A Christmas Inheritance 07: Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come To You, My Lad

### Players

Joseph Chance as Edward Caister, Dominic Allen as Sidney Wagner, Dan Wheeler as Rev. Peregrine McCutcheon

### Podcast Link

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ev2y6-117207c

## Synopsis (Spoiler Warning)

After the intro, we find that while Peregrine is locked up in his quarters, Edward and Sidney must now share Sidney's bedroom because of the shotgun having damaged the door; the two bicker for a small while about who should take the bed, and both seem to be experiencing some "residual madness". When Edward leaves the room because of Sidney laughing like a madman, he stumbles upon one of the hats the man had been wearing earlier which fell off from his hat-armor: the fez is lying on the ground, and it spooks Edward slightly until he realizes what it actually is, walks back over to Sidney's room, and falls asleep.

When Peregrine wakes up the sun is already shining, he realizes it's noon and feels slightly embarrassed at having slept for so long, so he swiftly gets dressed and makes his way downstairs, hearing the other two still snoring on his way to the dining room. He also notices the previously broken door has been somewhat fixed, and that William has been scrubbing blood off of the floor in front of Edward's room, the study, and some minor traces of it on the stairs. The dining room in which Peregrine rings a bell in order to summon William also feels distinctly not lived-in. Meanwhile, Sidney and Edward wake up "in a clinch", with Edward soon rhapsodizing about how he'd much rather be managing this estate than working at an office post and Sidney suggesting he could try and mediate the two by diving into show business. Downstairs, William joins Peregrine and mentions more trees falling in the night because of a storm, and after Peregrine assures him he can procure himself some breakfast, William heads upstairs to Sidney's room only to end up startling the two men inside. They then order some breakfast themselves, and once William leaves Edward apologizes to Sidney saying he's been rather tough on him, but the latter denies that anything Edward said has upset him at all; they both make their ablutions (Sidney in particular accompanies them with some singing) and then make their way downstairs.

By now, Peregrine has made himself some tea, opened up the curtains in the dining room and walked outside to enjoy his tea on the terrace; from there he sees the stables, the lawn, the Greco-Roman temple with it's adjacent ruins, and the front of the maze. There are some strangely blooming roses nearby, which Peregrine realizes are flowering in winter thanks to the bone meal in their soil, and soon enough Sidney also descends into the dining room to find William making breakfast; they make some small talk, William says he's unmarried and has no children, and also claims to be a christian despite not knowing much about the several denominations. Sidney asks about ghosts, and it becomes apparent how William has seen many, in most places, but has never found them scary in the slightest. The three men meet up on the terrace, where Edward also gazes upon the grounds while Sidney tells his friends about his strange conversation with William, and Peregrine suggests they have a proper look at the estate in the daylight. They ask William if he could accompany them into the maze, which allegedly has a brass "feature" with symbols at the center. Once the manservant leaves, the characters realize he'd mentioned the family plot several times with an air of slight nervousness, and wonder as to why. Sidney tries mentioning what he saw on the lawn last night but is interrupted by William returning to the terrace and helping them decide how to split up: they settle on Edward and Peregrine walking towards the family plot whilst William accompanies Sidney through the maze.

Peregrine in particular wishes to check out the herb garden near the family plot, which also has a small fountain adorned with a statue in the middle; among the common herbs, he also notices various rarer plants, one of which is also colloquially known as Bear's Foot. There also seem to be some wilder herbs surrounding the garden, such as wolfsbane, foxgloves, and other poisonous plants. The statue in the center is a faun or satyr, stylistically similar to the Greco-Roman temple, and which is playing a flute. Edward picks the flute up, noticing that it's strangely smooth and has two swastikas carved into it with the phrase "Quis est iste qui venit" between them; Peregrine realizes it's probably made out of a child's femur.

As Sidney and William reach the overgrown maze, there's a rustling caused by something being thrown: William says it's simply the children messing around, and Sidney asks him who was employed as groundskeeper before him. William simply states that he doesn't think hes ever had a predecessor and ignores the question inquiring how long he's worked at the house. This strange conversation is interrupted by the unexpected appearance of Peter Ainsworth who almost forcefully leads Sidney through the maze saying they'll "put the wind up them", while Edward and Peregrine walk over to the family plot, carrying the whistle with them.

## Important NPCs

* William Purdue
* Peter "Polly" Ainsworth

## Quotes

* "I mean, Joseph knows but clearly Ned Caister has no clue, one could argue that's one of his ultimate flaws." (Joseph)
* "They love grits in Boston." (Dom as Sidney)
* "I shall shave [...] as fast as I can possibly do this, in fact maybe I nick myself slightly while shaving." (Joseph as Edward) "One of those land-sharks comes straight at you." (Danann)
* "It's M. R. James, you can always just walk swiftly." (Dom)

## Trivia

* This episode is named after an M. R. James story, in which a man by the name of Parkins digs up a peculiar flute, plays quite a lot of golf, meets a small boy whom we can only assume is nine years old, and has a very strange encounter with a figure which is described as having "a crumpled linen face"
* After Sidney's song, Peregrine mentions being a choral scholar, therefore setting up the reason why he's acquainted with the choir mistress Lady Marjorie in A Residence At The Bay

1. ↑ Possibly a reference to Isaiah XXXIV:14 ("The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest."), which is quoted in M. R. James' *An Episode of Cathedral History*.
2. ↑ This translates to "Who is this who is coming?"; the phrase is also carved into the whistle found by Professor Parkins in M. R. James’ *Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad*.