Page 60 of The Laudanum Ladies' Society

‘I doubt you will have. I fear she has fallen low enough to be working in a house of ill repute. Ruth does not appear to be plying a trade on the streets, but there are unscrupulous people who prey on innocent young women and lead them into prostitution.’

Danny stopped walking and closed his eyes briefly. Gwen’s blood froze. She’d seen the evidence of this only the night before, when Augusta’s man had been trying to coax the housemaid. Was it possible that Augusta herself was involved?

She gave a groan of horror and Danny squeezed her arm gently.

‘It’s a dreadful thought, isn’t it? I’m sorry to burden you with such images. I don’t know how many of these men and those places there must be within this square mile alone.’

He spread his hands around, encompassing the street as if expecting to see a dozen of them appear before his eyes.

‘What do you intend to do if you find her?’ she asked.

‘I will demand they are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.’

His voice hardened and a look of steel filled his eyes. He was attractive in his determination, but Gwen nodded silently, her speech stolen.

Danny took both of her hands between his. He lifted them and her heart began to race, thinking he was about to kiss them, but he stopped short of that and pressed them to his heart as he looked into her eyes.

‘You were right that a pair of ears was a help. Thank you.’

‘I have to go. My husband will be waiting for me.’

Danny’s eyes dropped. ‘Of course. I am staying at Godwin’s Hotel near Farringdon. If you happen to hear or see anything of use, please leave me a message there.’

Gwen bit the inside of her lip. ‘I will.’

She picked up her hem and hurried away.

Chapter Eighteen

When Jenny returned from a Saturday afternoon walk through Finsbury Park, she spotted Miriam waiting on the corner of the road, beside the gate to the garden square. Her heart quickened. There was a warm but strong breeze and the walk had been invigorating, and she had been in a good mood until seeing the unexpected visitor. Now, she was filled with a sense of resentment as the bitter words they’d exchanged came back to her mind. Miriam had made it quite clear what she thought of Jenny, and here she was, lurking on the street. She bubbled with resentment at the thought that Miriam would come here.

Jenny slowed, still out of sight, to think and to let the thudding of her pulse slow to a regular intensity. Miriam was looking half away from Jenny, with her head turned towards Jenny’s house. She wasn’t wearing her long coat but was dressed respectably in a short, pea-green jacket and a grey skirt, with her hair tamed into a chignon beneath a grey, felt bonnet.

Jenny brushed her skirt down and pushed her own bonnet forward a little more. She crossed the street andwalked decisively towards Miriam, who turned to her as she approached. She was frowning and had a preoccupied air that filled Jenny with a sense of foreboding.

‘I didn’t expect to see you here.’ Jenny smiled hopefully. ‘Does this mean you have forgiven me?’

Miriam curled her lip. ‘No, it doesn’t. I’m still furious and wounded.’

The expression on Miriam’s face was a wrench Jenny felt she would never recover from. ‘It wasn’t just for me that I did what I did. It was for Mrs Walters– the friend I was with when we met the other night. She needed the money for her husband’s operation.’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, that’s a pathetic excuse,’ Miriam snapped. ‘You could have found any other way of doing that. No, you wanted to get rich, and you didn’t care how you did it.’

Jenny flinched. It was true, though Miriam was forgetting– or choosing to ignore– her motives. ‘Then, why are you here? Why are you condescending to speak to me now, with my dreadful acquaintances and occupation?’

Miriam frowned. ‘I’d rather not be here, but I need to tell you something, and it’s far too important to waste time quarrelling.’

Jenny’s lingering resentment disappeared, replaced with alarm.

‘Tell me.’

‘Sally has gone missing, and nobody knows where she is.’

‘The housemaid? When did you last see her?’

‘I spoke to her when I got home the morning after you saw her talking to that man. At first, she tried to tell me she hadn’t even left the house.’ Miriam stopped and twisted her hands around.

‘Come inside,’ Jenny said.