Disclaimer: Primeval and its characters belong to Impossible Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N – There are many wonderful genealogy website and resources available on the internet. I have just selected a few of them for the purposes of the story, and amended the name where possible.
Emily was sitting in Matt's office using his PC to check her email. Despite having only lived in the 21st century for the last 5 years, she had a healthy address book and was a prolific email writer. In fact Matt sometimes had to curb her tendency to reply to anything in her inbox out of good manners. He'd once caught her trying to thank a Nigerian General for his kind offer of several million pounds and had been somewhat embarrassed when she replied to thank one company for their concern but she didn't require their excellent product as Matt was quite substantial enough for her requirements.
Matt had installed the best spam filter he could find on her email (and had Connor soup it up for added protection) and had to remind her regularly to check whether what she received was addressed to her personally or undisclosed-recipient. She was getting the hang of it, but it was slow work.
Matt walked in to his office to find Emily staring at the screen with a strange look on her face. Confused he walked behind her and, gently placing his hands on her shoulders, tried to discern what on the screen had caught her attention.
From what he could make out it was just her usual email home page with the advert boxes down the side. The top one was for the secret to losing 2 stone in 1 month, the next was for a new sonic toothbrush, the third for … ahh that was it.
"Matt, , what is that?" To be honest Matt didn't really know.
"I think it's one of those genealogy sites." Since his great-great-grandparents hadn't been born yet, genealogy wasn't something that interested him.
"Genealogy?"
"Yes, you know, family trees. Tracing your ancestors, finding their birth, marriage and death certificates, that sort of thing."
"You can do that?" Emily was becoming quite emotional. Her voice had a distinct catch in it when she'd asked that question.
"Yeah, sure, I think. And I think they have lots of other historical records online as well like newspapers and parish records, coroners reports, military service records, that sort of thing. In fact, I'm sure if we looked we'd find your birth records on there."
Emily's eyes were now shining with unshed tears. "My parents and my sisters and perhaps William, would they all be on there? Could I find out if I became an aunt again, whether Gideon perhaps has … had more cousins?"
"It's not really my area of expertise, but I don't see why not. Are you sure this is something you want to do though? You know that they are all long gone. I don't want it upsetting you." He spoke tenderly and gently caressed her arms. He wasn't sure if this particular can of worms was one he wanted to open.
Emily looked lovingly at him, her eyes still shining as a single tear began to fall down her cheek. "I think I do Matt, I want to know what became of my family."
Matt's heart melted. "Well alright then. Let's find out what we need to do to get started and take it from there. It's a popular subject so there's bound to be loads of information on how we do this and the best places for research. We'll do a search tonight once we've put Gideon down for the evening, we shouldn't be disturbed then."
By the end of that evening, Emily had signed up with Ancestor, found the LDS and EasyBMD websites and was busily trying to work out the National Library site. Matt had found a simple to do list to help the budding genealogist get started and was working out what could actually apply to them. Since the first task suggested starting from today and working backwards that would be a little tricky. What Emily needed to do was to start with herself and work forwards – she needed descendants not ancestors.
"Emily, it says here you should start by writing out all you know about your immediate family, names, dates, places, etc. Perhaps we should start with that."
"Very well. My grandfather was John Bradley and he was born in Jamaica. My father was also John Bradley and he was born in London in 1795. He married my mother, Elizabeth Earnshaw some ten years before my birth. My father's family were merchants and my mother's were in coal. I had two brothers and two sisters. William was the eldest born in 1835, then James born in 1839. My sister Mary was born in 1840, myself in 1842 and my younger sister Lizibet, sorry Elizabeth in 1845. My mother died in February 1867 … I think that was part of the reason my father forced me to marry Henry just three months later. My mother had hoped that we girls would be allowed to marry for love, but my father was more interested in improving his business opportunities. He failed with Mary, that was a love match – darling David. But I was an asset and he used me as such, not that it proved of any use to him in the end." She gave a look of grim satisfaction.
A sudden look of excitement illuminated her face. "Matt let's start by finding out what happened to me. Well, what they think happened to me … and Henry."
For all intents and purposes, she and Sir Henry Merchant had simply vanished from London in April 1868. It would be interesting to know what Society had made of this scandalous episode. Emily felt a tingle of titillation at the thought of having caused Henry's name to be linked with any kind of scandal and salacious gossip, especially after his rough treatment of her. The fact that he'd tried to have her committed to protect his reputation still caused her some disquiet.
Going to the National Archive site she quickly found the search for English newspaper articles. After a few failed attempts, one article suddenly appeared on the screen dated 20th April 1868.
'TRAGIC INCIDENT IN LONDON. SPRING-HEELED JACK STRIKES AGAIN' the headline screamed. This was almost sensational for The Times in 1868. Emily couldn't contain her excitement and printed the article, hovering by the printer output tray waiting for the pages to finish appearing.
"Matt, Matt I've found it. Quick, come read."
Matt appeared from the kitchen carrying two cups of tea. He placed them on the coffee table and joined the excited Emily on the sofa to read Victorian England's take on Sir Henry being attacked by a raptor in a 21st Century art gallery after he'd just shot his wife. This was going to be interesting, although he wasn't sure how the now hyperactive Emily was going to take it.
'Scotland Yard have now concluded their investigation into the tragic incident of April 10th involving Sir Henry Merchant and Lady Emily Merchant. As our readers will recall, on that night in the vicinity of Limehouse the police were called after the notorious killer, Spring-Heeled Jack was reported in the area. A search quickly found Sir Henry's coach overturned and his driver dead, his throat viciously torn out. There was no sign of Sir Henry or his wife, acclaimed beauty Lady Emily, both of whom were believed to be travelling in the coach. It is understood Sir Henry had been visiting one of his properties in the area and was returning home. An extensive search of the area revealed no clue to the fate of the unhappy couple.'
'Detective Inspector Turnbull of Scotland Yard has now completed an exhaustive investigation and has presented his findings to the Coroner. An inquest will be held on 27th April and will be reported in this publication.'
'In advance of the inquest, Detective Inspector Turnbull has shared his conclusions with this reporter. "After an extensive search and painstaking inquiries I believe that I have established the events of that night and the tragic end of Sir Henry and Lady Merchant. We received reports at the Limehouse station that notorious killer Spring-Heeled Jack was in the area. Finding the coach overturned and the driver brutally slain we began an immediate search. It is my belief that Spring-Heeled Jack ambushed the coach and driver. The ferocity of the attack obviously scared the horse who, in its distress, reared and succeeded in overturning the coach before breaking free of its harness and bolting down the street. Sir Henry and Lady Merchant, deprived of their one source of protection from the dastardly killer were at his mercy. It is my contention that, in her terror, Lady Emily took flight towards the shelter of the warehouses and, his blood lust up, Spring-Heeled Jack pursued. Sir Henry Merchant also pursued in a gallant attempt to protect his wife. I fear that, having reached the docks Spring-Heeled Jack way-layed Lady Emily Merchant and brutally slayed her before the eyes of her horrified husband, then the villain turned his attentions to Sir Henry who was almost certainly too shocked by the horror he had witnessed to defend himself and was also brutally despatched by the murderer. I am in no doubt that the bodies were then disposed of in the Thames where they are unlikely to be found despite our searches. This is the report I have submitted to the Coroner and is, I believe the true interpretation of the facts as they are presented. " A funeral service for the unhappy couple will take place St Mary Abbots parish church, Kensington on 23rd day of April.'
Matt glanced at Emily trying to read her emotions in her face. Her hands were shaking and she was staring at the page, it's edges almost ripping in the tightness of her grip.
Suddenly she exploded in rage "How dare they, how dare they say that!"
"Who say what? Emily, calm down, you'll wake Gideon. Emily, what's wrong. Talk to me please."
Emily was pacing the room waving the pages and clenching her fists, as angry as Matt had ever seen her.
"Please, darlin' tell me what's wrong. I don't understand. How dare they what?"
Looking at the page, Emily read the offending line. "' It is my contention that, in her terror, Lady Emily took flight towards the shelter of the warehouses.'How dare that idiot detective say that. Anyone who knows me would never believe that I would run in terror from anything. The nerve of the man. I'll give him a thrashing, I'll have him horse-whipped, I'll have him demoted, the ridiculous buffoon. And to say it in print for all my friends to see. The shame of it. I will be a laughing stock throughout all polite society. How could such a reputable publication as The Times print such drivel. I shall write to the editor and demand a full retraction."
Matt could contain himself no longer, as he watched the irate Emily bemoaning something that happened over 150 years before. The laughter he was trying so desperately to hold in suddenly burst from him, reducing him to a quivering, giggling wreck.
"Darlin' please stop. It hurts, please." He lay on the sofa holding his ribs and in obvious pain.
Emily stopped her pacing and turned to stare at her husband as he lay, red faced on the sofa. "And what do you find so funny? You should be protecting my honour, not laughing at me like some, some imbecile."
"But Emily, precious, this all happened in 1868. Who exactly are you going to write to? Whatever anyone thought doesn't matter any more to anyone but you. I know it's rubbish, and you know it's rubbish, but really, what does it matter now?"
After a few moments and several deep breaths she calmed and settled on the sofa next to Matt. He had calmed enough now to sit up and draw his wife into a hug. "You are the bravest woman I know. Don't forget I was there, I saw it all. I know you didn't run from the raptor and that it was you that tried to protect Henry, not the other way round. " He rubbed her back and spoke in a soothing tone. "What's done is done. The point is that there was no scandal for your family and no further action was taken. The case was closed to everyone's satisfaction. Your family would have got the closure they needed and it sounds like they had an opportunity to say goodbye. Look, what was the name of the church where the service took place? Let's go there this weekend and see it. It might give you some closure too."
Emily agreed, calmed now that her initial anger had gone. "It was St Mary Abbott. It was our parish church and I was married from there. It will be interesting to see how it has changed over the years."
Matt sighed with relief. They had crossed the first hurdle, but this was going to be an emotional ride and Matt wasn't sure how the normally reserved Emily was going to take it. If this first evening was anything to go by it could be … interesting.
tbc