A House of Repute

by E M Jones

Charlie circled around Mrs Henry. The old woman sat at the kitchen table, her form steadied into the mould of her chair and table. “I’m sorry, Charlie, but I can’t. Think of the name of this house.”

  Charlie made a noise between a grunt and a scream and punched an imaginary Mrs Henry in mid-air.

  “C’mon, Charl.” Johnny held Charlie’s arm and tried to pull her a little further from the old woman, who sat in the middle of a group of people like lions prowling around their prey.

  Charlie circuited the room quickly, as if she were about to take off or dive towards Mrs Henry’s flabby neck. Johnny followed her, taking one long pace for two of her small, urgent steps.

  “Please, Mrs Henry.” Ted’s face was red and his features seemed out of place. “Charlie is right. Anything could have happened to Lizzie; we need to find her.” Ted stood opposite the old woman as if facing his commanding officer.

  Mrs Henry shook her head slowly, studying the worn wood in front of her. “No. I will not have my establishment brought down, my customers exposed. He is a peer of the realm. The embarrassment—”

  “Who cares?” Charlie leapt in front of Ted and faced Mrs Henry, bouncing in front of the old woman with agitation. “Who cares? Tell me where he lives. We need to find Lizzie.”

  Charlie placed her hands across the table from Mrs Henry’s elbows and stared at the eyes swimming in her drooped features.

  “Charlie, please don’t shout. My nerves are not what they used to be. You girls these days.” The old woman shook her head and muttered.

  Charlie set off around the kitchen once more, Johnny shadowing her path. Ted took two steps back and stood with his arms crossed.

  The next member of the group approached Mrs Henry to supplicate to her. “Mrs Henry.”

  The puffed neck lifted her face towards a quiet, less familiar voice. “David.”

  “You have created a house of repute here, Mrs Henry. All of London knows that you provide the best entertainment and the most beautiful girls. You were the most beautiful girl in our time.” Mrs Henry blushed, making her wrinkled face seem grilled. “Even the aristocracy come to you.”

  “They do. I won’t have my house brought low.”

  “I know, Mrs Henry. And you have worked hard for many years to make your name. But, Jane.” Mrs Henry looked into David’s eyes for the first time. “Jane, there’s a young girl here who might be in trouble. You’ve lost one already. Help us to help Lizzie. Let us go to make sure she’s safe.”

  Mrs Henry closed her eyes and swayed her head as if in ritual meditation. The room was still. Charlie had stopped pacing; Johnny stood a step behind her. Ted stared, his arms crossed. David looked at Mrs Henry.

  She opened her eyes. “No.”

  “Jane!” David’s despair held them still.

  “Mrs Henry.”

  Charlie, Johnny, Ted and David froze. The patter of Mary’s feet had escaped them.

  Mary took two steps and sat down next to the old woman. “Since I’ve moved here, you have been good to me. You have been fair and helped me to settle in. I’ve never seen you being unkind to Lizzie or Charlie, and you have never been unkind to me.”

  Mary’s quiet voice had drawn the kitchen together to listen. Charlie, Johnny, David and Ted’s heads had turned towards her. Finally, Mrs Henry raised her head and looked across towards the young woman.

  “Moving here and starting out in… in doing what we do hasn’t been easy.” Mary’s hand stroked her bruised cheek. “But what’s really helped me is having you and Charlie and Lizzie to help me. When I was hurt, Charlie and Lizzie looked after me. And now Lizzie might be hurt, and we need to look after her. I don’t have anyone else, Mrs Henry. We are all alone, apart from having each other.”

  Mary rested her young, smooth hand on Mrs Henry’s worn and calloused palm.

  “Mrs Henry, we have to try to help her. Please.” Mary’s slight fingers tightened their grip on Mrs Henry’s hand, creating pale stripes in the creased red palm.

  Mary looked at Mrs Henry. Charlie, Johnny, David and Ted inhaled collectively.

  Mrs Henry breathed deeply, her bulk expanding. “I will tell you where he lives, but only if David is the one who visits. Nobody else.”

  Charlie whooped and jumped into the air. Johnny moved to catch her. Mary squeezed Mrs Henry’s hand, smiling, and Ted’s features returned to their usual position, at ease for the first time since he had entered the house. David nodded silently to Mrs Henry.

  “Right, David.” Charlie returned to pacing the room determinedly as she planned the next steps. “You get going—come back straight away. If she’s safe, nobody needed to panic, and if not… well, if not …”

  “It’s alright, Charl.” Johnny shadowed her as she paced. “We’ll sort that out if we get there.”

  “David.” Mrs Henry nodded for David to speak to her privately.

  They whispered, and Ted, Charlie, Mary and Johnny turned to plan further, their movements swifter and eyes lighter.

  “Hello, everyone.”

  Six faces turned towards Lizzie, stood in the kitchen doorway. Puzzlement waved over Lizzie’s face until she was almost knocked down by Charlie.

  “Lizzie!”

  Lizzie’s head seemed like it might pop at the force of Charlie’s embrace. “Charlie! What’s wrong?”

  Charlie released Lizzie so she could look at her. “Nothing. You’re alright and nothing’s wrong.” Charlie held her friend. Over her shoulder, Lizzie smiled at Johnny, Mary and David. She avoided Ted.

  Lizzie mouthed a question towards Johnny, who answered.

  “You see, Lizzie, the thing is… Charlie… we… when you hadn’t come back here. We didn’t know. We were worried about you.”

  The colour rose from Lizzie’s neck, and she shifted to release herself from Charlie’s hold. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I thought Sir Glynne…” She stopped, having accidently caught Ted’s eye, and stared at her feet.

  Mrs Henry rose. “It’s no problem, Lizzie. You are new to companions of his calibre. And Charlie created this fuss—you’ve always been overly excitable, Charlie.”

  Charlie beamed at everyone in the room. “Since you’re back now, there’s no need for all this fuss. I said you’d be safe.” She jolted slightly but resumed her broad smile.

  “Right, we girls have things to do,” Mrs Henry said, her usual volume returning. “So, gentlemen, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Of course. Mrs Henry.” David turned towards the door.

  “See you later, girls. I’m glad you’re alright, Lizzie.” Johnny patted Lizzie’s shoulder as he passed her. Charlie gave a soft punch to his in return.

  Ted turned to follow them.

  “Thank you, Ted.” Lizzie spoke quietly.

  He paused to look at her, regret and relief battling for his features. “See you. See you soon.”

  The four women looked at each other briefly, relief bringing some light into the kitchen and lifting the London murk.

  “Right, girls, we need to finish getting the house ready; we are a house of repute. Lizzie and Mary, could you please clean the more delicate items? Charlie, don’t touch my china. Lizzie, it’s good to have you home—Charlie can’t be trusted without you.”

  30

  “So I—well, Johnny and me—we were going to come over, knock on the door and demand that he release you or we’d knock his block off!”

  Lizzie and Mary laughed as Charlie enacted her elaborate knock on Sir Glynne’s imaginary door and swaggered in preparation for it to open. The women walked on a little, Charlie continuing to sway her legs in a swagger.

  “I demand that you release Elizabeth immediately!” She shook a fist towards an imaginary peer.

  “Well, thank you, Charlie.”

  “Do you think I could knock him out, Lizzie?”

  “I’m sure you could.”

  “Anyway, I had Johnny with me, and not many people are bigger than him.”

  “You’d have to knock out a few
servants first to get to him.”

  “I’d have left them to Johnny, and I would have looked for Sir G himself, and then Johnny would have come behind as back-up.” Charlie threw a few more benign punches into the cool September air.

  “I’m pleased you didn’t need to save me.”

  “Me too.” Charlie squeezed Lizzie’s hand, and they swung their arms towards The Alhambra. “No engagements with royalty tonight then, Lizzie?”

  “No, not so far.” Lizzie’s brow wrinkled a little. “I’m not sure how it works. I think he just calls if he wants to see me, and apart from that, I just carry on as normal.”

  “Yes, but now you’re like gold dust. Mrs H will have you introduced to all the princes of the British Isles, and Mary and me will still be with the drunks at The Alhambra!”

  Mary smiled silently as they turned towards the music hall. The sun was beginning to set ahead of them, pink streaks spreading into the fading blue. The sky glowed purple over the buildings, giving them renewed life as magical towers in shades of twilight. For a moment, the three young women were striding towards a magical realm rather than a tatty music hall.

  “It’s getting chilly.” Charlie shivered dramatically, and Lizzie and Mary rubbed her arms. “Thanks, ladies.”

  “I told you it was stocking weather.” Lizzie lifted her skirt a little and showed Charlie her dark blue leg. “Mary listened to me, and she isn’t cold.”

  Mary grinned and lifted her skirt a little to reveal a grey leg above her small boots.

  “Oh, you two with your sensible decisions!” Charlie rolled her eyes. “Anyway, my legs serve me well, so I’ll be sharing them with all and sundry for as long as I can!”

  Charlie twirled and can-canned her way along the street, her red skirt flashing in the air and her pale skin mottled pink by the skirt and sky. Mary and Lizzie laughed and skipped to catch up with her.

  “Well, we’ll see. I’m not sure Beatrix will be such a fan of you if you catch cold and can’t do your acrobatics for her!” Lizzie laughed as she spoke.

  Charlie stopped twirling and waited for the other two. “You’re right. But I’ve always catered to unusual tastes. Mrs Henry would find someone to join me on my deathbed even if I was blue from frost. And we’d make a tidy sum!”

  They relaxed their pace as they approached The Alhambra. All three smiled, and Charlie occasionally kicked her leg into the air once more, which set Mary giggling involuntarily and Lizzie rolling her eyes in good humour.

  “Hello, you three.” Johnny’s bulk slowly slid from his post in the music hall’s doorway towards the familiar women moving like falling birds towards him. “What are you doing like banshees on the street?”

  “Us, Johnny? We are respectable ladies, as you know. Well, those two are anyway.”

  “I’m sure I saw your bare legs being flaunted, Charl!” Johnny gave Charlie a hard stare.

  “Me, flaunt? Never, Johnny. That must have been Lizzie.”

  Lizzie and Mary scoffed, and Lizzie slowly lifted her skirt to show her stockinged ankle.

  Johnny shook his head.

  “Lizzie! You’re not meant to give me away. And me prepared to sock it to a peer of the realm for you!” Charlie feigned indignation as she spoke. Johnny shook his head more vigorously and joined in the women’s laughter.

  The three women followed as Johnny began to walk back towards his posting. Lizzie quickened her step to catch up with his calm, long strides.

  “Thanks, Johnny.” Lizzie touched the boulder-like shoulder hidden underneath his shirt.

  “No problem, Lizzie. I’m just glad you’re safe. Especially after everything that’s gone on, and… and Dina.”

  Lizzie and Johnny shared a sad smile. “Me too.”

  “And I really don’t know what I would have done about her.” Johnny nodded back towards Charlie, who seemed to be sharing some further elaborate plans to defeat Sir Glynne with Mary. As Charlie’s arms pummelled the twilight, Mary’s face deepened into pink with laughter. “I don’t know what she would have done if we had got to Sir Glynne. She probably would have socked him and anybody else in the way.”

  “You would have been with her, Johnny.”

  “I know. But you’re her one, her number one.”

  Lizzie and Johnny smiled as Charlie held the evening air in a headlock and demanded answers. Mary had stopped to catch her breath. By now, enjoyment masked her bruises as she laughed with Charlie.

  “Come on, you two. Let me get you girls inside looking decent before you frighten everybody away!”

  Charlie caught up with Lizzie. “Me, decent, Johnny? You’ll never manage it!” She ran ahead towards the entrance.

  ***

  “What about him?”

  Three heads turned.

  “He seems nice,” Mary said, attempting to be casual.

  “Nice? You’re difficult to please!”

  Lizzie swatted Charlie’s arm. “Leave her alone, Charlie.”

  “That’s fine for you to say, with your aristocratic connections. Some of us have to find more common folk as our regulars.”

  Lizzie rolled her eyes and looked away from Charlie. “I’m just saying that Mary doesn’t have to meet a companion for life tonight. There are lots of nice men she might meet.”

  “I agree. But we might as well start thinking about this now. The summer’s over. And he—” Charlie nodded back towards a tall, dark-haired and dark-eyed man “—seems nice. Mary just said so.”

  Mary’s colour had been little at ease since leaving Mrs Henry’s house as Charlie’s company provoked blushes and laughter in equal measure. Crinkles of mirth streamed from her eyes, and combined with her high colour, she looked like a healthy young woman once again.

  Lizzie smiled across her towards Charlie. “Mary, Charlie’s right. It does make life easier if you have a few friendly regulars. And he does seem nice. Why not go over to him? He’s looked your way a few times.”

  Mary’s blush deepened again, her face like the purple sky outside. As if in response, the dark-haired young man looked towards the three women and smiled.

  Charlie nudged Mary’s side. “Wave.” She lifted Mary’s arm and forced the young woman to wave.

  The young man gave a small wave back, his eyes gleaming with expectation.

  “Go on!” Charlie edged Mary gently off her stool.

  Doubt passed across Mary’s face.

  “You’ll be fine. Go.” Lizzie smiled encouragingly and gave Mary an additional push, sending her squarely off her stool and propelling her towards the dark-haired young man.

  Lizzie’s eyes followed her as she walked towards the bar, and her new companion turned to greet her. “She’s looking a lot better, thanks to you.”

  “No, no. Time heals.”

  “Yes, but so does someone looking out for you and making you laugh. We’d be lost without you, Charlie.”

  “Well, luckily, you’re stuck with me!”

  “No, seriously, Charlie—”

  “Hello.”

  Both women turned towards the bulk that had placed itself between them.

  “Ted.”

  “Are you alright, Lizzie?”

  “Yes, fine.” Colour rose on Lizzie’s neck, and silence fell between the three.

  Charlie broke it. “Good to see you, Ted. And thanks for today.”

  “No problem.” Ted glanced towards Lizzie, but her gaze remained fixed on a wine stain on the table.

  “Well, I’m off to see my friend over there.” Charlie leapt from her seat, waving her arm in the direction of the tables watching the show. As she turned towards the stage, she bounced off another bulky chest that had approached. “Johnny!”

  “Sorry, Charl. You’re like a weasel, no keeping track of you. Sorry.” Johnny righted Charlie, placing her steadily on her feet like a flower in a vase.

  “It’s alright. What can we do for you?”

  “Well, I thought you’d want to know.”

  Ted, Lizzie and Charlie were now
focused on Johnny.

  “They found… They’ve found another girl.”

  Charlie returned to her stool.

  “She was down by the river. Been there a while, apparently, a good few weeks. Someone stumbled into her. Poor thing.”

  Lizzie and Ted stared at the sticky bar table.

  “Do they know who she is?” Charlie looked towards Johnny.

  “No, I haven’t heard her name. Apparently it’s quite hard to tell because… because of the time in the river.”

  “She’s one of us?” Charlie’s face had clouded and the mischief was gone from her eyes. “Like Lizzie and me. One of us.” She gestured between herself and Lizzie, swaying her arm aggressively.

  “Yes, they think she was like you.”

  “Bastard.” Charlie’s face was scrunched into an angry ball. “We have to do something. We have to catch the bastard.”

  “How, Charl?”

  “I don’t know. But nobody else is doing anything. What if it had been one of us? What if it had been Lizzie?”

  Ted, Johnny and Lizzie turned to look at Charlie. Tears and determination gathered in her eyes.

  “You know I’ll help, Charl. Whatever you need.”

  “And me, Charlie.” Lizzie squeezed Charlie’s hand across the table.

  “And so will I.” Ted looked towards Charlie. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.” He reddened a little and glanced towards Lizzie.

  31

  It began as a mild discomfort, then the smell continued to waft towards them; it became denser, invading through their noses. As Lizzie and Charlie moved closer to the river, the stench entered their sinews and grew overwhelming. Both women covered their faces with their hands involuntarily.

  “Come on.” Charlie pulled at Lizzie a little, who grimaced and walked on towards the source of the smell.

  A dirty sheet covered an almost-human shape at the river’s edge. Charlie nodded towards it. A shape of a head was discernible and the curve down the neck towards the torso. The sheet was streaked brown in places, making the body look like a discarded mummy. It lay in rubbish and dirt, the ground damp and worn by the river’s flow. The river bed was etched, revealing generations of waste, like London’s shorn and discarded skin. Dirty water seeped upwards towards the sheet’s head, as if the ground would absorb the body like another piece of London waste.