8.
The Inspector took a sip of
the tea served by the servant when Elizabeth Muriel stepped in from the cellar
while seated at the dining table. He was dressed in his country-friendly
attire: the Norfolk jacket, a belted and pleated sporting jacket, usually made
of heavy tweed in checked, plaid, or herringbone patterns, and the
loose-fitting knee breeches (knickerbockers or "knickers") were worn,
which allowed for greater freedom of movement. His headwear placed on the table
was the deerstalker cap, also known as the "fore-and-aft" cap in
reference to its front and rear bills.
“Earl Grey, a black tea blends
flavoured with oil from the rind of the bergamot orange, a citrus fruit. A
distinctive floral and citrusy aroma and taste… named after Prime Minister
Charles Grey. Touché, my good man. You are named after an afternoon tea.
Others may be after battleships, and well… once sunk or decommissioned, they
are forgotten.”
“Ah, my dear. You are here.
Do pass me the lemon. I prefer mine with my tea.” The inspector looked towards
the lady. “Your maid evades me every time I am here.”
“Dolores has her tasks to
do.” Elizabeth said.
“Would you…” Inspector
Watson held out his right hand.
“I am not here to talk idle
with you, Inspector.” Elizabeth Muriel snapped at the man.
“Is that still your attitude
towards me?” The inspector glared at the lady. “I……”
“Our relationship is
reciprocal. I aid you with the numbers, and you do the protection on the
society’s committee.” The lady took her seat facing the Inspector. “It was
mutually agreed upon.”
The Inspector had his
right-hand fingers on the delicate teacup while facing the lady. It was by
coincidence that they met; he was the warlock who had to flee the area when he
was pursued by the other witches. And she needed protection from demons and a so-called
creature.
“Elizabeth, I am ……” The
Inspector could not find his words.
“Embarrassed? Or was it
shame?” The lady looked at the man. “Would you like to tell me of William Katt?
The many identities used by yourself? If only I had known earlier of that
name.”
Elizabeth knew of William
Katt from his adopted mother’s diaries and letters.
Her last entries explained
it all.
‘I met William Katt years
ago. He was a suave man who appeared in my life. I went out with him for
afternoon tea; he impressed me with his charms and knowledge of God. It was
then I fell in love with that man. It was a whirlwind of events, but one day he
went missing.’
Did he know of my love, or
was it I who was the one in love? I confessed my feelings for him to Katheleen,
and she sided with me. My sister, Katheleen, was my ally as sisterly as we
were, but unlike me, she was the wild one in the family. She left the family
home at the tender age of thirteen and returned home two years later. Our
parents were a strict, religious couple who punished their errant daughter for
three years in the nunnery. When she was returned to us, she was a well-natured
person.’
‘I shared a room with her
then; I was aged fifteen. We learned to bond well, but there was a darker side
to Katheleen. She was reading the books on the dark arts hidden below her bed.
I asked her, but she told me it was for reading. I left it at that. That was my
first regret.’
‘It was three years later,
when I met Spencer. He was equally charming, and I, starved of love, fell for
him. Love is a binding effect that blinds us from their real self. I wedded
Spenser and adopted his name. We were happy for the initial years, but the real
self-surfaced, and I was devastated.’
‘There is a saying that we
are all actors in the first part of the relationship. The hours we had then
were sparse, and during then, we were immaculate in our appearance and behaviour.
It was only in the second phase that we displayed our true selves. Like the
serpent, we shed our skin to become the real us.’
“Spenser was the serpent in
our Eden.’
‘Spenser tried to take
advantage of Katheleen, but she resisted him. She was lucky if I will term it
as that. That event caused me distress when I confronted Spenser. He did not
deny it and set the blame onto me. I had cheated him of my purity. He told me
that he was seeing other ladies for the deprived acts.’
‘I cleared Spenser out of
life but kept his name as my middle name. Yes, I was called Ms. Anne Spenser
Muriel by name only. Spenser left me inflicted by some ailments, and I
inherited his wealth. He died soon after.’
“Just when I thought all was
to be fine, my parents died a year later, and Katheleen left home again. I was
all alone till that night, when Katheleen returned to me three years later.”
‘With a man I once knew, and
a baby I have not met yet, as it is unborn.’
‘William Kat had seduced my
sister, and they shared a child to be named. He soon left my sister and the
baby with me. He was pursued by others. I had taken in Katheleen and was
revealed the truth on her missing years.”
‘William Katt, or whatever
he calls himself, was a warlock, a male Witcher. He was in a battle with one of
the covens and was inexperienced, and his lack of ability for the coveted power
of Three. He was defeated and forced to run. He had taken Katheleen, then his
lover, with him. During their run, Katheleen discovered that she was with a
child. She returned alone with a rounded belly.’
‘I detested the man for
inflicting the pain upon the both of us. But the child was our blessing.
Elizabeth Muriel, named by me, gave us a new life, but it was a short one for
the mother. Kathleen died soon after the birth of her daughter. I brought up Elizabeth
without ever mentioning the identity of her father.’
‘I was protective of her and
even embraced the life of self-sacrifice to God to give her guidance; I have
Elizabeth in my care and could not commit myself to the nunnery. And I could
not do it alone and formed the Theology Society. It was God’s vision to me. It
was monitored by a group of learned people in the community. We formed to
embrace God and its teachings to offer guidance to the younger ones. We
protected the young ones.’
‘We also took the wrath of
God upon the sinners. The right paths were planned, and one of them was to
eradicate witches.’
‘Witches are abominations. I
cannot let another William Katt into my life. Or to Elizabeth.”
‘I brought up Elizabeth as
my own. She was to inherit my role here.’
‘My last regret was her
involvement with the Frankenstein. She should have listened when we were on the
trip, but the heart does not follow the mind most times. I knew then and
regretted it.’
That was the last entry in
the diary.
Just when Elizabeth thought
her past was behind her, William Katt revealed to her his new identity.
“Stay away from me,
Inspector … William Katt.” Elizabeth had stepped back from the man who claimed
to be her father. “You are not to be……”
“I am your father.” The
Inspector held out his arms. “I am William Katt. You are Katheleen’s… our
daughter.”
“Yes, John Robert Watson,
or, if you prefer, William Katt. Your presumed father relationship with me does
not exist. I am a Muriel’s child, and it remained that way. My relationship
with you is mutual. As mentioned, you provide me the security protection, and I
will do the needed support for you from the members. There is no reconciliation
there.”
“Elementary, my dear. You do
not hold your mothers’ forgiveness, my child. More of myself resides in you.”
The Inspector smiled. “I am……”
“We hold no link anymore.
May I remind you again that you are here for a reason?” Elizabeth reached for
the amulet on the chain at her neck. “Seated before me is Inspector John Robert
Watson and not William Katt. I want your services as that officer. Victor
Frankenstein is back. I want to know of his movements here.” Elizabeth looked
at the man. “He is to be looked at.”
“There is a lady with him? I
am recruiting……”
“Do not lay your hand on
her, Warlock. It will be hell to pay if you ever get at her.” Elizabeth snapped
out, and her right hand clasped at the amulet. “I will destroy the amulet.”
The inspector held up his
arms at the lady.
“Do not …… It is your
mother’s. Her parting gift for us.”
“It may be her gift, but I
will not hesitate to do it. I loathe you more than my love for my mother, whom
I hardly know. She gave me this amulet to preserve ……. Not our love but your
love. I do not need it.”
“Please do not threaten me,
Elizabeth. That amulet is ……. Her gift was given by me. Please take care of it.
I will not harm my own kin.” The inspector turned to leave before he turned to
face the lady. “You may hold dear to me, but the level of kinship may be ….”
“Threshold reaching its
limitation? I am aware.” Elizabeth held fast to the amulet. “Our… mutual
cooperation was to be limited… on my terms.”
“Do not look for me when you
are pursued by the …… creature. I hold no influence or power over it.” The
inspector reminded the lady. “I am maybe a warlock, but the creature is neither
of the living nor the unliving. It is……"
“My concern, Warlock. I will
handle it on my own terms. Just take care of the other issues.” Elizabeth
turned to leave. “Take your tea and leave.”
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