The Isolated Séance

ContentsCoverAlso by Jeri WestersonTitle PageCopyrightPraise for Jeri WestersonAbout the AuthorDedicationAcknowledgmentsEpigraphGlossaryChapter One: BadgerChapter Two: WatsonChapter Three: BadgerChapter Four: BadgerChapter Five: WatsonChapter Six: BadgerChapter Seven: WatsonChapter Eight: BadgerChapter Nine: BadgerChapter Ten: WatsonChapter Eleven: BadgerChapter Twelve: WatsonChapter Thirteen: BadgerChapter Fourteen: BadgerChapter Fifteen: WatsonChapter Sixteen: BadgerChapter Seventeen: WatsonChapter Eighteen: BadgerChapter Nineteen: WatsonChapter Twenty: BadgerChapter Twenty-One: BadgerChapter Twenty-Two: WatsonChapter Twenty-Three: WatsonChapter Twenty-Four: BadgerChapter Twenty-Five: WatsonChapter Twenty-Six: BadgerChapter Twenty-Seven: BadgerChapter Twenty-Eight: WatsonAfterword Also by Jeri WestersonThe Crispin Guest Medieval Noir seriesVEIL OF LIESSERPENT IN THE THORNSTHE DEMON’S PARCHMENTTROUBLED BONESBLOOD LANCESHADOW OF THE ALCHEMISTCUP OF BLOODTHE SILENCE OF STONES *A MAIDEN WEEPING *SEASON OF BLOOD *THE DEEPEST GRAVE *TRAITOR’S CODEX *SWORD OF SHADOWS *SPITEFUL BONES *THE DEADLIEST SIN *A King’s Fool mysteries COURTING DRAGONS *Other titlesTHOUGH HEAVEN FALLROSES IN THE TEMPEST* available from Severn House THE ISOLATED SÉANCE Jeri Westerson This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. First world edition published in Great Britain and the USA in 2023by Severn House, an imprint of Canongate Books Ltd,14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE.This eBook edition first published in 2023 by Severn House,an imprint of Canongate Books Ltd.severnhouse.comCopyright © Jeri Westerson, 2023All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. The right of Jeri Westerson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-1074-6 (cased)ISBN-13: 978-1-4483-1075-3 (e-book)This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental.This eBook produced byPalimpsest Book Production Limited,Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland Praise for Jeri Westerson“Everything a reader could want in a Victorian mystery: dastardly deeds on dark London streets, cockney squalor, upper-crust skullduggery, a hint of the supernatural, even a stalwart sidekick named Watson … Sly Sherlockian fun”Steve Hockensmith, author of the Holmes on the Range mysteries“Jeri Westerson is at the top of her game”Louis Bayard, bestselling author of THE PALE BLUE EYE, on Courting Dragons“The Tudor court as seen through the eyes of wily Will Somers, Henry VIII’s jester, comes to vivid life in this sparkling mystery”C.W. Gortner, bestselling author of THE TUDOR SECRET, on Courting Dragons“Devotees of Alan Gordon’s Fools’ Guild mysteries will welcome this promising series”Publishers Weekly on Courting Dragons“Familiar historical figures seen from a different viewpoint add spice to the mystery”Kirkus Reviews on Courting Dragons“An appropriate end to Westerson’s series. Long-time fans will be eager to see if Crispin can triumph over the past, and anyone who enjoys medieval mysteries can follow it easily”Library Journal Starred Review of The Deadliest Sin“Westerson’s acclaimed series mixes historical detail with a deep dive into the character of a flawed but honorable hero”Kirkus Reviews on Spiteful Bones“History, mythology, and mystery mix in a rollicking adventure”Kirkus Reviews on Sword of Shadows About the authorJeri Westerson was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the author of the CRISPIN GUEST MEDIEVAL NOIR mysteries, the KING’S FOOL Tudor mysteries featuring Will Somers, three paranormal series and several historical novels. Her books have been nominated for the Shamus, the Macavity and the Agatha awards.www.jeriwesterson.com To Craig, who solves all my ills.Without a Calabash churchwarden pipe. ACKNOWLEDGMENTSI would like to thank my editor Sara Porter, my many whip-smart copyeditors, Senior Brand Manager Martin Brown in Marketing, Sales Director Michelle Duff, and all the good people of Severn House and Canongate for giving me and this new series a chance. Your help and confidence are very much appreciated. ‘No, it’s not quite so bad as that. It is the unofficial force – the Baker Street irregulars.’Holmes to Watson in The Sign of Four GLOSSARYBarrow boy – a person who sells wares from a pushcart.Bogtrotter – offensive term for an Irish person.Brown betty – a round-shaped teapot with a deep brown glaze, made and used in England to this day.Bumbershoot – umbrella.Coppersticks – police truncheons.Costermonger – a person who sells wares, particularly fruit, vegetables, or cooked food-on-the-go, from a pushcart or wagon.Crawlers – destitute women who are usually too weak to beg on the streets and spend their time in a twilight in doorways.Cuir bouilli – boiled leather to create stage armor or storage cases.Damme – exclamation: damn me. Pronounced ‘dammy.’Dossing, dosses, doss house – a ‘doss house’ is a common lodging house with several beds to a big room for nightly rental. ‘Dossing’ is finding anyplace to spend the night.Doxy – term for prostitute.Esse – a particular brand of iron cook stoves still manufactured today.Fauteuil – upholstered chairs where the wood of the arms and legs is exposed without cushioning.Fireplace fenders – a brass enclosure around the front of a Victorian fireplace to prevent logs from rolling out of them and into the room. Some are more elaborate, being taller with cushioned seating atop them.High-striker – a carnival or funfair game where a person strikes a button with a mallet to make a striker rise on a measuring post in order to prove the person’s strength by ringing a bell at the top.Hob – a shelf, projection or grate in the back or side of a hearth to keep food warm. Later British usage meant the burner on a cooktop.Knifeboard bench – seating on the top of horse-drawn omnibuses, particular to the trolley-type carriages popular in London from 1875