Her face twisted with concern. “That’s fine, darling. Worry about Audrey. But please worry about yourself as well. You seem wrapped up in this as well and someone else thought so and hit you on the head to take a ledger.”
He sighed. “I know. This is serious. I think someone inside the workhouse is up to no good. I don’t know what it is, but it seems to have to do with people who have died inside.”
“People were murdered?” Theodocia touched her throat just as the maid entered with the tea and she jumped.
“Mother,” Henry said.
“Well, this is all too much. You must alert the Norfolk Constabulary,” she said as he took the teacup and sipped the calming brew.
“And tell them what?” he asked with a touch of impatience. “That there’s a diary of initials and numbers that Audrey and I think are dead people who have been what?”
Theodocia was quiet as she looked at her son. “What will you do then?” she asked finally.
Henry sighed. “The workhouse isn’t the only place that keeps records of those deceased inmates. The city council will have a record as well.”
“I understand you must look into this, but promise me you’ll be careful. Once you know what’s happening, allow the police to step in. Promise me.” Her eyes pleaded with him.
“I’m no inspector. Once I have some evidence of what this is, I will alert the police. You have my word,” he said as he finished the tea. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“You’re my only son, Henry. I worry. It’s natural,” she said as he stood up and kissed her cheek.
“I will take care. I’m headed to bed,” he told her.
Once upstairs, he shrugged out of his jacket and sat down on his bed. He had been brave before his mother because he didn’t want her to worry, but the truth was, he was very concerned. He had not expected anyone to come after him, and whatever had been in the ledger concerned them. The names were the key. They meant something.
He went over the night’s event in his head and knew that what they had already found was the beginning. The deaths listed as black death couldn’t be true. Not that many, not now. But why list the death as black death? If they were doing something disreputable, why not list the death as something no one would think twice about? A fever or natural decay, which would arouse no suspicion.
There must be a reason the cause of death was the black death. What was the reason? His head was still aching, but he was also tired. He lay back upon the bed without even undressing and was asleep almost instantly.
The next day, Henry finished his work at the office early so that he could be at the workhouse before Audrey released the class for supper. Audrey was asking the class to clean their work areas when he entered the room. When she spotted him, she dismissed the students who were waiting patiently to be let go for their meal.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” she said, coming to stand before him.
“I wanted to be here early to speak with you,” he told her.
“Frances,” she directed to her sister, who was standing next to Henry, “go on ahead to supper without me. I’ll follow you soon enough.”
Frances turned to leave. “Thank you for the drops,” she told Henry before she disappeared from the room.
“She’s a sweetheart,” he said.
“She is,” she agreed, tidying her desk. “What brings you to my classroom?”
“I wanted to see you, I—”
He was interrupted as the door swung open to reveal Dr. Beesley.
“Oh! I didn’t realize you had company,” he said, seeing Henry.
“Dr. Beesley, surely you know our board guardian Henry Ryland,” Audrey said smoothly.
The two men shook hands.
“Of course I do. I was going to escort you to supper, Ms. Wakefield, but another time,” Dr. Beesley said before departing.
“I think he is slightly infatuated with you,” Henry said, slightly irritated as the doctor disappeared.
Audrey shook her head. “No. He once told me that I was the only one in the workhouse that he could have a stimulating conversation with.”
“That and he’s old enough to be your granddad,” Henry muttered.
Audrey smiled. “Are you jealous, Henry?”
He snorted. “Of old man Beesley there?”
“Yes. The ancient mariner,” she teased him.
“Can you be serious?” he asked her.
She rolled her eyes. “Can you be?”
“The reason I came to see you today was because I had a bit of an accident last night I wanted to tell you about.”
“After you left the cottage?” she said, concerned.
“Yes.”
“What happened?” She rested her back against the desk as she faced him.
“Someone hit me in the head as I was about to hail a cab,” he told her.
“My God!” She came to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” he said, smiling.
She frowned. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because you seem to care.”
She scowled. “Of course I care, idiot! Someone hit you on the head! This is serious. Did they take your money? Valuables?”
“They took the ledger, Audrey,” he said simply.
Audrey’s hands fell to her sides. “The ledger,” she said, then frowned. “Why did they take the ledger?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Audrey’s mind seemed to race with the possibilities. “What do you think?”
He sighed. “I think, as crazy as it sounds and as absurd as I thought it first was when you mentioned it to me, we’re on to something. But, Audrey,” he took a step towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders, “whatever you’ve stumbled onto, whatever this is, it’s nothing good.”
Audrey met his eyes, and hers were filled with dread. “I know.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Audrey shook her head as she thought about everything that happened up to this point. “What do we know without the ledger? We only had a short amount of time yesterday to look up the inmate names. The only thing we discovered was that they all died from the black death,” she wondered.
Henry pondered that. “I was thinking the same thing. We still have the list of the names that we think matches the initials, and it’s a start. The General Register Office is responsible for the records of all the deaths in England. In Norwich, we have a register office. A death has to be certified by a doctor in the district where the death occurs. Once the certificate is issued, the body can be buried.”
Audrey understood. “Yes. My father handled numerous burials over the years, and Dr. Thomson had to issue the certificate.”
“The cause of death has to be registered and then the registrar will issue the certificate for burial or cremation. But cremation is very rare.” He paused, seeming to think. “We can visit the register office and review their books. I don’t think it will be difficult. I’ve worked with the office before when I’ve handled wills and such.”
“I think that’s an excellent suggestion, Henry, but I’m concerned. Someone took the time and trouble to attack you and take the ledger. Aren’t you worried?” she asked. “Aren’t you worried they’ll do something else? Something worse?”
Henry paused as he stared down into her face. “I am worried. I’m worried for you. Worried for me. But what can we do? I can’t stop now, can you?”
Audrey sighed and shook her head. “No. We can’t stop now. We have to unravel this. We have to visit the register office.”
Audrey joined Frances and the other staff for supper and glanced about the table, more nervous than ever. She looked at the faces that had become so familiar to her and wondered if one of them might be responsible for Marguerite’s death or Alistair’s death. Had one of them crept about the night before and hit Henry on the head to capture the ledger?
It seemed absolutely ludicrous. The staff seemed so normal, and she couldn’t imagine a
ny of them doing something so evil. She looked across at Frances, who was oblivious to everything happening around her, and that frightened her even more. How on earth could she keep her sister safe? She wondered if she might ask Theodocia to take her for two weeks, and the thought made her feel better.
In the grand house by the river, surrounded by servants and the society matron, Frances would be safe. Audrey felt a sense of relief and made a mental note to write to Theodocia that evening. She must get Frances away. She didn’t want her on the workhouse grounds any longer than possible. She would make some excuse to staff and tell Frances it was for her own good. She wouldn’t argue.
She looked across the table and saw Master reading his Bible as he often did and Matron sipping her tea, watching Audrey. She knew very well that Matron disapproved of her. She was a single, unmarried woman with an education and a position that enabled her to be freer than many of her counterparts.
The doctor joined them and ate quietly while reading the newspaper. Joseph and Levi were chatting together as they often did. The chaplain often ate in his office so they rarely saw him, and the nurse was on duty and took meals at a different time. She shook her head. It was too silly to imagine any of the people sitting at this table plotting evil deeds at the workhouse.
Frances wanted to play with the other children after supper so Audrey gave her approval, and the young girl scampered off.
“Ms. Wakefield,” Matron addressed her as she sat across the table from her.
“Matron.”
“I wanted to stop and speak with you. Your mother has not been on the workhouse grounds as of late,” she stated.
“No. I placed her with a doctor for evaluation.”
“Hmmm. You have much to deal with,” Matron assessed.
“She’s my mother. I want to take care of her,” Audrey said simply.
Matron stared at her for a moment before speaking. “You have a filial nature. It’s commendable.”
“I do try.”
Matron stood. “I’ll leave you to your supper.”
Audrey watched her walk away and wondered if the portly, middle-aged woman could be behind whatever it was that she had stumbled upon through Marguerite’s diary. Could she imagine Matron coming to Marguerite’s room and killing her? Killing Alistair? And what of her husband? The quiet, Bible-reading Master who wanted nothing more than a well-run workhouse.
She looked down the table and saw Joseph and Levi looking back at her. They were deep in conversation. This was getting her nowhere. She must do as Henry suggested. They must visit the register office.
She pushed her chair away from the table and went outside into the courtyard to find Frances. Several children were about playing jump rope, but Frances was not among them.
“Frances!” she called out.
Though she recognized all the children from her classroom and they greeted her, she didn’t see her sister.
“Have you seen Frances?” she asked one of her students, but they shook their head.
She moved along the corridors, searching for her sister in the warren of hallways, but couldn’t find her. She rushed down another long hallway, and inside the dormitory she found several children playing marbles, Frances among them.
“Frances!” she said, pulling her sister up sharply. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You gave me a start.”
“I’m sorry, Audrey. They said they had marbles, and I wanted to see them,” she explained, turning to look at the small group of children.
Audrey tried to smile at the children and several mothers nearby. “Of course. I was worried, that’s all. It’s getting late. Let’s head home.”
Audrey watched Frances silently reading beside her at the table as she wrote a short note to Theodocia. She knew this was an inconvenience, but she wanted Frances to stay with her. She was worried for her safety and knew Theodocia’s home would be the best place for her. She hoped it wouldn’t be longer than two weeks. She would send the note in the morning.
That night, she slept fitfully. When she awoke, she pulled on her black gown and went downstairs. In the kitchen, she put the kettle on the stove for tea. When she walked back into the parlor, she got a start. Sitting in her drawing room on the sofa was Chaplain Freeman Reed.
“How did you get in?” she asked him, looking about the room.
“I didn’t mean to intrude, Ms. Wakefield. The door was unlocked,” he said quietly.
“So you just pushed in,” she said, watching him warily.
“I wanted to speak to you. Away from the workhouse staff and prying eyes and ears,” he explained.
Audrey frowned and sat down across from him. “It’s highly irregular. I’m listening.”
“I’ve long been concerned about the workhouse, Ms. Wakefield. There are several people about that I think are up to no good. When there is no proper fear of the deity, godless people, it leads to all sorts of evil.”
“Whom do you suspect is godless?” she said guardedly.
The chaplain looked at her pityingly. “Everyone, my dear. People may attend church because they have to, but in their hearts, they are godless. It’s sad to see.”
She wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. “I imagine it is.”
“The Master does his best. He’s a good Christian man, but his wife, she’s not what she appears. She’s not reverent.”
“Isn’t she?” she asked.
“No. She is not,” he said patiently. “And then there’s that doctor. Flippant and carefree. He takes nothing seriously. It’s offensive.”
“He is carefree, but where’s the wrong in that?”
“I came to you so you would see so I could explain. You must be on your guard. As a vicar’s daughter, you understand the deity. You understand right and wrong. Good and evil. They don’t.” His hands rested on his knees as he leaned into her, passionate in his words.
Audrey thought on his words. “Do you know if there is anything happening here? Anything that you can tell me? Anything that God would disapprove of?”
“’To Me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste,’” he quoted scripture to her.
“Will you be the vengeance, chaplain?” she asked, her throat dry as she spoke the words.
He sighed and looked at her as if she were a child. “Have you not been listening? God will take vengeance.”
“God?” she asked.
“Yes. God. I’m merely the caretaker, Ms. Wakefield. God will right the wrongs.”
“What wrongs?” she asked, but before she could learn anything more, he was gone.
She looked out the front window and watched him walk along the path back to the workhouse. She had been shocked to see him sitting in her parlor just now. But though the chaplain was a man of God, he was a simple man. Not stupid or an imbecile but also not all there. He didn’t recognize social mores and the way things should be done, so coming into her house had not been wrong to him.
“Did I hear voices?” Frances said, coming downstairs.
“It’s nothing. Come. Eat your breakfast,” Audrey said as her sister sat down at the table. Audrey kissed the top of her head.
As Frances ate her porridge, Audrey sipped her coffee, looking out the window. “Lambkin, I think I might have you stay with Theodocia for a week or so. Would you like that?”
“Thea Dee? Of course. But you’ll be all alone here then.”
“I’m working on a project,” Audrey said, keeping her voice light. “It’s a very important project for the workhouse. I must finish it. I might be up late nights, and I don’t want to disturb you.”
“I can stay. I won’t be in the way,” Frances assured her.
“You’re never in the way, dearest. Ever. But I must spend all my energy on this. Once the project’s done, I’ll come fetch you,” she promised her.
Frances considered it. “What of school?”
“Promise to come get me when it’s done,” Frances asked.
“My word. I’ll come fetch you when it’s done,” she promised.
Audrey had anticipated that Theodocia would agree to take Frances when she mentioned it to her sister, and that afternoon, she received word that it was so. Without any delay, she took Frances to the grand house by the river. When she was leaving, Henry stopped her.
“I want to visit the register office tomorrow. Will you come with me?”
“Yes. How is your head?”
His hand went up to touch the sore spot. “I have a slight bump but I think I’ll live.”
“I’m glad,” she said sincerely.
Henry hesitated. “I wish you would reconsider staying here. It would be no trouble. The house looks much better with Wakefield women about it.”
Audrey shook her head. “I’ll stay at the cottage for now. I don’t think anyone would outright harm me. They only went after you to get the ledger.”
“Heaven help anyone who goes after you,” he said suddenly. He walked her outside, and before the carriage pulled up, he took her in his arms to kiss her once.
“You are becoming too bold,” she told him.
He grinned. “Am I? I’m not allowed to kiss my future wife?”
Her heart thudded. “Future wife? You’ve not asked me to become your wife.”
“That’s true. I’m working up the courage to do so.” He tucked his hands inside his pockets.
“What if I refuse you?” she asked.
“It’s possible. I’ll accept defeat and then ask again when next we meet.”
She smiled lightly as the carriage arrived.
“Until tomorrow,” he said, his eyes warm on her.
“Until tomorrow.”
The next morning, they arranged to meet at the register office, and when Audrey arrived, she found Henry waiting for her.
Among the Darkness Stirs Page 25