The Mist of Time Ch. 02

Tina had been listening quietly until now when she returned to the question of an heir. "Why no heir? You mentioned illegitimate children; surely one of those could have inherited."

Mr. Prescott nodded thoughtfully. "In certain circumstance an illegitimate son or daughter could inherit if the inheritance was simply assets. However, there was a title involved and no illegitimate issue could inherit a title, and a female could certainly not inherit even if she was legitimate. In any case there was no claim, not surprisingly as claiming the inheritance meant taking on a huge debt." At this point he switched on the Microfilm viewer. He loaded the cassette and started it. Pages of records flashed quickly by until the counter showed where he wanted to be. He scrolled through slowly now until a picture came up. He invited us to come round to his side of the desk. "That is a picture of the Dower House taken in nineteen oh eight." I looked at it with the memory of the house that I had seen yesterday. The semi-derelict house I had seen yesterday was a shadow of the house depicted in this photograph. Even in sepia the house was very much more welcoming than the ruin that it was today.

Tina interrupted my thoughts. "I have heard the term Dower house quite frequently. Why are so many places called that?"

"It comes from the word dowager. As you know the wife of a deceased Peer is addressed as the Dowager Lady, Countess or Duchess or whatever her title had been. The son who inherited the title was probably already married and his wife would become mistress of the house and take the title displacing the widow who became the Dowager. Having two mistresses in one house is a recipe for disaster, so the Dowager would move to what became known as the Dower house and set up her own household. The Dower House at Chetford was called that although the widow of a Baronet was not entitled to call herself the Dowager Lady. However it served the same purpose."

"Keeping the peace." I suggested.

"Just so." Said Mr. Prescott.

"Men!" Spat Tina.

Mr. Prescott flicked through the microfilm and found another photograph. This showed a large house possibly Georgian in essence but altered by Victorian additions. "This was the big house in Nineteen oh one." He said. "As you can see it is well past its best and needed a lot of capital if it was to be restored."

"From the state it is in it would be easier and cheaper to knock it down and re-build." I remarked.

Mr. Prescott paused with his finger over the key to move to the next photo. "Mr. Chandler. Miss Barker told me that your name and the name of the owners of Chetford is simply coincidence."

"Yes."

"That may be but having met you I somehow doubt that." He replied enigmatically. He pressed the key. The next photo was of the big house again but much closer to the main door. The family and the staff were arrayed in their order of seniority. Mr. Prescott pointed to the head of the family. "That is Danbury Chandler." My breathing stopped, I couldn't say a word and my temperature plummeted. I was looking at a photo of myself!

"Shit!" Tina gasped.

Mr. Prescott waited for the surprise to sink in and I became coherent again. "Names." He said. "Can be coincidence. Chandler is a reasonably common name usually in areas around harbours and ports. It is also true that doppelgangers exist; however doppelgangers with a common surname does suggest a relative connection. Do you know much about your family?"

I was thinking at high speed and getting precisely nowhere. Somehow I heard his last question and answered. "Very little." I wanted time and space to organize my thoughts. "Who are the other people in the photo, are they family as well?"

"Very unlikely I suspect. From their dress I would suggest they were the staff." He stopped. "It is interesting though. When I first saw this photo yesterday I didn't spot the discrepancy. Now looking at it again I can see it. The house was supposedly quite large, with at least twenty bedrooms, a large dining room, Morning room, Ladies withdrawing room and also a ballroom. With a house that size I would imagine a staff of some two dozen at least, including a Housekeeper and a Butler. The photograph only shows seven people, including Mr. Chandler. I cannot discern a Butler, or a Housekeeper. There are two Footmen so the rest of the staff are housemaids, kitchen maids and presumably, she," he pointed to an older woman with his pen, "would be the cook." He paused for a moment of thought. "This paucity of staff suggests that this was an estate in decline, which we know already. The other significant absence is that there is no other family present. Where are they? My research indicates that there were family. The records are incomplete but I believe there were two sisters, a younger brother and Danbury's mother was supposedly still alive at that time. Curious!"

I was curious too. Not about the numbers of staff, but about this strange physical similarity between Danbury Chandler and me, Daniel Chandler. My thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Prescott asking if I had any documentary evidence pertaining to my family. The only thing left to me by my mother was her marriage certificate.

"Well that could be a start." He remarked. "If you are interested in chasing your heritage, the B.M.D would be the site to go. It will take you some time, but I am certain that you will find something to link you to the Chandlers."

"Sorry. B.M.D.?" I queried.

"Births, Marriages and Deaths. Used to be in Somerset House, where you could register and do your research. Now it's online. However you need to buy credits to search; it could become costly in the end. Try the 1901 or 1911 censuses. They are both online as well."

"I can do that for you." Offered Tina.

I smiled. Yes that would fall into Tina's sphere of excellence. "O.k. Tracey. Of course, if you let all your other work slip, I shall have to dock your wages."

"You call what you pay me wages?"

I turned to Mr. Prescott. "It's very difficult to get decent staff these days. Thank you for your help, Mr. Prescott. I am impressed by how much you have managed to find. How can I show my appreciation?"

"Think nothing of it, Mr. Chandler. I found this very interesting. There is a mystery here and I shall be researching the archives to see it I can resolve it. History can be very dry and uninteresting at times. Stories like this enliven history. If I can get to the bottom of this I may well write another book. It could attract a different market than my usual fare. That is of course if you allow me to use the facts if it does turn out to be your family."

"If that is the case, I doubt I would have any problem with your using the story."

"Good. I shall be delving further. Anything I find I shall let you have, in the meantime if you would give me your email address, I shall send you everything I have discovered to date."

"That's kind of you."

Tina delved into her handbag and came up with one of my cards. He looked at the name and laughed. "Daniel! Another 'D'. Curiouser and curiouser."

To be continued...