‘Can I help you?’ a man asked as I approached him, he was shorter than me but clearly a lot more muscular. He wore a pin striped suit and seemed less than pleased to see me. I pulled out my key with the red string attached. His eyes narrowed as he took the whole of me in, and he turned back to opening the gate.
‘After you then,’ he said in a deep voice, I walked ahead of him down the spiral staircase and knocked on the door at the bottom, the stench of the tunnel even more overpowering than the first time I had entered. The doorman peaked through the doorway like before and upon seeing me opened up to let me in.
‘Who is your friend?’ He asked, looking inquisitive at the man stood behind me.
‘No friend of mine. Found him unlocking the gate ahead of me.’ The huge doorman turned to the unidentified man.
‘Well?’
‘I…erm…’ the man turned into a quivering mess, and was clearly intimidated by the size of the door man who turned back to me.
‘You go in, I just need to throw out the garbage.’
He picked up the shaky man by the shirt collar and dragged him back up the stairs and out through the iron gates. I could hear his pleas as he was unceremoniously escorted back out onto the street.
Once inside the bar I was surprised to see such a small number of people. There was a new barmaid wrapped in chains, and only one table was occupied with a group of three men sat around it. Jack was behind the bar and seemed happy that I had returned.
‘Hey look who it is, Mr Whitby has come back for another visit. Will you join me in a Whisky good Sir?’ I nodded and took one of the bar stools. He served us both a drink and he joined me at the bar.
‘Quiet tonight?’ I had no idea why I was making small talk. Jack was a powerful man and I wasn’t afraid to admit that I was slightly intimidated by him.
‘We’ve had a few people come and go.’ We clinked our glasses and he downed the large whisky in one mouthful. ‘I must admit I am surprised to see you back here so soon. Most men run a mile after helping me dispose of a body. Some don’t return for weeks’
‘I was hoping to get something from you?’
‘And what may I ask is it you need?’
‘I told you before that I returned to London to seek revenge on somebody that did me a great wrong. Well this person is a woman and I plan on seeking that revenge any day now.’
‘This is all very interesting Whitby but what exactly does that have to do with me?’
‘Her sister is currently staying with her and plans to leave tomorrow. I plan on taking out the sister as the first stage of the revenge, however I need to do more.’
‘I still do not understand how this involves me?’ Jack was becoming impatient, I could see it in his face, and hear it in his voice.
‘This woman is always by her husband’s side, but it is not him I wish to seek. So I need to even the playing fields and make sure he is not to disturb us.’
‘And…’
‘I want a weapon, something that will harm the husband so that he is unable to follow us when I take her. I don’t care if it only harms him or kills him, but he must be wounded enough not to follow us. Is there anything you can loan me for such need?’ Jack sighed and rose from the stool.
‘I think that you need to have a better plan for this. If you plan on killing this woman then you have my consent of course. But if you wish to seek revenge then surely killing her husband will hurt her much more?’
Jack moved back around the bar and opened a locked panel in the wall. I had not considered killing Albert, but listening to Jack it made perfect sense. She would be devastated to lose him, and the heartache will almost certainly have her pleading for death. Jack turned back to me with a pistol in his hand.
‘She has two bullets loaded, that’s all I am giving you. I expect it returned to me as soon as the job is complete. You lose the pistol, you lose your head.’
Chapter 14
Sunday 3rd June 1900
Victoria
I was getting ready for church when there was a knock on the bedroom door. Albert was already downstairs and no doubt drinking his coffee in the sitting room.
‘Come in,’ I said, sitting at my dressing table I did not turn around but looked through the mirror to see who had entered. I was surprised to see Lucy standing there. I turned to look at her fully, she was already dressed and her hair and make-up done.
‘Is everything okay?’
‘Perfectly,’ she replied with a joyful tone in her voice, ‘I decided I would join you today at church after all. With a long journey a head of me it wouldn’t hurt to be on his good side.’ She pointed upwards and laughed as she perched on the corner of my bed. Then came an awkward silence. Clearly she had only intended to let me know she would be joining us, and now neither of us quite knew what to say next.
‘I am almost done here, has Ms Lowney started serving the breakfast yet?’
‘I can hear her and Miss Baily talking with Tom downstairs, it will probably be on the table already. Shall I meet you down there?’
‘Yes that’s fine.’
She got up and left. I felt a touch relieved that she was leaving today, as much as I love her I think the time has come. I was still worried about her though, she had never been very strong minded when it came to handling difficult situations, I questioned whether she had even fully come to terms with losing her husband. The talk we had the previous night I think had certainly helped us clear the air.
Albert had arranged for a carriage to take us to the church, we normally walked, weather dependant, as it wasn’t far but ever since I had started being ill, which turned out to me being pregnant, he has fussed and made me ride in the carriage. Now that I was deemed to be in perfect health, I had thought that we would be returning to walking, but Albert seemed to think that being pregnant made me just as much of an invalid.
Lucy rode with Albert and I, whilst Tom decided to walk with Ms Lowney and Miss Baily. I was thrilled to have those two in our lives, and they were so good with Tom; he once referred to them as the aunts he never had. We could hear their croaking laughs coming from the square as the carriage circled around, and Tom gave us a wave as we passed them.
Less than five minutes later we arrived at St Stephen’s parish church. We have been members of the congregation for a number of years now and knew all the locals. What I love about this church is how it reminded me of a village church. So many city churches are bigger and less traditional in appearance, but St Stephen’s looked as though it had been built in a village and the city of London had simply grown around it. It certainly felt very squeezed in, with a building immediately next door and another one behind. The church had no grounds, which meant no graveyard, and it was straight up against the busy road to the front. Yet once inside, you left the city behind and the colours of the stained glass reflecting throughout made it easy to believe you could be somewhere more peaceful than London.
We were barely out of the carriage, when Tom came around the corner with Ms Lowney and Miss Baily. They were all full of smiles and singing a happy tune, they had taught him quite a few in the past couple of weeks. Every Sunday I found it strange seeing the two of them in their best clothing, I was so used to seeing Ms Lowney in her apron and Miss Baily usually wore quite sensible plain clothing whilst doing housework, yet more eccentric attire on her days off. They headed into the church ahead of us; the vicar was at the door greeting everybody.
‘Good morning Mr and Mrs Summers.’ His face was so wrinkled that his eyes almost disappeared when he smiled. ‘So good to see you again, and I hear congratulations are in order?’ He looked at me and for a second I looked back at him blankly. He clearly saw the confusion in my face. ‘Are you not with child?’
‘Oh, yes father. My apologies, we only found out ourselves a couple of days ago, I did not realise you would have heard already.’ We shook hands and continued into the church so as not to hold up the queue of people waiting behind us.
We had barely ste
pped over the threshold of the church when my name was called by a woman almost running up the aisle towards me, her shriek echoing throughout and caused people to stare.
‘Good morning Beatrice, how are we today?’ Albert said before walking ahead with Lucy to get us a seat near the front.
‘I am fine thank you Albert. Now Victoria, tell your husband to stop changing the subject.’ She let out a small giggle. I smirked at her comment, had a subject already started I was unaware of? ‘When were you going to tell me the good news?’ Beatrice was an overweight housewife in her fifties with greying black hair; she lived off of other people’s gossip and was more than happy to share everything to everybody. There was nothing she didn’t know about everybody in the church. In fairness to her, she was a lovely woman that was friendly and nice to be around, but if you wanted anything to get around the neighbourhood quickly then Beatrice was the one to tell. She linked with my arm as we walked up the aisle to where Albert had found a spot.
‘I just knew when I saw you last week that you were pregnant. I could have screamed when I heard the news from Grace. I told her I thought it was the case last time I saw you, but you know me Victoria, I don’t like to pry into other people’s business.’ I struggled to hide my grin. ‘I told her that clearly you had only just started to tell people, as why else would she know before me.’
Beatrice stood at the end of the pew for a couple more minutes, extending her congratulations to Albert before returning to her own seat a handful of rows behind us. I was half surprised she didn’t ask who Lucy was, but then again she will probably ask next week when she can make comments without her being there. As we waited for the service to begin, a couple of women who I knew only through Sunday service came over to congratulate me on my pregnancy. When a third woman came to see me I was beginning to get annoyed.
The vicar walked up the aisle and took his place at the front where he began to address the congregation. Tom was sitting closest to the aisle and kept leaning out to see him better due to the lady in front of him wearing a hat far too large. Most children would not sit on the main service and go through to Sunday school, but due to the local community being much older there was only Tom who would actually qualify to attend. So for that reason the church did not teach. Tom always seemed quite happy to sit next to me and listen to the service along with the grown-ups, Miss Baily and he would later laugh and joke about anything the vicar said or did that was mildly amusing. So today when he mistakenly hiccupped during reading a passage from the bible, I knew it would have them in fits of laughter for the remainder of the afternoon.
I was relieved when the service was nearing an end as I was beginning to feel hungry. You could always tell when the vicar was about to finish as he would always say, ‘…and before you go let me tell you this final thing…’ It was always something different, either a lesson from the bible or a warning of sinfulness he had heard in local gossip. Today however, I was astounded with his announcement.
‘Before you go I have one final thing to say. Life is a blessing, and to bring another life into the world is a true gift from God. I am thrilled to hear that Mr and Mrs Summers are finally expecting a baby. Please everybody join me in congratulating them both.’
I was stunned with what he had just said; not only was I feeling a little on display by his announcement, but why did he use the term ‘finally’? Albert who sat next to me took hold of my hand, clearly my face was not hiding the displeasure and he gave it a little squeeze. He on the other hand was beaming with delight and turned around to thank the other parishioners for their kindness as they all gave a little clap. The vicar led us in a final pray before we all stood to leave.
I had never been so pleased to be leaving, but due to the vicar’s announcement the entire gathering now wanted to wish myself and Albert well. Even those who had already spoken to me as I walked in came back for another turn. I watched with envy as Lucy, Tom, Miss Baily and Ms Lowney all snuck out of the church. I thanked everybody for their well wishes out of politeness and tried to push passed them as quickly as I could manage.
When we finally made it out of the church Miss Baily and Tom were waiting by the roadside for us. They had called the carriage back to collect us. Ms Lowney had walked on ahead to get the dinner on, and as I looked around I couldn’t see Lucy anywhere. The whole area was filled with people leaving the church, and so picking Lucy out in the crowd wasn’t so easy. Finally I spotted her down the street talking to a gentleman in a top hat. He had his back to me and from this distance, as well as through the crowd; it was difficult to make out who he was or what they could be discussing. I didn’t have much time to look as Albert took hold of my arm and helped me into the carriage.
‘Wait,’ I said. ‘What about Lucy?’
‘It is only a short walk V, she knows her way home.’
Albert gestured for Tom and Miss Baily to get in the cab as there was room, and we all took the short ride back to the house.
Chapter 15
Lucy
I had decided that as I would be leaving this evening I would try to do anything to keep my sister happy, and so I accepted her invitation to join them at church. She had asked me every single Sunday, and every week I had made some excuse about it being too soon after the funeral. She had no idea that I had been going to a church most days, and I refused to tell her as I simply wished to be there alone. Knowing I was leaving made me want to ensure we said goodbye on good terms, I knew Victoria wasn’t the kind to hold a grudge, but I still didn’t want things to end frosty. I knew I hadn’t been the easiest house guest for them all, and despite my sister’s insistence I knew I had most certainly outstayed my welcome.
The entire experience of joining them at church was much worse that I had anticipated. Not only was the early start to be ready and at church for 8 o’clock hard work, but the carriage ride there was quiet and awkward, as Victoria spent most of it looking out of the window waving back at Tom. When we arrived at the church, the vicar shock my hand at the door with little regard to me and beckoned me on so that he could get to my sister who stood directly behind me. His eagerness to see her would lead any unknowing passer-by to think she was a member of the royal family. The way he flapped over her and the knowledge of her pregnancy, the whole charade was an embarrassment.
I followed Tom and the servants into the church and joined them to our seats. Victoria and Albert were not far behind but again she was being stopped by an older woman who I could hear talking about the baby. When Victoria sat down I heard her whisper to Albert, "That was embarrassing" but I knew she was probably only saying it for my benefit, playing down her being the centre of attention.
When the service ended I was thrilled to finally leave. Victoria had had so much attention about her pregnancy that I was sick of hearing about it, despite her trying to down play the whole thing. I wish I had just stayed back at the house.
Once outside Tom and the cleaner went looking for the carriage, whilst the cook headed on home by foot. I stood to the side away from the crowd of people flooding back into the street waiting for Victoria and Albert when a hand grabbed my shoulder. I spun around and saw a face I recognised, the gentleman from the bar.
‘Do you attend this church?’ I asked with a slight harshness in my tone, angry that he had made me jump.
‘No, I was wondering if I could have a word.’ He gestured for us to walk on a little and get away from of the crowd of people still leaving the church. We walked in silence for only a couple of minutes when he eventually stopped.
‘What is it you need to know?’
‘I was wondering how many pieces of luggage you would be bringing with you on the journey?’ His voice seemed tired and circles around his eyes made him look older than I expected him to be.
‘Just the one. I didn’t actually arrive with very much so I won’t be taking anything extra back with me. Is that what you came all this way to ask me?’ He hesitated for a moment, something about his body language seemed on edge
but I couldn’t figure out what it could be. ‘You are still okay to take me? I can make other arrangements if it is not.’
‘Oh no it is more than all right. I was also wondering if you had an address that I was to take you too?’ He still seemed a little nervous as he spoke to me.
‘I have the address written down for you, it is here in my purse. I was going to hand it to you this evening but you may as well take it now.’ I handed him a small folded up piece of paper and he stared at it for the longest minute as though he was taking in every letter. ‘Is that alright?’
‘Yes, yes fine. I will be there to collect you at 9 o’clock as we agreed.’ He walked away quickly. He was certainly a very socially awkward man, one who I couldn’t quite put my finger on if he was simply slow, or strange.
I everted my eyes back towards the church and saw the rear end of Albert getting into the carriage and it pulling away. I couldn’t believe they would just go without me. It may not be a long walk but I was still furious regardless.
When I got back to the house my sister was upstairs changing into something less formal, Albert was in the living room reading and Tom could be heard in the kitchen talking and laughing with Miss Baily. I knew dinner was going to be served soon so returned to my own room to change.
I had finished packing my things, which managed to all fit inside one medium sized case. I was leaving most things behind as they either belonged to my sister or had been bought new whilst staying here and had not been used. Victoria may as well keep them here, either for herself or for my next visit. When I returned to the dining room Victoria and Albert were already seated waiting to eat, there whispers stopped upon my arrival which instantly made me self-conscious that they had been talking about me.
D: Revenge Hits London (Whitby's Darkest Book 2) Page 7