It was there we had met. He brought cargos of fresh food from the countryside in the spring and summer, then returned with passengers traveling to small villages along his route to escape the heat and smell of London.
Linnie and I had made his acquaintance years before on one of those excursions. More recently, he had provided important information in that first inquiry case when Linnie disappeared.
He was gruff and could be quite churlish. However, much like the hound, he had a particular liking for sweet biscuits, which I had been known to take to him. We got along quite well.
“Yer not like the other ladies that take a trip to the country, with their frilly parasols, fancy gowns, and a bothersome piece of fluff for a dog,”he had once told me.
I took it as a compliment. However, he had not met Rupert, who also had an appetite for sweet biscuits.
“Mr. Sturgess’s work?” I inquired, as I studied the sailboat that was obviously the subject of her latest project.
“He and his assistants have worked in the shipyards and created some of the most intriguing figureheads for sailing vessels,” my great-aunt explained. “And for the royal family over the years.”
Oh my.
“I was most interested if he could create a dragon figurehead for the sailboat, to be utilized for my send-off.”
Startled, I look at her with some concern.
“Not to worry, my dear,” she assured me. “I am in perfect health, much to the consternation of my personal physician. However, one must see to these things while one can or have it left to others. Although,” she continued, reaching over to pat my hand. “I know that I may count on you to see my wishes carried out.”
“What did Mr. Sturgess have to say about it?” I asked, relieved that her interest was not due to her impending demise.
“It seems that it could be quite complicated, although not beyond his abilities. Still, he did suggest that I might simply have a Viking longboat built at the shipyard. Although I shouldn’t need one of any great length. It would burn far too long. Do you think a smaller version would suffice?”
I could imagine the issue with a longboat, Viking invasions of the past in mind, and that sort of thing.
“A smaller one might be best,” I suggested.
If this was anyone other than my great-aunt, I might have thought the conversation most bizarre. However, I was quite used to what some might have called her eccentricities.
My view of it all was, at her age and with rumored enormous wealth, she should be able to do whatever she wished. As long as it caused no harm, or caused her to be arrested.
Not wanting to wander further into the depths of that conversation, I inquired where Lily was.
“I believe she’s in the sword room with Mr. Munro. After presenting her with that knife for protection, he insisted on showing her how to use it. They’ve been at it for some time. It does remind one of when he showed you how to handle a blade.”
The sounds from the sword room reached me long before I arrived at the entrance. It did seem that a robust lesson was underway, including a few colorful curses from Lily.
I slipped inside the room and quietly closed the door behind so as not to disturb. I did want to see how she was progressing without drawing attention, Lily being somewhat younger than I was with my first lesson.
They maneuvered around each other in mock attack with Munro in the role of the villain as he came up behind her and attempted to overwhelm her. Lily drew the knife from the pocket in her gown, efficiently sidestepped, turned, and thrust at him.
“Take that, ye bloody varmint!” she told him.
Lesson number two, I thought—never assume that the initial strike would subdue the attacker, as Munro seized her wrist, pinched it, and the blade dropped to the floor. She retaliated with a punch to the nose.
Munro grunted and suddenly stepped out of arm’s length, with a somewhat surprised expression.
“That will do for the day,” he announced, massaging his nose. It was then that Lily saw me.
She scooped up the knife, folded it, dropped it into her pocket, then ran excitedly toward me.
“Did ye see, miss?”
I assured her that I had with a glance at Munro, none the worse for it, but still rubbing his nose.
“I best see to the accounts,” he said as he moved toward the door. “Ye still have a lot to learn, miss.”
