From Col. Edward Mustard’s Correspondence File
26: Upon the Whithursts
For the attention of:
His Grace the Duke of Brunswick
HQ Derbyshire Yeomanry
March 1769
My Lord Duke,
I am writing to brief Your Grace upon the Progress of my Journey to Birmingham and the Outcomes thereof. I further wish to apprise Your Grace that I have made two Arrests, the Subjects being conveyed to the Tower under a Guard of Yeomanry. This Missive comes by the Hand of Lieutenant Sidney Tallow, whom I heartily recommend and who can furnish more Detail should Your Grace require it.
First, to rehearse the Reason for my Expedition to Birmingham. Every Enochian Gate to the Lands of Dust encountered to Date – including Captain Mainborough’s Original – has been based upon an Engine manufactured by a Birmingham Company by the Name of Whithurst and Bolton. Wishing to understand more about the Extent of our Exposure to these Devices (i.e. how many there be and to whom they have been sold), I determined to visit their Birmingham Manufactory and question Messrs Bolton and Whithurst directly. To keep things informal, I took with me but a Single Aide (Tallow) and three “Advisors” (Rao, Tonkins, and Elmhill).
I found Mr Bolton in charge of the Company’s Birmingham Manufactury. I found him helpful - welcoming even - if somewhat Phanatic in his Enthusiasm for Free Trade. Indeed, he offered a vital Observation: that the Mainborough Gate could not still function if not supplied with Parts and Expertise from Whithurst and Bolton. He denied that this had occurred, and I believe he spoke Truth as he knew it. However, he made it clear the construction of Gates and other “Special Projects” was the proper Sphere of his Business Partner, Mr Whithurst. Whithurst was currently out of Town but he was sure he would make Time to meet us. When Whithurst sent Word that he was in Poor Health and could not travel, we rode out to see Whithurst at his Mansion and Manufactory in Derbyshire. He received us in his office with his Nephew and Secretary, Daniel Whithurst. He did not seem in Poor Health.
Now, I have no Doubt that Mr Whithurst will make much (or have his Lawyers do so) of a prior Connection between Myself and Daniel Whithurst. In short, Daniel had attempted to force a Marriage upon a Lady to whom I am Betrothed. However, while I was aware that he was a Member of the Whithurst Family, I was unaware of his Position. In any case, to avoid making it a Matter of Honour between us, I had deliberately referred the Case to His Grace the Bishop of Winchester and taken no further Personal Interest. I am sure that His Grace will be able to furnish more Detail if required. Doubtless Daniel may have feared that I had come to wreak Revenge upon him and that it motivated his Subsequent Actions.
Returning to my Discussion with Whithurst the Elder, it began well enough. As Bolton before him, he at first appeared Honest and Open, yet as we questioned him certain Inconsistencies arose in his Testimony and there was Evidence of Tampering with the Documentation relating to the Mainborough Expedition. It was from the beginning plain that he was one of the Prime Movers behind Mainborough, not just the Provider of the Engines. He attended the same Dissenter Chapel as Ashworth, Mainborough’s “Spiritual Guide.” He had travelled himself to the Lands of Dust while testing the Gate. I also began to suspect that perhaps he had had subsequent Information about the Fate of the Mainborough expedition – Intelligence he could only have obtained from the Turk. As my questioning became more to the Point, Whithurst sent Daniel from the Room. Some of my own People, Tallow in particular, left at this Juncture, leaving Myself and Rao to question Whithurst.
We had hardly come to the Nub of the Matter when we heard what was clearly an Alarm. That this was a Serious Matter was apparent by the matching Look of Alarm upon Whithurst’s Countenance. He made an Excuse and hurried from Room. I made towards the Alarm, wading through a veritable Sea of Servants and Engineers fleeing in the Opposite Direction.
In the Room from which the Alarm issued I found both Daniel Whithurst and Lieutenant Tallow slumped upon the Floor with scarce a Sign of Life between them. Above them was some manner of life-sized Enochian Manikin. I immediately made to draw my Blade. However, its Demeanour was in no way Hostile.
In the Interests of Brevity, I will say that Whithurst Senior arrived with a Device which, when activated, quieted the Alarm and rendered the Manikin inert. It seems it was a Prototype designed to host a Person’s consciousness. Its purpose was to grant an Ordinary man Extraordinary Abilities and Martial Vigour in Hostile Environs. Daniel had intended to employ it against my Person. Tallow bravely intervened at a Critical Juncture, in fact believing he was saving Whithurst. Thus it was his Essence that inhabited the Engine, not Daniel’s. Fortunately, once deactivated both Daniel and Tallow returned to full Consciousness with no apparent Ill Effect.
All this became clear in questioning the Whithursts in the Immediate Aftermath. However, it was Apparent that they continued to dissemble and withhold Truth. Whithurst Senior, in particular, was very keen to suppress anything that his Nephew had to say. Eventually, I lost Patience with their Deceptions and arrested both of them.
I am no Lawyer but a Man of Action. I was appointed to ward the Realm against such Threats that the Whithursts appear to present. I hope the King will not feel that I have exceeded my Authority in this Matter. It may well be that their Sojourn in the Tower is a short one once their Lawyers obtain their Writs of Habeas Corpus and what have you. However, the deliberations of Lawyers are notoriously Lengthy and Tedious. I hope they will afford me the Time to Investigate the Whithurst Mansion and Manufactory more thoroughly and then to return to London, armed with more Intelligence, to question them more closely, in Circumstances where they may feel less at ease.
There is one more Matter worthy of report. It seems that the Manikin was in preparation for Mr Augustus Finch as a Vehicle for him to explore the Lands of Dust. Finch was the Fellow we rescued from Turkish Agents (or more probably the Agents of the Anonaki – the Shadowy Entities behind the Turks). I now suspect it was no mere Coincidence that the Agents arrived at Lord Albury’s Residence in Surrey where Finch was residing. I do not suggest Conscious Collusion, but it seems probable that his Enochian Experiments have drawn the attention of the Anonaki as a potential Weakness in our Defences to be Exploited. We saw the Havoc wrought by Deborah Gower and her Associates. Consider what our Enemies might do if they controlled of a Man of Influence and Resource such as Mr Finch.
I shall, of course, keep Your Grace, the Duke apprised of Developments.
I remain,
Your Grace’s most Obedient Servant,
Edward Mustard, Brigadier.