A Matter of Temperance (The Adventures of Ichabod Temperance Book 1) Read Free Page B

beaut?”
    “Quite so, sir.”
    “I didn’t wanna to stand out as a foreigner anymore than I gotta, so I thought I’d develop me a little camouflage.”
    “Sir?”
    “Well, with this here Derby, I’m buying from you in this  here haberdashery, I feel like I blend right in with the everyday Londoner!”
    “No comment, sir.”
    “Sophisticated English society, here I come!”
    I reckon I oughtta catch up with what’s going on in the world.
    Several papers’ exclamatory headlines catch my eye.
    The Britannic Observer
    S.S. TRIUMPH SETS ATLANTIC  CROSSING RECORD!
    “Sol Furnace-driven marvel conquers the Atlantic.”
    “Great Britain’s place as the leading shipbuilder in the world is secured as the S.S. Triumph shatters the Atlantic crossing record.”
    Amazing! I was just on that ship, and a part of her historic crossings.
    The Evening Comet
    PARLIAMENT CONSIDERS SAPIENCY DECREE
    “The ‘Animal Sapience Alliance’ pushes forward with bill to allow rights to animals able to prove an elevation in intelligence to the courts.”
    “Humanists vow to fight for the dominance of Man over Beast.”
    How about that! I had not thought about how the Revelatory Comet might affect animals. I’m not sure how I will react if I ever meet a talking horse. The idea intrigues me, for I have always had a fondness for, and a talent with, handling animals.
    The London Sun
    PLUMTARTT SCANDAL THREATENS NATIONAL SECURITY
    “Howdy, mister, I’m gonna purchase this paper.”
    Not only is this article written by my client, with whom I have an appointment, but it concerns the family Plumtartt, with whom I have a working relationship.
    Story by: Sir Henry Stanley
    “The proud name of Plumtartt, which has brought so much fame and recognition to our country, has now fallen into a pit of shame, and wallows in disgrace. After the recent, untimely death of Professor Plumtartt, eminent scientist responsible for developing the great “Sol Furnace,” the entire estate, including the prestigious Plumtartt Factory and  Plumtartt Shipyards, have fallen to his unfortunately demented daughter, Miss Persephone Plumtartt. In an exclusive interview, she reveals a belief in “Evil Forces” at large in the country. She believes that they are the nexus of “ghost” attacks in the areas around the factories. In the ridiculous story she relates, her father was stymied in his efforts to capture the Sun’s energy. He turned to arcane methodology, combined with the latest in scientific application. The Plumtartt girl claims to have been at her father’s side throughout the process, until he entered this occult avenue. Upon entering her father’s inner sanctum of experimentation, she interrupted a grand process, an ‘Evocation’. A violent explosion ensued. Miss Plumtartt claims to have been ‘bathed in an elemental beam’, that wrought a change within the psychotic female.
    In the past two weeks, several more deaths have followed upon the heels of her father. Now, the girl claims to be attacked by hideous monsters. She related that last night, a microscopic creature, an amoeba, miraculously grown to the size of a haystack, attacked her home. She even claims to believe the accident she suffered in her father’s laboratory gave her the ability to combat the giant jellyfish.
    This reporter reveals that it was all I could do to keep from shouting with laughter in the face of this deluded girl. That, however, is where the amusement stops. She has since closed the vital Plumtartt factory and shipyard. Only two passenger ships have been completed, the Triumph , and the Victoria . Miss Plumtartt attributes several recent deaths at these locations to these same ‘Evil Forces’ summoned by her Father. Four battleships are in the middle of construction, and she has stopped their progress just because a few clumsy workmen have managed to get themselves killed. The hysterical girl needs to realize that accidents are a part of business and construction.