Disclaimer: The TV show is not mine. The books are real and obviously not mine. And I don't own Oxford, as much as I'd like to.
Mr. Edward Hennessy does not approve of women at Oxford. It is one thing for the wives of the many professors to gather, on occasion, in the dining rooms with their husbands for a meal or to be seen of a Sunday afternoon on the law behind Christchurch. Anything else, however, is entirely inappropriate. University is for men and women have no place in the shadowed halls full of centuries of knowledge.
The first time she appears in Mr. Hennessy's domain – the silent rooms of Radcliffe Camera – he is so shocked at her presence that he cannot even manage a response to her pleasant 'good morning, sir'. Though he is entirely certain that she has never been inside the building before – and thank God for that! – She seems completely confident as she sets off across the entrance hall to the reading rooms beyond. A few moments later a student that Mr. Hennessy is familiar with, enters.
'Good day to you, Mr. Hennessy. I wonder if you could advise me as to whether my partner has arrived?'
'Arrived, sir?' Mr. Hennessy responds in a voice not at all steady. Dr. James Watson is well known in Radcliffe, but all the librarians, as a studious and quiet shadow that haunts the upstairs reading rooms at all hours. Mr. Hennessy rather admires the man's dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, unlike many of the younger students who prefer to spend their time in other locals than the university libraries.
'Yes, a Ms. Helen Magnus; we have a great deal of work to do. I do hope she is not late.'
Mr. Hennessy blanches slightly at the mention of a woman's name; for there can be no coincidence in the recent arrival of a female body into Mr. Hennessy's domain.
'I believe,' Mr. Hennessy begins and then has to clear his throat before he continues, 'that the lady you are inquiring after has already departed upstairs.'
Dr. Watson, seemingly completely unaware of the effect the conversation is having on the librarian, smiles his thanks. 'Excellent. We've no time to lose with this!' he exclaims and sets off at a brisk pace for the back stairs.
Mr. Hennessy stares after him, flustered; his world view shaken to the core. His ponderings are interrupted by one of the other librarians, a much younger man, headed past with a stack of books left behind by one student or another. They have been rather prone to such, since the Radcliffe became less a library and more a place of study. Many of the older science students still insist on removing books from the collection housed by the museum and then leaving them behind in the reading rooms upon finishing with their use. Mr. Hennessy has long since refrained from being bothered by the fact, so long as no books are found missing or damaged. The Radcliffe Science Library is not a suitable place for quiet contemplation of student meetings, which is why those that require such still return to the Camera in need.
'Is everything well, sir?' the young man asks, breaking Hennessy out of his thoughts.
'Yes,' he gulps, 'yes, of course.'
'Did you see the lady, sir? The one that passed by not long ago? She was headed upstairs, I noticed. I've never seen a lady in here, sir!' The young man appears flustered as well, though Hennessy assumes it is for quite a different reason.
'I should say!' he grounds out. 'This is an entirely inappropriate place for a lady of any stature. Why, I am shocked at her daring, to arrive her unannounced and in the company of Dr. Watson, no less!' Mr. Hennessy was simply unable to let the matter slide, as he was with many things. The other librarians, the young Mr. Kilner included, have learned to listen politely and refrain from commenting.
'I agree...sir,' Mr. Kilner stammers out. He hikes up the slipping pile of books that fills his arms and adds, 'must get these back to the Radcliffe, sir; excuse me.' He hurries out the north door, barely managing to miss colliding with another student entering.
Mr. Hennessy returnes to his work, though he maintaines a feeling for the rest of the afternoon that the blessed silence of his precious library has somehow been shaken.
He has no notion that the two students that have so disturbed his constitution are upstairs in one of the small reading rooms indulging in a small joke at the librarian's expense.
'My heavens, did you notice his face!' James exclaimed to his study partner.
'I was trying my level best not to glance backwards, in the case that I might lose my ability to remain silent. I do not think I have ever seen a man so taken aback by a woman's presence!' Helen returned.
'I do not believe Mr. Hennessy has ever noted a woman's presence before; certainly not within the hallowed halls of his blessed library,' James admitts. 'Well, we have had our fun. I do not believe he will be a bother, however, and if so there is no legal discourse to deny you entry here. I made certain to check.'
Helen smiles at him. 'Of course you did, James. You are studious in all things. I supposed we had best return to the matter at hand?' Helen's gaze moves to the books and papers spread out on the desk between them.
'Yes, quite,' he admitts, but the smile does not disappear.
Mr. Hennessy was no less shocked upon the next visit of Helen Magnus to his library, though this particular time she is accompanied directly by Dr. Watson. Mr. Hennessy is therefore required to maintain polite decorum in front of the gentleman, a fact that James is more than happy to abuse.
'I feel I should inform you, Mr. Hennessy, that Ms. Magnus and I shall be making use of your wonderful library quite often this semester. I am afraid we have been assigned as partners in Professor Frances' lab. I hope it will not be of too much inconvenience to you, that we make use of the rooms here,' James smiles disarmingly while Helen dpes her best to hide her laughter.
'Yes,' Mr. Hennessy takes a deep breath. 'Yes, certainly; as you need it. If I can be of assistance, please do...' he trailes off, unable to continue. Of all of the very nerve this gentleman has! And the smile on the woman's face; she is for certain humoured by his reaction. Completely inappropriate, Mr. Hennessy thinks.
'Our gratitude, sir,' Dr. Watson finishes and offering an arm to his lab partner heads across the room to the desks so arranged.
Mr. Hennessy is completely unable to hide his horror. They are to sit there, studying, in his presence? However will he continue to work in such an environment?
There is no in propriety, of course. There are other students in the hall, though none of them seem to be as bothered by the situation as Mr. Hennessy. Vague whispers echo in the rafters, jumping from stone to stone, but none of them are distinct enough for the librarian to make out.
Dr. Watson and his partner take seats on opposite sides of a reading table and began to cover the surface with books and notes. Afterwards, they sit in near silence for the better part of an hour, working on this note or that, reading this book or that. Mr. Hennessy is not at all certain of the situation. In the second hour they begin to converse quietly and Hennessy is able to manoeuvre himself around the room to catch snatches of the conversation.
'I am certain I read it somewhere,' the lady ascertains.
Dr. Watson is flipping through the pages of a heavy tome. 'Perhaps in Darwin's Descent of Man?' he mutters.
'No,' Ms. Magnus shakes her head. Mr. Hennessy manages to throttle the exclamation that bubbles up his throat at this disagreement. 'I am certain it must be found in Spencer's Biology or perhaps Milne's Annales des sciences naturalles.'
'Yes, of course,' Dr. Watson mutters again. 'Have you yet had a chance to read that new manuscript Tesla has been on about?'
'Hum?' Helen inquires distractedly, her nose firmly in a copy of Spencer's. Mr. Hennessy thinks such a response completely inappropriate for a lady.
A student at a nearby table lets out a polite cough and Hennessy realises he has been lingering near the table housing the doctor and his partner too long. With a concealed look of shame he sidesteps around a table and resumes a seemingly absent wandering. He is not so far away as to be unable to overhear Ms. Magnus' reply, however.
'Oh yes, just yesterday. I am unsurprised by Nikola's interest in the work, unfinished though it is. Honestly, the Dialectics of Nature! I found much of it flawed.'
'Perhaps,' Dr. Watson responds and then lowered his voice still further so that Mr. Hennessy is required to continue his wander bereft of the rest of the conversation. The small part that he has overheard is very shocking indeed. To think a woman of any stature would speak of such things! Biology books indeed! Mr. Hennessy is not unfamiliar with the sciences, though they are not his area of expertise. He has never heard of this Dialectics of Nature, but it seems no suitable work for a lady to study.
Some weeks later, on a particularly pleasant afternoon, Dr. Watson and Ms. Magnus entered the library with a third man. He is not tall, but rather on the thing side and clearly of foreign origin. Mr. Hennessy needs no words from the man's mouth to confirm that, though he is surprised to find the accent is Eastern European. He would have though the man German on sight. They make an odd sort of trio, the two men and a lady. The students who routinely use the Camera for study seem no longer interested in the comings and goings of the strange female student.
Mr. Hennessy can not say the same, though it is obvious that he is not in a position to have a say on the matter, nor to disapprove opening of Dr. Watson's choice of lab partner.
The new gentleman is briefly introduced as a Mr. Tesla, which harkens back to the conversation Hennessy has overheard some weeks before. He supposes it is of no surprise that the easterner has made his presence at the Camera known. Hennessy does his best to ignore the three of them, as they take a private room upstairs, despite the unsuitability of the situation. Dr. Watson and Ms. Magnus have certainly given him no cause to think anything untoward has occurred on their many visits to the library. After all, it is unsurprising that they have chosen this place to work. Dr. Watson is a member of Exeter's, only a step or two away and the main Bodleian is far more suitable to the study of classics than anatomy. The science library itself is a pleasant enough walk away, and clearly Dr. Watson retrieves his books from there, but it is not conducive to great peace and study.
Still, Mr. Hennessy cannot help but continue to be put out by the presence of a woman in his domain.
As winter turns to spring, however, the presence of the two students, and occasionally the easterner, wane considerably. The semester is drawing near it's end and Hennessy has been a librarian long enough to know that nearly all students will now be involved in projects nearing their completion date and exams that will need to be studied for and sat.
On a particularly warm spring day, Ms. Magnus entered the Camera one morning entirely alone. Since the first encounter, the woman has taken to remaining outside on the steps for her partner to arrive before braving the entrance of the building. Mr. Hennessy tries his level best to remain unflustered by this change of events, until the lady approaches him at his desk.
'Mr. Hennessy, I would ask for a moment of your time, if you might spare it.'
Mr. Hennessy coughs loudly enough to startle the students at the study desks. 'Yes – yes, certainly,' he choked out. Ms. Magnus seems slightly concerned at his sudden cough.
'Are you well, sir?' she steps closer.
'Yes,' Mr. Hennessy grounds out. 'Yes, quite well, thank you!'
'Very well. I will take only a moment of your time, as I know you have much work to keep you. I have simply come to offer my thanks to you, sir, for your allowance.'
'My allowance, miss?' Mr. Hennessy cannot notion what she is speaking of.
'Yes, Mr. Hennessy. Your allowance for my presence here these last months. I am grateful that Dr. Watson and I were able to make full use of your library, sir.'
Mr. Hennessy is entirely taken aback. 'Ms. Magnus, I must...offer my apologies, I believe.'
She seems suitably surprised at this offer. 'For what, may I ask, sir?'
'For,' Mr. Hennessy stops to clear his throat again, ignoring the looks the students are throwing his way. 'I believe I may have misjudged you, Ms. Magnus, being as you were – are a...'
'A woman, sir? Or a student at this university?' She is smiling at him most disarmingly.
'Both, miss.'
'Well, then Mr. Hennessy, I believe I may forgive you for your...thoughts,' Helen smiles sweetly at him. For it is entirely the reason she has returned to the Camera, with the pretence of giving her thanks.
'Thank you, Ms. Magnus,' Mr. Hennessy draws himself up to his full stature. 'Well, then,' he begins.
'I must depart,' Helen interrupts him. 'Again, sir, you have my thanks.'
Mr. Hennessy nods.
'Good day to you, sir,' Helen finishes and with a polite nod of her head she retreats out of the north door, trying desperately to hide the smile on her face.
'I shall take it from the look on your face that you are most satisfied with the outcome?' James inquires from her right.
'Most satisfied,' she assures him.
'I am much relieved,' James lies. 'And we are a great deal late as well,' he adds.
Helen glances down the green at St. Mary's Church to the south and sees by the state of the clock that they are indeed late.
'My apologies, James.'
'I'd expect nothing less,' he accepts with a smile.