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A Tribute

The Cobbler of Ridingham




Gresham & Doyle (2014) trade paperback edition, 314 pp.

ISBN 978-0-9787634-4-2
$14.95 U.S.





BEWARE THE CREEPING SHADOW . . .


"Hallo! Who's in my kitchen?" the cook demanded.

For no reason that she could divine, a feeling as of some looming evil had taken hold of her. Warily she eased her eyes round the arm of the high-backed settle, to see who was there. What she found acted only to magnify her dread.

There was nobody.

Mrs. Flitch fell back a step, certain that there had been a presence there only seconds before, that now was gone. Afraid that some specter was readying itself to leap upon her unawares, she flashed her light round the chimney-corner, the open hearth, the brick walling, the rush-bottomed chairs.

All in a moment the looming evil closed about her like a shroud. Steadily, stealthily, like a misshapen giant, it rose up before her, bigger and blacker than any shadow had any cause to be, flowing upwards and outwards as it spread itself over the bricks and mortar from sanded floor to beamed ceiling.

Then, detaching itself from the wall, the phantom swung round to face her, more like an angry cloud than a solid substance.

The cook shrank back in alarm. A qualm of panic set her heart to racing. "By the powers," she managed to gasp out, "by the powers, what devil is this . . .?"



CHARACTERS

Mrs. Gillian Aberdovey

A tidy, small widow occupying the gate-house at Haigh Hall; widow of Morgan Aberdovey, and mother of Owen

Owen Aberdovey

Youthful son of the preceding, gone away to sea

Captain Jack Barnaby

Skipper of the merchant lugger Salty Sue

Mr. Bodfish

Clerk and chief reader at Van Ness and Sons, publishers

Dr. Bussey

Rhinoceros-like physician attending to Sam Gander and Mr. Phergus MacWallop, among others

Casken

A merchant vintner in Ridingham

Mr. Cassock

Rector of the Church of St. Mary-in-the-Mews, in Ridingham

Derby

A Ridingham hatter

Diggory

Stable-boy and groom employed at Haigh Hall

Dousterweed

A tobacconist in Ridingham

Mrs. Flitch

Chief superintendent of the kitchens at Haigh Hall

Mr. Samuel Gander

Father of Lady Martindale, and one-time landlord of the Goose and Gander in Ridingham

Mr. Everson Gecks

Lady Martindale's solicitor, and erstwhile suitor for her hand

Gwenda Goodwick

Lady Martindale's waiting-maid and confidante, and her companion at sewing

Squire Goslow

Chairman of the Justices at Petty Sessions

Mr. Edgar Harbottle

Young nephew of Lady Martindale, lately sent down from his college and chronically in debt

Mr. Richard Hathaway

Family friend of Lady Martindale's from Market Snailsby, visiting at Haigh Hall

Dan Hedges

Chief outside man at Haigh Hall

Henriette

An enigmatic young woman, transparently mysterious

Lash

Ill-tempered gillie in the employ of Mr. Phergus MacWallop

Dud and Bodo Llandudno

Bachelor brothers and coracle men, veteran pliers of the marshways

Mr. Phergus MacWallop

Lady Martindale's litigious neighbor, forever declaring rights of way across Martindale land

Lady Martindale

The slight but formidable mistress of Haigh Hall, widow of Sir Pedr Rhys Martindale; the former Lizzie Gander of Ridingham

Melon-head

Ship's cat aboard the Salty Sue

Elzie Peek

Dimpled, curtseying maidservant at Haigh Hall, and a gossip

Constable George Pettiplace

Solid, steady-going specimen of the constabulary race; nicknamed "Timbers" on account of his height

Mr. Phlax

Sessions clerk at Petty Sessions

Mr. Hiram Pinchbeck

A bootmaker of Ridingham, and local historian

Bob Sly

First mate of the merchant lugger Salty Sue

Sweeting

A Ridingham confectioner

Toddy

Plucky little wire-haired terrier, with a gift for nosing in the earth; trusted attendant of Dan Hedges

Treadwell

Tall, stately butler in the employ of Lady Martindale

Mr. Charles Van Ness

Senior in the firm of Van Ness and Sons, publishers, in Ridingham

Woolsack

A Ridingham tailor

Mr. Wormwrath

Mr. Phergus MacWallop's steely-eyed solicitor, by all accounts a formidable customer


Featured image: Detail from Whose Traces in the Snow? by Carl Kronberger (1841-1921). (Josef Mensing Gallery, Hamm-Rhynern, Germany / The Bridgeman Art Library)