Of Night and Dark Obscurity

by Nicola Italia

“That’s far enough!” A voice yelled and she heard many other voices as she sank with relief.

  It was Val. Val was here. Val was here. The nightmare was over. The monsters were caught. She clutched at her purse and was about to pull herself up the small stairs when two strong arms came around her.

  The arms jerked her forcefully back causing her to collide into him.

  “Not so fast, Caroline. It’s not over. Yet.”

  Chapter 25

  Val entered the building with Felix followed by the two overly eager constables. They were quick to show their desire to do his bidding and when Val came face to face with Charles, he wasn’t entirely surprised.

  “I didn’t want this. I-I didn’t do anything.” He stammered.

  “You lured Caroline here for what? Tea and scones?” Val said angrily.

  “Arrest everyone,” he told the constables as he and Felix searched for Caroline.

  “Not me, Pierce. I couldn’t do it,” Charles yelled out. “They were trying to make me, but I couldn’t.”

  “Possibly the most truthful thing you’ve told me since this all began,” he said coldly.

  One constable yelled out that they had discovered two men trying to escape but no woman as of yet had been discovered. When the men were brought into Val’s vision of sight, he laughed.

  “What sort of joke is this?”

  “No joke Guvnor. These were the men that were trying to escape.” The constable said solemnly.

  “These men?” Val said pointing to the two men held in captivity.

  “Yes, Guvnor,” the young constable nodded. “Caught them trying to sneak away we did.”

  Val looked at the two men being held by the constables and he felt his heart heavy inside his chest. He thought he might be in some horrible nightmare but he knew it was not so.

  “Take them away.” He said.

  The four men exited leaving behind Felix and Charles.

  “Where is she, Charles? Tell me. This will go easier for you if you do,” Val told the man.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t know where he took her.”

  One of the constables returned breathing heavily. “We just saw a man and a woman get into a carriage heading down the main street. She was yelling in the rain and he had her by the arm. We couldn’t hold our prisoners and rescue her.”

  Val nodded and instantly Felix took Charles while Val headed outside and jumped inside his own cab which had been waiting.

  “Did you just see a carriage leave?”

  The driver nodded.

  “Try and recall which way it went and stay on its trail. Don’t lose it.”

  His head was spinning. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be.

  ✽✽✽

  Caroline sat across from the man as the carriage swayed in the storm.

  “Where are you taking me?” She asked.

  “Somewhere we can finish this.”

  “Finish this? It’s over. You’ve been caught.”

  “I’m in no one’s snare.” He said arrogantly.

  “Your cronies are.”

  “But I remain free. And with the jewel of the crown I might add.” He said, his eyes taking in her form.

  Caroline stared. “You must hate him this much.”

  The man said nothing.

  When the carriage slowed, she saw they were outside the Crystal Palace Park. He forced her out into the wet dark night and followed beside her.

  “Why here?”

  He didn’t answer. “Walk.” He instructed her.

  The rain was coming down hard now and she shivered inside her coat. She did as she was told and saw in the darkness they were coming upon the maze.

  “The maze.” She recognized it.

  “How about we play a little game?”

  “No thank you.”

  “Let me rephrase. You will go into the maze. If I catch you before you exit, then your life is mine. If not, you’re free to go.”

  “I decline.” She said, the drops of rainwater falling on her face and mouth.

  “Start walking Caroline.”

  “This is pointless. Charles knows it’s you. It’s only a matter of time before he tells him. Killing me won’t change that.”

  “Oh, I know. But that’s not why I’m doing this. So, walk.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “You’re so smart. You tell me.”

  Caroline shivered and licked her lips. “Did you kill Irene?”

  “I already told you. Yes.”

  Caroline felt the tears start but she held them back. “Just for sport?”

  “That and a sense of superiority.”

  “You aren’t superior. You’re inferior. You can’t feel or love. You’re an abomination of a man.”

  “Stop stalling.” He said.

  She took a step inside the maze and then another. She looked back and she saw him watching her. She could see his cruelty and inhumanity, which had always been hidden before but was now on the surface.

  “How far of a lead should I give you?” He called out. “Ten seconds? Twenty?”

  She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she started to run. She put her right hand out to touch the foliage as she tried to navigate through.

  “Have you left the maze yet Caroline? I’m coming for you.”

  Her heart was beating fast as she heard his voice echoing over the rain and thunder. His voice sounded so loud. He sounded as if he was so near. She looked back and lost her footing stumbling in the mud.

  She picked herself up again and stuck her right hand out. Touching the maze wall, she whirled around the bushes until she thought she might be sick. She wondered what she would do when she exited. She would run but where? Her head pounded and when the hand touched her shoulder she shuddered.

  “Not fast enough,” he whispered as he pulled her to face him.

  Caroline looked up into his face just as another voice spoke.

  “Step away from her.” Came the cold words.

  Caroline turned to see the handsome face of Val holding a Lancaster pistol.

  “Val,” she said with relief.

  The rain was drizzling now and the three people stood inside the maze staring at each other.

  “I can’t believe it,” Val said shaking his head as he stared at the man who had killed Irene Derry and wanted to kill Caroline.

  “What can’t you believe baby brother? That I’m a monster?” Rowland smiled.

  “Why Rowland? Just tell me why. That’s all I want to know. And what in god’s name were you, father, Uncle Edgar and Charles Lyttleton up to.”

  “You want it to be simple. In a way it is. We formed an association. An association to see how far we could go.”

  “See how far you could go in doing what?”

  Rowland licked his lips. “We each had to contribute to join the group. In return, we would help each other in business transactions and accumulate wealth and prestige.”

  “What was your contribution?”

  “We each had to prove our worth.”

  “How did you achieve that?”

  “By shared sins.”

  The rain fell silently as Caroline and Val stared at Rowland.

  “What sins?” Val asked dreading the answer.

  “Uncle Edgar’s contribution was Effie Whitson and Prudence Finch. Our father contributed Bessie Turner. Our dear doctor Odean Barton was much like Charles. Wanted the prestige but couldn’t deliver.”

  “And you Rowland? What did you contribute?”

  Rowland smiled then. “Irene Derry and Aida Harris.”

  Val felt himself grow cold in that moment. “Irene. You were the Lord. Not Charles. You were the one she was seeing.”

  “Stupid chit thought I would marry her once I found out she was with child. It was the opposite actually. Once she was pregnant, I knew I had to dispose of her.”

  “You are a monster,” Caroline said.

  “And Aida?” Val asked.

 
“Ah. Sweet Aida. That was another one you got wrong. She told you that Charles had raped her. Charles just took the fall for that. In actuality, I was the lucky bloke who tasted that sweet morsel,” he smiled. “However now that I recall, she didn’t exactly succumb to my charms. I think I was a bit heavy handed. But I tasted the nectar all the same.”

  Val could feel his blood boiling. “You raped Aida? Not Charles.”

  “Poor Charles. He’s such a simple-minded creature. Easy to manipulate.”

  “You’re going to hang Rowland. You, and Edgar and Father. You’re all going to hang.”

  “Well we did have a backup plan. I was going to kill the little fresh peach here and have the blame fall on you.”

  “That’s never going to happen Rowland.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “And the why,” Val pressed.

  “The why?” Rowland laughed a sharp laugh. “That should be obvious even to a second-rate detective like you.”

  “Tell me.”

  “You’re sanctimonious. You always have been. Everything comes so easy for you. You deserved to be knocked down a peg or two.”

  “And those women you killed? Those innocent women guilty of nothing. Did they deserve this?” Val yelled.

  “What are you going to do now, Val. Put a bullet in my brain. Send me to the gallows. You don’t have it in you. I’m your brother.”

  “I am arresting you.” Val said softly. “You just admitted to the murder of two women.”

  “And Odean Barton. Don’t forget him.” Rowland smiled.

  “Odean? What did he do?”

  “He was weak. Stupid. He made poor mistakes.”

  “You aren’t a monster. You’re inhumane. You have no feelings. No empathy. You’re a concrete wall.” Val shook his head.

  “Am I?” Rowland nodded. “Perhaps I am.”

  “And this is bullshit,” Val said passionately. “Because you had everything. You were going to have the title, the money, everything!”

  “Yes, except all of that was handed to me. I didn’t work for it. I wasn’t admired or respected like you.”

  “So, this is jealousy? You chose this path. You chose destruction instead of creating something. I feel nothing but pity. For you and mostly for mother. She’ll be alone now.” Val shook his head.

  Rowland looked sideways at Caroline and then back at Val. “I may have something up my sleeve yet,” he whispered.

  “Don’t Rowland. You know we don’t have to do this. Come quietly.”

  “Never,” he hissed.

  Pulling out his own pistol, he leveled the pistol at Val even as Val was pulling the trigger. Falling into the dirt and mud, Rowland had a smile on his face.

  “My way,” he whispered.

  Caroline clung to Val in the rain even as several constables arrived. Val directed them to take Rowland away as he bundled Caroline into an awaiting carriage.

  “I’m sorry Val. I know this is the absolute worse time to tell you, but I love you,” she told him as he held her against his chest.

  Val shook his head. “This is the worst night of my life. You are my glimmer of hope.”

  He kissed her swiftly on the mouth and pulled something out of his pocket. “I’ve been carrying this around for ages. Put it on your finger where it belongs.”

  Caroline opened the tiny box to see the ring she had tried on at Harrod’s. “Oh Val.”

  “As soon as this is all over, we’ll marry. “

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “And you didn’t ask, I’ll tell you all the same. I love you.”

  Caroline laughed. “I hope you do.”

  “I do.”

  She held her hand up so he could see the ring upon her finger.

  “It fits you perfectly.”

  She looked at the sparkly diamond on her finger. “It does and we do.”

  ✽✽✽

  The newspapers took the story and ran with it. It was on the front of every newspaper in London and beyond. The newspapermen couldn’t resist the story of a Detective Chief Inspector solving a five women murder and his own father, uncle and brother were arrested for being the possible murderers.

  When the trial began, Charles Lyttleton spoke against the men and confirmed everyone’s worst suspicions. The men had indeed formed an elite club to prey on innocent women and had set out to kill five women including Irene Derry. In addition, one of the members had killed Odean Barton for being the “weak link.”

  When the case finally went to court, it was only a formality. The four men had been tried in the court of public opinion and when it was all over, Edgar, Abram and Rowland, who had survived the gunshot, were sentenced to hang. Charles was given a lesser sentence as he did not kill anyone and had been a witness for the prosecution.

  On the day the verdict was given, Val was summoned by his mother. She had not been at the trial and he had worried about her health. He journeyed there quickly to find her pacing the floor.

  “Mother, are you all right?”

  “All right? How can I be all right? Your father and brother are to hang. And my brother. You must do something about this. Speak to the judge. Vouch for their good nature and good name.”

  “No Mother.”

  “Valentine. This is serious. They are to die. Are you so callous and unfeeling that you’ll let them?” She said, her cheeks flushed and red.

  “Five women are dead Mother. A doctor is dead. At the hands of your son, your husband and your brother.”

  “These women. What sort of women were they?”

  Val shook his head. “I’ll say nothing on their behalf. Nothing.”

  “You’re a cold, unfeeling—“ his mother began.

  “No Mother. I am not cold. I have love in my heart and I care for my fellow human beings. Your husband, your son and your brother sought out women who had done nothing and took advantage of them and killed them. They are the true monsters.”

  “So, you’ll do nothing to help them,” she asked.

  “I don’t want their deaths, but it is justice. Their lives for the ones they took.”

  “And you—the day your father dies you’ll be the next Earl of Banham. How disgusting. You an Earl,” she sneered.

  “I never wished it nor wanted it.”

  “Yet you have it all the same.”

  “I’ll see you’re cared for.” Val offered.

  “I’m going to visit my sister in France. I don’t think I’ll ever return to England.”

  “That is your choice.”

  “And you’ll marry this girl? This—Caroline?”

  “Yes. In two months’ time,” Val confirmed.

  “Their bodies won’t even be cold,” she said looking at him with hate.

  “They’ll be cold enough.”

  The slap echoed in the room and Val stared mutely at his mother.

  “I was given nothing in this life but a name and some money. I made my life what it is. But you couldn’t be happy for me or support me. You nurtured this anger inside until I suspect it poisoned Rowland against me. You are much to blame here Madam.”

  Arabella notched her chin up. “Enjoy your new title. Your new wealth. Your new bride. It seems you’ve gone to great lengths to earn it.”

  Val sighed as he left his mother behind. He had never wanted this. He had never even suspected this outcome and now he felt cold, alone and lost. He hailed a cab and directed it to his mostly empty home. He saw the sky was a dull grey and a light fog covered the ground. When he walked into the foyer, he shrugged out of his coat.

  He saw Caroline curled on the window seat smiling at him. She looked especially delicate in a deep blue gown with her hair pulled back.

  Suddenly he realized that the family he left behind didn’t matter. They had chosen their paths and had paid the ultimate price with their lives. The family that mattered most to him was smiling before him.

  “Val,” she smiled sweetly at him. “I’ve missed you. You’re finally home.”

  He took
her in his arms and kissed her mouth. His fingers sifted through her hair and he felt a sense of calm come over him. “We both are.”

  Excerpt

  The Alchemy of Night

  London, England

  1870

  Chapter 1

  He watched her move to embrace another guest who had entered the room, and he admired the curve of her waist, her elegant neck and the beauty of her face. Her chestnut hair was pulled back and secured at the nape of her neck, which only accentuated it. She stepped back to allow the guests into the large drawing room while the maid took away their heavy cloaks.

  She came to him then, and he smiled at her.

  “Your party is a success, I believe,” he told her.

  “Do you think so, Nigel? I’m so pleased,” Emme responded, turning to look at the small gathering of people as he studied her. The cobalt-blue gown looked especially fetching on her with its off-the-shoulder sleeves and her long white gloves. When she turned back to him, he found himself drowning in her blue eyes.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” he said, unsure of her question.

  “You’re staring at me.”

  “Of course I’m staring,” he said easily.” You are the most beautiful woman in the room. Probably in all of London.”

  She blushed lightly. “Idiot.”

  He watched her again when she turned to someone at her elbow who demanded her attention as hostess. She was only twenty-five years old, but she handled the room like a matron double her years. Her father was a successful solicitor with many high-profile cases over several decades. Her mother was dead, and she had been raised by her father and his sister. She had not yet married, which Nigel found interesting.

  He had made her acquaintance when he had taken a law class at Cambridge and her father had been a lecturer. That had been over ten years ago, when Emmeline had been only fifteen. He had found her delightful then, and as she aged into womanhood, he realized he cared for her and wanted her for his own. He had been unable to broach the subject and found himself in a quandary. He didn’t want to ruin their friendship, but he didn’t want to remain as they were.

  He sipped the champagne and continued to watch her as she moved about the room, filled mostly with her father’s business associates and not people normally known to Nigel.