The Travels of Anadrasata Nearabhigan: Day 27
Here we are on Day 27 of Anadrasata's journey, and we quietly part ways with the Pearlish Queen. Well, Anadrasasta quietly parts ways with the ship, others....
This piece runs to 2,981 words, and I hope that you enjoy it.
Index Page.
Skaithosday, 8 Naisen, 1893 C.E.
Sulese, 23 Lamtaa, 2157 T.M.L.
Dear Journal,
I opened my curtains this morning to see that we were being paralleled by an Imperial sloop, the Scion of Wisdom, which was, indeed, close enough to read its name on the hull. The flashing light I saw pointed at us from their bridge made me believe that they had been tasked to pass information to our ship that the captain and his officers needed.
The dining room was full when I went in to breakfast - today we all disembark in Akatoil so everyone wanted to get ready to leave the ship. I was looking for somewhere to sit, and Major Nhuain was kind enough to offer me the empty seat next to him. He then introduced me to his fellow officers, Majors dh'Khoin, Haikhaigh, and Vhainghain. Major Haikhaigh was twitting me, in a kind and friendly tone, about the "card lesson" I gave the students last night, when I realised that we were descending. It was in no way a dive, but it was a faster descent then the Pearlish Queen has used for anything else in the time I have been on her. I was surprised when I felt the shudder that meant we'd landed, and it was Major Vhainghain, who was facing the windows, who said, "We're in a naval base!"
Of course, he wasn't the only person saying almost exactly the same thing at that moment, and I think it's fair to say that the room suddenly had one conversation topic. Some of the Kerajaan passengers began to get agitated, well I would have been concerned too if the same thing had happened while we were in the Kerajaa. That was the point when the stewards started circulating with more hot tea and toast which had the effect of being calming because it suggested that this was all normal. I'm sure this was their intent.
It was, perhaps, ten minutes later when the First Officer escorted the Aerial Navy Commander and his armed men into the dining room. All the tea and toast in the world could have convinced any of we passengers that this was a completely normal event. A tall, red haired gentleman in impeccable morning dress (brown coat, bronze waistcoat, pale pantaloons) accompanied the Chief Purser through the door, and then two sailors filled the doorway. The gentleman looked around the room, and then walked directly to the table where Mrs dh'Saign, Mis dh'Bhonaign, and their companion sat. He bowed, after removing his hat, and said, "Good morning, ladies." Then, "Mrs Khurzain, we meet again. As you know, I am Lord Ailfhed dh'Vhairt of the Imperial Inspectorate. I am here to execute Warrants for your arrest on six charges of murder, twelve counts of fraud, five counts of forging and uttering, and three counts of child abandonment."
The undercurrent of whispers stopped.
Mrs dh'Saign said into the silence, "But we've known Athaila, Mrs Khurzain, for years. She's a cousin of both our late mother and my late husband...." Something, I think it might have been Lord Ailfhed's expression made her trail off.
Lord Ailfhed said, "For various reasons related to this matter, I must insist on removing you two ladies from the ship as well. You will be accommodated in the Base Commandant's guest quarters while your situation is assessed and finalised. You do not need to return to your cabins - your luggage is being repacked by your maids with the assistance of the stewardesses as we speak. More breakfast will be available ashore, if you have not finished eating." He added, "Pleas stand with empty hands, Mrs Khurzain. Leave your reticule where it is and we will bring it along. Try to escape or repeat your stunt in Ocotoil and you will be shot. None of these men will hesitate - they have their orders."
He then turned to the rest of us, apologised, and said that for operational reasons we would have to remain in our seats until he, the prisoner, the naval detail, and the commandant's lady guests had left the room. ["keeping the field of fire clear," commented Major Nhuain softly.] We would also need to remain in the dining room until the Pearlish Queen lifted again. They then led their prisoner and the other two ladies out of the room. As soon as they were out of sight, conversation started up again all over the room.
One part of my mind thinks I should feel guilty about inconveniencing Mrs dh'Saign and Miss dh'Bhonaign, but most of it thinks, but murder! And you only knew about the governess, if she's one of the ones there's a Warrant for because that was in the Kerajaa. And there was that look that made Mrs dh'Saign stop talking - how did her husband die?
I went for a walk twice around the promenade deck to clear my head before going back to my cabin to finish packing. Then I was halfway done, and remembered to go to the Chief Purser's Office to arrange a porter to take my luggage to my inn on disembarkation. It was there that I discovered that a copy of the arrest Warrants had been posted on the noticeboard. The murder Warrants named a Mr Ahto Kharzain, Mr Rhaidhaif dh'Saign, and Lady Irhesa dh'Bhonaign, plus three names that meant nothing to me. I did not read through the other Warrants - I feared I hadn't the time to do so and vacate my cabin on schedule.
Unsurprisingly, we were late into Akatoil. I had paid my vails to the crew, those card winnings were so useful, and was in the lounge in plenty of time for disembarkation. One cannot say the same for certain scholars. Again, I was one of the last to disembark from first class because I had no connections to make. However, I did leave the luggage collection area before the travelling scholars because I had arranged for a porter in advance. Most of them hadn't and it seems that even their professors had thought that someone else would see to that for them - or that porters just...happen.
The landlady at The Duke of Ghairraith was welcoming, until she noticed my lack of lady's maid, then became merely resigned. She insisted on being paid in advance for my two nights' booked lodging, and for the baths that I ordered for each night. We agreed that I would pay for meals, other than the included breakfast, when I left, as well as any other incidentals. I ordered lunch before going up to my room, and asked if I could have a morning paper with it, if one was still available. - even if pre-read. One of the things I prepaid for was a private parlor for meals, so I was able to spread the paper out beside me as I ate.
The lunch was a herbed, steamed fish served with steamed greens and fried tubers. (I like fried tubers but I can't see my mother allowing them at her table, unfortunately.) The paper was this morning's Imperial Clarion, intact but with the crossword partially completed. I was surprised by the continued coverage of the incident between the Pearlish Star and the Empress Mhaihild - the headline was "Empress Mhaihild Culprit Charged With Murder!" and it took some detailed reading to discover that these charges related to his activities before Mr dh'Lhong joined the boars of the Northern Stars Line and not to our near miss with the Empress Mhaihild. Rather less prominent headlines topped articles that told me that the Board of Inquiry is finalising its report, and that the people injured on the Empress Mhaihild are recovering. (I do feel for the poor man who was thrown down the stairs and managed to hit both the ceiling and the floor.) The precious metals situation in the eastern provinces seems to be resolving, and the Emperor's second youngest sister, Princess Sarhaigha, is suffering from pneumonia thought to be caused by inhalation of smoke and grain dust but is expected to recover. The opinion pieces have a running theme of abuse of privilege - particularly aristocratic privilege. Only one of those pieces mentioned Mr dh'Lhong by name, but in reading them I wondered what else has been mad about his activities in recent days.
After lunch, I made my way back to the entrance foyer to discover whether they kept entertainment flyers there as they had at the inn in Amnestri. They did, and I found three plays and two concerts I would like to attend in the time I was in Akatoil. [Not that I would be able to go to all of them, but I was hopeful of getting tickets to one performance on each of the nights I would be here.} The landlady came bustling in to see what I was doing, so I complimented her on the lunch I was served, and asked her advice on both the suitability of the performance venues for an unaccompanied lady, and on organising a tour of the city because there were no flyers for any such service amongst the collection in the foyer. She, Mrs Whynghaid, told me that she took care to only keep flyers for respectable establishments on hand, so she had no concerns about any of the venues I might fancy to attend. I thanked her for her care. The she told me that guided tours could be arranged through an office in the Town Hall - the result of a gang of thieves several years previously using paid guided tours as a way of selecting their victims. She produced a printed map of the city for me and marked the locations of the Town Hall and the various theatres and concert halls for me. I thanked her, ascertained when would be most convenient for my bath to be set up, and set forth to see what tickets I could obtain for the two evenings I would be in Akatoil.
It was a pleasant day and I had all afternoon, so it didn't seem a great stretch to walk the six blocks to the Town hall. The way was flat and the footpath well paved, but there was a block or so where I was glad I was not walking at night, particularly alone. I made a mental note to ask about cabs, or their local equivalent. Once I entered the Town Hall, the Tour office was well sign posted - presumably they don't want visitors wandering willy-nilly all over the building. The staff were also very helpful, and I was able to arrange a private tour of the city for the next day with me being collected from my inn at half ten of the clock the next morning. I explained that I knew nothing of Akatoil, asked how and when I paid the guide, and mad the half payment in advance. I was also given my guide's token and business card so I would be able to satisfy myself of his identity when he arrived. I thanked the staff for their help. and set off to see what evening bookings I could make.
At my first call, I discovered that Saihaira dh'Ifhain's concert had been sold out for months. Given the flyers in The Duke of Ghairraith I thought this unlikely, but their immediate offer of a ticket on a night after I left Akatoil made it clear that it was tonight and tomorrow night's concerts that were sold out - not every night. I left the concert hall with regrets expressed on both sides. The box office at the Bhlou Street theatre was closed when I arrived and would not reopen until an hour before the performance began. The Chamber Rooms' box office was opened as I arrived, and I obtained a ticket for tonight's performance of 'Various Works by H.T. Ghailaint'. I made careful note of the time I would need to be back at The Chamber Rooms by. I consulted my map, and as one of the theatres I had made a note of was between my current location and the inn, and the other was on the far side of the inn, I made my way to the closer establishment. Their box office was open and I bought a myself a box seat for tomorrow night's performance of 'Lady dh'Bhurgain and the Music Box.' Mother went to see it when it was performed in Umbrial several years ago and enjoyed it very much, but I was not one of the party that night.
That done I made my way back to then inn for a cup of tea and to enjoy my bath. I made sure to tell the landlady that I would be going out again and when so any needed adjustments could be made to meals, etc.
The bath was a completely different experience to a Kerajaan bath house, but being able to soak in hot water was still wonderful. Dinn er was some sort of poultry in a slow simmered stew with tubers and onions. I wasn't sure of the original bird, but it is possible that it was seagull. [I mean people do eat duck, pheasant, and even sparrows, so why not seagull?] There were side dishes of fried crab and seaweed salad, and a dessert of fruit jelly. The landlady seemed pleased when I complimented her on the tenderness of the meat in the stew.
I freshened up after my meal and, in a cab that one of the inn's manservants hailed for me, I set off for The Chamber Rooms. The cabs in Akatoil are of the same general type of machine as the ones in Amnestri, although I think there are some differences in the specifics of the mechanisms and the individual cabs here are vividly decorated with paint and small attached ornaments. The cab that took me to The Chamber Rooms was vivid pink and blue.
I arrived at the venue perhaps a quarter of an hour before the concert began, and when I paid him the cabby assured me that I would have no trouble getting a cab back to the inn from The Chamber Rooms when the concert was done. I went into the foyer, which was lit by two large chandeliers, and bought a program for the concert I was attending - there were two other concerts being held tonight, fortunately with staggered starting times. I found the room for my concert by following the excellent signage, presented my ticket at the door, and was ushered in to take a seat. As particular seats were not assigned, I chose one on the far side of the room from then entrance so as to make it easier for later arrivals to quickly get seated without disturbing everyone else. The evening's ensemble was two violins, a viola, two cellos, and a bass who played in a number of combinations depending on the piece - I did not recognise the names of any of the musicians and their biographies in the program told me that they were all from the western provinces of the Empire.
My mother and her friends would have fitted in well with the audience. It was not, I would say, a particularly fashionable crowd but a well-dressed and affluent one, tending to maturity of age. There were very few people present who were younger than myself or even my age, and they had the look of companions, whether or not they were the children of the older persons they were with. In short, my outfit did not make me look out of place in either style or fabric. I was flanked in my seat by two small parties who appeared to be family groups or friends, and although we nodded to each other in acknowledgement, we did not introduce ourselves. The first half of the program was 'Spring Incumin', and 'Storm Horizon,' neither of which I had heard in full before, both having movements that are considered too difficult by the usual young lady who performs at private musicales. Interval allowed us access to the retiring rooms, and there were good quality, if limited in choice, refreshments available. [Good quality punch and fresh, moist cake! The mayor's wife at home should take notes.] The second half of the program was 'String Quartet No 4,' 'Bazoin Dances,' and 'The Flight Fantastic.' It was an excellent musical evening and I joined in the generous applause at the end of the performances.
The Chamber Rooms had a liveried staff member out the front of the building after the concert hailing cabs for audience members in order of their emergence from the building, and it was just so easy to pay him a vail and be handed into a clean cab. The one I occupied on my way home was vermillion and green.
I arrived back at The Duke of Ghairraith while the public bar was still busy. I came in through the entrance foyer and avoided the bar completely. The landlady bustled in again when I was halfway to the stairs, and I am not sure whether she was pleased I was back safely or disappointed I wasn't a new guest. While she was there, I arranged to be woken in the morning to ensure that I was ready for my guide when he arrived, and remembered to enquire when I should arrange a porter for my day of departure. She assured me both that the wakeup call would happen, and that tomorrow was time enough to arrange a porter. The she asked me what papers I would like with my breakfast, and I asked for the Imperial Clarion and a city daily paper. With that I bade her good night and came upstairs to writeup my journal and prepare for bed.
Anadrasata Nearabhigan