Only the Thunder Knows_East End Girls (22 page)

Chapter

11

Eliza barged through the doors
of London Hospital out of breath and asking for Doctor Riley. When James met
her in the lobby, she pulled him to a corner away from prying eyes. “James, I
was robbed.”

“What? Here,
just outside?” He began to move toward the door.

 Eliza grabbed
his arm and yanked him back. “You can’t make a fuss, James. I’m not supposed to
be here.

“It’s not
right. We should send for the police.”

“Absolutely
not!”

Several people
on the other side of the lobby, including the receptionist and two nurses,
looked over at them.

“You’re being
ridiculous,” he said. “You could’ve been hurt.”

“But I wasn’t.
Please understand, James. My father—”

“Yes, don’t
remind me. I know his temperament all too well.”

“Then help.”

“How?”

“Have your
carriage bring me home.”

James stood
there for a moment and appeared to be deep in thought. “I’ll agree, with one
condition.”

“What is it?
Anything.”

“Promise
you’ll come back and work with me like you did today.” He pulled Eliza closer
to him and looked into her eyes.

Eliza turned
her head and saw the other women in the lobby had continued to stare. “James,
I—”

“It was one of
the best days I’ve had in quite some time. Please, I’m not asking for anything
else but for us to work together a few times more.”

“All right.
I’ll try.”

“Thank you.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I’ll send for the carriage.” James gently
released her hand, then walked over to the receptionist and nurses standing
across the room. A moment later, the receptionist got up from her desk and
walked down a long hallway and the nurses dispersed.

*   *   *

While the
carriage horses clopped through the East End, Eliza took off her gloves, then
reached up and caressed her great-grandmother’s broach. There wasn’t any
conceivable way she could give it to a wretch such as Catherine. The mere
thought made her seethe and grind her teeth. A moment later, she felt pain and
moved her hand away. Eliza had been clutching the broach so hard some of the
sharper edges of the setting had left minute pinpricks of blood on her palm.
She put her hand up and licked the wounds, then put the gloves back on.

The carriage
arrived on Queen Anne Street and the driver helped Eliza step out. She thanked
him and then headed into the house. Nanette was in the foyer ready to take her
hat, coat, and gloves. “Where is Mrs. Sutton?” she said.

“Last I saw,
she was bringing your father tea in his study.”

“My father’s
home?”

“Yes, Miss.”

“For how
long?”

“Since a bit
after noon.”

“He never
comes home early. Is something wrong? What happened?”

“I don’t know,
Miss.”

“Suppose I’ll
have to go and find out myself. Thank you, Nanette.”

The maid
curtsied and quickly left the room before Eliza could ask her anymore
questions. Eliza slowly walked toward her father’s study. She looked into the
parlor on the way, hoping her mother would be there to distract her for a
while. The room was empty. Knots in her stomach, she stood in front of the
study doors gathering her thoughts before knocking.

“Come in,
Eliza,” her father said.

She turned the
crystal knob, which stung her injured palm, and entered the room. Lord
Covington sat in a chair next to the fireplace with a book on his lap.

“Hello,
Father.”

“Come in and
close the door. Take a seat next to me here by the fire. You must be chilled. I
saw you arrive in an open carriage.”

Eliza walked
over and sat in the chair opposite his, on the other side of the fireplace.
“It’s been a long day,” she said.

“Was that
Doctor Riley’s carriage?”

“Yes, it was.
I was on my way home and he saw me in Regent’s Park. We spoke for a bit and he
offered me a ride.”

“Why didn’t he
come with you? I saw no one else in the carriage.”

“He was
waiting for someone.”

“I see. And
how is he? Gotten over you by now, I’d think.”

“Yes, Father,
I’m sure. We are only friends.”

“Good. Good.”

“What are you
reading?” she said, pointing to the book in his lap, changing the subject.

“I was looking
through this old picture book your mother kept.”

Eliza got up
and sat on the floor next to her father’s chair. Together they went over the
photos and Lord Covington explained each one. What the event was, where it was
taken, and all the details. She watched her father’s facial expressions go from
joy at the earlier pages to somber toward the end when he got to a photo of his
grandmother. Eliza treasured these dear moments spent with him; they melted her
heart. Until she noticed the diamond broach her great-grandmother wore pinned
to her dress.

That moment
turned her heart to stone.

*   *   *

At dinner,
Eliza ate very little and her mother took notice.

“If you don’t
eat, you will get too thin and your dress will have to be altered.”

“Let her be,
dear. She’s had a long day,” her father said.

Her mother sighed.

For the
remainder of the courses, Eliza moved food with her silverware back and forth
across the china without ever taking a bite. Her thoughts were miles away, but
not filled with marriage plans, her wedding night, moving to another country,
or regrets about James like her parents might have believed. Eliza felt an
intense gnawing in her belly from the inside out over what to do about
Catherine.

After dinner,
she joined her father in his study hoping to discuss medicine and take her mind
off of the predicament she was in.

“You seem
bothered, Eliza. Pour yourself a bit of brandy and come sit by the fire.”

“I’m all
right, Father. Professor Huxley announced the graduates today.”

“Ah, and it’s
all coming down on you like a ton of bricks now is it?”

“I suppose.”

Eliza changed
her mind and poured herself a bit of brandy, brought her father a snifter full
and then sat down with hers, taking small sips while her father talked about
his day.

“Mother said
you were called in early today. Is everything all right with the Royals?”

“Yes, fine.
One of the visiting little grand princes got a bit of the sniffles is all.”

“Oh.”

“We haven’t
spoken much about you going off to America. I imagine this must be weighing
heavy on your thoughts, but you shouldn’t worry. Henry’s a smart man. He won’t
leave you alone in a strange place.”

“He’ll be busy
working late nights, I imagine.”

“What will you
do?”

“Bring my
graduation papers, find work if I can. Volunteer at hospitals if I have to.”

“Do you think
Henry would allow it?”

“If he doesn’t
want me to go mad he will.”

Lord Covington
laughed, then took a swig of brandy and swallowed. He said nothing.

“You don’t
think he’ll want me to practice?” she said.

“I don’t know.
We haven’t spoken about it.”

“If you do,
can you mention it to him? Persuade him, perhaps?”

“I’ll try,” he
said, then took another drink.

Eliza wasn’t
comforted by their conversations this evening like she usually was. The talk
only made her more nervous and upset about the future.

When she went
to bed that night, she thought further on how to remedy the situation with
Catherine. Dreams of hate and murder kept her mind occupied.

Chapter

12

 “Mrs. Sutton, would you please
send a note to Ann Williams this morning? Ask her if it would be all right if I
call on her this afternoon.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Well,” her
mother said. “It’s about time. I’d almost forgotten myself.”

“Do you think
she’ll see me on such short notice?”

“She hardly
ever leaves the house these days. I’m sure she’ll be happy for your visit, but
why the sudden interest?”

“It’s been too
long, and I may not get another chance. Exams are next month, then graduation,
then the wedding, and then I leave.”

“Don’t make it
all sound so rushed.”

“But it is.”

“Oh Eliza, you
have such a talent for dramatics.”

“I do not.”

Eliza’s father
entered the room. “It’s too early for bickering, ladies.” He took a seat at the
breakfast table. “If you continue, I’ll leave without taking a single bite.”

Eliza and her
mother both leaned back in their chairs and finished eating their toast.

“I say, now
that’s more like it,” he said.

*   *   *

During
classes, Eliza debated whether to go and work with James as she’d promised.
Then it came to her that it would probably be best if she went when it was time
to meet Catherine again. The vivid dreams and nightmares she’d had the past
couple nights—in bits and pieces—had given her an idea. A plan she knew would
work if done exactly right. She just needed time and a clear mind to devise it
and see it through.

More than
ever, she looked forward to visiting with Ann Williams later that afternoon.
Eliza hoped she might improve her friend’s melancholy situation and forget
about her own tumultuous one. At least for Eliza’s sake, she was sure Ann would
leave her house to attend the wedding in December. Eliza hated to see any
acquaintance of hers upset or sad.

On her way
home, she stopped at White’s Chocolate House on St. James Street and had a cup
to drink, then picked up several pieces of eating chocolate for Ann. For the
first time in days, she didn’t feel the presence of anyone watching her. She
was certain then that it was Catherine who had been following her the entire
time. There was no detective, no one her father had hired. Eliza was fortunate
the woman never approached her in public. It was also good she hadn’t gotten
hurt. Catherine could have attacked her and simply stolen the broach. These
thoughts made Eliza’s heart beat harder and faster. She clenched her hands into
fists. A slow-building heat full of rage moved from her chest upward, coating
the skin around her neck and head with fire. Eliza, who was certain her face
must be brick red, took in deep breaths to try to calm herself before arriving
home earlier than usual. She didn’t need any unwanted attention from her
mother.

There was no
one in the foyer when she came through the front doors, so she ran upstairs and
began to change into something more appropriate for her visit with Ann. After
she was dressed, Nanette came in and helped her fix her hair.

“Did Mrs.
Sutton say that Mrs. Williams would see me? We could be doing this all for
nothing.”

“She did,
miss. The carriage is waiting for you out front.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re
welcome, and don’t forget the little box of eating chocolates I saw on the
foyer table. If Lord Covington or your mother sees them they might very well
disappear.”

Eliza laughed.
“Funny how they say they dislike it, but behind closed doors…”

Nanette
smiled. “I’ll meet you downstairs to help you with your coat and hat.” Then she
left the room.

Moments later,
Eliza was out the door and in the carriage to go just up the street. Any other
day she would have walked, but it was drizzling out, and she wanted to look her
best for Ann, whom she hadn’t seen in quite some time.

When she
arrived at the Williams’s home, she was greeted at the front door by one of the
maids, then brought to Ann who had been waiting for her in the atrium with a
tray of tea and cookies on a side table. The Williams’s house was lovely and
Eliza had always thought it suited them.

Doctor
Jonathan Williams was recently knighted by the Queen and worked sometimes
alongside Eliza’s father on more difficult cases. Ann had married him when she
was 22. He was ten years her senior and it was a bit of a scandal because of
his rank in society at the time, but then it was all soon gotten over because
of his excellent skill and reputation.

Since then,
Ann had gone into a deep depression because her father’s tin business went
under and as hard as she and Jon tried, she was unable to get pregnant. All the
solemn news was too much for Eliza to handle with everything she had going on
in her own life. She tried her best to comfort Ann and divert her attention
when she could, but all Ann’s woes, along with being unable to get pregnant,
kept Eliza away. But she had the excuse of medical school and her own wedding
to plan. Ann of all people knew the amount of work and education involved with
becoming a physician.

When Eliza
entered the room Ann looked up and stood to greet her. “You look absolutely
radiant,” Ann said in a monotone voice. Her face was peaked and expressionless.

Eliza smiled.
She had hoped her attire and attitude would bring some cheer to her friend, but
it didn’t seem to have worked. Despite her kind welcome, there was deep hurt
and longing in Ann’s eyes. “Forgive me for not coming to see you sooner. How
have you been?” Eliza said.

The two women
hugged. “Please, sit down,” Ann said, pointing to the spot on the settee next
to where she had been seated a moment ago.

Feeling the weight
of the day’s classes, and work, along with the sad expression on her friend’s
face, Eliza sank into the cushion when she sat. The Williams’s maid began
pouring them cups of tea. “Just a bit of milk in mine, please,” Eliza said.

After the
servant left, Eliza reached for Ann’s hands and turned to face her. “Please, my
dear friend. Tell me how you truly are and don’t hold back.”

Ann’s eyes
immediately filled with tears. Before Eliza could pull a handkerchief from her
sleeve, her friend was crying. Eliza handed it to Ann, and she dabbed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that things have been…well, they’ve been horrible.”

“Please, tell
me. What is it?” Eliza said. “Is it Sir Jon?”

Ann nodded.

“Has he done
something against you?”

She nodded
again.

“This is horrible
news indeed,” Eliza said. “Another woman?”

Her friend
nodded again.

So, the rumors
are true.
Doctor Williams practiced at the London Hospital in East End. He performed
abortions on prostitutes as well, but overcharged for them, which was not
honorable in Eliza’s eyes. She’d also heard stories that he might’ve been
having affairs with some of these women. It disgusted her. She could feel
hatred rising from the pit of her stomach.

Ann slowed her
crying to whimpering. Eliza offered her the cup of tea the maid had just
poured. She raised the cup and saucer and took a small sip. “Thank you,” she
said.

“Don’t think
of it,” Eliza said. “Thanking me, I mean.”

“I can do
nothing but, and not about thanking you, but about
her
.”

“Do you have a
name? Is it someone you know?”

Ann shook her
head, and then after a whimper, she said, “Mary Kelly.”

“I’ve not
heard the name before.”

“She might be
a prostitute.” Ann started crying again and Eliza took the teacup from her
shaking hand and set it down on the table. Then she held her friend while Ann
cried for at least ten minutes more.

 “I will never
quite understand how you endure it,” Eliza said.

“Maybe after
you’re married it will come to light.”

“I hope not.
I’d like to leave some of
the ways
of English marriage behind when we
go.”

“That’s a
shocking thing to say.”

“And what
you’ve told me isn’t? It pains me to see you like this.”

Ann wiped her
face one last time with Eliza’s handkerchief, then handed it back to her. There
were very few signs on her face that showed she had just been crying. She
looked almost the way she did when Eliza first walked into the room. It was
simultaneously sad and amazing to see her friend so changeable. Eliza worried
that Ann might be skirting the edge of mental illness, possibly mania, and she
wanted to help her friend before it was too late. Time was running out, though.
She would be leaving very early the next year. Eliza wondered what she could
do.

It was all the
fault of the East End harlots. Eliza’s hate for them had been gradually worsening,
and this last bit of news had brought it to its peak. The prostitutes used to
be a means of learning the worst cases of venereal disease and the female
anatomy, but now they’d become a nuisance. Eliza thought about how it could be
that these women’s lives could be so intertwined with women like herself and
Ann Williams. It just didn’t seem possible. Times were changing, and she could
already feel its effect on her.

And she didn’t
like it.

*   *   *

It had been
three long days since Catherine threatened Eliza with a scheme of blackmail.
Three days during which Eliza’s loathing for the whores of the East End
continued to grow.

She worked
alongside Doctor James Riley, but he couldn’t have enjoyed it the same way he
did before, since Eliza was now always so distant and deep in thought about
meeting up with Catherine and her visit the other day with her friend, Ann
Williams. James tried several times to be humorous, or strike up a
conversation, and failed miserably at getting her attention. It wasn’t until he
asked how she and Henry were getting along that she woke from her daze.

“What?” Eliza
whispered.

“Have you
heard a word I’ve said? What has your mind so occupied these days?”

“I’m sorry,
James. It’s the exams, the wedding, moving. Tell me something, do you know Sir
Jon Williams very well?”

“I wouldn’t
say I know him
very
well, but I see him on occasion here and we talk
about medicine. Why?”

“Have you
heard any rumors about him?”

“These halls
are filled with talk about other people, but I don’t bother paying attention to
any of it and neither should you.”

“Do you think
it’s true he sees prostitutes?”

“Well, of
course he sees them. Sir Jon is here every Friday to perform abortions.”

“That’s not
what I mean, and I think it’s wrong of him to make them pay so much.”

“He accepts
what they can afford. It’s better than having one done on the street.”

“You don’t
understand what I’m trying to say.”

“And what
exactly is it? You think Sir Jon is having an affair with a prostitute? Don’t
be silly. You need to get that notion out of your head. Talk like that can ruin
your career. And his. Let’s take a break and have some tea. Then we can discuss
what it really is you’re trying to say.”

“I’ll be
fine.”

“I know I made
you promise to work with me a few more times, but I understand you’re busy, and
if you’d rather not—”

“James, I’m
all right. A promise is a promise. Let’s just finish up the day and go home.”

Doctor Riley
lowered his head. “My intention was for us to enjoy the last few times we would
see one another doing something we both love, not for you to be in a rush and
leave.”

“Forgive me.
Truly, I’m in no hurry to go. I never was. Please believe me when I tell you
that I want to spend these moments with you. The memories I’ll take with me and
cherish always.”

Eliza saw
James’s eyes well up. He turned away and spoke. “Don’t apologize. It was my own
selfishness that wanted this and if it hurts me, then only I’m to blame.”

She took him
by the arm. “I think I’d like some tea now,” she said, and then she led him
down the hall with a broken heart and a mind seething with rage.

*   *   *

 Eliza left
the London Hospital in the rain and told the driver to circle around before
heading to Mitre Square. He did, and it gave her a little more time to ready
herself. She put on her black cloak and pulled the hood over. There was a small
pouch of money underneath where she kept the leather case of instruments. Eliza
pulled it out and pushed it down into the pocket of her coat.

The driver
stopped and pounded on the roof of the cab. Eliza stepped out, paid the man,
and started walking in the rain. It wasn’t long before she felt someone
following her.
I know this game, and I can play, too.
She ducked down an
alley, picked up her pace, and made a few quick turns, then stopped. Twenty
feet in front of her, stood Catherine, looking side to side down backstreets in
a frantic search.