come now, see if you can free the object from the top shelf. Let us hope it is not glass, so it does not break."

[Aria]

He was a good sport about it, at least, and it was true they had few options. Susan could think of one, but it was a very scandalous way to lift her up. If she couldn't reach the object on the shelf by standing on his back, she might have to suggest it.

 

“Very well,” she agreed as he got down on his hands and knees. “I hope I don't fall off. Oh, I know ...” She deftly slipped her shoes off. Her bare feet would give her better traction, and the heels of her shoes wouldn't dig into his flesh.

 

A bit hesitantly, Susan stepped upon his back, gripping her broom with both hands. After a second or two to find the best way to balance, she lifted the broom and began to sweep the shelf as far back as it could reach. As she had suspected, she couldn't see over the edge. It was just above her line of vision.

 

At first, all she dislodged was dust, which sent her into a fit of coughing. “Hold your breath, Charles,” she choked out. If he started coughing too, she would probably fall off her rather precarious perch. On her second sweep, she heard a metallic clink and felt the broom brush against something.

 

With one hand on the edge of the shelf, she stood on her toes and maneuvered the object closer to the front of the shelf until she was able to grip the end of it. “I have it!” she exclaimed, but as soon as she saw what it was, Susan gasped and threw it across the room. It clattered to the floor.

 

Hopping off his back, she held out a hand to help Charles up, her face drained of blood. “There was a knife up there,” she whispered. “Maybe it was used to kill the Lion.” The object in question lay next to the lantern by the door, its partially-rusted blade gleaming in the flickering light.

[Charles Whitehurst]

Charles knew of more scandalous ways to lift Susan as well. The thought had crossed his mind more than once; but, he opted to try the more proper solution first.

 

The dust was difficult to ignore. Her coughing almost triggered his own. Rather, he held his breath for long intervals so that he might provide more steady support. As she climbed down from his back, he allowed himself to cough, which became a longer fit than he had expected. His eyes were watering at the end, as he regained control.

 

"A knife!" Charles had not expected that. He had hoped for some hidden treasure or a letter that might solve the mystery. A weapon had the opposite effect on him. Unlike Susan, as a soldier, he was trained to have an interest in weapons. "Let me take a look at it," he declared as he bent to retrieve it. Taking it over to the lantern, he wanted to give it a good examination. He hoped that it was not a common knife, but might be something more exotic instead. Perhaps it had an inscription or coat of arms in the blade. If the Lion was that important, it was possible. Failing that, there might be an emblem of the knife's maker, which might provide a thread to follow.

[Aria]

“Are you all right?” Susan asked when Charles started coughing. There was a light coating of dust over his back and in his hair and she imagined that she was covered in it too. She should have realized that the top of the shelf would be dusty, but practical considerations had eluded her in her eagerness to find out what was up there. The floor around him was covered in dust again, and she quickly swept it toward the fallen boards of the cupboard. She had swept the shelf thoroughly. There was nothing left to be discovered there.

 

Charles was more interested in the knife than she was. Holding the weapon that had possibly killed the Lion had disconcerted Susan and she was happy to let him examine it. She watched him pick it up and carry it over to the lantern. In the light, the dust in his dark hair was more visible, and she wanted to brush it out. Maybe she would later, but for now she content herself with sweeping. He would probably bring the knife over to her when he had finished inspecting it.

 

The weapon was a bollock dagger with a wooden hilt. It was elaborately carved in a pattern of swirls and a Tudor rose inlaid with gold was carved on each of the rounded guards. The pommel appeared to the gold as well and it looked like an inverted crown with short points going down over the edges of the hilt. The blade was a bit longer than average, and if Charles looked closely, he would see what looked like either an 'I” or a '1' inscribed upon it. Whatever was below that single character was covered in rust, as was much of the blade.

[Charles Whitehurst]

"I am fine," he replied in a constrained voice. "The tears in my eyes are that of joy at our discovery," he jested. His hands did a poor job of trying to clean the dust from his eyes. Tears continued to flow down his cheeks lightly.

 

"How grand!" Charles exclaimed as he eyed the knife. "This is no ordinary dagger. I think there is gold in the handle. I will have my man clean the blade of rust and we'll be able to know more. There might be an initial or coat of arms." He had not expected to find something so interesting and his heartbeat was quickening.

 

"The question is whether this is the knife that slew the lion or it was his. I would wager that it was his. The murderer would not leave his own weapon behind in a hidden location. It would prove his murder. No, it is the Lion's dagger. Look here, there might even be an 'L' on the blade." Why would he put an L on the blade, unless it was a gift from the Swan?

[Aria]

“Right,” she scoffed teasingly. “If that's true, then I'm Henry VIII.” Her eyes had watered too, but she had wiped the tears away before she had climbed off his back. Now she wanted to brush his away, too, but she was afraid she would only make things worse. Her hands were as dusty as his.

 

Susan moved by his side when he began to describe the dagger, her broom still held in one hand. Now that the initial shock of discovering a knife in a secret room containing a skeleton had worn off, she was able to look at it without shivering. She liked the carvings and it did look as if it was decorated with gold.

 

“You might be right,” she agreed. “Maybe whoever locked the Lion in here took his knife and placed it so high he couldn't reach it. That would make sense if he was left to starve to death. His murderer wouldn't want him to have an easy way to take his own life. But because this room is hidden so well, it could also be the weapon that killed him if the murderer was certain the location would never be found.”

 

She peered at the engraving on the blade. It looked like a line to her, but it could have been the beginning of an 'L.' Susan's eyes traveled down the rusty blade. “There's something else here.” Another letter could be seen between patches of rust. It was closer to the bottom of the blade while the one Charles had discovered was near the top. “That is clearly an 'N.' But it is too far below the other marking to be the last letter of “lion' unless the name was written quite a few times or if the letters were spaced very far apart.”

 

The pretty blonde looked over at him. “Maybe it's a message of love. But wouldn't that be kind of strange to engrave on a dagger?” Her blue eyes widened. “Unless she gave it to him to kill her husband with. Then a message of love would tell him that her thoughts were with him while he freed her to be with him.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

“Right,” she scoffed teasingly. “If that's true, then I'm Henry VIII.”

 

"Your Majesty," Charles replied with a laugh. He could not resist.

 

As for her theories, Charles found himself shaking his head. "The Lion could have reached the knife by climbing on the furniture. More likely, the Lion hid his knife up there to hide from the guards, so that he could choose the right moment to get his knife and slay his captors. My guess is he was killed before he had a chance to use it." If it had been him, that is what he would have done if he had managed to get a knife into captivity. It made less sense for a killer to put it up on a shelf unless they were too lazy to take it and throw it in the Thames.

 

The lettering on the blade was a puzzle as well. Charles found that he was getting anxious to take the knife home and have it cleaned up. "If there is nothing else to be found here, let me take this dagger to be cleaned. I'll take it to a reliable weaponsmith and see what we can learn. Then, let's plan to come back here, maybe on the last day of the year, and maybe at midnight, and let's read the letters aloud and see if we can awaken the spirits to appear before us." It seemed like an adventurous time to summon ghosts. "Maybe we should read some books in the library about how to summon ghosts. We have the skeleton, letters and now this dagger. If they will not come on the Witching Hour on the last day of the year, then when might they ever come?" It was a rhetorical question mostly.

 

Charles used ghosts to frighten ladies into his arms; but, he was fairly certain that they might exist under the right circumstances. Maybe it would be fun to try and contact the ghosts. Even if it did not work, he could probably find a way to frighten Susan or have some other fun.

[Aria]

“What?” Susan exclaimed in mock horror. “You don't bow to your King? Off with your head!”

 

His theory made a bit more sense than hers. Then again, he knew the mind of gentlemen a lot better than she did. There was no other furniture in the room that she could see, but maybe it had all been removed after he was dead. Then why had they found him sitting in the corner holding a box? Wouldn't he have sat on a chair instead? His body could have been pushed off the chair when it was removed, but then they would have found his bones lying down. It seemed to her that he had gone to the corner to die.

 

“Maybe the reason the cabinet is broken is because he tried to climb up on the shelves to retrieve it? Or perhaps there were objects on the other shelves as well, and they were stolen by somebody else who stumbled in this room. Maybe they took the other furniture as well and that could be why there are no jewels or other valuables on his body. He must have lived in the time of Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth because of the ruff and the roses on the dagger, and I think they wore even more jewelry than we do now.” Susan was no expert on fashion or history, but she had seen portraits of the two monarchs as well as other paintings of nobles who lived during that time.

 

“I think we have swept the floor quite thoroughly. I doubt there is anything left to be found.” Coming back at midnight to read the letters and summon spirits intrigued her rather than frightened her. “I'm not certain if I will be able to sneak away at night, but I can try.” There were always guards posted around the Queen's chambers, but she assumed that they would let her pass if she wanted to leave. She could say that she couldn't sleep and wanted to take a walk.

 

“Are there really books about summoning ghosts? We'll have to search for them ourselves if we don't want Mr. Potts to think we're insane. And in the meantime, I will continue to look into the Swan's identity." Susan grinned. "As soon as you find out what is written on the blade, you must let me know or I will never forgive you for keeping me in suspense.”

[Charles Whitehurst]

"Could be ... could be," Charles replied, never wanting to have a lady think that her own ideas were any less valuable. He looked about the room a last time as they sought to end their search for the day.

 

"Frankly, I do not know if there are many books on ghosts," he admitted. Langdon was not a scholarly person and had little dealings with the occult. "I suppose we could look in the library." There might be courtiers that had books about such topics. If nothing else, finding such books might gain Charles some insight into scaring ladies in the future.

 

As for their night games. "It has to be late at night," Charles confirmed. "That is the easiest time to slip away Susan," he added with a sly smile that suggested that he might have slipped away in the dead of night once or twice in his life. It would be dark in the tunnels anyway, regardless of time, and they might have more fun together if they knew the rest of the palace was asleep.

 

"Shall we be off?" he inquired. He had plans for kissing and scaring originally, but now the prospect of a midnight adventure offered a better opportunity. "Should we go out the river entrance again? We look quite a sight covered in dust. If we are seen in the hallways of the palace together like this it would be hard to say that we were not together," he chuckled.

[Aria]

How did one even find books about ghosts without asking somebody? One could spend hours scanning the shelves for books with titles like 'Summoning Spirits' or 'Speaking With The Dead.' It was also doubtful that the books they would find useful would have such obvious titles. Some books were organized by subject but what subject would those books be under? Susan had her work cut out for her already researching the identity of the Swan.

 

“I'll leave hunting books about ghosts up to you,” she said. As for sneaking away at night, Susan was quite certain that Charles had done it many times before, probably to meet ladies in secret. She rather liked the idea of being one of them, though not for a clandestine affair. They had a purpose they were working toward, and to her, that was more meaningful. Then again, the young blonde was a virgin, and except for a few casual kisses here and there, she knew nothing about the desires of the flesh.

 

“It's easy for you and for gentlemen in general. For a lady, it's more difficult, especially if she is an attendant of the Queen. I should be able to manage it, although I might not be able to stay for more than a couple of hours.”

 

Would he notice the way she sighed when he suggested they leave? This adventure had been all too short, but maybe it was better that way. Susan didn't want any suspicions to circulate about her, particularly since her eldest brother was so volatile. “Yes, I guess we should go now. Perhaps we can meet sometime between now and then to discuss what progress we have made?”

[Charles Whitehurst]

Not being the scholarly type Charles was not one well-versed in research. He had done a great deal of reading about King Arthur, which had been enjoyable. There had been some reading about the ghosts of Merlin and Uther Pendragon at his ruined castle of Tintagel. "I suppose I might find something," he replied without the requisite enthusiasm.

 

Susan seemed eager to meet with him again. The question was whether it was because she liked his company, or it was the thirst ro solve the mystery. Perhaps it was both.

 

"I do not doubt that you are quite clever in excusing yourself from notice," he offered in a statement meant to flatter her. She seemed more sensible than many of the ladies he knew and motivated ladies found ways to overcome obstacles.

 

Charles did not read more into her sigh. It seemed natural enough. "When would be a good time for you to meet? I control my own schedule mostly," he admitted. "I could assign myself to patrol anywhere you might like to meet me," he offered with a sly smile.

[Aria]

He didn't seem very optimistic about finding books about ghosts. There was a good possibility that there weren't any, perhaps because summoning spirits was impossible. Or maybe there was no right way to do it. You just had to experiment and hope they showed themselves. Reading the letters in this room was a good place to start. She always wore the pearl ring and Charles could bring the Lion's dagger.

 

Susan mentally rolled her eyes. Was she really starting to believe in ghosts? No, but it was easy to imagine that the spirits of the Lion and the Swan couldn't rest until they found each other, and that she and Charles might be able to bring them together, whether it was real or just a game between them.

 

“If I don't show up, you'll know I'm not as clever as you think I am,” she replied with a mischievous grin. “I was thinking that we could meet in the library in a few days … maybe Wednesday?” That would give her two days to look into the Swan's identity. She had never seen any life guards patrolling there, but he could join her either before or after his shift. “It's not very private, but it's indoors and it's warm.”

 

She looked up at him curiously. “Do you have any other suggestions?”

[Charles Whitehurst]

"You will show up then," Charles announced confidently. He meant to flatter Susan thereby.

 

"Yes, perhaps Wednesday when your Mistress is taking her mid-day meal you can slip away and join me in the library." That would give him a couple of days for research.

 

When she asked him for other suggestions, he allowed his mind to wander. He was torn between saying something scary, suggestive, or jesting. Yet, in the end, he could not think of something witty to say in that moment. He chided himself silently hoping she would think that he was deep in thought about their mystery.

 

"No, nothing at the moment. Best we be on our way then." So it was that he cast a farewell look into the room, escorted Susan from the room before removing the lantern wedged in the door. The knife was in his pocket securely.

 

Rather than return to the palace entrance, he took her down to the river exit again. It was less likely that they would meet Davina or her brothers there. Once at the doorway he paused to ask, lifting his broom, "should we brush each other before exiting." he would be happy to have her brush him by hand, and vice versa, but that would be forward. Perhaps she would agree with the brooms they had brought. "Maybe we should leave the brooms here. It would look odd for us walking about with brooms like we were chimney sweeps." They could pick them up on their return if they wished.

[Aria]

Susan was pleased that he had confidence in her cleverness. Maybe she was already proving to him that she was not like most of the ladies at court. “I should be able to get away then.” It looked as if she was going to be spending quite a lot of time in the library during the next few days. Maybe by Wednesday, she would be able to tell Charles the Swan's real name. Or they could look through the records together, assuming they existed and that Mr. Potts found them.

 

Susan picked up the ruff, sliding her arm through it, and followed him through the corridors to the river exit. “Yes, we probably should,” she agreed when he suggested that they brush each other off. “I think we are as dusty as we were the last time we were here." Setting the ruff on the ground again, she gently turned him around so that he was facing away from her. As he had been down on his hands and knees when she had dislodged the dust storm, most of it had fallen on his back.

 

The thought of people thinking they were chimney sweeps made her chuckle. “We might need to use the brooms again when we return. Do any soldiers patrol this passageway? If so, maybe we should hide them.”

 

The broom was not doing a very good job ridding his back of dust. “Oh, this isn't working.” Placing it against the wall, she began brushing the dust off with her hands. “Your head is dusty, too.” Moving in front of him, she placed one hand on his shoulder for balance, and gently ruffled his hair to shake the dust out of it.

[Charles Whitehurst]

The broom brushing his back felt good. It was even better knowing it was a lady doing it. Unfortunately, she announced that the broom was doing little good. "That is unfortunate." If he liked his back brushed, he liked her hand in his hair even better. The Earl stooped down to assist her. "Thank you."

 

"Now then, how would you like me to brush you off?" he asked as innocently as he could. Frankly, he could not expect her to let him put his hands on her. The broom seemed to be of little use.

 

"Yes, let's leave them here. I doubt anyone would steal them." They were not very nice brooms after all. "A soldier is usually stationed at or near the entrance. They sometimes patrol this lower passage, but this entrance is well-hidden."

[Aria]

Susan enjoyed caressing his hair. Even after the dust was gone, she continued to ruffle her fingers through it for a few moments longer before finally dropping her hand back to her side. “There's still a bit of dust clinging to your back, but other than that, you look fine.” Very fine, she added to herself. “No one who sees you will suspect what we have been doing.”

 

He asked if he could brush her off, and she hesitated, looking down at the front of her gown, which was coated with a layer of fluffy gray powder. She wanted him to wipe the dust off, but she knew that it would be inappropriate, and so she brushed off her own bodice, running her hands casually over her breasts and down to her stomach. Stepping backward so that no dust would fly toward Charles, she lifted her skirt and shook it out. For the briefest of moments, a flash of slender ankle might have been seen.

 

He didn't think there was a need to hide the brooms. “It's dark in here. Even if soldiers do patrol this passageway, they may not see them if we set them against the wall. They are more dusty than we are. It will look as if they have been there all along.”

 

Susan rubbed her dirty hands together to rid them of as much dust as possible. “How do I look? Is most of the dust gone now?” She almost hoped it wasn't, so that he would insist on brushing the rest of it from her gown.