Page 74 of The Laudanum Ladies' Society

‘Don’t fight each other,’ Jenny said. Her eyes had lit up at Miriams’s unexpected defence of her, and Gwen suspected their quarrel was over. Jenny put one hand on Miriam’s arm and held the other towards Gwen. ‘It wasn’t only Gwen to blame. We’re both equally culpable. You were right from the start, Miriam. We have created something dreadful.’

Gwen filled the kettle and put it on the stove. Tea wouldn’t solve the problem, but it would settle her stomach and calm her nerves. She should have stuck to making tea!

‘There’s no point arguing over whose idea it was,’ she said. ‘We’ve done it, so what are we going to do to resolve the situation? We cannot let this continue, and we have to find Sally.’ The blood drained from her as the monstrous thought occurred to her. ‘Was it either of them?’

‘No, I don’t think so. I know it was not Sally, and the accent wasn’t right for Ruth. I think it was the young girl who we saw in Augusta’s office. I’m sorry.’ Jenny knotted her hands together tightly. ‘I did try.’

‘What do we do? How do we extricate ourselves from Augusta without risking ourselves?’ Gwen said. ‘She knows too much about us. She could ruin us if she makes our involvement known. My husband would be furious.’

She shivered, then saw the cunning look cross Jenny’s face.

‘Miriam and I talked long into the night, and we’ve already had some thoughts. We know some things about Augusta, of course, and Selina, too. Miriam and I saw her at the theatre, entertaining a man. I believe she’s a prostitute, but of a higher class than the poor unfortunates in Augusta’s clutches. If that is true, then I don’t imagine she’d want her connection to Augusta made known to her patrons.’

‘Ha! I wouldn’t be at all surprised!’ said Gwen. She tutted. ‘She seems so respectable, with servants and a coach and that grand house, but how do you think she pays for it?’

Miriam gave Gwen a crooked grin, and she found herself warming to the woman. She was around the same age as Jenny and her brown eyes sparkled with intelligent wit.

‘Do you remember at her house, when she went upstairs?’ Jenny said. ‘And what she was doing up there? She must have been testing the tincture’s effect on her inhibitions.’

‘Yes, I think she was.’ Gwen put her hands to her cheeks, remembering the unaccustomed feelings of lust towards Archibald when she had experimented with it. How long ago that seemed! She doubted that even a dozen bottles would be able to rekindle the passion now, not since his temper had changed so markedly.

‘There’s only one way to discover if she knows what Augusta is doing,’ Gwen said. ‘We need to ask her, but without Augusta present. If she doesn’t, then she might be as appalled as we are.’

‘And if she does?’ Miriam asked.

‘Then we’re in no worse position,’ Gwen said. She filled the teapot, turned it three times and drummed her fingers against the lid. ‘It would help if we had something to hold over her.’

Jenny and Miriam exchanged a look and edged a little closer to each other. There was a new warmth between them that had been absent when they had encountered each other in the street at night.

‘We’ve thought of that, too. Miriam is going to spend some time over the next few days watching her house and if she has any gentlemen callers, Miriam is going to sketch them. Then we can threaten Selina with exposure.’

‘Blackmail!’ Gwen laughed slightly wildly. ‘What sort of people have we become!’

The three women looked at each other, as if none of them could provide an answer. Gwen poured the tea and sighed.

‘A few days, though. That’s too long when those poor girls are being made to perform all sorts of dreadful acts.’

‘I know, but what’s a few more days if we ensure their safety?’ Jenny said.

After bidding farewell to her visitors, Gwen took Archibald a cup of tea, then tried to go back to the accounts, but she couldn’t concentrate.

She went upstairs and into the bedroom. Archibald’s dressing table was at his side of the bed, and she thought she remembered seeing his old spectacles on the top a day or two earlier. She opened the drawer to see if he had put them inside, and her eye fell on an envelope with familiar writing.

Archie!

The envelope was addressed to Archibald. It was water-stained and crumpled but it looked newer than any she had seen before. She took the letter out and sat on the edge of the bed to read it, her hands trembling. The letter was dated the ninth of November. So long ago, and Archibald had not even told her about it! A sense of betrayal washed over her at the thought that her son had written to his father but not to her, too. It was quickly followed by the fear that something was wrong that he didn’t want her to know.

The letter started well enough. He talked of a woman, Veronique, who was native to St Helena. Gwen frowned. Was that why Archibald had not shared the letter with her? Did he think she would be offended by Archie falling in love with awoman of a different race? She tutted at her husband’s narrow-mindedness and turned back to the letter.

It continued with news of a business he was going to invest in with a friend who he had met through Veronique, whom he hoped to marry. He was going to come into a lot of money once it paid off, and he would be able to come back to visit. He might even bring his beloved Veronique with him (he warned his father that he would not tolerate any rudeness towards her). At the bottom was Archie’s familiar signature, carefully scribed.

She put the letter back in the envelope and was so consumed by her thoughts that she did not realise Archibald had entered the bedroom.

‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

‘I was looking for your old spectacles because you complained about the new pair,’ Gwen answered. She held the letter out. ‘I found this letter from Archie.’

‘You’ve been through my drawer?’ Archibald swept to her side as he growled the words. He gripped her by the shoulders and shook her violently. Gwen’s head jolted and pain cracked down the side of her neck so sharply she thought she might black out. She put her hand to her neck and rubbed, staring accusingly at Archibald.