"What time is it?"
"Late. Come, get dressed and follow me."
I looked down at my nightclothes, then at Roberta.
"Hurry, Septimus. Lives may be in the balance!"
She showed no sign of leaving my room, and her urgency left me no choice. Still half-asleep, still mortified by my precipitous actions with that thrice-cursed revolver, I crossed to the wardrobe and removed my nightshirt, grateful the darkness hid my naked form. Then, as I was reaching for my clothes, another flash of lightning lit the room, revealing me to Roberta in all my modest glory. I was standing with my back to her, and as she did not make a comment I hoped she had not noticed. Fortunately there were no more ill-timed lightning flashes, and soon we were descending the stairs together, myself with cheeks glowing from the heat of embarrassment. No more was said about the gun, but I resolved to lock it away at the earliest opportunity. As for my temporary nakedness, nothing was said of that either, and thoroughly relieved I was too.
The professor was in the hallway, bleary-eyed and wearing a faded dressing-gown. With him stood Mrs Fairacre, whose clothes exhibited signs of having been outside in the storm. She was speaking in an animated fashion, her famous reserve nowhere to be seen. "And I'm going to keep saying this until you believe me, you obstinate man!" she cried, thoroughly worked up. "I swear I saw one of your ghosties in the street!"
"But my dear woman, that's quite impossible!" replied the professor. "Why, without the right glasses…"
"Don't dear woman me," said Mrs Fairacre. "And I don't need your fancy glasses to see evil. The Lord strike me down if it isn't so!"
I felt this a rather unfortunate turn of phrase, given the lightning storm raging across the city, but the housekeeper was not to be pacified.
"You take those funny machines of yours into the street," she demanded, all but prodding the professor in the chest. "You take those gadgets and you catch this wild spirit before it does harm to some innocent!"
Roberta hurried past me and put an arm around Mrs Fairacre's shoulders. "Come, why don't you and the professor retire to the sitting room? Perhaps you could both take a little brandy while Septimus and I handle this matter."
The housekeeper looked from Roberta to me and back again. "Septimus, is it?" she said. "Very well. It's a harsh night for old bones, anyways, and I won't say no to a restorative."
The professor brightened at the mention of brandy, and the pair of them retired to the sitting room, from whence I soon heard the clink of glasses. "That's put them out of the way," muttered Roberta. "Now, Mr Jones, you and I should attend to this wayward spirit."
"I don't mind if you call me Septimus," I ventured.
She smiled. "I might just do that, given I've seen you as naked as the day you were born."
I stood there, mouth open, until she took my arm and half-dragged me to the professor's study. Here, she gathered several items, placing them into a haversack which I held open for her. "Is it usual for spirits to be seen abroad like this?" I asked her, eager to change the subject.
"Nothing is usual when it comes to spirits," she declared. "My father and I are pioneers in the subject, yet you could publish a twenty-volume encyclopaedia containing all the knowledge we have yet to gain. More, probably." Roberta looked around. "That will do for now. Hopefully we will take this spirit quickly, and then return here and use the detector to seek any others."
I was silent, for all of a sudden I remembered that I had attempted to use that same detector at the Snetton house, and that I may have broken it. I had not yet found the courage to tell Roberta, and I decided this was not the moment. No, I would confess all when she tried to use it, and only if it did not work.
We left the study and made our way to the front door, passing the sitting room on the way. The professor and Mrs Fairacre were seated together on the chaise, brandy glasses in hand, and the housekeeper appeared to be sharing a particularly humorous story. The professor slapped his knee, bent double with laughter, and Mrs Fairacre patted him on the back in a most tender fashion. I looked away quickly, embarrassed at witnessing their interaction.
"She cares for him a great deal," murmured Roberta. "They're a foolish pair, if I'm honest. He cares for her, but is blind to her devotion, while she is far too correct to declare her feelings for him. I suppose one day I shall have to sit them down and straighten things out, but in the meantime they circle each other like nervous debutantes."
She opened the front door and we were met immediately by driving rain, which lashed the ground and hid the street from view. "I glanced out earlier," said Roberta, raising her voice over the noise. "You won't be surprised when I tell you I saw no sign of Mrs Fairacre's 'ghostie'."
Braving the rain, we hurried to the iron gate and thence into the road. I stepped forward, intending to cross, and in that instant my world exploded in a shower of sparks and stars. I was hurled backwards, stunned, and I landed full-length in the muddy, puddle-strewn road, rolling over and over.
Through my pain I was dimly aware of a horse and carriage speeding past, hooves thundering and wheels rumbling on the road. There was a scream also, from behind me, and then I was lying on my back with the rain hammering my face.
Roberta crouched over me, her face white with shock. She was shouting at me for being such a fool, and then, in a panic, she turned and screamed for help. I had never seen her so upset, and a small part of me was pleased at her reaction.
