Join the Scandalous Smuggler on http://tinyurl.com/kkwjzx

One week into our story, I thought I would summarize what had happened so far, and extend another invitation to come and join the fun.  So… the story so far:

It was a dark and stormy night, and the mysterious Phillip Hunt was signalling from a bedroom window to a ship out in the harbour below, when a scream rang out.  The master of the house, Septimus Hambley, was found lying in his bed, beheaded, the curtains behind him a waterfall of blood.

Meanwhile, down in the cellar, Septimus’ son, William, choosing wine for his guests’ dinner, came upon a strange bundle.  He opened it and was confronted with his father’s head.  He swooned, bashing his own head on the wine-rack as he fell.  Shock horror!  Fortunately a famous (famous in the vicinity of the local pub, at least) French detective, Pepin Leveque is on hand, in the local pub, and is called for.  He amazes the company with his forceful command of the situation and remarkable turns of phrase, deducing from the splatter patterns on the curtains  that the murder was done by a left handed man.

William, revived from his swoon, is tended to by his best friend, Andrew, whom he loves with a passion that dare not speak its name.  Andrew, who is in very much the same situation but vice versa, is moved by his friend’s accident to dare a quick kiss to the back of the neck.  But just as they pondering the meaning of this action, Philip bursts in and makes some very knowing remarks that discomfort them both.

Philip seems to be about some mysterious business out on the docks, so Andrew follows him to see what he’s up to, while William steels himself to confront his father’s dead body.  Gasp!  But what is this?  This man has calloused hands and tattoos!  This is not William’s father at all.  There must have been two beheadings!

But William is a smart cookie, and it occurs to him, as he’s walking down the family portrait gallery how very waxy and strange the skin of the dead head had looked, how he hadn’t looked close enough to see the severed neck.  OMG!  Could it be a waxwork head?

Rather than put his master through the potential anguish of handling his dead father’s head the family retainer, Hastings, picks up the grisly object and reveals that it is indeed a wax head.  Maybe Septimus is still alive after all?

William thanks Hastings, little realizing that the man harbours more than a professional affection for him.

Meanwhile, Andrew (who is a nice lad, but a little blond) having lost Philip in the rainy dark decides it is a good idea to walk up to a group of rough looking sailors and say ‘excuse me, gentlemen?’  Knocked out by a two by four to the head, he is hauled into the presence of the man in charge and wakes up for long enough to realize it is Septimus Hambley, William’s supposedly dead father, before darkness takes him once more.

~*~*~*~

LOL!  Allow me to say OH MY GOD! This is fantastic fun, and I have to thank  in particular Jordan Taylor and MaineWriter for creating this powerhouse of twisty goth mystery.  But please, if you think you could complicate this further, or make sudden blinding sense of everything, please do chip in.  There are no limits – a single paragraph is as welcome as a whole scene – and the sense of mad inventiveness is delightful, and can only be improved by more people joining in.

So come and swap a salty smuggling scene today! http://tinyurl.com/kkwjzx