Gibbous House 80

A sham sufficient unto the dupe was maintained by myself, Arabella and two confederates I had had occasion to use in the past. The office of butler in the service of Arabella and Captain Arthur Crawford was filled by one Crabbit. This gentleman I had encountered one evening in the foyer of a house in East Cheap. He was leaving, having been disappointed in the matter of employment. The man had lost his previous position due to a leave of absence caused by a stay in Newgate Gaol over the matter of a discounted bill. He would hear not a word against his former employer – a noted Whig – as he had settled the debt and turned him onto the streets at one remove. He stood a head taller than I and retained an air of servility whilst remaing imposing. His age was indiscernible: he might have been thirty or sixty. A butler he looked, a butler he had been, and – for a while – he played the butler again.

One of the younger molls at that same house I engaged to play the Maid. With the paint removed her East End vowels leant her an air of authenticity, especially when she affected the accents of her betters as many real servants were wont to do. The two of them were an expense indeed, since they had been in my employ since the first week of our machinations, but it was uncertain how long it would take Brougham to bite.

Brougham's call at the Cadogan Square residence was conducted according to etiquette: that is to say, he arrived in a hansom, which he engaged to wait while he presented his card. As was the custom, Crabbit removed this item of stationery atop a fine salver for delivery to the supposed master of the house. Brougham awaited any reply in the vestibule.

Crabbit loured down at Brougham:

'The Captain has intimated that you may call at four this afternoon. At which time he will be pleased to take tea with you.'

Through a second floor sash, I observed the simpering fool withdraw to the carriage to wait . I wished him joy of six hours at the roadside, with – as like as not - only a contentedly snoring driver for company.

Crabbit was despatched to a bakers for fancies and the like: Arabella instructed the jade in the preparation and presentation of tea. I stood outside the kitchen, enjoying the periodic sound of a hand on flesh and the young woman's vituperative reaction to her schooling in the matter. At length, I repaired to the library, pleased that Crabbit and I had removed some of the very best vintages from the cellar to the book-lined room. It had been no surprise that not a page of a single book had been cut and I had been still less surprised, on using my own knife, to find that whole runs of shelving contained row upon row of blank-paged books. A man so easily blackmailed clearly had received no sort of education: therefore, he owed me a modicum of thanks for the lesson I had taught him.

I settled in a peacock chair to wait for Brougham's arrival.