The Problem of the Missing Miss (34 page)
Read The Problem of the Missing Miss Online
Authors: Roberta Rogow
“You should not thinkâ” her mother began.
“My dear Lady Patricia,” Mr. Dodgson protested. “Miss Alicia does think, and thinks quite well. Miss Harmon will also be tried, for assisting Mr. Upshaw and for ⦠other things.”
“But not for kidnapping me? Why not?” Alicia's eyes grew bright with anger. “She should be punished for what she did, not just to me but to Kitty, too. Kitty is my maid now,” she confided to Mr. Dodgson. “Nanny Marsh is showing her how she should go on. I promised her that she should come to London with me, and a Waltham always keeps his promises.”
Mr. Dodgson patted her hand and stood up again. “If Miss Alicia wishes to come to me next year, I will be delighted to have her,” he told her parents. “And this time there will be no confusion about the arrival of the trains.”
Lord Richard glanced at his wife, then down at Alicia. “With all respect, Mr. Dodgson, I think we shall continue to send Alicia to my brother at Waltham for her holidays. However, you may call on us when you are in London.”
“Papa,” Alicia piped up, “will I be expected to give evidence against Miss Harmon?”
“Certainly not!” Lady Pat exclaimed. “You should not have spoken out last night, at the meeting.”
“Why not? It made the police arrest Mr. Upshaw, didn't it? And it made all those people sign General Booth's paper,” Alicia pointed out.
“Yes, it did, but ladies do not speak in public,” Lady Pat said firmly.
“But Mrs. Churchill does. I heard you say that Lady Randolph Churchill goes and speaks for Lord Randolph.”
“Lady Randolph Churchill is an American,” Lady Pat said. “They areâindependent.”
Alicia considered this. “Then when I am older, I shall be an American, and be independent,” she decided. “And I shall listen to Papa speak in Parliament.”
Her proud father beamed down at her. “I only wish you could stand,” he said wistfully.
“Why can't I?”
“Because you are a lady, and ladies do not stand for Parliament. Ladies do not vote,” her mother told her. “Now, Alicia, say your good-byes to Mr. Dodgson, and run along with Nanny Marsh.”
Alicia regarded her mother and father with clear blue eyes. “Yes, Mama,” she said, with a dutiful curtsey. “Good-bye, Mr. Dodgson. Thank you for everything you have done.” She reached up and drew him down to her level again, planted a kiss on his cheek, and whispered, “But some day I shall speak out, and I shall stand for Parliament!”
Nanny Marsh took her politically inclined charge in hand and marched her off to the train, leaving the grownups to make their farewells.
Dr. Doyle shook his head, half in amazement, half in amusement. “That is a young lady who will do what she has a mind to,” he declared.
“Yes, she is a very determined person,” Mr. Dodgson said.
“Well, then,” Dr. Doyle began. The shriek of a whistle and his wife's urgent pull on his coat reminded him that his train was about to depart. “Mr. Dodgson, would you do me the honor of reading my manuscript?”
“You may send it to me at Eastbourne,” Mr. Dodgson said. “But the opinion you will get will be that of Mr. Dodgson, Lecturer in Mathematics, and not that of Mr. Lewis Carroll.”
“Arthur!” Touie's voice urged him.
“That is all I ask.” Dr. Doyle waved, and was gone.
Mr. Dodgson turned to his friend Henry, who had stood silent during the conversation with the Marbury contingent.
“Surely you are not going to keep up the acquaintanceship with that young man?” Henry protested, as he led his friend to the train that would bring him back to his Eastbourne lodgings.
“I don't see what harm it could do to encourage him in his literary leanings.”
“He's not ⦠quite ⦔
“Henry! Young Dr. Doyle is, perhaps, a bit enthusiastic.”
“He's a pushing young particle, to quote Mr. Gilbert's play,” the Rector fumed. “A Scot, and a practicing physician, not a consultant.”
“But he will send me his manuscripts,” Mr. Dodgson said, with a smile. “And I will read them and give some advice, which he may or may not take. Yes, I shall correspond with him. After all,” he gave his friend the clinching argument, “he
is
Dicky Doyle's nephew, you know.”
AFTERWARD
Lord Richard Marbury lost his seat in Parliament when the Liberal Party lost the General Election in November of 1885. He was returned to Parliament twice more. During the interims, he wrote tracts and spoke against the white slave trade and other abuses of children. He died in 1901, of a heart attack brought on by overwork.
Lady Pat remained in the Grosvenor Square house with her daughter, Alicia, until the zeppelin attacks during World War I sent her back to Kinsale in 1916. She died there in 1921.
Edward Kinsale retained his Parliamentary seat through several elections, largely on the strength of his commitment to Irish Self-Rule. He was knighted by Edward VII in 1905, and died the following year in a hunting accident.
Miss Alicia Marbury endured a tempestuous season or two as a debutante. She received several offers of marriage, but accepted none of them, to the great despair of her mother. (It was thought that she had given her heart to her cousin, Captain Lord Bertram Marbury, who was killed in South Africa relieving Mafeking.) Instead, she became a member of several organizations devoted to bettering social conditions, swearing that she would continue her father's work. She came into her own in 1914, when she organized women's labor forces in factories, and used her social connections to improve working conditions for women everywhere. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1920. She never married, but continued her charitable work until her death in the Blitz in 1941.
Kitty remained with Alicia Marbury during her debutante years. She married one of the footmen from Waltham Castle (said footman then became Dame Alicia Marbury's butler and general factotum). She and Alicia cast the first votes by women in Waltham Village. Her son, Alexander, holds the seat for Waltham, for the Conservative Party.
Geoffrey Upshaw and Julia Harmon were tried and convicted of conspiracy in the death of William Keeble. Geoffrey Upshaw was sentenced to ten years in Dartmoor Prison, where he died of pneumonia brought on by the unhealthy climate and conditions in the prison. Julia Harmon served her term at Pentonville Prison for Women; when she was discharged, she joined her family in Canada, where she died during the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1919.
No mention was ever made in the Press of the abduction and subsequent return of Miss Alicia Marbury.
Mr. Dodgson went back to Eastbourne and resumed his regular round of writing, occasional lectures, and study at Oxford.
Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle returned to Portsmouth, where he practiced medicine and wrote sensational fiction for popular magazines.
Mr. Dodgson and Dr. Doyle were to meet several times moreâbut that, as they say, is another story.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
The events of July and August of 1885 are a matter of public record. The series of sensational articles in the
Pall Mall Gazette
appeared; the Reverend Mr. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson wrote a letter to Lord Salisbury, the Prime Minister, and another which was published, both decrying the articles; protest meetings were held across England; and General William Booth collected over five thousand signatures to a petition, which he presented at Westminster.
The Criminal Amendment Bill passed, by the barest of majorities, on August 29, 1885. Among other things, it raised the age of consent for girls from twelve to sixteen years of age, made pandering a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment, and decreed prison sentences for sexual acts between males.
Mrs. Martha Jeffries was a noted Madam. Her various houses of prostitution were patronized by the most noble and notable gentlemen. Her release from a brief prison sentence occurred as described. She died in her bed, at an advanced age. Her funeral was attended by many of her most faithful patrons.
Dr. Doyle and Mr. Dodgson actually never met. This story is an exercise in “what if.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This novel would not have been written without the encouragement of many people. Especially important to me were:
Keith Kahla, my editor, who made a suggestion at a Convention;
Marvin Kaye, my mentor and friend, who asked me to write a story;
Cherry Weiner, my agent, who took a chance on a voice over the telephone;
and always â¦
Murray Rogow, my husband, who has always been with me when I needed him.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1998 by Roberta Rogow
Cover design by Kathleen Lynch
ISBN: 978-1-4976-7095-2
This 2014 edition distributed by
MysteriousPress.com
/Open Road Integrated Media
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THE CHARLES DODGSON AND
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE MYSTERIES
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