Mina returned home to find her mother with a sour and angry expression, drinking hot tea and stabbing at a currant cake as if it had mortally offended her. Louisa’s ruse to excite the cream of Brighton society with the accomplishments of Mr Bradley had worked rather too well. The clamour for his healing circle had become so great that he had been obliged to inform her that the Scarletti parlour was now quite inadequate to accommodate all the attendees and he had instead hired a nearby meeting room for his next gathering. Louisa, who had hoped that Mr Bradley’s popularity would result in further fashionable salons chez Scarletti, was understandably annoyed. Mina tried to soothe her mother by suggesting that she could still hold elegant social events at home, a literary or musical circle perhaps. She was a little mollified and Mina, to her immense relief, soon saw her engaged with new plans that did not involve Mr Bradley.
Mina had learned enough to understand that the next step in her campaign to discover more about Miss Eustace must be to establish a reputation as an unquestioning believer in that lady’s mediumistic powers. Her ability not only to be admitted to a séance but to be placed in a position most advantageous for exposing fraud depended entirely on her convincing everyone concerned that she was a true adherent, one who could with confidence be positioned in a place of trust where she could be relied upon to protect the medium from prying suspicious folk. Since so much of what mediums and supposed healers did was to tell people what they wished to hear, Mina found it amusing that she was making Miss Eustace a victim of her own methods.
Even her mother would not be fooled by such a sudden conversion, so Mina began with a careful and humble approach, explaining that ever since attending the séance she had thought long and deeply about what she had seen, had found herself quite unable to explain it away by any natural arguments, and was eager to see more. Louisa looked pleased. She said that Miss Eustace was increasingly in demand, and as well as the séances at the Gaskins’ rooms she was also being called upon to give demonstrations in other houses, including some of the most elegant in Brighton. Tickets were hard to come by, but she thought they would always be available to sincere persons. Mina tried her hardest to look sincere, and Louisa melted and said she was sure to be able to get tickets.
Mina was extremely grateful to learn that her mother, who had not forgiven Mr Bradley for deserting her parlour for the bleak space of a meeting hall that could accommodate a hundred invalids, did not think she would be troubling herself to attend any more of the healing circles. In any case the forthcoming meeting was to take place on the same evening as Miss Eustace’s next séance at the Gaskins’ and she could hardly attend both.
There was one very important piece of information about Miss Eustace which was, felt Mina, being withheld. Whether this was deliberate or not she could not be sure, so she essayed a gentle probe to test the water.
‘I understand that Miss Eustace does not lodge with Professor and Mrs Gaskin?’ she asked.
‘No,’ said her mother, ‘and that is to avoid any suggestion that she is able to arrange the room in advance. I think that is very sensible. Sceptical people will seize on the smallest thing and make some great difficulty out of it, so she has quite done away with that.’
Mina thought that since the Gaskins were such devotees there would be no difficulty in Miss Eustace asking them to arrange the séance room exactly as she would wish, but she did not mention this.
‘I wonder where she does lodge?’ she asked, with the air of the idly curious to whom the precise answer was not of any importance. ‘These sceptical persons would surely complain if they thought that she was living in grand style somewhere. But she does not strike me as someone who would do so. She seems to be a very quiet and modest lady.’
‘No, luxury and outward show are not at all to her taste,’ her mother assured her. ‘Miss Eustace’s needs are very few. I believe she has a small and simple apartment where she can retire alone in order to rest and restore her energy.’
‘Her peace and privacy are of the utmost importance,’ said Mina. ‘She must be quite exhausted after her demonstrations, and I am sure she would not want curious persons intruding on her rest.’
‘Coarse newspapermen making a great noise, and sceptical persons with their bad thoughts,’ said Louisa, with a shudder. ‘She must stay well away from them or it upsets her. Professor Gaskin, who of course knows about such things, says that she reminds him of a delicate balance that needs to be perfectly aligned if it is to be true. That is why he and Mrs Gaskin care for her and ensure she is protected at all times.’
It was a small matter but another little clue, thought Mina. Miss Eustace was keeping her address a secret. There might be any number of perfectly understandable reasons why that was the case, but it was also very possible that the lady had something to hide. Quite what it was she might be hiding Mina did not know, but she was now determined that at least some of the lady’s secrets would be revealed at the next séance.
Mina had no plan in mind when she attended her second séance, but she had resolved to watch carefully for any opportunity to learn more about Miss Eustace. All she knew was that great wonders were about to be performed in front of her eyes that would convince even the most sceptical person of the divine truth of spiritualism. Either that or there would be a demonstration of blatant trickery that would only fool the gullible. Mina, as a sceptic pretending to be gullible, felt that she was there in disguise, like a spy sent to a foreign court to learn secrets. She was a deceiver, appearing to be of the shining faithful but harbouring deep in her bosom the dark seeds of doubt. It was quite an adventure. She tried at first to conceal her feelings of excitement beneath a calm exterior, but then saw that this was unnecessary. Her keen anticipation would be interpreted by believers as a quasi-religious ecstasy wholly appropriate to the situation.
Dr Hamid was there, and greeted Mina and her mother with a look of deep concern it was impossible for him to conceal.
‘Poor man,’ said Mina’s mother, when they were out of earshot. ‘I do so hope Miss Eustace can bring him comfort.’ Mina felt sure, however, that the doctor’s glance was not an expression of inner suffering, but an unspoken warning that she should not commit an indiscretion. Mina had never committed an indiscretion, but when she came to think about it she was twenty-five and single and independent and might therefore do as she liked. Perhaps indiscretion was something she lacked in her daily life and she ought to try it at least once. She knew that unless something very remarkable was to occur she could not count on Dr Hamid to assist her. Nevertheless his presence as a level-headed scientific observer was of considerable value.
The Gaskins’ parlour had been rearranged since Mina’s earlier visit. No longer were there two rows of chairs, but a large round table had been brought in and dining chairs in sufficient numbers for the company arranged around it. At least the table had not been pushed close to a wall to trap doubters as the Dialectical Society’s Dr Edmunds had been trapped at the Davenports’ failed séance; there was more than enough room for a person or disembodied spirit lights or flying violins to proceed about its perimeter. The table was bare, and Mina wondered if this was to prevent breakages in case it was to suddenly tip and tilt, which she knew from her reading that they were, in the right company, prone to do.
Besides Mina’s mother, her party of ladies and Dr Hamid, the others in attendance were a young gentleman called Mr Clee, and the two widowed sisters, of whom the younger, Mrs Mowbray, a lady nearing fifty with a very prominent bust, was making her interest in Dr Hamid increasingly obvious, eyeing him as if he was something she might like to purchase and take home. Her face bore unmistakable traces of paint.
Miss Whinstone was making sure, both noisily and repeatedly, that everyone knew she was braving the dangers of heart failure yet again. Mrs Bettinson was almost welded to her side, holding her up with a firm grasp on her arm, as if she had been a life-sized puppet. As Mrs Bettinson moved, so Miss Whinstone moved, and they walked together like a pair of comedy dancers on a stage. Every so often the legs of the puppet seemed to fail and the lady threatened to collapse, or at least claimed that she was about to collapse, and Mrs Bettinson’s hand tightened. Mrs Gaskin sailed up with some kind words for Miss Whinstone, assuring her that she was a very important member of the gathering, and expressing the hope that she would not think of going since her presence was an inspiration to the spirits. She must not think, said Mrs Gaskin with a smile like medicinal syrup, that the dear spirits meant any harm; they were a benevolent influence and could do only good. Miss Whinstone, fortified by Mrs Gaskin’s praise and a small glass of sherry, decided to remain. Louisa, meanwhile, was watching Mrs Gaskin very closely, and with an unfriendly air. For a moment Mina thought hopefully that she was beginning to have reservations about the séances, and then she realised that her mother, with her nose still very firmly out of joint after losing the opportunity to preside over Mr Bradley’s healing salon, was jealous.
The dark curtains that had enclosed one corner of the room had been drawn back and Professor Gaskin was eagerly bustling about and encouraging everyone present to take a look at everything in the recess for reassurance that no trickery of any kind was involved. He spoke mournfully of letters recently published in the Gazette written by ignorant, hypercritical and ill-mannered persons. Such people could only serve to upset refined individuals such as Miss Eustace, and he had taken great care that these destructive influences should not be permitted to attend until such time as they became humble enough to receive the truth. Only the other day, he revealed, a man from the Gazette had applied for a ticket and had been very firmly refused. The company murmured approbation for this sensible precaution.
Mina joined those who dared to look into the space behind the curtains, but saw and felt nothing out of the ordinary. It might have aroused suspicion of her intentions had she passed her hands over the walls but a pretended loss of balance, which she was sure would have appeared excusable in one such as herself, seemed to force her to put one palm to the wall. She found it solid, with nothing to suggest any recent alterations, and no secret doors or cavities. The little table with the hand bell, tambourine, paper and pencil had been pushed into the corner, and Mina was able unobtrusively to satisfy herself that the paper was a single unfolded unmarked sheet. The only other item in the space was the chair. The carpeting of the room ran right to the edges of the floor, and looked to be well bedded into place.
Mina rejoined the general throng in the room. ‘The cabinet is, as you have seen, no more than it appears to be,’ observed Mrs Gaskin with slightly narrowed eyes.
‘But it is a place of great wonders,’ said Mina, with a bright happy smile. ‘I confess to entertaining some hope that if I stand there long enough I might benefit from the power of the spirits which must surely be very concentrated on that spot.’ She touched her hand to her shoulder as if it pained her, which that evening, thanks to Anna Hamid’s ministrations, it did not. ‘Is that too much to expect?’ she asked plaintively.
‘Not at all,’ said Mrs Gaskin, in a more kindly tone. ‘Dear young lady, your faith does you credit. The spirits are our friends and watch over us. If you trust in them,’ she added with great assurance, ‘you will be rewarded.’
Young Mr Clee, however, a trim and active gentleman with a sweep of dark Byronic curls, was a bold, even impudent individual, who had no reservations about making a public display of scepticism. Once the recess was empty of other guests, he strode inside and examined the walls minutely, first passing his hands over their surface, hitting them soundly with his fists, and closely examining any marks that excited his suspicion. He next stamped upon the floor as if testing for trapdoors, peered under the little table, scrutinised everything on it, and lifted the chair to look underneath. He even attempted to lift the edge of the carpet, but it was too securely fastened to suggest that anything might be hidden beneath it. Finding nothing untoward, he folded his arms and shook his head with a very puzzled look that was almost comical. Perhaps it was his bemused expression that led the Gaskins not to regard him as a serious threat to the proceedings, and he was not asked to leave, but the professor and his wife, after a long and earnest conversation of which he was undoubtedly the subject, kept him under careful observation.
Professor Gaskin started urging the visitors to sit around the table, and the troublesome Mr Clee was so shepherded that he found himself situated at the furthest location from the corner that had so captivated his attention. Once everyone was in place the curtains were drawn to conceal the recess.
The maid came to the door and announced Miss Eustace, which created a surge of excitement, as if the medium was about to walk in with stars and moons and rainbows sparkling about her head. That lady, with her customary demure and humble deportment, entered the room without fuss. A hush fell as she was conducted to a vacant place at the table, the one nearest the recess, where she reposed with a Gaskin guarding her on either side.
Mina had expected the gas to be turned off as it had been before, but this time the room remained lit. She was not in an unfavourable place, since she could see the curtains to her right. There was no cloth on the table and Mina laid her hands on its surface and found it very smooth and polished. Had she or anyone else wanted to move the table while their hands were in such a position this would have been quite impossible, as they could not have obtained any purchase. It was not a heavy table by any means, and anyone, even Mina, was capable of effecting some movement, but only by grasping it at the edges in a very pronounced and obvious manner. She determined to watch and see if anyone attempted to grasp the table, but this possibility was immediately removed when the company was asked to hold hands. ‘We take hands,’ said Professor Gaskin, ‘to form a complete circle and concentrate our energy. I beg you all not to release your hands until asked. We will now sing ‘Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow’.’
Mina realised that she had omitted to see if the table was upon casters. She would have to do so later. Her mother was holding her right hand very tightly with thin strong fingers like a pair of sugar nippers. Dr Hamid sat to her left, and as he took her hand she sensed a considerable strength from him, but without the crushing muscular pressure that so many gentlemen thoughtlessly inflicted. Perhaps, she concluded, his knowledge of bodily massage, applied to both frail and robust, had given him this rare sensitivity. She looked at Miss Eustace. The medium’s eyes were closed, and she had drawn a shawl over her head, and was bending forward as if she wanted to seal herself away from the world and all its corporeal creatures.
Once the badly sung hymn had reached its merciful end, all fell silent. Ten pairings of clasped hands rested upon the table. Nothing moved. They were all seated very close to the table’s edge, and while hands and arms and the tabletop were all clearly visible to everyone, there was, thought Mina, no method of knowing what feet might freely do.
It was no surprise to Mina, therefore, when she heard a few light knocking sounds that vibrated through the wood of the table. These were followed, however, by other sounds which she felt sure did not originate from the table and could have been produced by no one in the room, as they appeared to come from the wall. These noises were very similar in nature to those that had been heard at the previous séance although softer, more like a sharp tapping with knuckles than a stick. The sounds seemed to travel along the far wall then briefly stopped, and after a few moments appeared to be coming from a side wall. Everyone followed the noises with their eyes but there was nothing to be seen.
‘Spirit, make yourself known!’ said Miss Eustace. It was the first time that Mina had heard the lady speak, if one discounted the sighing and moaning that had accompanied her previous exhibition, and it was a melodious voice, which, while soft, suggested that it could, if required, flow thrillingly through a large space.
Three very loud raps came from the centre of the table, which made everyone start. Mr Clee tried to peer underneath but from his position was not able to see to the table’s centre, a situation he clearly found frustrating.
‘Archibald, is that you?’ asked Miss Whinstone, querulously.
There were three stronger raps. It was hard for Mina to tell, but they appeared to be coming from the underside of the table and not its top.
‘This has happened before,’ said Professor Gaskin, excitedly. ‘The spirits always take three raps to mean yes, and one is no. Miss Whinstone, you may question the spirit if you wish.’
Mina wondered what the spirit of Archibald Whinstone might be doing crouching underneath a dining table, something she felt sure he had not been in the habit of doing while alive.
‘Archibald – will we meet again in Heaven?’ asked Miss Whinstone.
Three raps sounded very emphatically, and the lady could not withhold a sob.
‘And when will that come to pass?’ she blurted out.
There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone, including possibly the spirit of Archibald Whinstone, took in the enormity of her question. ‘Dear lady, the spirits will not answer such a question,’ said Professor Gaskin, gently. ‘Some things are known only to God.’
The table gave a curious little motion; Mina might almost have said it twitched. It was not attempting to slide or rise, rather it appeared unsettled and Miss Whinstone gave a little scream of fright. ‘The spirit is disturbed,’ said the professor, but Mr Clee burst out, ‘Oh, take no notice! I am sure that Miss Eustace was making the raps with her foot and now she is obviously moving the table with her knee.’ Several of the people around the table gasped.
‘Sir!’ exclaimed Professor Gaskin. ‘That is an insult to a very fine and selfless lady!’
‘Well, I’ll not see any more of this nonsense!’ said Mr Clee. ‘It is an outrage to the intelligence! If Miss Eustace can make the table rise up in the air without being near it and without touching it, why then I might say I’d seen something.’
Miss Eustace raised her head and gazed on Mr Clee with an expression of great calm. Her mouth curved softly into a smile. Even he, with his contemptuous scowl was taken aback, and said no more. She rose slowly to her feet, her face bearing an expression of sublime and intense concentration. She let go of the Gaskins’ hands, and stepped back a pace, her chair sliding back from the table’s edge, lifting her arms like the wings of a bird. She had the rapt and astonished attention of everyone in the room. With great deliberation, she let her arms sink downwards, until her palms hovered just above the tabletop, and there she stood, eyes closed for a full minute during which no one, even Mr Clee, dared speak or move. She then took a deep breath, and her hands trembled as they gradually rose until they were more than four inches above the table. As she did so, to everyone’s amazement, the table rose with her. She was gasping, and there was a flush of moisture on her forehead.
Miss Whinstone moaned, and Mr Clee, who was placed directly opposite Miss Eustace, looked on aghast. He had jumped to his feet, and was holding his hands over the table as if trying to feel the power that was making it rise. Everyone had now taken his or her hands from the tabletop. Mina, still in the circle, could see the table rising before her, but with no idea of how it had been achieved. She was small enough to glance underneath but this only confirmed that all four legs of the table had risen from the floor and there was neither a secret mechanism nor a hidden confederate. The table began to vibrate, and then quite abruptly, it fell back to the floor with a loud crash.
Miss Eustace sat down again. Breathlessly, she took a linen kerchief from her sleeve and dabbed her forehead.
‘I don’t know what to say!’ exclaimed the formerly sceptical Mr Clee. ‘I confess that I came here with the express design of proving fraud but now I see that I was wrong – very wrong.’ He hurried to the medium’s side. ‘Miss Eustace, please accept my sincerest apologies.’
She bowed her head. ‘Of course.’
‘I suggest,’ said Professor Gaskin, ‘that we all rest for a short while. Miss Eustace, will you be able to continue?’
‘I will,’ she said. ‘I feel a strong connection with my guide this evening, but I need to gather my strength again.’
Miss Eustace was brought a glass of water from which she sipped, then she rose and went to the hidden corner, drew the curtains aside and sat upon the chair leaning forward a little, as one who prayed. There she remained motionless.
Mina and the others left the table and gathered into little knots of eager whisperers to talk of what they had seen. She would have liked to make a close examination of the table, but since she was affecting the manner of an uncritical believer, dared not do anything that might suggest prying. She was able, however, to see with a quick glance that the table was not on casters and its legs were very slender. The amount of force required to move it was no longer an especially relevant question, however, since it had clearly risen while Miss Eustace was not in contact with it.
Mr Clee was in any case doing Mina’s work for her, since he started busily examining the table, running his hands over its surface, feeling about its edges, and even getting down on his hands and knees and looking underneath. At last he stood and shook his head. ‘I am astonished,’ he said at last. ‘I had thought I might witness a simple sleight of hand, but I cannot explain it at all, apart that is, from the operation of some supernatural agency.’ Mina thought that the gentleman was too easily convinced.
Miss Whinstone was swaying in an alarming fashion, but Mrs Bettinson made sure that she tottered into a seat, and having been prepared for such an emergency, produced a fan, which she used with some energy. ‘Dear Archibald!’ exclaimed Miss Whinstone. ‘I do so hope I didn’t offend him!’
‘Well, he was a mild enough creature when he was alive so I shouldn’t think he’d be easily offended now he’s dead,’ said Mrs Bettinson.
Mrs Gaskin came and took the suffering Miss Whinstone by the hand. ‘Please do not distress yourself,’ she said. ‘I do not think your brother’s spirit was offended at all, rather he was showing a commendable sense of delicacy by not replying to a question of a personal nature while in the company of others.’
‘Then – will he answer me while I am alone?’ exclaimed Miss Whinstone. ‘I have so prayed to hear from him!’
Mrs Gaskin patted her hand. ‘His spirit will be directed by Miss Eustace. If you so wish, I will recommend that she make an appointment to call on you. You will be assured then of a result.’
Miss Whinstone burst into tears of gratitude, and even had the strength to wave away Mrs Bettinson’s intrusive fan. And now, thought Mina, it was certain; Miss Eustace was offering private consultations, much as Mr Home had done, and the unhappy Miss Whinstone was her dupe. It was useless, of course, to say anything to the lady. Mina could only watch and hope that the comfort of conversation with a deceased brother was not bought too dearly.
After a short while, Professor Gaskin suggested that the next exhibition was about to commence. He could not promise what might occur, perhaps nothing, perhaps a great wonder. He asked Mr Clee to assist him in ensuring that Miss Eustace was securely tied to her chair, and the young man agreed with some enthusiasm. As the knots were tied Mr Clee gazed up into the lady’s face with an expression of very pronounced admiration, although her features remained serenely unmoved.
Professor Gaskin asked for volunteers to assure themselves that the knots were securely tied and that it was impossible for Miss Eustace to rise from her chair. Dr Hamid came forward for this duty and Mrs Mowbray almost elbowed her sister aside in her eagerness to assist him. This done, the curtains were drawn, concealing Miss Eustace from view, the candle lit, and the gas turned down, and everyone repaired to the now motionless table, and held hands in a circle. Professor Gaskin blew out the candle, and they were all plunged into the dark.
There was another round of hymn singing, and another silence, but barely a minute later the bell and the tambourine sounded from behind the curtains. Mina kept her eyes on the shrouded corner, looking for the emergence of stuffed gloves or bearded mops, but to her surprise there was a faint whisper of sound as the curtains parted, and a figure, enveloped in a pearlescent glow, was revealed.
There was an intake of breath from all around her. The figure was quite still, like a statue, or a life-size doll. Mina, who thought it might be a doll, although she could not explain where it had come from, was expecting that after it had attracted the admiration of the onlookers, the curtains would simply close and hide it from view, but then the apparition raised its arm towards the company, very slowly and gracefully, and extended its fingers. Mina was still not convinced that the thing before her was anything more than a manufactured object that would have been better employed in a booth on the West Pier, but then it began to come forward, and emerged completely from behind the curtains. It was covered from head to foot in a fine filmy drapery, which shone with its own luminescence. Its form was female, that much was apparent, but it was rather taller than Miss Eustace. The features were indistinct, as if seen through a cloud, and the arms and hands were bare although covered from shoulder to fingertips in a soft mist of light. It was not clad as a lady might decently be clad, but it was a thing of nature, having hardly more than a layer or two of glowing veils covering its form. Even the shape of its lower limbs could be seen as if through a fine gauze. If it resembled anything it was like a marble statue of a Greek goddess, except that it had every appearance of being alive. It walked forward very slowly. It was not, thought Mina, the usual walk of a living creature, and its feet, assuming it had them, made no sound as they traversed the carpeted floor.
‘Do not be afraid!’ whispered Professor Gaskin. ‘But above all I beg you not to touch the apparition unless it touches you. It is Miss Eustace’s spirit guide, assembled into a form that we can see using energy drawn from the medium’s own body. Any attempt to take hold of it would result in Miss Eustace’s death, for it would melt the substance of the form in an instant, and it would not then be able to flow back into her.’
‘But where is Miss Eustace!’ exclaimed Mr Clee.
‘She is still behind the curtain, but she must not be disturbed.’
‘I must see!’ He leapt to his feet.
‘Please, no, that would be very dangerous!’ cried Professor Gaskin, but before he could do anything, the apparition approached Mr Clee and extended a hand in a soft fluid movement, laying a light touch upon his arm.
‘Oh!’ exclaimed Clee. ‘It is a wondrous thing!’ To his astonishment, the apparition took him by the hand and began drawing him towards the curtained corner, and he, as if mesmerised, followed.
‘She approves,’ said Professor Gaskin. ‘Do not be afraid, but go with her. You may look behind the curtain but you must be very careful and above all, do not disturb the body of the medium.’
Mr Clee approached the recess and cautiously drew back the curtain. The most powerful source of light in the room was the glow of the apparition’s garments. It did not re-enter the recess but stood to one side and with a gesture indicated that Mr Clee should go in. Everyone craned forward, and it was just possible to see the form of Miss Eustace, her shawl drawn over her head, slumped in her chair. Mr Clee hesitated, then passed through the curtains, which closed behind him. A few moments elapsed, during which Mina wondered if he would ever return, then the curtains parted once again and he emerged and faced the company, his face, bathed in the glow of spirit light, pale with awe.
‘It is she,’ he said, in a voice that trembled with emotion, ‘undoubtedly she, living and breathing, but in a trance.’
Gaskin rose and took the astonished and visibly shaken young man by the elbow and led him back to his chair. ‘The apparition before us is Phoebe,’ he said, ‘the creature of radiant light, whose brilliance casts out doubt and ignorance. All who see her must believe.’
‘I believe!’ exclaimed Miss Whinstone, and there was a general chorus of assent, in which Mina joined.
Phoebe seemed to enjoy this approbation, for she showed no signs of wanting to depart. She was an accommodating spirit, and tripped lightly about the room turning her head this way and that so that all present were favoured with her filmy gaze.
‘Does she speak?’ asked Mrs Mowbray.
‘Yes, ask her to speak!’ exclaimed Mrs Bettinson.
‘She might at least nod or shake her head in answer to questions,’ said Mina’s mother. ‘Or why else has she come before us?’ she added tetchily.
‘Tell us, Phoebe,’ said Professor Gaskin, ‘does the spirit world you inhabit have houses and churches such as this one?’
Phoebe slowly nodded her head.
‘And will all of the faithful have homes there?’
Another nod.
‘Are all those who dwell there happy?’ asked Mrs Gaskin.
Not unexpectedly there was an emphatic nod.
‘And do they love and worship the Lord God?’
The graceful spirit held her arms open to them all and nodded again as if to demonstrate that they were all embraced by the great love of God. She moved about them once again, holding a hand over the head of each person present, as if imparting a blessing, then she turned and walked back towards the curtained recess.
‘She tires,’ said Professor Gaskin. ‘Ask no more of her, I beg you. This is the longest she has ever appeared and we are truly favoured today!’
As Phoebe walked past Mina she felt a sudden impulse. She rose stiffly to her feet and sighed and groaned aloud as if in pain. She was easily able to slip her left hand from Dr Hamid’s clasp and such was the surprise of her movement that she was even able to escape her mother’s hand.
‘Mina? What is it? Sit down at once!’ urged Louisa, and Dr Hamid started up to assist, but Mina staggered, throwing out her arms, and her weight, such as it was, fell against the glowing apparition. She had been hoping to do no more than gain some sense of how solid or otherwise the thing might be, but to her amazement, while she was careful not to fall to the ground, the radiant Phoebe, unbalanced and surprised, toppled and fell to the floor with an audible thump.
Mrs Gaskin cried out, Miss Whinstone screamed, and more importantly Phoebe gave a gasp that sounded very like ‘Ooof!’.
‘Oh, I am so very sorry,’ Mina exclaimed, ‘how clumsy I am! Please allow me to help.’ She reached out to the figure on the carpet and offered to assist Phoebe to her feet, but before she could do so, an enraged Mrs Gaskin had seized hold of her by both arms and pulled her roughly away.
‘Do not touch her!’ she cried. ‘Who knows what damage you have done!’
Phoebe appeared unhurt; indeed in her fall she had acquired a new nimbleness to her movements and jumping up, she hurried into the recess before anyone else dared to try and help.
The table had been abandoned and everyone was now on his or her feet. Someone turned up the gas, revealing a great many shocked, flustered and angry faces. ‘Please, everyone remain calm!’ said Professor Gaskin.
Dr Hamid came forward. ‘With your permission, Professor, I would like to tend to Miss Eustace and ensure that she is well.’
Professor Gaskin threw up his arms in despair. ‘I dare not permit it, sir, I dare not!’ he exclaimed. ‘No one must disturb her now, not by sight or touch. The form of Phoebe is made from Miss Eustace’s own body. While it appears, the lady is in a very fragile and weakened condition, hovering between this world and the next. It takes fully two minutes, sometimes more for the substance of Phoebe to be reabsorbed into Miss Eustace’s body. If that process is interrupted then Miss Eustace will surely die.’
‘Would it help if we all sang a hymn?’ asked Mr Clee. ‘Only the Lord can help her now.’
‘Yes!’ exclaimed the professor, seizing upon a straw of comfort. He addressed the company in a voice breaking with emotion. ‘Ladies and gentlemen all, we must sing, sing as loud as we can, as if our lives depended on it, as indeed Miss Eustace’s very well might.’ He began to bellow out, ‘Praise My Soul the King of Heaven,’ and everyone quickly joined him.
Dr Hamid, seeing that he was not wanted to attend to Miss Eustace, extricated Mina from the infuriated and painful grasp of Mrs Gaskin and drew her to a seat.
‘Was that well done?’ he asked quietly when the singing had stopped and Professor Gaskin had sunk into a chair, panting with effort.
‘I believe so,’ said Mina, calmly. ‘Why, even Mrs Gaskin may in time find it in her heart to forgive a poor cripple. My mother will not forgive me, but then she never does. But I know now that Phoebe is as solid as I am, and speaks and breathes.’
‘You have taken a very great risk,’ he said.
‘The greatest risk was damage to myself,’ said Mina.
He looked concerned. ‘Are you hurt?’
She smiled. ‘Only from contact with Mrs Gaskin. I have had worse pain and greater bruises. I will recover without any attention.’
‘And what of Miss Eustace? You are not anxious for her?’
‘Oh, I am sure she is unharmed and will very soon emerge triumphant.’
Mrs Mowbray hovered nearby. ‘That was a very fine thing to do!’ she exclaimed, sarcastically, ‘but I suppose poor thing, you could not help it. Now we must hope that Miss Eustace lives, but I daresay even if she does, you will not be invited here again.’
‘I fear that may be correct,’ said Dr Hamid. Mrs Mowbray tried very hard to place herself where he had no choice but to admire her, but on discovering that there was no position where that might be possible, she scowled at Mina and drifted away. She was soon in conversation with Mr Clee.
Mina, resting under Dr Hamid’s watchful eye, saw her mother bearing down upon her, and was bracing herself for the consequences, when she was alerted by a great gasp from the other members of the company as Miss Eustace reappeared from behind the curtains. The medium seemed exhausted, and held her hand to her forehead, staggering as though she might fall. Dr Hamid rose to go to her, but Professor and Mrs Gaskin hurried to offer their support, and shunning all other help, quickly conducted their stricken protégée from the room.
Mr Clee took it upon himself to fully pull back the curtains and reveal to the company that the recess was exactly as it had been before the séance, except for the fact that someone or something had written ‘Praise be to God’ on the paper.
‘Well,’ said Louisa, staring down on Mina with barely concealed fury, ‘you have not killed Miss Eustace, that is some comfort. You silly girl! I had intended to invite her to our house to conduct a séance there, but she will not come now! It would not even do to send you away, she will be sure to say you are a bad influence and that the spirits will not come.’
‘Miss Eustace is as we have seen a good and forgiving person,’ said Mr Clee, who had a bright and engaging smile when he was not scowling with suspicion. ‘Why, I now see that I was most insulting to her when I came here, and yet when I repented she forgave me and granted me the blessing she gives to her most devoted admirers. Perhaps, Miss Scarletti, your sensation of faintness and your fall was only because you were overcome with the power exerted by Miss Eustace, something for which you can scarcely be blamed.’
Louisa gave him a derisive look, but said no more on the subject.
There was a little more desultory conversation, but Mina did not wish to discuss the event with Dr Hamid while others were present, and Mr Clee had taken some of the wind out of her mother’s sails. The maid arrived with tea, but the Gaskins did not reappear and shortly afterwards everyone departed.
As they travelled home in the company of Miss Whinstone and Mrs Bettinson, Mina, with the mark of Mrs Gaskin’s fingertips still burning on her arms, was enveloped in the thundercloud of her mother’s displeasure. Since Louisa did not address Mina directly but spoke exclusively to her friends about her difficult daughter as if she was not there, Mina felt entitled to assume that she was not expected to join in the conversation. She still felt that she could not believe in the reality of what she had seen. It was not that she did not believe in the existence of the immortal soul, but she could not imagine that the souls of the dead would come to earth and play crude tricks. Perhaps there were genuine mediums who received messages from the dead, but Miss Eustace was not, she thought, of their number. Mina was unable to explain how the table had risen, although she thought it to be a trick within the abilities of a good conjurer. She was in no doubt, however, that the radiant Phoebe, as advised by Professor Gaskin, was indeed composed of material from the medium’s own body, though not in the manner he had implied.
Once home, she avoided her mother’s lecture by pleading that she was in pain and needed rest. She took two oranges and went up to her room. There, clasping an orange in each hand, she did her exercises.