XVI
The Butler's dedication
Manchester
1775
Outside Max's residence
Max is surprised to see a black carriage drawing up outside of his house when he and April return from the church. It is only mid-morning and the road unusually seems to be bustling with their neighbours who are looking curiously at the scene on the road.
That is when Max quickly realises that in fact the black carriage is a police carriage. There are two police officers that look as if they are investigating a scene. Max and April slow their pace until they come to a standstill in the middle of the road. April holds onto Max's arm tighter.
Edina and a few other servants stand on the steps to the house, shouting at the police who are harassing them with questions. Curses fly everywhere and the two police officers try to keep their cool. April glances over to Edina who is looking over to the Butler who is standing behind the carriage. He head is bowed, looking down at the cobbled street as if pretending to not listen in.
"Look, Mister Hollerford is here. Ask him!" One of the servants calls as she points to Max and April, waving her finger around frantically. The two police officers turn around to see the twins standing close together on the cobbled road.
Max groans and mutters something incoherent under his breath before walking towards the scene. April releases Max's arm and watches the Butler who seems more preoccupied by looking at something else further down the street that is not in April's line of vision.
"Alright then boys," Max says as he steps up onto the stone pavement. "What is this whole commotion about?"
"We would like to take you down to the station for a few questions about the death of Horace Bellingham," One of the police officers announces sternly as he approaches Max. "It will only take a couple of hours, sir, but we need to get to the bottom of his case. He was killed on our latest shipwreck as you know, a ship he boarded on without an official pass."
The other police officer steps forward. "Sir, there has been a lot of speculation about your relationship with the Bellingham family. Your failure to treat them from tuberculosis and Horace's strong fear of you. It is suspected that this shipwreck was no accident and you are at the top of the suspect list."
Before Max has the chance to think about how ridiculous this accusation is, his wrists are suddenly bound together with handcuffs.
April pushes her way forward through the watching neighbours, and demands to know what is going on. But the situation is chaotic and out of their hands. Master Franklin suddenly bursts out the house and sees that Max Hollerford is being arrested. One of the police officers starts pulling Max towards the black carriage while the other pushes April back towards the house. But April frantically tries to pull away and get to her brother, ordering them to leave him alone. The servants are yelling curses at the police and the neighbours just stand there and watch helplessly.
The Butler remains standing on the road beside the carriage and observes the scene calmly as everyone else is frantic. As the police officer pulls Max away, the Butler takes the psychic paper out of his waistcoat. Both himself and Jack Gruntler was given a psychic paper of their own when the Doctor met them for the second time. As he looks down at the blank paper words slowly start to appear which forms as Jack Gruntler's handwriting. It is all in block capitals stating:
DO NOT LET HIM KILL MAX.
The Butler does not hesitate to realise that there is someone with them on the street that has the intention of killing Max. And the Butler instantly knows who it is.
Panic starts rising in the Butler as he desperately searches the street to find the one person that should not be there with them. The Butler stands in the middle of the road and grits his teeth in exasperation as he looks left and right. There are a few people dotted around the street, pointing and whispering to each other as they watch the police officers arrest Max. The odd carriage passes along the road and the Butler narrowly dodges it. But as the last carriage passes, the Butler stands on the other side of the road and that is when he finds him.
Charging down the pavement is Horace Bellingham.
At first no one notices the man who is believed to be dead stomping down the pavement towards them. The police still struggle to drag Max towards the black carriage. The Butler keeps his focus on Horace. He looks ill and rather worn for wear, yet his eyes are full of anger and hatred.
The Butler then notices Nathaniel Davidson, the vicar, further up the pavement, running frantically up behind Horace. He calls Horace's name and shouts at someone to stop him, yet no one pays him any attention.
Horace pulls out a pistol from under his cape and points it in Max's direction.
"Stop!" Nathaniel's voice echoes across the street as he continues to run.
At first everything seems to be going at slow motion, almost at a standstill.
Everyone hears Nathaniel's screech and they turn their attention to his direction. It only comes as a shock to see Horace Bellingham there on the pavement, still alive. It then quickly comes to another shock to see him holding onto a pistol.
Then Rose, Phillip and Penny suddenly come running up the street and fear only hits them when they see the scene. Phillip screams in horror and Penny shouts to her father.
Max catches Horace's hateful eyes and notices that the pistol is pointed directly at him and that in any second now, Horace will pull the trigger and he will be killed.
Then everything suddenly seems to happen all at once at a quick pace.
Just as Horace aims his gun at Max, the Butler finds himself rushing across the road, narrowly missing the horses as he rushes to his master's aid. Master Franklin is now standing by the pavement, trying to pull the police officer off Max with April's aid. The Butler keeps running and so does Nathaniel. The Butler now in front of him on the pavement. Nathaniel runs up behind Horace and grabs onto him, pulling him backwards just in time as the trigger is pulled.
There is a loud bang and the bullet soars through the air.
Someone further down the street screams in horror.
First there is pain, excruciating pain. And then there is darkness.
The Butler does not know what is going on until his focus comes back to him and he finds himself being carried into the house by Master Franklin and someone else gripping onto his armpits. He feels nauseous and it is incredibly hard to breathe. April is by his side talking down to him. Her voice is muffled and he cannot tell what she is saying. It isn't until he hears a male screaming outside that he quickly realises that April is trying to divert his attention away from Horace as he is pinned down to the ground by the police officers.
The Butler then looks down at his torso and sees blood splattered all over his white shirt.
Then the severe pain starts to kick in and it is getting increasingly hard for him to breathe. He screams out in pain as he is carried through the house and into the dining room where he is put on the table. He continues to come in and out of consciousness as everyone works around him.
Max grits his teeth together as he rips open his Butler's waistcoat and shirt, revealing the hole the bullet has pierced in the left side of his stomach. Blood pours out of his wound, staining his clothes, running along the table and dripping onto the carpet.
April comes rushing into the dining room with Victor Kitts who saw it all happen. She has picked up Max's first aid kit from his study and brings it to him.
Max, with Victor's aid, do their best to clean the wound as much as possible. Max, using a pair of tweezers carefully pokes at the wound to try and find where the bullet is, but it only fears him more when he realises that the bullet has gone so far through the Butler's body that it has pierced a gaping hole through his left lung.
The Butler screams out in agony, clutching onto April's offered hand. But he keeps losing more and more blood. The life slowly drains out of the Butler. The pain is too unbearable and his breathing is laboured.
"Stay with us!" Max cries just as he finds the bullet.
But the Butler lets out his last breath just before Max pulls the bullet out of the wound.
There is silence as the broken clock on the mantelpiece continues to tick.
The Butler's hand is limp and heavy in April's. Penny and Phillip stare at the Butler's dead body in horror, shocked at what their father has done.
Victor holds out a tiny silver tray and Max drops the bloodied bullet into it. He then rests both his fists onto the edge of the table and bows his head. He whispers some silent prayers in his mind for the man that jumped to save his life.
And Max never found out his Butler's real name.
The room is horribly silent for a while longer but everyone jumps backwards in fright as the Butler suddenly comes to life.
He takes in one last gulp of breath and starts choking on his own blood.
Everyone is in shock for a brief moment before they rush back to his aid. Victor suddenly starts to wrap bandages around his wound and he puts pressure on him to stop the blood flow.
The Butler is alive again. It is a miracle.
