Flora's Secret

by Anita Davison

‘Indeed, yes. There was an infamous one during the Civil War, the American one that is. Kate Warne was Allan Pinkerton’s mistress.’

  ‘I suppose that’s one way to get a job.’

  Hersch chuckled. ‘She was a very effective agent. Then there was Hatty Lawson and Rose Greenhow; all effective information gatherers, from what I understand.’ His use of the term implied the women were merely busybodies and gossips, character traits assigned to most women and hardly flattering.

  ‘Did they actually uncover any crimes?’

  ‘Absolutely. Kate Warne uncovered an assassination plot on Lincoln before that infamous theatre incident, and Rose moved in illustrious circles thus was able to pass information about Bull Run to Jefferson Davies. I believe you could join their ranks if you chose, my dear.’

  ‘So Pinkerton’s don’t employ women anymore?’

  ‘Not since old Pinkerton died. His son didn’t approve, so the practice ceased when he took over. A shame really, I consider ladies a great asset for uncovering that which is hidden.’

  Was that a direct compliment to herself or was he simply reminiscing?

  ‘There’s something you might be unaware of,’ she began. ‘Eloise gave Mr Parnell $3,000 the night he died.’

  ‘Is that so?’ he drew the words out slowly, his mouth twitching slightly, whether in annoyance or scepticism she couldn’t tell.

  ‘I didn’t mention it before, because—’

  ‘You felt your observations were being treated as trivial?’ His penetrating gaze made her squirm. ‘Under what circumstances did Miss Lane reveal this information to you?’ Flora opened her mouth, but he silenced her with an upraised hand. ‘Perhaps I don’t wish to know all the details, and no, we didn’t find any money in either stateroom.’

  ‘Was Theodore van Elder murdered?’

  Had Flora not been watching for the small start which greeted her words, she would have missed it.

  ‘The coroner’s report in New York said he died from a gastric complaint.’ He inclined his head to greet a middle-aged couple who sauntered by, though his gaze did not return to Flora.

  ‘Which doesn’t answer my question,’ she insisted, not fooled by his mock-innocent expression. ‘Who hired you, Mr Hersch?’ She doubted he would answer, but it was worth a try.

  He raised his hat, smiled and inclined his head, but just when she thought he was about to answer her, he glanced along the deck and frowned.

  ‘Isn’t that young Ozzy Gilmore coming this way? He looks a bit harassed.’

  Ozzy sidled towards them, a hesitant look on his face, the fingers of one hand twisting a corner of his cardigan. ‘Miss Maguire, have you seen Eddy?’ he asked while he was still several feet away.

  ‘Isn’t he with you?’ Anxiety mingled with dread, knotting Flora’s stomach. ‘When did you last see him?’

  ‘About an hour ago.’ Ozzy’s eyes darkened with fear at Flora’s tone. ‘He-he said he had something to do and would see me later.’

  The threat issued the other night came back to her like an echo. Her heart skipped and she drew a sharp breath. She started to leave her chair but Mr Hersch restrained her with a hand on her arm.

  ‘Don’t panic, Flora,’ the German squeezed her hand, conveying that he understood her alarm. ‘It will be fine, you’ll see.’

  ‘I would rather we found him, Mr Hersch. And quickly,’ Flora insisted, turning back to Ozzy. ‘Did he say where he was going?’

  Ozzy hesitated, his gaze going to a point further along the deck. ‘Oh here’s Mama and Papa, maybe they know where he is.’ Ozzy broke away from her and rushed towards them.

  Flora rose to her feet, urging them to move faster as Monica and Gerald had paused to listen to their son’s garbled explanation of what he and Eddy had been doing since luncheon.

  ‘The boy can’t get into much trouble on the ship.’ Gerald's amiable laugh irritated rather than reassured as he strolled closer, exhibiting no signs of panic. ‘The crew always keep an eye out for inquisitive youngsters going where they shouldn’t.’

  ‘I’m sorry to fuss,’ Flora said when they reached her. ‘But I really need to find him.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Monica bent so her face was inches from her son’s. ‘Ozzy, dear. Where did you last see Eddy?’ Her firm but soothing voice contrasted with Gerald’s casual one. ‘He might need us, you see.’

  ‘Don’t frighten the lad, Monica,’ Gerald glared at her. ‘I’m sure the boy is fine.’

  ‘If I knew I’d be in trouble I wouldn’t have said anything,’ Ozzy mumbled into his chest. ‘I don’t know where he went, he didn’t tell me.’

  ‘You aren’t in trouble,’ Mr Hersch said reasonably. He guided Ozzy to the stool he had occupied earlier, sat him down gently and crouched in front of him. ‘What were you talking about just before he left? It might help us discover where he is now.’

  ‘Not sure.’ Ozzy scratched his head as if it might prompt his memory. ‘He was annoyed when we got chucked out of the engine room the other day. Maybe he went back to get a proper look?’

  ‘He wouldn’t have, would he?’ Flora split a frantic look between the two Gilmores. ‘I warned him not to try that again.’

  ‘Really, Flora.’ Gerald’s concerned frown deepened. ‘There’s no need to be so upset. He can’t have gone far. You stay here with Monica, we’ll go and look for him.’ He gestured to Hersch, and the two disappeared through the door to the interior of the ship.

  Mrs Penry-Jones and her companion had already left, but the commotion brought Miss Ames from her chair. She bustled to Flora’s side, a look of concern mixed with curiosity on her face.

  ‘Boys are so inquisitive at that age,’ she said when Monica had explained the situation. ‘I’m sure he’ll be fine, Flora dear. Let me ask the steward to bring you a nice cup of tea.’

  Flora did as she was told like a puzzled child, but couldn’t banish the fear something bad had happened. Eddy was as mischievous as the next child, but Flora had instilled in him that he wasn’t to wander off on his own into dangerous places, or even safe ones, without telling someone. For him to leave his best friend for over an hour was out of character.

  Flora didn’t notice Hester Smith had joined them until she spoke. ‘Mrs Penry-Jones dropped her reading glasses here somewhere. Ah, here they are.’ She pounced on a slim ivory-studded case beneath a nearby chair. ‘Is something wrong, you all look quite worried?’

  ‘Young Eddy has gone off on an excursion into the bowels of the ship,’ Monica said. ‘The men have gone to find him.’

  ‘I do hope he’s all right.’ Hester’s brown pebble eyes settled on them each in turn. ‘Some nasty accidents happen in those places. A friend of mine’s brother was an engineer and he was very badly scalded once when a valve blew—’

  ‘Thank you, Hester, that’s quite enough!’ Monica cut her off just as the steward arrived with a tray.

  Monica fussed about arranging a folding table and had the tray set on top, where she fiddled with cups and saucers. ‘Now drink this tea, Flora, you’re shaking.’ She pushed a cup of steaming brew in Flora’s hands. ‘Though I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. I expect he’s found another friend to play with, and lost track of time.’

  Hester fidgeted under the weight of Monica’s hostile stare, until she finally took the hint and left.

  ‘Stupid woman,’ Monica muttered as Hester returned to Mrs Penry-Jones’s circle.

  Ozzy made to rise but she wagged a finger at him. ‘You stay there, and don’t say a word unless you remember something.’

  ‘Anyone would think I lost him.’ Ozzy hunched, his arms folded, his sulky expression half hidden by a hank of wayward fair hair.

  Gus Crowe appeared from nowhere and propped an elbow on the back of Flora’s steamer chair, his free hand drawing circles in the wood with a fingernail. ‘Heard young Eddy’s gone missing. Miss Smith is quite right though, those companionways are slippery and it’s mostly in darkness. Hope he hasn’t taken a tumble.’
<
br />   ‘Do be quiet, Crowe!’ Miss Ames snapped. ‘You’re not helping the situation.’

  Flora’s nerves tightened until they threatened to snap. She should have gone with Gerald and Mr Hersch, not that she could have done any good, although it might have been better than being the focus of all these disapproving stares. Obediently she drank her tea, though it was the last thing she wanted. However it seemed to calm Monica, who was oblivious of the waiters who had removed the cloths from all the tables and stood around, fidgeting.

  ‘Miss Maguire?’ The German returned, his hands braced on the table. ‘I ran into Bunny Harrington on deck, who has joined the search. Eddy wasn’t in the engine room, so he and Gerald have gone to search the public rooms. He wanted you to know.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Flora breathed slightly easier as images of escaping steam and hot furnaces left her head. ‘Did they say where they were going?’

  ‘Eddy is familiar with the upper deck, so they’ll try there first. I’ll go and assist them, but I assure you someone will let you know the minute he’s found.’ He pushed himself upright and turned to leave.

  Ozzy’s fierce expression reminded Flora of something and she called him back, ‘Mr Hersch!’

  He paused and looked over his shoulder.

  ‘The boys like to play pirates. Maybe you could check the lifeboats?’

  Hersch nodded and left.

  ‘Ozzy?’ Monica drew the word out slowly. ‘What’s this about pirates and lifeboats?’

  ‘Now I am in trouble,’ Ozzy muttered, and slumped lower in his seat.

  Flora stood the inaction for a full ten minutes before she pushed herself to her feet. ‘I know you’re all being kind, but I can’t just sit here.’

  ‘What do you hope to do, my dear?’ Monica’s puzzled features indicated the idea of doing anything more constructive had never occurred to her.

  ‘I have to go and look for him.’

  Grabbing her bag and shawl, she pushed through the door to the interior lobby, taking the elegant oak staircase to the promenade deck two at a time, ignoring the odd looks and impatient huffs of middle-aged ladies who made disparaging remarks about the young as she shoved past them.

  Outside again, she found Gerald and a crewman had propped a short ladder against a lifeboat, while Bunny had climbed to the top, the canvas peeled back to look inside.

  ‘Any sign of him?’ Flora called, shielding her eyes with one hand.

  ‘No!’ Bunny called back, grasping the sides on his downward climb. ‘We’ve only checked a couple so far.’

  ‘Not here either!’ Mr Hersch climbed the ladder that leaned against the lifeboat behind and unhooked the canvas covering. He shook his head at the sailor who held the ladder, then stepped off the fender onto the deck with surprising agility for an older man, slapping dust from his hands as he approached her. ‘Are you sure there’s nowhere else you can think of where he might go?’

  Flora cast her mind back to her last conversation with Eddy that morning. ‘He was looking forward to listening to the Gilmores’ gramophone. But that’s in their suite.’

  ‘Which is the first place Gerald looked after the engine room.’ Bunny jumped down the last two steps of the ladder and came to her side. ‘What else is he interested in?’

  ‘Your motor car.’ Flora’s throat burned.

  Bunny bent his head close, his breath warm in her ear. ‘Don’t worry, Flora. We’ll find him.’

  Her eyes welled and she nodded, hoping he was right. She wished she had told him about the threat, but some part of her had refused to believe it was real. With Max’s near death and Eloise’s murder, a whispered voice in a corner had diminished in importance. She had convinced herself it meant nothing and neither she nor Eddy could be touched.

  Now she had put Eddy in danger, for which she should never forgive herself.

  ‘There are a few storerooms and empty areas on the lower deck,’ Mr Hersch’s voice broke into her thoughts. ‘We’ll take a look there next.’

  ‘What about the other lifeboats?’ Flora asked, wiping a tear from her cheek.

  ‘I’ve set the crew to searching those.’ Hersch indicated where two sailors had propped a ladder onto the lifeboat on the opposite deck.

  They filed through the door into the interior rooms of the structure, past the communal bathroom and down three flights of stairs into an uncarpeted hallway lit by a symmetrical row of electric lights. Pipes ran along the ceiling above their heads and plain wooden doors ran down both sides at intervals, the grind and roar of the engines loud enough for them to shout. Gerald and Bunny moved along the row, opening each one alternately, assisted by a steward with a bunch of keys who obligingly unlocked each one.

  ‘Why is everything under lock and key?’ Flora demanded, impatient by the time they had peered into the sixth room in a row which held little but packing cases and foodstuffs stacked on rows of shelves. ‘There’s nothing much down here.’

  ‘Stowaways,’ the steward said without looking at her. ‘Security has to be top class to keep them out.’

  As they turned a corner, Flora heard a faint but repeated sound above the engine's low roar. She cocked her head and grabbed Bunny’s arm. ‘Listen!’

  ‘I can’t hear anything,’ Gerald said. ‘Everything echoes down here.’

  ‘Bunny held up a hand for silence. ‘It’s coming from along there.’ He pointed to the far end of the hallway, where growing closer, the noise turned from a faint indistinctive sound to a muffled yell and an occasional thump from behind a door. ‘What’s in here?’ Bunny pointed.

  ‘The darkroom, sir. It’s only used when a passenger wants some photographs developed.’

  ‘Get it open, man!’ Bunny instructed.

  The steward rattled the pile of keys in search of the appropriate one, then flung the door open, revealing a dishevelled and dusty Eddy who blinked as the light hit his face.

  ‘I’ve been banging and calling for ages!’ Eddy said, his face contorted in anger. ‘Where have you been?’

  ‘Eddy!’ Ignoring his grubby state, Flora threw her arms around him. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Steady on, Flora.’ Eddy shrugged her off and scrubbed at his head with one hand, yawning.

  ‘What happened, young man?’ Mr Hersch asked from behind them.

  ‘I told you he was merely up to some jape,’ Gerald said, openly relieved.

  ‘I wanted to see how photographs are developed,’ Eddy explained, brushing dust and wood shavings from his blazer. ‘I’ve never seen it done before and the door was open, but no one was about to show me. I was going to leave, but the door slammed behind me and when I tried to open it again, it was locked.’ He licked his lips and squinted up at Flora. ‘I’m hot and thirsty. Could I have a drink of lemonade?’

  ‘We’ll get you one in a moment,’ Bunny answered for her. ‘Eddy, how did the door shut and lock all by itself?’

  He shrugged. ‘The key was in the lock when I got here so I went in. Then it closed and I heard the lock turn. I called out but no one heard me.’

  ‘Or they did and ignored you.’ Flora murmured burying the rest of that thought. ‘Maybe the deck tilted and it closed the door?’ she said instead, tightening her arm round Eddy’s shoulders, unwilling to let go of him.

  ‘This door wouldn’t lock on its own,’ Mr Hersch insisted. He closed then opened it twice to demonstrate. ‘It requires a key, and there was none in the door when we arrived.’

  ‘I shouted and shouted,’ Eddy said, as if he was angry at having been ignored, ‘then got tired, so I sat down for a bit. I must have fallen asleep and when I woke up again I started banging on the door again. That’s when you got here.’

  ‘The photographer’s assistant must have locked the door thinking the room was empty, Sir,’ the steward suggested, evidently reluctant that any of the crew might be blamed.

  ‘Would you enquire if anyone had photographs developed within the last couple of hours?’ Bunny asked him.

  ‘I will, Si
r, but,’ he shuffled his feet. ‘The assistant has been known to forget about the key and leave it in the door. The photographer is always telling him about it.’ At Bunny’s sigh he rushed on, ‘But no one comes near the darkroom normally. There’s nothing there anyone would want.’

  ‘Nothing but inquisitive small boys,’ Gerald said. ‘It’s not a very large room, they would have seen him,’ Flora said, though she was too relieved to argue the point, and hugged Eddy tighter, ignoring his protests. ‘You should have told someone where you were going. Who knows when you might have been found?’

  ‘Well, at least until the next person had a photograph to develop,’ Gerald said and shrugged when they turned to stare at him.

  ‘I’m sorry, Flora,’ Eddy said, contrite. ‘I’ll take Ozzy with me next time.’

  ‘No you won’t.’ Flora gave him a tiny shake. ‘You aren’t to come down here at all. Ever.’

  Chapter 19

  Once everyone had been thanked for their efforts and an account of Eddy’s minor adventure related to the ladies who had remained on deck, Flora took Eddy back to the suite to change his clothes and give him the lemonade he had demanded four times in ten minutes.

  Even Mr Hersch joined the general consensus that it was no more than a youthful prank that had ended well, while Bunny was the only one who understood her fears, but even he expressed an aside that in this case she might have been mistaken.

  ‘Shutting him in a storeroom is hardly the same as pushing him overboard,’ was his reasoning.’

  Flora had winced at the idea, but did not argue, though a niggling doubt remained. A prank maybe, but a deliberate one intended to scare her. And Eddy.

  Her suggestion to Eddy that he sit quietly with a book until tea time, he greeted without protest.

  ‘Does it have to be a book?’ Eddy asked, yawning. ‘Could I read one of the copies of Strand you brought down from the library?’

  ‘Oh dear, I should have taken those back. Remind me to do so when you’ve finished.’ She flicked through the last edition from the previous year, checking to see if the content was suitable. ‘There’s a story here about seven dragons by Miss Nesbit which should keep you occupied while I go and have a bath.’ Her skin felt itchy from her walk through the bowels of the ship and dust motes clung to her hair.