Scrutinium Tamar Lev-On

BARGEHOUSE GALLERY, LONDON | NOVEMBER 2007 | TAMAR LEV-ON
BARGEHOUSE TRAIL


During the process I have located five significant points in the Bargehouse building.
In all five points I followed all three characters, to the possible murders.

The three characters you are about to follow were strongly attached to Lord Henry Johann Kent around the year 1897.
All three accompanied his life during the months preceding his unexpected death.

Their stories are bind to each other and to this building, which functioned as the HQ of Lord Kent’s shipping
company, Imperial Line & Co.

You can:

Either FOLLOW THE STORIES SIMULTANIOUSLY THROUGH THE SPOTS (Click here)

Or FOLLOW THE CHRONOLOGICAL STORY OF EACH CHARACTER (Click here)



- THROUGH THE SPOTS
Thursday
18.11.1897 03:00am

A finely polished cart carrying a sharp silver knife stands before the goods’ entrance of the headquarters of Imperial Line & Co. Next to the knife, in an exemplary arrangement, is positioned a bowl containing a pungent potion of plant extracts, and a rolled scroll. The doctor chants the incantation as if it is a hymn that needs to be memorised by heart. Henry shakes his hand firmly and warmly. Wearing his best suit, his thinning hair brushed impeccably, he lays down on the hard floor, and tells his friend “We will soon meet again, to be exact, in precisely 103 minutes. Begin your count”. Without hesitating, Doctor Albert Montgomery Bartholomew grasps the dagger in his left palm and with precise aim pierces his friend through the heart. Lord Henry Johann Kent releases a brief exhalation and dies.
Thursday
18.11.1897 14:30pm
"My darling, stop, wait a minute! How could you? How could you not tell me? I know you are not healthy, but not that you expect death at any time… I should have guessed. It's entirely my fault. Years ago an old Chinese seer told me a foreign man would die. One that I would fall deeply in love with. I was certain it would be Robert but…"
"oh, Henry, I feel the same way."
"Robert returned a few weeks ago. I am afraid he knows about us, and anyway there is no chance that I would rather live by his side than die by yours… no, don't be scared. We will both die, this is the way it will be done. No Englishman will be bothered by an unrecognized Chinese body found floating in the river. Hand me the knife Henry…"
"These have been two wonderful months, better from my entire lifetime. My darling, I say my goodbyes in peace and with no regrets. Do not be afraid, you will die immediately".
Thursday
18.11.1897 14:32pm

Benjamin bursts into the abandoned entrance hall. As is his habit, he is back from a long morning of drinking; nothing in his appearance suggesting the elegant, meticulous young man he was not long before. He attacks his uncle with a violent tongue - asserting that he already gave him a chance and explained his point of view, but his uncle is coldly remote and detached. Lord Kent bursts into tears. He approaches Benjamin, claiming that he has attentively listened to his nephew’s words, taken them to heart and included him in his will after striking him off.
"Liar!" shouts Benjamin. He has just seen Olfield who did not report any amendment to Lord Kent’s will. "Olfield", replies the Lord, "is not to be trusted. At least not by me. I edited the will myself, validating it with Dr. Bartholomew." He is walking closer to Benjamin; his arms are wide spread out as if to hug him. Benjamin is too riled up to actually listen. He hurls "you are entitled to what others are not? You loathe me, although it is me, and not Allison, who stood by you all these years. You no longer deserve a place in my world. You are a dying breed"! And even as he shouts the last syllables he plunges his knife through Lord Kent’s heart.

Monday
12.07.1897 11:05am
"Mr. Kent! --- All right then, Henry… we meet at last. Robert is telling me so much about you… --- no, Han is my generation name, weird it works differently around here. Call me Anna…"
"I know. I still find it difficult looking into the eyes during conversation, especially with a man. I promise I will try harder… --- you find my voice pleasant? Thank you… hi hi… yes, everyone is interested in my story. I find it ordinarily boring, but you seem to find it exotic. By all means, ask away, whatever you want to know, don't be embarrassed… my feet? Well, it is rather an intimate spot. Well, my feet aren't bound, what immediately made me relatively ugly to the eyes of men. A girl's quality is not defined by her character, education or even beauty as you know it but by the length of her feet…"
"Tea? Friday? I am delighted to accept. Robert has been at sea for about two and a half months now, and I don't know many people around here yet. --- we will meet on Friday then".
Friday
03.09.1897 12:15pm

It is a pleasant noon-time in early September when the doctor arrives to a pleasance-shaking visit. Upon his arrival, the Lord Kent, bearing two glasses of water in his hands, hurries towards him. He offers one to the doctor and as if he were a young boy, takes hold of his lapel and draws closer. He whispers that there is someone he must tell him about. She intrigues him and injects his head with future images, images of the kind he has not known since Daphne’s passing… his words suddenly come to a halt when he notices a bitter, pitying smile on the doctor’s upper lip.
A tense silence follows before the doctor reveals the dismal news. After a meticulous examination of his test results the conclusions are unequivocal. There is no doubt or room for error. The Lord is gravely ill, something is consuming him from the inside, and he has but several months to live. The Lord flinches, leans against the wall and shakes his glass of water from side to side. He stares in silence for a few long seconds at the river reflected in the large window where he stands. A pleasant breeze blows on his face, as if carrying along his life’s course. His future, that moments ago was replete with possibility, suddenly ceases to be.
“Perhaps”… he whispers after a long pause, “Perhaps we will go up to talk privately about all that”…

Friday
22.10.1897 08:03am
The clock strikes eight as Benjamin sways through the doors. He knows his uncle is always there, alone, at the same time on Friday mornings before goods are brought in. From his unbuttoned shirt and the stench of his breath it is clear it has been a long, sleepless night. His uncle is shocked but contains himself.
Benjamin begins to ramble about being disinherited. Lord Kent is visibly shaken but, suddenly, the youth is transformed. He approaches his uncle with his open heart, a heart that beats "Laura". And he knows, of course he does, about his uncle's passion. She as well, if he isn't mistaken, is not British aristocracy. You do not get to choose.

Wednesday
04.08.1897 16:45pm

It is shortly after mid-day and an impressive young man, with magnificent reddish hair, enters the building. He is wearing a resplendent French velvet blazer and a shiny starched collar. He glances briefly from side to side, barely registering the common faces gathered there. The young man moves towards the stairs ascending to the main office, and bumps into his uncle, Lord Kent.
Benjamin Menugel greets his uncle and notifies him that he has been released early from his military service and has been back in London for some 3 weeks already. On the day of his return to London he met the beautiful Laura. She sold him flowers. They are about to get married. He, therefore, needs his uncle, Lord Kent, to raise his monthly allowance and possibly grant him a managerial role in his shipping company.
The Lord stares at his nephew’s impudent face. The young man could not have imagined that there could not be a worse day to confront his uncle who has learned but hours ago of his grave physical condition. In a low tone that barely disguises his scorn and contempt, the Lord rebukes his nephew: about the disgrace he has brought to the family name, his life of idleness and debauchery, the womanising, the drinking and the squandering of his inheritance. And as if that were not enough, he brings into the family a mere flower girl.
Friday
03.09.1897 13:00pm


Lord Henry Kent and his dear friend Doctor Bartholomew are slowly descending the staircase, both brooding over the forlorn news announced only hours before. The sound of rapid footsteps breaks the silence - the gentlemen watch as Anna rushes towards them. Lord Kent, whose expression betrays no trace of anguish concerning his imminent fate, lights up instantaneously. He turns to Anna with a genuine smile and she responds.

“Henry, here you are! I came here to personally thank you for last night’s dinner! It was wonderful meeting Allison. Has she returned to Paris yet? Did she like the bolt of fabric I brought her? You know, it is a traditional one. They use it to sew wedding gowns in China. To be honest, I brought you a little something as well…”

The Lord interrupts by introducing the doctor. Bartholomew, as always, is a model of polite restraint, but he is clearly astonished by his friend’s sudden mood-swing and is observing the girl in an attempt to unravel her mysteries.
He greets her and mentions casually that her name came up a number of times during conversation.

“My name?! What?... I must be blushing... What?...”

The Lord untangles the situation by offering Anna a position in the company.

“Of course! I will be most glad to advise you with fabrics, foods or any other commodities you might want to import from China…
--- what?... how could you say that?... --- Look you in the eyes? You know it is difficult for me… --- yes, Henry, I, like you, will certainly be delighted to spend more time together”


Monday
18.10.1897 09:43am


After learning he has been disinherited from his uncle’s will, Benjamin rushes downstairs. He needs some time to contemplate what his friend the lawyer said to him at the end of their recent conversation. Who is the obscure Chinese lady and how should he calculate his next moves? He doesn’t need to wait for long since one of the answers is coming towards him, climbing the staircase. It is a beautiful, innocent Chinese answer.

Impetuously, Benjamin blurts out with conviction “Good luck with taking control of my money. I am informed you are doing a fine job” He turns and walks away, the response following him.

“What?? I'm sorry? What did he say? Was he addressing me? Do I know him? Which money --- Henry!!!...”

Wednesday
17.11.1897 19:34pm
Descending the staircase toward the first floor in a search for the most apt location for the scheduled night ritual, Henry, using his everyday voice, initiates a polite conversation. It is one of those “what if” conversations. Both men are well aware of the need to prepare for every possible outcome. Briefly and monotonously, Henry reviews the last months of his life and talks of his love for Anna and the grief his nephew brings him. He recounts the grim conversation he has just had with Benjamin Menugel and then turns to the doctor and passes him a sealed packet. It contains his revised will which, in the event of his death, gifts Benjamin one half of Imperial Line & Co. In addition, there is a letter expressing his blessings and a genuine and earnest apology regarding the fact he never really got to know Laura. “She and Anna could have become good friends…”

Friday
16.07.1897 17:28pm
"Henry! Hello --- I haven't heard anything from Robert yet, but I assume nothing untoward has happened. He isn't expected back for a further three months. I can only hope he returns alone, and not with another girl… hi hi…"
"You want to know how we met? Well- two years ago an English reporter came to my village. He was working on a series of articles called 'The natural history of Chinese girls'. Now, although I am of a noble family, my parents were always non-conformists. That is why, for example, I speak fluent English, my feet aren't bound or
--- sorry, I am deviating. My parents were the only ones allowing their daughter to be interviewed by a man-reporter, who wasn’t even Chinese, to boot. It is the normal custom in families of my class, that the girls are confined with their servants to the yard, interacting with no-one. That man opened my eyes. --- No, I wasn't miserable at all, only bored. Therefore, when two years later I heard about the English merchants coming to the village, there was no room for doubts. I knew my destiny was to leave my home and depart with them".
Monday
18.10.1897 09:38am
Benjamin pushes the door open and steps into the room. Since he has been summoned by his uncle it is only natural that he should be there to meet him. Instead, facing him is Lord Kent’s lawyer, Mr. Olfield. Olfield has proffered legal advice to Lord Kent and his shipping company for over 15 years and although none can question his loyalty and steadsfastness, a deeper bond guides his actions- namely, Olfield and Benjamin’s friendship. Daily frequenters of the local hostelry, members of the same club, devotees of the card-table (although it must be said that they lose more than they win), it is this bond that has, this day, brought Mr. Olfield here to inform Benjamin about Lord Kent’s revision of his will. Benjamin stands there stunned at the imminent prospect of his exclusion from all future rights to the company. Olfield pauses a moment before making a last suggestion: “Moreover, I would use a degree of caution with that China girl dancing around your dear uncle. All that you lose, she wins.”
Sunday
24.10.1897 02:10am
At 02:00am the door opens and eight men dressed entirely in black, enter the room. It is the monthly gathering of the sorority. The sorority, which has been active for some five years now, meets under the guise of anthropologic and cultural research, although its true culture has a far darker flavour. As always, the meeting opens with one of the members, most of them seamen, recounting his experiences and revelations of recent journeys. This time it is the turn of Captain Robert Long, returned from China only days earlier.
He seems to be in a state of agitation borne from the reunion with his Chinese fiancé and from the meeting, but mostly from what he has just witnessed.
He stuns his audience with the declaration that he has just returned from a resurrection ritual. Deathly silence fills the room. In a whisper, he relates how, with his own eyes, he saw a doctor stabbing an injured rabbit a single blow through the heart, whilst murmuring a rhythmic prayer. After precisely 103 minutes the rabbit wiggled his ears, jumped on its feet and fled the scene in apparently vigorous health.
All the while, the Captain stares coldly and meaningfully at Lord Kent while the latter focuses uncomfortably on a distant spot, turning to whisper to Dr. Bartholomew as the narrator finishes his tale.
 
- THROUGH THE CHARACTERS

Han Anna(Belle) Liang

Monday
12.07.1897 11:05am
"Mr. Kent! --- All right then, Henry… we meet at last. Robert is telling me so much about you… --- no, Han is my generation name, weird it works differently around here. Call me Anna…"
"I know. I still find it difficult looking into the eyes during conversation, especially with a man. I promise I will try harder… --- you find my voice pleasant? Thank you… hi hi… yes, everyone is interested in my story. I find it ordinarily boring, but you seem to find it exotic. By all means, ask away, whatever you want to know, don't be embarrassed… my feet? Well, it is rather an intimate spot. Well, my feet aren't bound, what immediately made me relatively ugly to the eyes of men. A girl's quality is not defined by her character, education or even beauty as you know it but by the length of her feet…"
"Tea? Friday? I am delighted to accept. Robert has been at sea for about two and a half months now, and I don't know many people around here yet. --- we will meet on Friday then".

Friday
16.07.1897 17:28pm
"Henry! Hello --- I haven't heard anything from Robert yet, but I assume nothing untoward has happened. He isn't expected back for a further three months. I can only hope he returns alone, and not with another girl… hi hi…"
"You want to know how we met? Well- two years ago an English reporter came to my village. He was working on a series of articles called 'The natural history of Chinese girls'. Now, although I am of a noble family, my parents were always non-conformists. That is why, for example, I speak fluent English, my feet aren't bound or
--- sorry, I am deviating. My parents were the only ones allowing their daughter to be interviewed by a man-reporter, who wasn’t even Chinese, to boot. It is the normal custom in families of my class, that the girls are confined with their servants to the yard, interacting with no-one. That man opened my eyes. --- No, I wasn't miserable at all, only bored. Therefore, when two years later I heard about the English merchants coming to the village, there was no room for doubts. I knew my destiny was to leave my home and depart with them".

Friday
03.09.1897 13:00pm

Lord Henry Kent and his dear friend Doctor Bartholomew are slowly descending the staircase, both brooding over the forlorn news announced only hours before. The sound of rapid footsteps breaks the silence - the gentlemen watch as Anna rushes towards them. Lord Kent, whose expression betrays no trace of anguish concerning his imminent fate, lights up instantaneously. He turns to Anna with a genuine smile and she responds.

“Henry, here you are! I came here to personally thank you for last night’s dinner! It was wonderful meeting Allison. Has she returned to Paris yet? Did she like the bolt of fabric I brought her? You know, it is a traditional one. They use it to sew wedding gowns in China. To be honest, I brought you a little something as well…”

The Lord interrupts by introducing the doctor. Bartholomew, as always, is a model of polite restraint, but he is clearly astonished by his friend’s sudden mood-swing and is observing the girl in an attempt to unravel her mysteries.
He greets her and mentions casually that her name came up a number of times during conversation.

“My name?! What?... I must be blushing... What?...”

The Lord untangles the situation by offering Anna a position in the company.

“Of course! I will be most glad to advise you with fabrics, foods or any other commodities you might want to import from China…
--- what?... how could you say that?... --- Look you in the eyes? You know it is difficult for me… --- yes, Henry, I, like you, will certainly be delighted to spend more time together”


Monday
18.10.1897 09:43am

After learning he has been disinherited from his uncle’s will, Benjamin rushes downstairs. He needs some time to contemplate what his friend the lawyer said to him at the end of their recent conversation. Who is the obscure Chinese lady and how should he calculate his next moves? He doesn’t need to wait for long since one of the answers is coming towards him, climbing the staircase. It is a beautiful, innocent Chinese answer.

Impetuously, Benjamin blurts out with conviction “Good luck with taking control of my money. I am informed you are doing a fine job” He turns and walks away, the response following him.

“What?? I'm sorry? What did he say? Was he addressing me? Do I know him? Which money --- Henry!!!...”


Thursday
18.11.1897 14:30pm
"My darling, stop, wait a minute! How could you? How could you not tell me? I know you are not healthy, but not that you expect death at any time… I should have guessed. It's entirely my fault. Years ago an old Chinese seer told me a foreign man would die. One that I would fall deeply in love with. I was certain it would be Robert but…"
"oh, Henry, I feel the same way."
"Robert returned a few weeks ago. I am afraid he knows about us, and anyway there is no chance that I would rather live by his side than die by yours… no, don't be scared. We will both die, this is the way it will be done. No Englishman will be bothered by an unrecognized Chinese body found floating in the river. Hand me the knife Henry…"
"These have been two wonderful months, better from my entire lifetime. My darling, I say my goodbyes in peace and with no regrets. Do not be afraid, you will die immediately".


Doctor Albert Montgomery Bartholomew

Friday
03.09.1897 12:15pm

It is a pleasant noon-time in early September when the doctor arrives to a pleasance-shaking visit. Upon his arrival, the Lord Kent, bearing two glasses of water in his hands, hurries towards him. He offers one to the doctor and as if he were a young boy, takes hold of his lapel and draws closer. He whispers that there is someone he must tell him about. She intrigues him and injects his head with future images, images of the kind he has not known since Daphne’s passing… his words suddenly come to a halt when he notices a bitter, pitying smile on the doctor’s upper lip.
A tense silence follows before the doctor reveals the dismal news. After a meticulous examination of his test results the conclusions are unequivocal. There is no doubt or room for error. The Lord is gravely ill, something is consuming him from the inside, and he has but several months to live. The Lord flinches, leans against the wall and shakes his glass of water from side to side. He stares in silence for a few long seconds at the river reflected in the large window where he stands. A pleasant breeze blows on his face, as if carrying along his life’s course. His future, that moments ago was replete with possibility, suddenly ceases to be.
“Perhaps”… he whispers after a long pause, “Perhaps we will go up to talk privately about all that”…


Friday
03.09.1897 13:00pm

Lord Henry Kent and his dear friend Doctor Bartholomew are slowly descending the staircase, both brooding over the forlorn news announced only hours before. The sound of rapid footsteps breaks the silence - the gentlemen watch as Anna rushes towards them. Lord Kent, whose expression betrays no trace of anguish concerning his imminent fate, lights up instantaneously. He turns to Anna with a genuine smile and she responds.

“Henry, here you are! I came here to personally thank you for last night’s dinner! It was wonderful meeting Allison. Has she returned to Paris yet? Did she like the bolt of fabric I brought her? You know, it is a traditional one. They use it to sew wedding gowns in China. To be honest, I brought you a little something as well…”

The Lord interrupts by introducing the doctor. Bartholomew, as always, is a model of polite restraint, but he is clearly astonished by his friend’s sudden mood-swing and is observing the girl in an attempt to unravel her mysteries.
He greets her and mentions casually that her name came up a number of times during conversation.

“My name?! What?... I must be blushing... What?...”

The Lord untangles the situation by offering Anna a position in the company.

“Of course! I will be most glad to advise you with fabrics, foods or any other commodities you might want to import from China…
--- what?... how could you say that?... --- Look you in the eyes? You know it is difficult for me… --- yes, Henry, I, like you, will certainly be delighted to spend more time together”


Sunday
24.10.1897 02:10am
At 02:00am the door opens and eight men dressed entirely in black, enter the room. It is the monthly gathering of the sorority. The sorority, which has been active for some five years now, meets under the guise of anthropologic and cultural research, although its true culture has a far darker flavour. As always, the meeting opens with one of the members, most of them seamen, recounting his experiences and revelations of recent journeys. This time it is the turn of Captain Robert Long, returned from China only days earlier.
He seems to be in a state of agitation borne from the reunion with his Chinese fiancé and from the meeting, but mostly from what he has just witnessed.
He stuns his audience with the declaration that he has just returned from a resurrection ritual. Deathly silence fills the room. In a whisper, he relates how, with his own eyes, he saw a doctor stabbing an injured rabbit a single blow through the heart, whilst murmuring a rhythmic prayer. After precisely 103 minutes the rabbit wiggled his ears, jumped on its feet and fled the scene in apparently vigorous health.
All the while, the Captain stares coldly and meaningfully at Lord Kent while the latter focuses uncomfortably on a distant spot, turning to whisper to Dr. Bartholomew as the narrator finishes his tale.

Wednesday
17.11.1897 19:34pm
Descending the staircase toward the first floor in a search for the most apt location for the scheduled night ritual, Henry, using his everyday voice, initiates a polite conversation. It is one of those “what if” conversations. Both men are well aware of the need to prepare for every possible outcome. Briefly and monotonously, Henry reviews the last months of his life and talks of his love for Anna and the grief his nephew brings him. He recounts the grim conversation he has just had with Benjamin Menugel and then turns to the doctor and passes him a sealed packet. It contains his revised will which, in the event of his death, gifts Benjamin one half of Imperial Line & Co. In addition, there is a letter expressing his blessings and a genuine and earnest apology regarding the fact he never really got to know Laura. “She and Anna could have become good friends…”

Thursday
18.11.1897 03:00am

A finely polished cart carrying a sharp silver knife stands before the goods’ entrance of the headquarters of Imperial Line & Co. Next to the knife, in an exemplary arrangement, is positioned a bowl containing a pungent potion of plant extracts, and a rolled scroll. The doctor chants the incantation as if it is a hymn that needs to be memorised by heart. Henry shakes his hand firmly and warmly. Wearing his best suit, his thinning hair brushed impeccably, he lays down on the hard floor, and tells his friend “We will soon meet again, to be exact, in precisely 103 minutes. Begin your count”. Without hesitating, Doctor Albert Montgomery Bartholomew grasps the dagger in his left palm and with precise aim pierces his friend through the heart. Lord Henry Johann Kent releases a brief exhalation and dies.


Sir Benjamin Menugel

Wednesday
04.08.1897 16:45pm

It is shortly after mid-day and an impressive young man, with magnificent reddish hair, enters the building. He is wearing a resplendent French velvet blazer and a shiny starched collar. He glances briefly from side to side, barely registering the common faces gathered there. The young man moves towards the stairs ascending to the main office, and bumps into his uncle, Lord Kent.
Benjamin Menugel greets his uncle and notifies him that he has been released early from his military service and has been back in London for some 3 weeks already. On the day of his return to London he met the beautiful Laura. She sold him flowers. They are about to get married. He, therefore, needs his uncle, Lord Kent, to raise his monthly allowance and possibly grant him a managerial role in his shipping company.
The Lord stares at his nephew’s impudent face. The young man could not have imagined that there could not be a worse day to confront his uncle who has learned but hours ago of his grave physical condition. In a low tone that barely disguises his scorn and contempt, the Lord rebukes his nephew: about the disgrace he has brought to the family name, his life of idleness and debauchery, the womanising, the drinking and the squandering of his inheritance. And as if that were not enough, he brings into the family a mere flower girl.

Monday
18.10.1897 09:38am
Benjamin pushes the door open and steps into the room. Since he has been summoned by his uncle it is only natural that he should be there to meet him. Instead, facing him is Lord Kent’s lawyer, Mr. Olfield. Olfield has proffered legal advice to Lord Kent and his shipping company for over 15 years and although none can question his loyalty and steadsfastness, a deeper bond guides his actions- namely, Olfield and Benjamin’s friendship. Daily frequenters of the local hostelry, members of the same club, devotees of the card-table (although it must be said that they lose more than they win), it is this bond that has, this day, brought Mr. Olfield here to inform Benjamin about Lord Kent’s revision of his will. Benjamin stands there stunned at the imminent prospect of his exclusion from all future rights to the company. Olfield pauses a moment before making a last suggestion: “Moreover, I would use a degree of caution with that China girl dancing around your dear uncle. All that you lose, she wins.”

Monday
18.10.1897 09:43am

After learning he has been disinherited from his uncle’s will, Benjamin rushes downstairs. He needs some time to contemplate what his friend the lawyer said to him at the end of their recent conversation. Who is the obscure Chinese lady and how should he calculate his next moves? He doesn’t need to wait for long since one of the answers is coming towards him, climbing the staircase. It is a beautiful, innocent Chinese answer.

Impetuously, Benjamin blurts out with conviction “Good luck with taking control of my money. I am informed you are doing a fine job” He turns and walks away, the response following him.

“What?? I'm sorry? What did he say? Was he addressing me? Do I know him? Which money --- Henry!!!...”


Friday
22.10.1897 08:03am
The clock strikes eight as Benjamin sways through the doors. He knows his uncle is always there, alone, at the same time on Friday mornings before goods are brought in. From his unbuttoned shirt and the stench of his breath it is clear it has been a long, sleepless night. His uncle is shocked but contains himself.
Benjamin begins to ramble about being disinherited. Lord Kent is visibly shaken but, suddenly, the youth is transformed. He approaches his uncle with his open heart, a heart that beats "Laura". And he knows, of course he does, about his uncle's passion. She as well, if he isn't mistaken, is not British aristocracy. You do not get to choose.

Thursday
18.11.1897 14:32pm

Benjamin bursts into the abandoned entrance hall. As is his habit, he is back from a long morning of drinking; nothing in his appearance suggesting the elegant, meticulous young man he was not long before. He attacks his uncle with a violent tongue - asserting that he already gave him a chance and explained his point of view, but his uncle is coldly remote and detached. Lord Kent bursts into tears. He approaches Benjamin, claiming that he has attentively listened to his nephew’s words, taken them to heart and included him in his will after striking him off.
"Liar!" shouts Benjamin. He has just seen Olfield who did not report any amendment to Lord Kent’s will. "Olfield", replies the Lord, "is not to be trusted. At least not by me. I edited the will myself, validating it with Dr. Bartholomew." He is walking closer to Benjamin; his arms are wide spread out as if to hug him. Benjamin is too riled up to actually listen. He hurls "you are entitled to what others are not? You loathe me, although it is me, and not Allison, who stood by you all these years. You no longer deserve a place in my world. You are a dying breed"! And even as he shouts the last syllables he plunges his knife through Lord Kent’s heart.
 
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