Page 67 of The Laudanum Ladies' Society

‘Of course I wouldn’t,’ Gwen answered immediately. An unexpected child was a dreadful thing to discover, even with a man who would acknowledge and provide for the offspring, which those women wouldn’t have.

‘It’s something to consider,’ Selina said, bestowing a supercilious smile on Gwen.

Augusta raised a brow and gave Gwen a knowing look. ‘The problem you have, Mrs Walters, is that you are too limited by what society expects of you. If you embraced freedom from conscience, you would be much happier and more successful, as so many women I know are.’

Her eyes burned with the fire of the evangelist. She genuinely believed that she was doing good by the women she spoke of, and that might be worse than if she had been doing it simply for profit.

Gwen opened her mouth and closed it again, not able to articulate an answer. She ran to the door and wrenched it open, blundering her way down the passageway, out past the coffee shop, which she was now certain was nothing more than a front for a brothel, and out onto the pavement.

She ran to the end of the street, not caring what anyone might think of her conduct, and didn’t stop until she was safely away, then leant against the wall of an ironmonger’s shop, breathing heavily. She should go straight to Jenny, but her heart called her in a different direction. She knew where Danny wasstaying, and she wanted the comforting friendship he offered. Her lip curled derisively at her attempt to deceive herself. Friendship was an erroneous word to describe what she truly wanted from Danny.

She made her way across the city to his hotel. It was a smart though modest building, double-fronted, with ornate iron railings and white pillars at either side of the doorway. Gwen was wearing her lighter summer coat and a straw bonnet decorated with a sprig of silk roses, but still felt dowdy. She hesitated as she approached, but the doorman, a smiling man of about her own age, held the door open for her.

She walked into the lobby and was immediately transported back over twenty years to the visit she had paid to London with her father. Like the hotel they had stayed in then, this had mahogany wall panels and plush, crimson carpets which muffled the conversations of guests who sat in a dining room to the right of the entrance. A grand staircase, with a carved balustrade, curved gracefully up to the upper floors, and directly in front of her was a desk manned by another impeccably dressed man. She edged towards it. Now that she was here, she was having second thoughts. It might be best to leave a message for Danny– though how could she encapsulate what she needed to say, and what was that? She considered an anonymous note, which would not implicate herself, but wasn’t sure what other parties were involved in his search. She didn’t even know if the coffee house or the barbers were a front for a brothel, and if they were, whether Ruth or Sally were there. It was best to speak to Jenny first.

She was about to leave, when the clerk standing at the front desk gave a discreet cough and beckoned her.

‘Can I help you, madam?’

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile. ‘No, thank you. I was going to pay a friend a visit, but now I’ve decided not to.’

The clerk inclined his head. ‘If you give me your friend’s name, I can inform her you have called.’

Gwen’s neck grew warm. ‘It’s a Mr Parry.’

The clerk’s eyebrow didn’t rise but Gwen was certain it was the result of years of being subtle.

‘Mr Parry is, in fact, in the reading room to your left, if you would like to speak with him now.’

He gestured to the room to the left of the staircase and Gwen saw that Danny was indeed sitting on a Chesterfield in a small room lined with bookcases. He was facing the front window, but as if he had felt an invisible tug, he turned and looked directly at Gwen. His eyes widened and he mouthed her name. Gwen waved her fingers in response. There was nothing to do now but walk over and speak to him.

‘Mrs Walters, I didn’t expect to see you. Is there something wrong?’

His face creased in concern. Gwen momentarily forgot why she had come.

‘No, nothing. I merely felt that our conversation ended abruptly and wanted to wish you well.’

Danny’s look of concern deepened, and he reached out to touch her shoulder before hastily pulling his arm back, though it left a smear of heat throbbing where his fingers had briefly rested. His eyes fell on the spot then flickered to the clerk, then back to Gwen.

‘Come into the library with me and we can talk in private,’ he said.

He led the way and Gwen followed. The room was empty, and he closed the door.

‘I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your poor niece. I went back to the area where I met you and I asked a few questions. Women will talk to other women more than to a strange man, I find.’

‘What on earth possessed you to do that!’ Danny asked sharply, stepping forward.

Gwen drew back, the memory of Archibald’s sudden flare of anger looming in her mind. Danny’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

‘Gwen, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.’ He stepped backwards, hands outstretched and palms up. ‘I meant, I can’t believe you put yourself at risk. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.’

‘Nothing happened, and in any case, the choice was mine,’ Gwen said. It had been so long since anyone had shown such concern for her that she felt strangely fragile. She closed her eyes and therefore didn’t see Danny reaching over to take her hand, only felt it, as his fingers closed around hers. Her first thought was that she should pull away. She was married and he shouldn’t be approaching her at all, let alone so intimately and so gently.

Her second, stronger, thought was that she wished she wasn’t wearing gloves because the kid leather stopped her truly feeling the gentleness of his hands, and she very much wanted to. She stared at his left hand and noticed the absence of a ring.

‘Aren’t you married?’ she asked, forcing a slight smile.

His face twisted into the first sign of bitterness Gwen had seen on it.