Panache and the Curious Affair of the Gin and Tonic

[Panache]

Panache and the Curious Affair of the Gin and Tonic


A Victorian Serial told in Chapters

Foreword



Gentle Readers, as I have been wont to, on occasion, relate certain events for your amusement and would do so again, I fear I have a confession.

In truth I cannot guarantee the veracity of any of the parts of the adventure I am going to set for your perusal, for I do not know the truth of them myself.

I, myself find an overwhelming desire at the onset of any literary work to know whether of not I am reading fiction or fact. Possessing a firm belief in an orderly universe, at least until recently, I desired things to be set straightforward in black and white. I have always striven to depict the events that happen here at the Great Hall of X Marks the Scot with close attention to detail, unlike the fictitious screenplays Mr. Dove types away at in the small office reserved for the Heralds of the League of the Moderators that exist only in his somewhat fevered cranium. (Though he apparently makes the most outrageous sums of money from their sale to Hollywood Film Producers. In truth I find the matter of no small annoyance especially as I am not fond of the actor who plays my character in these cinematic productions. The fellow is far too slender to depict my manly form and his beard certainly not neatly trimmed enough. Not to mention that I have never received a royalty fee for the use of my name and image, Mr. Dove is always requesting time off to attend premiere parties with his entourage of young ladies, and when I and my fellow Moderators have broached these matters with him he has informed us to “talk with his agent”. But all this is neither here nor there and I fear I digress from the topic at hand. Though this should come to no surprise for my constant readers ) In any case, the problem is particularly vexing to me to find myself at a loss of how to properly introduce this strange tale. It may be that nothing at all happened. Or, it may be that the most incredible of adventures was undertaken by myself and a few other stalwart members of our noble forum against almost insurmountable odds with the most dire and crucial of stakes in the balance.

All I can do is relate a strange experience that occurred in library at the Great Golden Hall of X Marks the Scot during the cocktail hour, and reproduce entries from my personal journal and the Captain’s log from the Zeppelin Saltire. The handwriting on both is certainly mine though I cannot recall any of the events described in them or even of setting pen to paper in the first place. Nevertheless I shall tell this tale and leave it to you, my Gentle Reader, to make of it what you will.

It all began with a gin and tonic


To be continued