The Devil & Lillian Holmes (15 page)

“No. I’m afraid not.”

Bess’s quiet sigh tore at Lillian’s heart—as had her lie. In fact, Lillian thought there was a chance Bess could be made whole, as George had explained that frailties and injuries often faded with time. But she said, “Now, Watson, I think we should bring the boys home, as we have a long night ahead of us.”

“We?
I’m
to do something?”

“Didn’t I tell you? We are going to the Spring Grove Asylum to see if there is any record of a birth there when I was sixteen. Well,
you
are to go. Addie and Thomas said the child was given to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, but there was no record of Jane there when I asked.” Lillian looked down at the ground and then up again. “The woman was awful, Bess. You should have seen how she stared at me.”

Bess held her hand, and Lillian found comfort in its warm pulse. “How will we get the information?”

“George has a lovely plan. You two are going alone there. They might recognize me.”

“Oh, Lil, are you serious?”

“Quite. You said you wanted to help.”

With a great sigh, Bess stood and straightened her skirts. “Lead on, then, Miss Holmes.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

George and Bess follow the scent.

“Mr. Orleans, you
must
slow down. I am not a creature and cannot move at your pace.”

“Creature? Is Lillian also a creature, or do you reserve that endearment for me?”

Bess fiddled with her bag and George reminded himself what a brave mortal she was, how she had helped saved Lillian, and in so doing how she had helped to redeem him.

“Miss Wheeler, might we call one another George and Bess?”

“We might. But not today.”

Surprised again at her pluckiness, George stopped and turned.
I can hear your quickened heartbeat, my dear.

Indeed, Lillian’s friend was flushed with nerves and exertion as she gasped, “I say, don’t look at me like that! I know it is not lust in your eyes.”

George laughed and bowed his head, deciding to ignore her previous incivility. “I am simply anxious to get there and back to the house before sundown. Perhaps Lillian explained—”

“Yes, of course. The devil woman comes out at night.”

“Indeed.” He motioned for the carriage driver again to wait, and linked his arm in Bess’s, drawing her up the path to the asylum. “Now, do you have the story straight?”

“You are very bossy,” the young woman said. “Do you know that? I don’t know how Lil can love you so, aside from your handsome face. Of course, you did save her life….”

George half smiled. “Did she tell you she loves me?” He fully smiled. “Oh, Lord, did I actually just ask you that?”

“She did. Not that you deserve her attentions.” Bess put her hands on her hips and caught her breath. “Why have you not made her a proper offer of marriage? Her reputation, what is left of it, will be in ruins soon.”

My God,
George thought.
So she does want marriage!
It was ridiculous, but these things were entirely foreign to him. He had gone so long not caring what anyone wanted but himself, it was difficult to suddenly change his perspective. “Did Lil want you to ask me that?”

“I am asking, not she. She claims there is nothing more important than finding Jane and destroying your she-devil. But in the meantime, sir, you are doing her a great disservice.”

“So she does
not
want to marry?”

“Is that relevant? You should offer her the choice!” Bess gave a snort of disdain. “Oh, you are both quite simple in the head. Let’s finish this horrid chore. I have never been in an asylum, although you two may drive me to one.”

“We will try to avoid that,” George said.

She flinched under his grasp when he took her arm again, prompting him to add, “Please, relax. I only want to warn you about Spring Grove Asylum. You may see people here, hear noises here, that you’ll find disturbing. The staff will be used to most any reaction you have, so that’s no worry, but do not let anything break your story. Clear?”

Bess pulled away and huffed as she straightened her hat. “Quite clear.”

She tilted her head and examined him for a moment. George, annoyed at her scrutiny, forcibly quashed a slight instinct to remove her from the equation. Bess was on their side and could be trusted. Lillian had promised.

“I asked Lillian a question,” Bess announced, “and, as her left brow arched, I know her answer was a lie. I would have the truth from you.”

“Her left brow arches when she lies? That is a handy piece of information.” George smiled to clear the air between them. “You are my now my best friend for life.”

Bess snorted again. “Oh, honestly. Buy me a ruby ring like the one Lil wears and I’ll be satisfied. My question, sir, is this. If a person is turned into a creature such as yourself, what happens to them exactly?”

“This isn’t the time—”

“As you do need me to carry out this plan, I would say it’s the perfect time, as I am asking the question.”

“What
exactly
would you like to hear about, Miss Wheeler?” George asked with some asperity. “The blood or the rebirth? The soul, the hunger, the strength…or perhaps how to kill us?”

She flinched a bit at his words. “All of those are of interest, but for now can you tell me if a person carries their infirmities into their new life?”

Oh, no wonder Lillian had told a lie. George grimaced. “I am immune to illnesses, and injuries typically heal quite quickly.”

Bess glared at him. “You to know to what I am referring, Mr. Orleans. I am lame, and I would have the truth. If I were to become a creature, would I remain disfigured?”

“Dear Bess, is it so horrible? You are really a very pretty, likeable woman. I can assure you that you are much happier as you are than after accepting such a bargain.”

“How can you know about my happiness?” Bess snapped. “Give me an answer, won’t you?”

“I’m afraid I cannot. Not a certain one. While you would cease to age, at least in appearance, there is no guarantee that physical infirmities such as yours would be repaired. I have seen it happen, but I have also seen it not work. I believe it depends on the bloodline of your maker. Others say a positive result is merely chance.”

“I see.” Lillian’s friend looked down at her misshapen shoe and toed the soil as if she might unearth an answer there, but after a moment she breathed in new air and stood erect, looped her arm through his, and announced that she was ready to do battle. “Let’s find Jane.”

“Yes, let’s find Jane,” George agreed. “We can talk more later if you like.”

Bess nodded. After about four steps, however, she added, “Truth be told, I think you are a fine match for Lillian. Please do mind what I said about making things right with her, however. She could use a bit of normalcy in her life, if that is remotely possible.”

If only it were.

They entered Spring Grove and were politely ushered by a receptionist to the central office. The rail-thin, middle-aged director, Dr. Arnold Epstein, had deep grey circles under his eyes and a pallor George had come to recognize signaled poor health, especially of the heart. But the man was generous and mannerly, and he bid the “newlyweds” sit and be comfortable.

“How can I help you, Mrs. and Mr. Johnson?”

“It is a delicate topic, Doctor. How long have you been at Spring Grove, if I might ask?”

“Oh, I may be trusted, sir. The identities and circumstances of all of our patients are treated with the utmost discretion. But I have been here for only three weeks.”

“Three weeks! Oh, then perhaps you will not be able to help us. It concerns a former patient. What happened to the previous director, a Doctor…?”

“Schneider? Ah, that is a very horrible story. You did not read of his…death in the paper? Ah, well, we are doing our best to carry on the high standards he established. In fact, security is much tighter, I assure you.”

A loud moan sounded from the hallway, startling them and belying the doctor’s proud assurance. George spoke to spare Epstein more embarrassment, as a scuffle outside the door seemed to be taking place.

“Indeed? My wife Clara had a dear sister who was hospitalized twice here. Once not so long ago, isn’t that right, Clara?”

“Yes, within two months.” Bess pulled a kerchief from her bag and sniveled into it, obviously in deep distress. “She succumbed to death by her own hand only two weeks ago.”

Epstein looked aghast and genuinely moved. “Oh, how terrible. Perhaps she should not have been released? Of course she should not have!”

“She actually escaped. It seems she must have had help, but we never learned from whom. I don’t suppose anyone on your staff currently?”

She’d managed just a hint of accusation, enough to make the doctor prickle a bit.
Good show, Bess.

“Absolutely not! Our staff is now top-notch! But I am very sorry for your loss.”

Bess sniffed into her kerchief and nodded. “You see, this was not the first time she was here, as we said. I am afraid that I know the road to Catonsville all too well.”

“It was the
first
time, Clara, wasn’t it?” George prompted. “When it happened? How old was she then?”

“Yes, I was only fourteen, but I remember it clearly. My governess tried to keep the truth from me, but I knew. My sister had a child, Doctor. While at Spring Grove. She was only sixteen, so you can understand…” She turned to George and wept so well that he wondered if she were actually grieving.

“There, there, dear,” he said to her. “Doctor Epstein, we have not been able to locate Clara’s sister’s child. We were told she was taken to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, but they have no knowledge of such a child. We were hoping…well, Clara and I would dearly love to bring her into the family, give her the love and life in society she so deserves. It would complete our lives and be such a tribute to Clara’s sister’s memory.”

“Indeed, I understand,” said the doctor. “Though I cannot guarantee that I will have the information you seek. Some families do not allow us to keep such records, as you might imagine.”

“Of course.”

Epstein stood and walked to a large credenza full of folders and notebooks. “I will need the name of your sister, Mrs. Johnson, and the approximate year.”

“Holmes. The name is Holmes, and it would have been in the fall of 1881.”

Epstein flipped through his leather-bound files, and George winked at Bess. The doctor finally pulled down a book and ran his finger along the entries. “Holmes, you said? Lillian Holmes?”

“Yes!”

He read silently for a bit and finally peered over his spectacles. “I wish she had been my patient. This strikes me as a very common case for a female of that age and in her circumstances. But let us skip those details and find what you are—”

“No! Please, I would like very much to know what happened,” Bess said. “We owe her that much, don’t you think?”

“Keep in mind that treatment has evolved a great deal in the last seven years.”

“Of course,” George agreed. But,
God,
what torture had his Lil gone through?

“Female, heavy with child. Age sixteen. Depressive, suicidal, delusional. References to an enemy. Poorly nourished. Given medications… Ah, they did no shock therapy, as she was with child.
That
is good news. Restraints were necessary. And…yes, it records the birth of a healthy child.”

“Does it say where the child was taken?”

“Released into the care of Doctor Schneider under orders from your sister’s solicitor, Francis Pemberton. To be taken to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. Just as you were told.”

George’s heart sank. Here was nothing they didn’t already know. But his beloved had been restrained and drugged while pregnant? He wanted to leap across the room and tear out Epstein’s heart for being one of the misguided ghouls who tortured those who couldn’t defend themselves. He hadn’t expected much, but Lillian had thought this worth a try. If only he could give her something, anything…

“No one else is mentioned? No other family members or our parents?” Bess asked.

“I’m afraid not, but that is not unusual. Quite often families leave these matters to their physicians.”

Bess stood and wiped at her tears, which seemed quite real to George now. “Thank you for your help, Dr. Epstein. I would have dearly loved to have found Jane.”

“Jane?”

“Oh, the name we thought to give the little girl should we find her.”

“I think you are confused, Mrs. Johnson. Jane wouldn’t suit for a boy child.” The doctor smiled ruefully, obviously sincere in his desire to help.

“Are you quite sure? A boy?” George grabbed Bess’s arm. Could Lil have been wrong about such a basic fact?

“The record seems quite clear. Male, six and a half pounds, healthy.”

“Thank you, then, we’ll be off.” George hurried Bess toward the door. In a moment of gratitude he turned back and stared at the confused director, saying, “Dr. Epstein, might I recommend that you let one of your colleagues listen to your heart—and suggest that you rest a bit more?”

“What on earth…?”

George didn’t hear any more. He pulled Bess quickly outside and put her into their carriage.

“A boy!” Lillian’s friend squealed. “I don’t know what to think! Is that good news or bad?”

“I do not know,” George said. “But Lil told me that the caretaker at the orphanage said they had no girl child of that age, so I know our next stop. Are you game, Bess?”

“I am, George!”

His heart was pounding. What would Lillian say if it was true, if her boy was at the orphanage and Madam Lucifer was toying with them? He wanted it to be so, wanted it desperately for her sake, wanted above all things for her to have this one happiness. And there was only one way to find out.

The carriage ride back to the city center seemed to take forever. Across from George, Bess wiggled her foot anxiously. “Do we keep the same charade?” she asked. “Or do we approach more directly?”

“I think the same. But follow my lead, will you, Miss Watson?”

“What else.”

The orphanage was only slightly less foreboding than the asylum, an ornate grey monstrosity that more resembled a prison. While the generous souls who had financed a home for unfortunate children were to be commended, George was certain that life in the building was akin to prison. How many Lillians wondered where their children were? How many had abandoned them on purpose? How many parents had died and left a child behind? But for Lillian’s money, she might have grown into young adulthood in this very place.