Mrs. Carrouthers murmured, “Has someone caught your fancy?”
Miserable, Opal nodded her head.
“Child, there are other ways to meet a man. You paint a pretty picture in that dress, but I would be a wicked woman indeed if I let you do what you ask. And I haven’t sunk that low…” She winked at Opal. “At least, not yet.”
Mrs. Carrouthers smiled and tucked an errant wisp of hair behind Opal’s ear. “Now, go and change into something a bit more respectable. We’ll see what we can do about your man friend.”
— Garrett Goldthwaite
Old-Fashioned Opal and the House of Ill-Repute
Chapter 14
I wondered what had happened in my absence the night before. Surely it had been noticed. After all, I hadn’t appeared for dinner, or breakfast, and I was not one to miss meals voluntarily.
I realized I should stop by the boarding house and allay any fears Ma and the others might have. After the bath Leonora insisted I take, and a fresh change of clothing from Lavinia’s apparently inexhaustible wardrobe, I convinced Leonora to postpone the return to the Fergusons’s until I had a chance to pop across the street.
“We’ll all have a nice chat and see what skills Vanessa has been able to instill in Gertie, shall we? Hurry back, though. I’m sure Sinéad would like to get home and rest.”
“I’ll be quick.”
I hurried across the street. By the time I got there, I was fuming…again.
How dare Seamus behave in such a manner? To abduct me off the street like that! He expected me to marry him? Certainly not the way I would go about courting a fiancée, if I were a man.
If Seamus had been at the boarding house when I arrived, it might have gone badly for him. But, luckily for him—I suppose—he was not at the table when I burst into the kitchen.
“Jo!” Fred cried, upon seeing me enter, “where have you been? The kittens were mewling, and when I went to check on them, you weren’t there. Alistair and Seamus have gone to look for you.”
I snorted my derision. “That’s a laugh. Seamus knew exactly where I was, since he was the one who chained me up there in the first place.”
“Chained you?” she gasped. “Tell me everything.”
“Oh, Fred...I don’t know where to begin.”
Ma bustled over from the stove, coffeepot in hand. “I’ve a feelin’ you need a mite more than tea this mornin’, Josephine. Sit you down and tell us everything.”
Everyone else was gone, so I didn’t see any reason not to oblige. Leonora wouldn’t really begrudge me the time, and Ma needed to know the bounder she had allowed into her home. How could she not have seen through his facade? She was normally such a good judge of character. I suppose it was a testimonial to Seamus’s charm that he could so fully take her in. But it did make me question whether or not she might have known more about him than she said... For the first time, I was suspicious of Ma, and it troubled me greatly.
Ma filled my cup with her strong, black coffee, and I dumped three spoons of sugar into it so I could drink it. I prefer tea, but she was right—I hadn’t gotten a lot of decent sleep the night before, and I needed the fortification to stay awake.
“What did that scalawag do?” Ma asked, setting the coffee pot on a trivet close to hand. She was smiling, as if asking what mischief Priss had gotten herself into.
It made me furious. I was blunter than I might have been, but I didn’t know if I could completely trust Ma any more. As enamored as she seemed to be of Seamus, might she be in league with the scoundrel?
“He forced me into a carriage against my will, is what he did. And took me to a rookery in Five Points.”
Fred gasped, and Ma crossed herself. The evil that name had accrued was not lost on my audience.
“It just so happened that the home to which he carried me belonged to Roderick’s sister, Martha. She is living in one room with her four children—and Seamus had also apparently been her lodger for several weeks at least. She won’t let him back in now that she knows the truth, I’m willing to wager.”
“Fancy that...Roderick’s sister? How did she come to be in Five Points?”
“I believe she was recently abandoned. There must be some way to see her and her children out of that den of iniquity, however. Her youngest is only six! Leonora has some sort of idea, I believe…”
“Never mind that right now,” Fred broke in, “what is this about chaining you up?”
I pulled the manacles from my reticule—I really would have to see about increasing the volume of it if I was to continue acquiring large items at such a rate. “He locked me to a staple in the floor with these, but I remembered what you said, Fred, and managed to pick the lock with a hairpin.”
“That’s my girl!”
“Roderick came to pick up his niece, Gertie, who is to work for the mother of the boy Phaeton pushed down in the Menagerie in return for dropping the suit.”
“My stars,” Ma breathed, fanning herself. “This is all so excitin’—even if it is a real turrible turn of affairs. One thing leadin’ right to another. Isn’t it funny like?”
“It is rather an impressive stack of coincidences,” I replied with a shrug. “You wouldn’t know anything about that Ma, would you?”
A swift look of pain crossed her face. “I don’t know what you are implying, Miss Mann, but sometimes life is just like that.” Her voice trembled slightly, and I began to feel sorry for doubting her—even briefly. Seamus really could be charming when he wanted to be, even if he was a snake. I could see how easily he might mislead a lonely woman.
I jumped up from the table and ran around it to give her a hug. “I’m so sorry, Ma. Forgive me. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
She hugged me back, sniffed, and nodded. “I understand, Jo, dear. It’s a rum go all around.”
“What will you do now, Jo?”
“You say Alistair is off with Seamus? I need to find him and warn him about that cur!”
“Alistair can take care of himself,” Fred scolded me. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“I can take care of myself, too! Though I do wish I still had the pepper-pot.”
“Perhaps Inspector Reilly would let you borrow it again.”
“He might, given the circumstances. I should go and ask him.”
“I would certainly feel better if you could defend yourself, my girl,” Ma said, picking up the coffee pot and rising to her feet. “I will tell that man he must vacate my house as soon as I see him—don’t you worry about that! Now, I’ve got to go get started on luncheon. Why don’t the two of you go and talk to your policeman friend?”
“A capital idea,” Fred agreed. “I’ve been most curious about Inspector Reilly.”
I kept forgetting she had never met the man. I’d told her so much about him.
“That sounds like an excellent plan—though, if you don’t mind—I’ve had quite enough of carriages at the moment. Let me tell Leonora we will have to go and visit the warehouse another day.”
“I’ll come to Mrs. Estes’s with you, and then we’ll walk to the precinct house, Jo. It’s a lovely day.”
Ma nodded. “A bit of proper exercise will do you both good. Too much time inventin’ things isn’t good for a young girl.”
Fred and I rolled our eyes at each other. Ma did not approve of our positions at the warehouse, and subtly reiterated that disapproval whenever possible.
As she puttered about the kitchen, Fred and I went upstairs, collected our parasols, and stepped out into the morning sun. It really was a lovely day.
It was the work of a moment to let Leonora know the situation and see her off with Gertie and Sinéad for the Fergusons’s home. As I had anticipated, she understood the situation perfectly.
Fred and I started downtown. As we passed the entrance to Alistair’s rooms, I furtively scanned the paving stones outside the brownstone. There!
No wonder no one had noticed the little perfume bottle I had dropped out the window as a
clue. It was only about an inch square, and it had fallen into a crack between two of the stones. Luckily, the same circumstance hiding it from casual view had protected it from subsequent traffic, and it was undamaged.
I was very grateful. It was such a thoughtful gesture on Leonora’s part. I really didn’t want to lose it.
I tucked it into my bag, and Fred and I continued toward the precinct house. I filled her in on the occupants thereof whom I knew as we walked.
“Kevin Reilly is a most handsome fellow, and can be helpful when he wants to be, but he’s over fond of protocol and rules if you ask me.”
“Handsome, is he?” Fred’s brow arched. “Does Alistair know you feel that way?”
Really, as much time as I spent blushing these days, I should take to caking my face with powder like the courtesans of Marie Antoinette’s court!
“There’s no harm in noticing a man’s looks. Why, even Seamus has a certain rough roguish charm when he applies himself—”
“Josephine Mann! He chained you to the floor!”
“Well, I didn’t say I planned on taking him up on his proposal! Just that he has a fair enough face, and a glib tongue that knows how to flatter when he wishes it to. I won’t be taken in again, but I can see how people might be. For myself, I prefer a certain...oh, Heaven’s sake, Fred! Alistair is the only one I want, and I really don’t care how many other handsome men might admire me.”
“Glad you finally admit that out loud!” Fred laughed. “I wondered when you would.”
“Can we please change the subject?”
“Fine. Who else is to be expected at the police station?”
“Well, there’s Sergeant Doyle—Bridget’s uncle—I think you met him at the wedding.”
“Grouchy old man, great mustache hiding half his face?”
“That’s the one. And there’s Kevin’s superior, Captain Caldicott. I do believe he agrees with Ma that women are best seen in the kitchen and not heard at all.”
Fred shuddered. “When will men learn that women are just as intelligent as they are—and a darn sight more practical to boot.”
“I know.”
We walked along in companionable silence after that, until we arrived at the great sandstone precinct house. It, as always, intimidated me a bit. This was the seat of justice—not that the lady always was comfortable in her repose.
I took a deep breath and entered the building, Fred at my heels. I went straight to Sergeant Doyle’s desk, and he glanced up from his ever-present paperwork as my shadow fell across it.
“Oh, no. Yer back, are ye? What d’ya want this time?”
“Is Inspector Reilly in?”
“Cain’t ye leave that boy to his work, miss? It’s not as if he’s at yer personal beck and call. He’s got a full load of cases t’ solve despite yer meddlin’.”
I counted to ten. I would not lose my temper in the middle of the police station. All that might do was get me arrested.
“Is he in?” I repeated, as politely as I could manage.
Sergeant Doyle sighed. “Aye. He’s in. Go on up. Ye know th’ way.”
I nodded, and took Fred’s arm. “Kev—Inspector Reilly’s office is just over here.”
Fred was glancing about her curiously, drinking in the sights of the station. It was rather interesting the first time one came across it, I supposed. Loud, brash, constantly chaotic—rather like the City in microcosm. To me, it was becoming rather routine.
I led the way up the inner stairs and rapped upon Kevin’s half-open door. His voice bade me enter. I did so, gesturing Fred to the other chair before his desk.
Kevin looked up, his face lighting when he saw me—oh, no. That would never do!
When he saw Fred, he reined in his emotions. “Miss Mann. What brings you to see me today? I trust the situation with the suit has been resolved to your satisfaction?”
I sank down in my own chair. “Oh, yes, Inspector. Your advice proved most effective. The Fergusons have dropped the suit against Phaeton, and we’ve found employment for one of Roderick’s relatives in the process, so it was most satisfactory all around.”
“Then what brings you and your…companion…to see me today?”
“Oh! Please, forgive my lack of manners. This is my dear friend, Winifred Bond. Fred, this is Inspector Kevin Reilly.”
Fred smiled at him, extending her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Inspector. Jo has told me so much about you.”
I swear the man blanched.
“I see.”
“Kevin,” I continued. “I would like to borrow your pepper-pot again.”
His eyebrow raised. “Indeed? And why is that?”
“I may need to shoot someone.”
Later that evening, as Opal took a break from answering the door with a cup of tea in the kitchen, her head down in a book, she heard someone clear their throat.
Startled, she glanced up, ready to flee the room if necessary—but her knees refused to work when she realized who stood before her. “W-what are you doing here?” she asked Victor.
He chuckled. “Mrs. Carrouthers told me where you might be when I asked why you weren’t on the door tonight.”
He pulled out the chair across from her and sank into it. “I told her I would be very upset if I didn’t get a chance to say hello.”
Opal ducked her head. “I am glad to see you, too,” she said shyly, her heart pounding like a drum.
“Perhaps we could see each other in a more appropriate setting someday?”
Her heart sang an accompaniment to the drumbeat. “I’d like that.”
— Garrett Goldthwaite
Old-Fashioned Opal and the House of Ill-Repute
Chapter 15
Kevin rocketed out of his seat like he had been the one shot. “Josephine Mann, I will not give you a gun knowing that you might use it to shoot a man in cold blood.”
“Well, if I do shoot him, it won’t be in cold blood. It’ll be because I’m mad as hell.”
“That doesn’t ease my mind any. That wouldn’t be a valid excuse. You can’t go around shooting people because they annoy you. Now, what is this all about?”
“There’s a man—”
“Another one?” he asked dryly.
Fred giggled. “You’ve noticed her proclivity to attract them too, have you?”
Now, it was Kevin who reddened, the tips of his ears going crimson. “Be that as it may, what’s the problem this time?”
“There’s a man,” I began again, shooting a glare at Fred, “who has been following me of late. Now, he’s gone too far. He kidnapped me and carried me away to Five Points, where he chained me to the floor.”
“Kidnapping is rather a way of life at your boarding house, isn’t it?” he replied.
This time, Fred threw back her head and laughed aloud. “You didn’t tell me how droll he was, Jo.”
Kevin turned to Fred in surprise. I think it was the first time he actually looked at her, instead of me.
“So, she’s been speaking of me, Miss Bond? Well, I trust?”
“Mostly.” Her eyebrow arched, and a dimple appeared in her cheek. “And I’m Fred.”
“Fred, it is then. And Jo. These are curious times.”
Kevin turned back to me, pulling a notepad and pencil from his desk drawer. He made an initial notation on his paper. “Now, start at the beginning, Jo. Who is this man, and why might you have to shoot him?”
“He first appeared in the middle of the blackmailing, Inspector. I saw him following me several times before he actually spoke to me. And then, the day after Nettie and William’s wedding, he turned up on our doorstep and claimed to be my cousin Seamus O’Leary from County Cork in Ireland. He says he’s my betrothed, because we were affianced by our parents when we were very young—though that’s patently ridiculous.”
“Most unusual these days, to be sure.” He scribbled more notes.
“And then, he abducted me off the steps of the boarding house yesterday, and carried me to a te
nement in Five Points. Luckily, it was the home of Roderick’s sister, and I was able to escape, with Roderick’s help.”
A frown creased Kevin’s brow. “That’s an awfully big coincidence, isn’t it?”
“Coincidences happen, Inspector.”
“I’ll have an officer pick him up at once.”
“I’m not sure where he might be at the moment, Inspector. I know kidnapping is a serious crime, but I don’t want to take up the time of your officers unnecessarily…”
“I can at least send a couple of telegrams to the constabulary in Ireland to see if he has a record of misdeeds.”
“That’d be a start,” I replied. “You can see, however, why I might need a gun of my own, since he may strike again at any time…and you’re the person I know who has one I might be able to borrow.”
“I should never have let you borrow it the first time. A gun is not the way to solve your problems, you know. There’re serious consequences when you shoot a man.”
“I know that. I have shot at people before.”
“Did you hit them?”
“Well, no. But I wasn’t actually trying to at that moment. Fred had just lent me her pistol, you see—”
Kevin turned to Fred. “You have a pistol?”
She looked back at him coolly. “And a hunting rifle, and a shotgun. I come from quite a large family, Inspector. Hunting put meat on our table. I’ve been shooting since I was six.”
I practically watched the ticks go up in his estimation of her. Maybe I could use that attraction to my advantage...
“You see?” I said. “Fred can teach me how to aim and hit things if you’re so worried I might shoot myself—since you don’t have the time to show me.”
“I’ll take it into consideration,” Kevin answered dryly.
It was the best I was going to get at this time, I feared. I gave in—for the moment—rising to my feet. “Come, Fred.”
Fred rose as well—reluctantly, it seemed to me. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Inspector,” she said, holding out her hand.
He took it, bowing over it like some courtier in a romantic novel. Hmm, that was interesting.
The Incredibly Irritating Irishman: Book Three of the Conn-Mann Chronicles Page 9