Final Correspondence

Sir Harrington Blake announced in the newspapers he decision to retire from public life to focus on his recent purchase of a railway line. In this the article salaciously added he would be joined by his natural son, who two weeks after his wife’s unfortunate accident he named as his heir.

Fitzroy sent me a brief note with a smudged foreign postmark. It read

All sorted then? F

P.S. I hear you look well in red.

Of course, I immediately burnt his note.

And, lastly, my mother wrote to say that despite ‘occurrences’ she remained engaged to her Bishop and would be married in the New Year. When, she added, she expected me to join her and little Joe, and live at the Bishop’s Palace.

To be continued …

P.S. Euphemia’s adventures continue in A Death by Arson, but in the meantime you can find out what happens to her later in 1912 in the short story ‘What the Dickens?’