He shook his head and turned towards the door, forcing himself to move away from the body. He had learned nothing more tonight, but regardless, he turned his steps towards his own home, looking over his shoulder every so often as he went.
This time, he didn’t notice anyone slipping away into the shadows. Neither did he see Charlene.
Chapter 27
Miss Charlene Ellington
Charlene hummed quietly under her breath as she used the mortar and pestle to create a paste, carefully following the recipe that the apothecary’s owner had given to her. If she didn’t think too hard, she could almost let herself pretend that she was back in Bath, working for her father.
She was surprised at how easy it was to slip back into the routine of work like this. Not that she hadn’t had ample practice when she was younger, but it had been a while now since she had concocted much of anything beyond special herbal teas to help with Helene’s headaches or other minor ailments.
Her arms had been a little sore after her first day, but other than that, it had felt as though no time had passed.
At least, until she started thinking about all the things that had changed in her life since those idyllic days that she had spent helping her father around his practice.
Her father. Every time she thought about him, it was like a stab to her heart. She wondered where the man was now, and if he was even alive. She wondered if she had made a mistake in disappearing like she had.
What if she never found out what became of her family?
At the same time, every time she thought about what her life would be like if she had come back, she thought she might be sick.
She would have allowed herself to be pressured into an engagement, and an eventual marriage, to the Marquess. She would have found herself living under the roof of a terrible man, probably never seeing her father or her aunt again either way.
She was sure that she wouldn’t have been allowed to see Eric again. And that thought made her certain that she had made the right decision, even if it meant that every day, she worried for her father.
For the most part, however, she tried not to think about any of it. She focused on her work at the apothecary, following her directions to the letter, and when she went to her room in the evenings, she forced herself to empty her mind as she lay down to sleep.
She had spent many a night, this past week, staring blankly up at the ceiling. But she had gotten good at refusing to let the thoughts into her head.
She was so engrossed in her work now that she barely noticed when someone she recognized, and more importantly someone who might have recognized her, came into the shop.
That is, until: “Charlene?” the other woman asked incredulously.
Charlene looked guilty up at her, a lifetime’s worth of responding to her name making the action reflexive. In her head, she swore up and down: it was one of the other ladies from her circle, no doubt here to buy one of Miss Anne’s perfumes.
At the last moment, she remembered that she was no longer ‘Charlene’ but ‘Teresa’. But the damage had been done.
“It is you!” the other woman said, sounding scandalized. “And working with medicines, of all things. Disgusting!”
Her raised voice was enough to draw the owner of the shop out of the back room. By this point, Elizabeth had her hands on her hips. “Miss Anne, I would have thought better of you,” she scolded the older woman. “Taking in the daughter of a murderer, and a witch herself, and helping her to exact her revenge! Oh, I’ll never shop here again.”
Miss Anne looked shocked. “Whatever do you mean?” she asked Elizabeth, looking back and forth between the two younger women in puzzlement.
Elizabeth pointed a shaking finger at Charlene. “That woman is none other than Charlene Ellington. Don’t tell me that she’s deceived you!”
Miss Anne frowned. “Teresa, is this true?” she asked.
Elizabeth gave a bitter laugh. “Teresa?” she scoffed. “Teresa isn’t her name. It’s Charlene!”
Charlene tried to find some way out of the situation. But what was she to do? Invent a twin? She doubted that that would work.
Besides, Elizabeth wasn’t through yet. “Oh, didn’t you wonder how the woman knew how to make medicines?” she asked. “She was trained by her father. Dr. Ellington! I’m sure you’ve heard his name.”
Miss Anne was beginning to look appalled. “And to think that I allowed you to stay here,” she said. “To stay in my spare room!” She sounded as though she might faint.
“I’m not a murderer,” Charlene pleaded. “Believe whatever you might wish about my father, but I had nothing to do with Lord Henrich’s death, and I certainly am not planning harm to anyone else!”
Miss Anne shook her head, looking sad. Elizabeth still had hatred in her gaze.
Charlene had never done anything to make Elizabeth hate her. She had barely even known the other woman. But it seemed that none of that mattered now. No matter where Charlene went, her reputation preceded her. Even if she had managed to save her father, this was the way that things must be.
She was glad, in that moment, that at least she hadn’t bothered with marrying the Marquess. If she was to be scorned, then at least this lifestyle, no matter how uncomfortable, allowed her to feel almost normal for a limited while.
She was certain now that even if she had married the Marquess, she would never have been able to return to a life in which she moved amongst the rest of society. Her reputation would never recover from any of this.
In spite of the fact that she was still absolutely certain that her father had been innocent all along.
“I’m sorry, child,” Miss Anne said, even though she didn’t sound apologetic in the slightest. “I’m afraid that you must go. I cannot bring down shame and suspicion upon my shop. This apothecary has belonged to my family for three generations now!”
Charlene swallowed hard, but she knew better than to beg to keep her position. As much as she hated the idea of facing the streets again, she wouldn’t give Elizabeth the satisfaction of seeing her pleas. Besides, now that she had been found once, it was only a matter of time before the rest of them arrived.
If Charlene truly wished to keep her anonymity, to disappear, then she needed to go elsewhere.
She held her head high as she moved to collect the few belongings that she had brought with her to Miss Anne’s. Then, she headed out into London.
She didn’t have enough money that she could waste it on lodging for the night, not even in the cruder parts of the city. Not only that but her luck seemed to have all run out now. She couldn’t find anyone who was willing to take her in, as an apothecary’s assistant or otherwise.
She felt as though the entire city knew her story and wanted nothing more to do with her.
Again, she thought about returning to her aunt’s place. But what was she to do there? She had no idea if the trial had already happened. Perhaps Helene had already been dispossessed of the family home?
Even if she hadn’t been, what if Charlene’s father had already hanged? What if the trial was still ongoing and her aunt pushed Charlene to marry Lord Ambrose?
Charlene had made her decision, and she knew that there was no going back now.
Even if the thought of being homeless here in London made her panic. She supposed she had known that she was going to need to provide for herself once her father went to trial. She just had never really expected her life to be uprooted so abruptly.
There was a part of her that wished she had saved asking for Eric’s help until now. Maybe there wouldn’t have been such a scandal. And surely if he still owed her the debt of his life, he would have been able to help to keep her off the streets?
She only wished that he had truly been able to help her prove her father innocent.
Charlene leaned against the wall, tucked away in the corner of some back alleyway. She was so dreadfully exhausted.
She looked back and forth, trying to decide which direction seemed
more promising. Was there anywhere in the city where she could rest tonight? Would anyone take pity on her and give her a place to lay her head?
She doubted it.
Slowly, she slid down the wall, bringing her knees up to her chest. The damp didn’t bother her anymore. Her dress had seen far better days already.
She tried to keep her eyes open, but she knew she wasn’t going to manage to keep awake for much longer. And what did it matter, really? She doubted that anyone would bother her. She had nothing left for them to steal. She was dressed dirtier than a street urchin, and she barely had two coins to rub together.
They would last her for food for a few more days, she hoped. What then? Would she have to steal? Perhaps she truly was no better than the murderess that they had all said she was.
She sighed softly, leaning her head to the side, against the worn stone of the wall. If only she could have gone to Eric. If only she could have trusted one person in this world.
She knew it wasn’t fair for her to resent his actions. He had to protect his reputation. She knew that. He had done the best that he could. But he couldn’t get involved in such a scandal, not when seemingly everyone in the entire city believed that her father had been the one to murder Lord Henrich.
She felt a stab of anger go through her at that thought. She knew, she knew, that her father hadn’t been the one to poison Lord Henrich. Whether the man was already hanged or not, she was suddenly filled with the desire to clear the doctor’s name.
She harbored no illusions: even if she managed to clear her father’s name now, there would be no return to society for her. She had no desire to ever go back, especially not while knowing that she would have to watch Eric marry someone else.
She couldn’t let her father’s name go sullied as it was, though. She simply couldn’t leave things the way that they were.
She frowned, remembering what Eric had said, before he had given up on helping her with her father’s case. Harvey Parsons. She knew that her father had had an apprentice named Harvey a while back. It had been not long after Charlene left Bath to come live with her aunt in London.
She had met Harvey a couple times, she thought, but she couldn’t remember him well. She hadn’t liked the man, if she remembered correctly.
However, she wasn’t sure if that was because of his temperament or because she resented the fact that he had essentially taken over what she had always viewed as her place by her father’s side.
She wished that she had started attempting to find information about Harvey the moment Eric had mentioned him, instead of simply trusting it all to Eric.
Of course, there had been so much scandal hanging over her head that it was doubtful that she would have been successful in gathering much information.
Now, though, she had nothing to lose.
Charlene’s hands clenched into fists. She was going to discover who this Harvey character was, she swore to herself. And if she determined that he was, in fact, the man who had framed her father, she was going to exact her revenge.
It was the only thing left for her to do.
With that determination boiling through her, she finally drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 28
Lord Eric Cumberland, Duke of Havenport
Eric had to admit, he was shocked to find another lead on Harvey Parsons. The man had been so careful in covering his tracks all this time, and yet it seemed that now, he was starting to get sloppy. Careless, even.
Was it because he was certain that he had won? Dr. Ellington’s trial would be held in no time at all, and everyone seemed certain that the doctor would swing from the gallows before the week was out.
Or perhaps he simply couldn’t help but emerge from his hiding. Eric knew there were plenty of criminals who wanted nothing more than recognition for their work. Perhaps Harvey wanted to gloat.
Whatever the case, one of his men came to Eric early in the morning, the day prior to Dr. Ellington’s trial, with news that he had found a Harvey Parsons hiding out in an inn on the outskirts of London. Not only that, but he was working in an apothecary there. Eric wondered if that meant that he had someone else that he planned to murder.
If Eric could find evidence about a planned murder, then perhaps the jurors would listen to him when he claimed that the man had also murdered Lord Henrich.
Eric immediately called for two of his other men and sent them out together to attempt to apprehend the real killer.
He only hoped that they were more successful this time than they had been the previous time Harvey was spotted.
He stood there in his study, pacing back and forth. But he knew that it could be a while before the men returned. He couldn’t just sit there waiting for them.
He summoned Michael. “We need to find Miss Ellington,” he told the man. “I only hope she hasn’t left London by now.”
The news that she had been working for Miss Anne’s apothecary had spread like wildfire. Everyone was aghast that anyone would hire the woman, let alone an apothecarist. That was the first clue that Eric had of the woman’s whereabouts.
He doubted Miss Anne would have any idea where the woman had disappeared to after that, but between that and the news about Harvey Parsons, Eric thought he might have a clue.
What if ruining Dr. Ellington’s life wasn’t enough for Harvey? He seemed to have grown fond of murder by now. And he had been caught poisoning the young women of Bath once. What if Charlene was his next target? What if Harvey was working in the same apothecary that Charlene had started working at since leaving Miss Anne’s?
The thought sent chills up Eric’s spine. He should have attempted to find the woman sooner. He hadn’t expected her to stay away, though. He had thought that she was merely trying to put off the Marquess’ proposal. But if she was actually looking for work, it seemed like she had totally given up on her place in society.
Didn’t she care about how the trial went? Didn’t she have any faith in Eric? The duke worried that she had given up any hope that he would prove her father innocent. Eric felt sick at the thought that he had disappointed her.
And even sicker when he thought of what sorts of things could befall her in those parts of the city. It wasn’t safe for her to be there by herself. Especially not with Harvey still on the loose. She should know better.
Unexpectedly, it made him think back to Charlene as a young girl, though. He smiled as he remembered her fearlessly wandering around Raven’s Hollow searching for herbs that her father needed for his remedies. The girl wasn’t afraid of anything.
But in this case, Eric worried that she should have been frightened. He didn’t think she had any idea what sorts of dangers might await her here in the darker parts of London.
There was nothing that he could do about Harvey at the moment, but he needed to see if he could locate Charlene.
Michael nodded at him and found him some threadbare clothes that would stand out less once they were out of the cleaner parts of the city. The duke allowed his servant to lead the way into the underbelly of London. Michael of course knew these parts far better than Eric did. Eric had never set foot in Whitechapel before.
They were silent as they walked. Eric tried not to look too conspicuous as he scanned the streets, secretly fascinated by the place. It was so noisy here, with shopkeepers yelling out their wares and a couple fighting near an open window. Noisy and dirty.
He felt even more worried about Charlene. Would she really be somewhere such as this? Alone? Besides, if she had already been discovered here, there was a chance that she had fled even deeper into the shadows.
His imagination was painting a grim picture. Criminals would surely take advantage of a woman as beautiful and naïve as Charlene. Without a second thought.
Where was she? And why had she run off? He understood that she was upset and that she didn’t think there was a place for her in society anymore, but if she felt as though she needed to hide from Lord Ambrose, she should have come to Eric. He would have helpe
d her.
He and Michael looked and looked, but without knowing exactly where the woman might be, it was difficult. He didn’t want to head straight to the apothecary because if Harvey was there, he didn’t want to alert the man as to his involvement in this or get in the way of his men trying to apprehend the disgraced doctor’s apprentice.
Instead, they wandered, looking for Charlene as if she was out on an errand. It was a long chance, Eric knew, but he couldn’t help hoping. As it grew later in the evening, there only seemed to be more people out on the streets. Eric kept expecting that somewhere, by some stroke of luck, he would finally see Charlene.
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