Page 8 of Beyond the Grave
"Not jewelry; charms." Seth swiveled the journal he'd been reading to show us. Each charm's likeness had been sketched onto a page with artistic skill. The diagrams were labeled with what appeared to be explanations of each particular charm's power. The star was supposed to ward off illness.
It reminded me of the eye pendent I'd found in Lincoln's room. His charm protected the wearer against spells cast by someone with the evil eye. The pendent had come from Lincoln's mother, whom he'd never met and knew very little about. He didn't know that I'd discovered it was gypsy in origin.
"What else does that journal say?" I signaled for Seth to bring it closer so we could both study it.
He moved around to my side of the table and flipped to the beginning. "It belonged to Lord Harcourt—"
"Lord Harcourt? I thought it was Andrew Buchanan's journal."
He pointed to the lines written in an elegant looping hand on the front page. "Warren Buchanan, third Baron Harcourt, is the late Lord Harcourt, not the present one."
"Lady H's husband," Gus added, craning his neck to see. "What's it say then? Anythin' about his courtin' her ladyship?"
"If you mean does he describe climbing through her window to ravish her, then no. It's not that kind of journal." Seth leafed forward through the pages. "It's more of a random collection of information, perhaps designed to jog his memory. There are hastily scribbled verses and quotes, for example, and several sketches of the supernatural objects contained in that box. Names and dates for appointments, addresses, and what appear to be the odds of runners at Royal Ascot and the like. Our committee members feature heavily." He tapped an entry near the middle of the book.
"General Registry Office,'" I read. Below the page's heading was a list of names and years, written in different ink each time. The script grew scratchy and thin toward the end. "'Marchbank '77. Harcourt '78. Gillingham '79. I think it's a list of which committee member was to be alerted if certain public records were accessed at the General Registry Office."
Both men stared at me.
I cleared my throat. "I have some experience with the triggers set there. General Eastbrooke isn't listed, I see."
"He would have been posted overseas during those years," Seth said. "He hasn't been retired long."
He pointed out some more entries that could be attributed to ministry business. I slapped my hand down at the first sighting of Lincoln's name, halting his progress. There was no date associated with it, but it did mention Lichfield Towers. Underneath was a sketch of the house itself. The entry was very close to the final pages of the entire journal.
"That must be when the committee purchased this place," Seth said.
"And when Mr. Fitzroy moved in and came to be in charge," I added. "Lord Harcourt died shortly after, did he not?"
"Aye," Gus said. "Before Seth and me came to work here. Years of plannin', only to be pushin' up daisies when all the fun starts."
"You have a strange definition of fun. Are there more entries for Fitzroy?"
We searched through the remaining pages but found very little. They mostly consisted of dates written beside "Lich" and the abbreviated names for Fitzroy, Marchbank, Eastbrooke and Gillingham. They must have been meetings held at Lichfield with the entire committee, including the general who would have retired by then.
"Nothing about Lady H then?" Gus asked.
"Aha!" Seth spun the book around with a flourish to show Gus. "An entry describing how he bedded her for the first time, in luscious detail."
Gus grabbed the journal and poured over the page. He handed it back with a withering glare. "Turd," he muttered, returning to his own book.
Seth chuckled. "She does rate a few mentions. Here's one. 'My dearest Julia' he usually refers to her. 'For my dearest Julia, a ball gown of pink silk, Madame La Mondelle the modiste, £12.'"
I pointed to a sketch of a necklace and matching earrings on the next page. "I recognize those. She wore them the night of the ball. 'Diamonds for my dearest Julia, Ogden & Sons jewelers, £1,050.'"
Gus whistled. "He must've been made of money."
I flipped back through the journal, but there were no earlier entries for her. "I think these were written after they married, or perhaps when they were courting. There are no entries for when they met, as far as I can see. She seems to have suddenly burst onto the scene. I expect a mention of her as Miss Something-or-other, but there's nothing prior to him buying her jewelry and dresses."
Seth took back the journal and snapped it shut. "None of this has anything to do with the missing Andrew Buchanan. It's not even his journal."
"No, but he had it in his possession. Fitzroy was also looking through it when I came in. He wouldn't be interested if it had no importance."
"Then you look through it. I need some tea if I'm to be stuck in here for hours."
He left Gus and me searching through the remaining books. I kept coming back to the journal, however. When Seth returned with a tray of tea things, I picked the journal up again and studied it in more detail. What would Andrew glean from pages upon pages of his father's notes? Which name, event or date in particular would interest him?
It struck me when I saw a long list of phrases. The list began with "Department of Oddities" at the top and ended with "Ministry of Peculiar Things" underlined at the bottom. It was the original name for the newly-formed Ministry Of Curiosities, headed by Lincoln. Lord Harcourt and the other committee members acted as custodians of the archives and ministry affairs, while Lincoln did all the real work. "I wonder if Buchanan came to realize that his father was involved in something quite extraordinary. It might explain his new interest in the occult." I indicated the other books, many of which were basic primers on various supernatural subjects. "Perhaps he discovered the ministry's existence through this journal."
