THE BLENKINSOP CHRONICLES
A Halloween mystery involving an ancestral coat and a most inconvenient apparition.
Basil ‘Biffy’ Blenkinsop had always considered his grand-nephew Gideon a rather singular young fellow. This opinion was reinforced when Gideon arrived at Strathmuir Hall dressed as a Victorian murderer and asked, quite pleasantly, whether there was anything to eat.
Lady Morag was enchanted.
“How wonderfully spooky! You look like someone who’s just stepped out of a coffin.”
“Not recently,” said Gideon, helping himself to a Stilton and walnut canapé.
The Halloween party was in full swing, and by dinner, conversation had turned to Great-Uncle Percival, who had vanished from Strathmuir Hall precisely one hundred years earlier.
“Most unpleasant business,” said the Earl. “Never found a trace of him.”
“Except his coat,” said Gideon.
The Earl stared.
“What coat?”
“The one I’m wearing.”
A silence descended.
Biffy examined his nephew’s enormous frock coat. The cuffs were frayed, the buttons tarnished, and a dark stain marked the collar.
“Good Lord, Gid. Where did you find it?”
“In the attic. Beside a rather peculiar photograph.”
Gideon produced a faded portrait showing a pale young gentleman standing outside Strathmuir Hall.
The resemblance was shocking.
Lady Morag leaned closer.
“That’s impossible. He looks exactly like you.”
“He always did,” said Gideon.
At that moment, the grandfather clock struck midnight.
From somewhere upstairs came three deliberate knocks.
Mrs MacLeod appeared in the doorway, white as a sheet.
“Begging your pardon, my lord, but there’s someone in the attic.”
Biffy hid behind the nearest pumpkin.
“Someone in the attic?” Morag went pale. “But that’s impossible!”
Mrs MacLeod swallowed.
“A gentleman, miss. Says he’s missing his coat.”
Gideon rose, brushing a crumb from his waistcoat.
“Ah,” he said. “I wondered when he’d notice.”
A Note from the Author: Gideon is my grand-nephew, a budding young actor whose love of dressing up and flair for the dramatic have made him a natural addition to the Blenkinsop family. The photographs are shared with his family's permission.
INTRODUCING:
Reuben Blenkinsop-Greene
The family troubles continue in A Cut Above the Rest, where Gideon’s elder brother, Reuben, discovers that a little theatrical deception can go a remarkable long way at Strathmuir Hall.
First published in Fiction Shorts on Medium.