Ch 2: Carroms, Crumpets, and a Case
"Bring in the tea service," I ordered. "Make it strong."
"Yes, young mistress."
I fixed my gaze on the carrom board. Cerulean eyes reflected across the wooden surface, glinting like chips of ice. The unsettling incidents from last night replayed in my mind: the fake warning telegram, the band of smugglers, Irene Diaz's innocence, but most of all, that taunting cipher.
The game is afoot, Phantomhive.
Who the deuce could have sent it?
A soft giggle snapped me out of my frustration. Securing blond sprigs of hair to her chest, Lizzie leaned over the carrom board. "I must say, your game is rather off today, Cielle."
I stared at the lone coin on my side of the board, then the towering stack on hers, and murmured, "A first time for everything I suppose."
"Might I propose a stake to motivate your spirits? If you win, I shall give you this cute little trinket." Lizzie held up her wrist, revealing a charm bracelet dangling with a dozen precious stones. But just as quickly as she brought it up, she lowered it. Her lips parted into a playful smile. "However…if I am the victor, you have to accompany me tomorrow to a fitting for the academy's masquerade ball."
"You know those sort of outings aren't my cup of tea, Lizzie," I muttered. "Don't you have other friends who'll tag along?"
Her smile faltered. "Well, I was going to ask my friends, Arwen and Astoria instead, but oddly, neither of them showed up to the academy today. In any case…what do you say to my proposition?"
"Mighty considerate you to spring up a reward when you are already at such a vantage point in our game."
"Then you refuse?"
"Hardly, Elizabeth."
Smiling widely, Lizzie reached for the striker, when Sebastian strode through the doorway, wheeling in a trolley cart filled with sherry trifles, blackberry crumpets, scones, and, of course, the customary Twinning's tea.
"Today's tea is a blend of Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Assam," he announced before pausing. His gaze drifted to my side of the board, no doubt taking note of my abysmal score. Then his eyes shifted to the Queen in the center. "Perhaps I should return once you've have finished playing your games." He caught my eye, and a faint chuckle escaped him. The sound travelled down my spine as though a gloved finger had traced it. "Young mistress..?"
I shook myself. Forcing myself to meet his raised brows, I lifted my chin and made my voice stiff as possible. "That won't be necessary."
With all the lesser valued coins unwittingly cleared by Lizzie, I positioned the striker in the unobstructed path of the Queen and struck hard. The striker glided across the board like a lynx slinking towards its prey. In one fluid move, our game had ended.
The Queen was mine.
Lizzie's lips went agape as I reached out to collect her charm bracelet. Slipping it on my wrist, I languidly leaned back into the Queen Anne armchair as Sebastian handed me a teacup, filled to its brim. I inhaled the muscatel scent with a hum.
"I see it is to your liking, my lady." Sebastian retrieved the Daily Telegraph from the bottom rack of the trolley cart. "Perhaps now would be an apt time to give you this."
Without another word, he dropped the newspaper on my lap. His crimson eyes held my gaze, steady and impassive, watching me unroll the paper. With a forceful clink, the teacup clattered against the Royal Doulton china, splashing tea over the rim. I sat bolt upright in my armchair.
A startled black and white face met mine, and underneath it, in stark, bold letters – a warrant for Irene's arrest. My eyes flitted across the front page.
'Lyceum's very own opera singer and actress, Irene Diaz, was found amidst a band of smugglers last night. The young woman was caught in the act of thieving a diadem from Her Majesty's Jewel House in London Tower. Fortunately, the attempt was prevented in the nick of time due to the estimable efforts of Commissioner Randall Delacourt and Inspector F. Abberline of Scotland Yard.'
"Estimable? Tch." My fingernails dented the paper, but I pressed myself to read on.
'However, soon after her detainment, Diaz went missing around the early morning hours, the only key to her cell taken. The Yard believes she escaped from their custody due to mounting evidence that would sentence her to Brixton's Female Convicts Facility. A small search party has been dispatched. If anyone has any knowledge on Diaz's whereabouts, we urge you to come forth and contact the authorities immediately.'
"Matters have gotten a touch more interesting, haven't they, my lady?" Sebastian collected the paper.
"A touch perhaps...still, to think all this fuss over a petty diadem." I frowned and reached for a scone off the cart when Lizzie made a brusque grab for it instead. She sunk into a chintz upholstered armchair and slathered a dollop of clotted cream on the scone, glowering at me as she assailed her pastry.
"Is the tea-service not your liking?" I said dully.
"Don't try to fool me, Cielle. You played me."
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about, Elizabeth."
"Oh, twaddle." With a bitter laugh, Lizzie sprang from her armchair with the fistful of coins I'd let her win and threw them over her shoulders onto the board.
"Watch it—" I started but froze as one of the thick, wooden coins soared high into the air and plunged into my cup with a loud splash. I yelped, bracing myself against the scalding drops of tea to hit my face. Oddly, they never came. I cracked a lid open. My breath stilled. Glowing orbs of fuchsia pinned my gaze.
Sebastian tsked. "Goodness, all this to win some inconsequential game…" He slowly lowered his wet, tea stained gloved hand from my chin and pursed his lips on the precipice of speech when, to my relief, a twinkling of a bell interrupted him. With a bow to the Lizzie, the butler excused himself to attend to the visitor.
Lizzie collapsed back into her armchair, arms crossed and looked as though she wanted to wield a sabre at me. Honestly, the girl could be hypersensitive as a barometer. Still...if Aunt Francis caught wind of this, I'd receive quite the earful. I heaved a sigh.
"Be here in the afternoon," I said, before I could change my mind. "We'll have the coachman take us to Nina Hopkin's boutique. I presume that will–"
Without warning, Lizzie flung her arms around me, toppling over me in my armchair. "Oh, Cielle! I knew deep down you couldn't refuse me."
"Let…me go…now...Elizabeth," I said through her chokehold.
A rap sounded the door, and Sebastian flitted past the doorway, somewhat briskly. "Young mistress," he began, "you have -" He paused upon noticing my awkward position. "Please pardon my intrusion."
Lizzie released me with a giggle. I sat upright in my armchair, my cheeks aflame at his ill-concealed amusement. "What do you want, Sebastian?"
"I simply came to inform you that you have company." His tone conveyed this was no ordinary visitor.
"Who?" I said sharply.
"Lord Randall Delacourt – Commissioner from Scotland Yard. And...a guest."
I stared hard at the closed door. What did that glock want now? "In that case, please see Elizabeth out, and prepare some tea service. I will be downstairs momentarily."
"As you wish."
Concern knitted Lizzie's eyebrows, but she reluctantly took her leave. Then, gathering all the enthusiasm I could muster, I clambered downstairs. Forcing a pleasant face, I threw open the parlor curtains to find not one, but two men seated under the chandelier. "Commissioner, how delightful to see you twice in one day."
Commissoner Delacourt rose from the armchair and contorted his face into a pained smile. "My sentiments as well, Lady Phantomhive."
I sniffed and eyed his gold plated watch set an hour forwards, his posh navy coat, and a satin cravat tied around his thick neck, atypical of his usual Scotland Yard garb. "Not on duty today?"
"Er, no. I only work part-time at the Yard these days. Have a new post, you see – as headmaster of an international academy I've recently acquired."
He paused, as if waiting for my congratulatory response, but instead, I shifted my attention to his thin framed acquaintance. "I see you've brought company."
The wan-faced man spoke in a feeble voice. "Mr. Ashton."
With a noncommittal nod, I ran a quick glance at the man from head to toe. Mismatched buttons, fingernails bitten down to nubbins, sunken and red rimmed eyes. Having made my assessment of the matter, I gestured them back to their seats. It was safe to say that this would be a tiresome afternoon...
"What brings you here this time, Commissioner? Were your hounds not able to track Irene Diaz?"
His eyes flashed. "Save your breath, Lady Phantomhive. I do not come to you with such trifles. I merely came to deliver some paperwork to fill." The Commissioner curtly handed me a document. "It concerns matters from last night."
I cast a brief glance over the document. It contained an eye-witness account regarding Irene's arrest, but nothing of urgency. Nothing that warranted an unannounced visit... Very well. I would humor him.
I motioned to Sebastian for a pen and proceeded to fill it out. An oppressive silence befell the room, punctuated with the occasional scratch of pen to paper and Delacourt's restless tapping on his armchair. As if sensing this was a good time to bring in the elevenses, Sebastian bowed and excused himself from the room.
The Commissioner cleared his throat. "I have heard from social circles your new publishing company, FunTomes, is on the rise. I expect it must be most taxing for a chil–er, someone of your age to manage."
"Au contraire, Commissioner. I find it rather easy. Afterall, aren't children the best judge of stories?"
"Er, yes, of course."
The Commissioner's eyes wandered around the room as if trying to find some topic of small talk when Sebastian returned into the parlor, holding a three-tier platter stacked with lemon tarts, English sandwiches, and the leftover blackberry crumpets.
"I must say these look rather palatable…" The Commissioner brought a crumpet to his eye-glass. "My deepest compliments to your chief."
Sebastian bowed. "Your compliments are well received, sir."
"So you who made this, did you?" He turned from Sebastian to me. "I see you've acquired quite a skilled butler with exquisite tastes, Lady Phantomhive."
Sebastian's eyes glowed with humor. I fixed his gaze through heavy-lidded eyes. "Yes…very exquisite tastes."
"Of course," said Delacourt. "I suppose that should be expected when one visit the distinguished Phantomhive manor-"
"I confess I'm not particularly fond of toadying, Inspector," I said softly. "Or stalling."
Every muscle in the Commissioner's face tensed. "Pardon..?"
"Do not try to gammon me, Commissioner. I doubt you've come all this way as a courtesy visit to drop off menial paperwork or assess my butler's culinary talent. Pray tell, what is the real reason for this visit?"
All of a sudden, Mr. Ashton jumped. Anguish clenched his features. His mouth teetered on speech and his body shook as if some paroxysm of hysteria had seized him. Finally, he stood up, yanking a mound of his straw colored hair in a violent fit. "Arwen!" he screeched. "Astoria!"
I froze. Lizzie's friends.
The man let out a loud, pitiable wail and bellowed the names over and over again. My eyes flickered to Sebastian who gave me a cursory nod. In one fluid move, he restrained the addled man back into his seat. "Pray compose yourself, sir."
"I think I shall speak on Mr. Ashton's behalf seeing he is in no condition to do so himself." Delacourt's face tempered like steel, as if he was swallowing the last remnants of his pride. "As you've guessed, there is another reason for this visit. I fear there is no easy way to ease into this delicate matter, but the state of affairs at Imperial International Academy has been most pressing as of late. It concerns some of the students at the academy…namely, our daughters." Mr. Delacourt clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. "We think that they're…they're –"
"T-they're gone," Mr. Ashton shouted hoarsely.
I exchanged dark looks with Sebastian. "What do you mean gone?"
A shadow crept the Commissioner's face. "It all began last night, soon after Irene Diaz's arrest. When I returned to my estate, my daughter Isabelle, also an academy student, was nowhere to be seen. She had a small row with me earlier that day so naturally, I thought she had went over to a friend's house to cool off and dismissed her absence. However, today when she still never showed up, my fears started to take seed."
He paused, a hard line appearing between his eyebrows. "I was notified by Mr. Ashton this morning that when he had come to collect his daughters, Arwen and Astoria, from the academy, they did not answer his call. Someone was immediately sent to their shared dormitory at the academy, but there was no response. Upon seeing the door was locked, we had no choice but to force it open. There, we found a shattered window, packed belongings, but the young ladies were nowhere to be found."
"Any signs of struggle?"
Mr. Ashton paled. The Commissioner drew in a deep breath and continued. "We found books and academy uniforms scattered on the floor, broken glass on top of them... Clearly, someone had broken into and ransacked the place though it didn't look like anything was taken."
"Any other points of singularity?"
"Well, other than a small spool of thread found outside their door, none."
"A bobbin, you say?" inquired Sebastian.
"Er, yes, but I fail to see how that-"
I pressed forwards, narrowing my eyes. "Tell me. Was there anything else singular you noticed, Commissioner?"
The Commissioner shook his head, but a frown edged along Mr. Ashton's features. He withdrew his hand into his waistcoat. "There was something else… though I fear it may not be worth mentioning. I found this on Arwen's dresser." He brought forth a blue flower; its stem contained a sender tag titled '7-12'
My pulse sped up. Sebastian's eyes glowed faintly before locking with mine. I held his gaze, unnoticed by our audience, and stared darkly at the delicate cerulean blooms. "Do you have any ideas who might want to sabotage your Academy, Commissioner?"
"Surely not. Just the mere idea of that is unfathomable. I have no enemies, you see."
"Everyone has enemies, Commissioner." I uncrossed my legs and leaned forwards. "Even the most principled of men are bound to possess a few. Afterall, one can easily assess the character of a man by the type of enemies he has acquired in life. It is a rare circumstance to not have even a single enemy – unless of course, you've been living the dull life of an ass."
Scarlet flickered across Delacourt's eyes.
A smile crept my lips. "Pardon my rag manners, but you really can't think of a single person who'd benefit from the disgrace of your academy?"
"I don't think there is…unless you consider the headmistress of Eton."
"The headmistress?"
"Yes. Uppity sort of woman who has given me a rather cavalier treatment since we first met at the Emeritus Teaching Assembly some months ago. When I told her I had secured an old building to renovate into an all girls school, the woman did not take to that well. However, to be fair, she has reached out to me recently to arrange some sort of masquerade ball at Imperial Academy where students of both schools will meet and socialize. Of course, I agreed to this attempt of camaraderie, seeing as it would help put any petty rivalry aside."
I lowered my eyes. "And what exactly does the Yard make off all of this?"
"They, er, know nothing of the matter."
"And why is that?"
Delacourt shifted in his seat. "Well, you see, being a member of Scotland Yard, I have come to find that perhaps the Yard's methods are a bit, er, lacking."
"You flatter me, Commissioner, but surely that is not the real reason why you come to me."
"Beg your pardon?"
"Come now, Commissioner. You know better than anybody that Scotland Yard has a propensity to make their investigations known to the public." I pointed to nearby newspaper with last night's break in. "If you involved the Yard, I expect you'd find the news of your academy in every single newspaper by morning, which of course, would create bad publicity for a school you've only recently acquired."
The Commissioner's fingers knotted like a cord. "It's...the enrollments. If word of these disappearances were to get out, we will be forced to close our doors. But, I expect you'll be able to shed some light on this situation. I'll have provisions made for you tomorrow when you come take a look at the academy."
"Commissioner, I never said I would accept your case."
Delacourt blinked. "Surely, I heard wrong. For a moment I thought you said–"
"You heard right. I fear I may not the best person to help you. My interference, as you've made it very clear last night, is insufferable."
His eyes steeled. "For once your blasted interference is welcomed. Do you not care that Imperial Academy will go to ruins? And what of our daughters? His voice shook. "It is only a matter of time before another girl will be targeted."
Before I could reply, he roughly stuffed a hand into his coat pocket and drew out a fat coin bag, throwing it before me.
At the sight of the bribe, I threw my head back in laughter. Sebastian's eyes flared in surprise; Delacourt simply stared at me, his face writ with alarm…and then outrage. His stood up with force, his watch dropping to the floor.
"H-how dare you laugh at my plight. You act as if this is all some game to you!"
"Sit down, Commissioner. Did you truly think I'd bribed by coin?" My eyes drifted around the gilded furnishings of the rococo styled parlor and the Italian marble that gleamed like melted chocolate and vanilla underneath our feet. Following my gaze, the man lost his fierce determination and shrank back in his seat.
"The Yard would be disappointed if they saw their colleague act in this manner. Keep your money, Commissioner. Material rewards do not interest me."
"Then…what is it that you want?"
"Truthfully, sir there is nothing I could possibly want from you. The reward is in the game itself."
"Does that mean you accept the case?"
I eyed the watch lying on the Persian carpet long and hard. After a few moments of deliberation, I faced him. "I have a few pressing matters of my own I must attend to, Commissioner, but I suppose I shall come down to your precious academy tomorrow evening and conduct a brief investigation."
The headmaster exhaled. "Thank you. It is some relief to here that."
With that, Sebastian and I lead him and a shaken up Mr. Ashton to the main entrance. I watched them settle inside the waiting carriage, and once the four wheeler started to pull out, Sebastian shut the door. I whirled around; my plastered smile faded away.
"Afterall all the cases I solved for that ingrate at the Yard, how does he thank me? The blasted muttonhead goes off and lands himself in one." I roughly fingered the gold watch off the floor. "Such a pain in the ars–"
Sebastian clapped his gloved hands together. "Language, young mistress. As your butler, I cannot have you spewing such coarse words about our guest –even if it is deserved." He leveled his gaze and searched my face. "That was quite a show you put on, my lady. Most unusual of you not to accept a case outright."
"Given all the points of singularity, it is not prudent to delve headfirst in a case as convoluted as this." I walked over to the window and pressed my hand against the cold glass. Cerulean eyes reflected at me, dark and calculating. "That bobbin found outside …"
"Can easily lock a door from the outside," finished Sebastian. "A similar incident as Georg Von Siemen's locked room that Mr. Arthur Wordsmith elaborated on. One merely needs to affix the latch using a threaded needle, run the thread under the door and pull it out from the outside –leaving behind a locked door with no fingerprints. A cliché trick used in mystery novels, if I do say so."
"Indeed," I said darkly. "But the perpetrator isn't trying to write a book –more like, trying to create a ruse. That ruse becomes even more apparent if you introduce the shattered window into the mix. The Commissioner and Mr. Ashton noticed glass pieces on top of the ransacked knickknacks. Had the glass been underneath, it would indicate an intruder broke the window and then ransacked the place. However, if the glass pieces were found on top of all the items, it becomes quite clear that culprit made the place looked ransacked, then broke the window. In other words, a poorly staged a break-in, wouldn't you say?"
"Quite so, but I daresay you are not being completely honest, young mistress. That little ploy isn't the real reason you didn't accept the case outright." Sebastian held my gaze with a quiet, but smoldering intensity. I fought the need to retreat from his stare.
"I am sure you've noticed as well as I, young mistress. The other singular points in this case – one of them being this." Sebastian brandished the pretty blue flower and idly twirled it by its stem. "The inscription in the sender tag, '7-12' is nothing more than 7-8-9-10-11-12 expanded, coincidentally matching the numerical signature 7891011 12 from last night."
"There is no coincidence about it. The cases are connected. That flower found in the girl's dormitory matches the blue petal I found in London Tower last night. But even more than that… "
I took a step towards Sebastian. His vermillion eyes glistened as I reached for his gloved hand.
"Sebastian, the flower in your hand is a Dentelaire du Cap, of the rare variety known as Bleu Ciel. From that matters are clear. Someone is challenging me to a game."
"Then what do you intend to do about it?" he whispered.
A Cheshire smile crept my lips. "Well, I intend to play the game, of course – until I hear the word checkmate."
Sebastian chuckled and kneeled, raising my hand to his lips. "In that case, I shall be the Queen's pawn and knight. So then…" His voice dropped to a silken whisper.
"Move me into place, my young mistress."
