Authors: The Quincunx
“I must stay here,” she said dispassionately. “I am expecting a summons. He will send for me. He will expect me to be here.”
I felt a chill at these words for I took them as confirmation of what I had feared when I first saw her. It had been over six months since her elopement with Henry, since her journey north with him, since the night at the Blue Dragon inn, and since his death before her eyes. Had she been waiting all that time for her lost lover to communicate with her?
And yet as I looked at her now she seemed quite composed and sane. I felt a dizzying sense that there was something here that I did not understand and I suddenly wanted to leave that place.
“I have given Sukey some money for you,” I said. “I will try to send her a little more. I am still very poor now but I may be richer one day.”
She looked at me impassively and, deciding that it would not be wise to offer her my hand, I turned and walked away.
As for what became of her, she disappeared shortly after this and you have heard as much as I know of her later life when I described Helen Quilliam’s fate and that of her companion.
When I reached the first of the trees that surround the great house, I turned and looked back once and once only, just as on that summer’s day when as THE KEY
781
children we had exchanged love-tokens. At my last sight of her, she was still standing motionless holding her hands crossed in front of her in the centre of the square of trees beside the dead stump where Miss Lydia’s lover had died by my grandfather’s sword.
The End.
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES
Characters are listed under both first name and surname, with the full entry coming under the surname where one is mentioned. Some place-names and company-names are included.
Advowson
: The vestry-clerk at Melthorpe.
Alabaster
:
A madhouse doctor.
Anna Mompesson
:
See under Mompesson.
Ashburner
:
Mrs Sackbutt’s rent-collector whom John meets in Chapter 124.
Assinder
:
The Mompessons’ steward.
Barbellion
:
The Mompessons’ solicitor and town-agent.
Barnards-inn
:
Henry’s lodgings.
Barney Digweed
:
See under Digweed.
Belflower, Mrs
:
The cook at Melthorpe.
Bellringer, Henry
:
The half-brother of Stephen Maliphant.
Bissett
:
John’s nurse at Melthorpe.
Blackfriars
:
Silas Clothier’s counting-house is at Edington’s-wharf.
Blue Dragon, The
:
An inn in Hertford.
Blueskin
:
A member of Isbister’s gang.
Bob
:
The Mompessons’ footman “Edward”.
Bob
:
A member of Barney’s gang.
Brook-street
:
The Mompessons’ house is at No. 48.
Cat’s-meat-man, the
:
See under Pulvertaft.
Charles Pamplin
:
See under Pamplin.
Clothier, Daniel
:
See under Porteous.
Clothier, Emma
:
See under Porteous.
Clothier, Mary
:
John’s mother.
Clothier, Nicholas
:
Silas’ father.
Clothier, Peter
:
Mary’s husband.
Clothier, Silas
:
Peter’s father.
Coleman-street
:
Mrs Malatratt’s house is No. 26.
Consolidated Metropolitan Building Company
: The company organising the building-speculation.
Cox’s-square
:
Mrs Sackbutt lives at No. 6.
Cursitor-street
:
Mr Barbellion’s office is at No. 35.
Daniel Pulvertaft
:
See under Pulvertaft.
David Mompesson
:
See under Mompesson.
Delamater, Sir Thomas
:
A friend of David Mompesson.
Delamater, Sir William
:
The patron of Miss Quilliam’s father and the uncle of Sir Thomas.
Digweed, Barney
:
The man whom John meets in the half-built house in Pimlico.
Digweed, George
:
The husband of Mrs Digweed and father of Joey.
Digweed, Joey
:
The son of George.
Digweed, Mrs
:
The woman who comes begging in Chapter 18.
Digweed, Sally
:
The elder sister of Joey.
East-Harding-street
:
Mrs Purviance has a house at No. 12.
Edward
:
The Mompessons’ footman “Bob”.
785
786
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES
Eliza Huffam
née
Umphraville
:
See under Huffam.
Emeris
:
The constable at Melthorpe.
Escreet, Jeoffrey
: The old servant of the Huffam family who lives on in the house at Charing-cross.
Espenshade
:
The man whom John sees in Melthorpe talking to Bissett in Chapter 22.
Fortisquince, Elizabeth
:
The mother of Martin.
Fortisquince, Jemima
:
Mary’s cousin who has married “Uncle Martin”.
Fortisquince, Martin
:
An old friend of Mary’s father and the son of the Huffams’ land-agent.
George Digweed
:
See under Digweed.
Golden-square
:
Mrs Fortisquince lives at No. 27.
Gough-square
:
Mrs Purviance lives at No. 5.
Greenslade, Job
:
The young man whom Sukey walks out with.
Halfmoon
:
Mary’s false name when she pawns the locket.
Harry
:
The young man whom Miss Quilliam meets at the pleasure-gardens in Chapter 39.
See also under Henry.
Harry Podger
:
See under Podger.
Henrietta Palphramond
:
See under Palphramond.
Henry Bellringer
:
See under Bellringer.
Hinxman, Jack
:
The extremely tall man who is Alabaster’s assistant.
Huffam, Eliza
:
The wife of James Huffam,
née
Umphraville.
Huffam, James
:
The father of John Huffam.
Huffam, Jeoffrey
: The father of James Huffam.
Huffam, John
:
The father of Mary.
Isabella Mompesson
:
See under Mompesson.
Isbister, Jerry
:
The man John and his mother find in Bethnal-green who is a former associate of Barney.
Jack
:
A member of Barney’s gang and Sally Digweed’s fancy-man.
Jack Hinxman
:
See under Hinxman.
Jakeman
:
The Mompessons’ nightwatchman.
Jem
:
A member of Isbister’s gang.
Jemima Fortisquince
:
See under Fortisquince.
Jeoffrey Escreet
:
See under Escreet.
Jeoffrey Huffam
: See under Huffam.
Jerry Isbister
:
See under Isbister.
Job Greenslade
:
See under Greenslade.
Joey Digweed
:
See under Digweed.
John Umphraville
:
See under Umphraville.
Liddy, Miss
:
See under Mompesson, Lydia.
Lillystone, Mrs
:
The parish layer-out whom John first encounters in Chapter 52.
Limpenny, Mr
:
The parish clerk whom John first encounters in Chapter 52.
Lizzie
:
The old woman who befriends John and Mary in Chapter 49.
Luke
:
The boy whom John meets at Covent-garden-market.
Lydia (“Aunt Liddy”) Mompesson
:
See under Mompesson.
Maggie Digweed
:
See under Digweed.
Malatratt, Mrs
:
Miss Quilliam’s former landlady.
Maliphant, Stephen
:
The boy whom John meets at Quigg’s school.
Marrables, Mrs
:
John and Mary’s first landlady.
Mary Clothier
:
See under Clothier.
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES
787
Martin Fortisquince
:
See under Fortisquince.
Meg
:
A member of Barney’s gang.
Meg
:
A friend of the Digweeds who runs a lodging-house.
Mellamphy
:
A false name used by John’s mother.
Melthorpe
:
The village of John’s childhood.
Mint-street
:
Pulvertaft lives “down the Mint” in Blue-Ball-court in Southwark.
Mitre-court
:
The Rookery to which John and Mary go in Chapter 49.
Mompesson, Anna
:
The sister of Sir Hugo Mompesson and so Lydia’s aunt.
Mompesson, Sir Augustus
:
The father of Sir Perceval.
Mompesson, David
:
Sir Perceval’s elder son.
Mompesson, Sir Hugo
:
The father of Lydia and Augustus.
Mompesson, Lady (Isabella)
:
The wife of Sir Perceval.
Mompesson, Lydia
:
The daughter of Sir Hugo.
Mompesson, Sir Perceval
:
The son of Sir Augustus.
Mompesson, Tom
:
Sir Perceval’s younger son.
Nan
:
A
member of Barney’s gang.
Neat-houses
:
Barney’s half-built house is in Pimlico beyond the Neat-houses.
Ned
:
A member of Isbister’s gang.
Ned
:
The leader of the boys at Quigg’s school.
Ned
:
The Mompessons’ footman “Joseph”.
Nellie
:
The Mompessons’ laundry-maid.
Nicholas Clothier
:
See under Clothier.
Nolloth, Francis
:
An elderly inmate of Alabaster’s mad-house.
Offland
:
A false name used by John’s mother.
Orchard-street, Westminster
:
Miss Quilliam lives at No. 47.
Palphramond, Henrietta
:
The little girl whom John first meets at Hougham in Chapter 5.
Pamplin, Charles
:
A clergyman and friend of Henry Bellringer.
Parminter, Mr
:
The gentleman who gives directions to John and his mother in Chapter 29.
Paternoster
:
Jeoffrey Huffam’s attorney.
Peachment
:
The family at Orchard-street who befriend Miss Quilliam.
Peg
:
See under Blueskin.
Pentecost
:
One of the Punch and Joan men whom John meets while living with Miss Quilliam.
Peppercorn, Mrs
:
The Mompessons’ house-keeper.
Peter Clothier
:
See under Clothier.
Philliber, Mrs
:
Mary and John’s second landlady.
Phumphred
:
The Mompessons’ head coachman.
Pickavance, Miss
:
Lady Mompesson’s lady’s-maid.
Pimlico and Westminster Land Company
:
The company which owns the freehold of the land involved in the building-speculation.
Pimlott, Mr
:
The old gardener and under-sexton at Melthorpe.
Podger, Harry
:
Sukey’s brother.
Podger, Sukey
:
Mary’s servant at Melthorpe.
Porteous, Daniel
:
The elder brother of Peter Clothier.
Porteous, Emma
: Daniel’s daughter.
Pulvertaft, Dan’el
:
A former associate of Barney and Isbister.
Also called the Cat’s-meat-man.
788
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES
Purviance, Mrs
:
The woman who appears in Miss Quilliam’s story and who offers shelter to Mary in Chapter 42.
Quaintance
: John’s landlady at the lodgings found for him by Joey.
Quigg
:
The headmaster of the school to which John is taken by Mr Steplight.
Quilliam, Helen
:
Henrietta’s governess whom John meets again in London.
Quintard and Mimpriss
:
The banking-house which is involved in the building-speculation and is the employer of Daniel Porteous.
Richard
:
The crippled boy at Quigg’s school.
Rookyard
:
Alabaster’s turn-key.
Sackbutt, Mrs
:
The friendly woman at the Digweeds’ former lodgings in Cox’s-square.
Sally Digweed
:
See under Digweed.
Sam
:
A member of Barney’s gang.
Sam’el
:
The old man at Cox’s-square who directs John to Isbister.
Sancious
:
The attorney retained by Mary.
Saracen’s-head
:
An inn at Snow-hill, near Newgate-prison.
Silas Clothier
:
See under Clothier.
Silverlight
:
One of the Punch and Joan men whom John meets while living with Miss Quilliam.
Snow-hill
:
St. Sepulchre’s church and the Saracen’s-head coaching-inn are both here.
Stephen Maliphant
:
See under Maliphant.
Steplight
:
The man who comes to Mary and John as Sir Perceval’s representative while they are staying with Mrs Fortisquince.
Sugarman, Miss
:
The heiress whom David Mompesson wishes to marry.
Sukey Podger
:
See under Podger.
Thackaberry
:
The Mompessons’ butler.
Thomas, (Sir) Delamater
:
See under Delamater.
Tom Mompesson
:
See under Mompesson.
Twelvetrees, Mrs
:
Sukey Podger’s aunt.
Umphraville, Eliza
:
See under Huffam.
Umphraville, John
:
The brother of Eliza.
Vamplew
:
Tom Mompesson’s tutor.
Vulliamy
:
Silas Clothier’s managing clerk.
West London Building Company
:
The company which is the main-contractor in the building-speculation.
Will
:
A member of Barney’s gang.
Will
:
The Mompessons’ footman “Roger”.
William, (Sir) Delamater
:
See under Delamater.
Yallop
:
Alabaster’s nightwatchman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Palliser, a graduate of Oxford, is now lecturing in nine-teenth- and twentieth-century fiction at Strathclyde University, Glas-gow. His radio play The Journal of Simon Owen was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. He has spent the last twelve years scrupulously re-searching period detail and writing this, his first novel.