He was forthwith shown to a bedchamber where he could change from his damp clothing. Though the hour was terribly late, his interest in all he’d seen proved greater than his exhaustion. While his fellow physician most certainly longed to seek his own bed, Dr. Sefton Palmer thought not of that possibility. A mystery weighed on his mind, and his mind never permitted itself to be ignored.

“Have you ever, whilst traversing the bogs, experienced anything odd?” Palmer asked his colleague.

“Odd in what way?”

Palmer proceeded to describe what he’d seen in as much detail as he could. Only after expending tremendous energy on the endeavor did he realize that his account might not be believed, that his colleague might deem him confused or even mad.

“Strange things are spoken of on the bogs,” the other doctor acknowledged. “Though I cannot say I’ve heard tell of precisely what you describe, I would not dismiss the encounter out of hand. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’” Ending his reply with a nod to the Bard was quite common for Palmer’s colleague. He himself, though, was not so poetic.

“I know what I saw, but I do not know how or from whence it came,” Dr. Palmer said. “Neither do I know in what other forms it might occur. But, mark my words, good sir. I will solve the mystery of these sudden bursts of light even if I am required to dedicate the remainder of my life to doing so.”

Such declarations should not be made lightly, for they have a most disconcerting tendency to come true in surprising and far too often destructive ways.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Though Barnabus and Brogan were meant to be spearheading the efforts of CALL, they quickly realized, upon arriving at the location of the fire, there was not much for them to do. Family members of the Dread Penny Society had joined the cause and sorted the effort quickly. Kumar’s wife was remarkably good at assigning tasks for maximum efficiency. Móirín Donnelly, Brogan’s sister, kept a weather eye out for trouble. Hers was a good heart, but she was also a force to be reckoned with.

Hollis Darby’s newlywed wife, Ana, was there, assisting in the efforts. All the DPS knew that she was secretly London’s most capable sneak thief despite her outward appearance of a sweet and quiet society lady.

Elizabeth Black was participating, though anyone noticing her there would assume she had come as Fletcher’s guest; their nuptials had finally been announced, and the two would be married in a few weeks.