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The Consequences of Flight (12944 words) by Tournevis
Chapters: 14/?
Fandom: Murdoch Mysteries
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: William Murdoch/James Pendrick
Characters: William Murdoch, James Pendrick, Julia Ogden, Inspector Brackenreid, Georges Crabtree, James Gillies, Dr. Roberts (Murdoch Mysteries), Thomas Edison, Auguste Lumière, Gustave Eiffel, Marcel Guillaume, Antoine Lumière, Alphonse Bertillon, Louis Lumière
Additional Tags: A host of OCs - Freeform, A host of historical figures, Diary/Journal, Fake Academic Essay, Historically Accurate, Bycicles
Series: Part 2 of The Dancing Suite
Summary:

The following is taken from a recently defended Master’s cognate in History entitled « The Consequences of Flight : The Rediscovered Diary of a Canadian Homosexual in the Late-Victorian Era. »

**The Murdoch Diary, part 2:

Paris

17, 18, 19 and 20 May 1900**

17 May, Thursday

James continues to drink. The past two weeks have made for a tense household. I have not managed to speak to him about it. To make matters worse, four of the ledgers I am normally tasked to proof have shown, in the same period, identical operations between accounts that should not be related. I do not want to write specifics here, but I have taken separate notes. I am concerned, as those operations should not be possible. However, as a mere vérificateur I am not allowed to enquire. I flagged the first of these operations as anomalous, but cannot know what came out of it. Or rather, I must deduce that nothing came out of my notice, since so many additional entries appeared since. Everything balances, there are no errors in accounting per se. All columns "add up". But monies that disappear from one account, only to reappear, just as the same amounts appear elsewhere. I am no longer a detective.

18 May, Friday

James drinks. I smell alcohol on his breath nearly every night now. He tells me he is too tired for intimacies, yet when they occur, his love felt [sic.] desperate last night. He became agitated when I hinted there is a need for us to talk. I've mentioned my concerns about work and he dismissed them brusquely. He won't hear a word about any of it.

19 May, Saturday

James is the same. As of today, I have noted 17 identical transactions across four ledgers, involving eight accounts, all pertaining to lower profile governmental investments. Every column balances in the end. Money does not go missing per se, so much as is appears in places it should not go. My notes are in my desk at the bank. I have not chanced taking any papers with me out of the building.

20 May, Sunday

I fear for what life we are attempting to make for ourselves here since we arrived. Everything is still so new and yet it is falling around me. I left our apartment this morning for Church as is now my habit with the belief that I would meet James at the Monumental Gate^1^ around noon. He never arrived. After an hour of waiting, I made my way back to La Chapelle only to find our apartment in a mess and James gone. It was mid-afternoon and there were two empty wine bottles on our small table. Over the past 16 days by my count, his alcohol consumption had only worsened. Mme M came to tell me he now spends much of his time at Le --- , drinking liquor alone and growling at those who try to speak to him. She says he is not a violent drunk, nor does he become disordered, but she too is worried. She apologized for not having spoken sooner. As I write this, he has not returned and it is late. I don't know if I should go there and bring him home. Why should the bistros here be opened on Sundays?

The main entrance gate to the 1900 Exhibition grounds at the Place de la Concorde was designed by architect René Binet (1866-1911). It was 45 meters high, and was flanked by two columns referred to at the time as minarets. At its peak stood an allegorical statue of Parisian Woman. It was a stunning example of the then-emerging Art Nouveau style and was lighted by more than 3,200 coloured lights. The gate was torn down shortly after the Exhibition closure.