Read Online Death in the Dark Walk by Deryn Lake - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Deryn Lake
Tags: Suspense
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âWell then,â he said, and gave her a slow and extremely disconcerting smile.
It was while he was seated in the coffee house drinking a restorative brandy and waiting for Samuel Swann to come down the stairs and join him that Madame de Blond suddenly flitted across Johnâs line of vision, only to be followed a moment or two later by what appeared to be her double, neither of them dressed in identical blue today but certainly recognisable.
John cast his memory back to the scene at the Cascade and envisaged them, staring up at the waterfall, rubbing shoulders with Henry Fox, who had appeared to know them.
âIâll wager he did too!â thought John. But what new avenues did this discovery open? Had they gone to Vaux Hall in pursuit of Elizabeth, perhaps hoping to lure her back? Could her death be an awful warning to any girl from the brothel who might think of going astray in future?
With his mind mulling over all these ideas, John Rawlings ordered another brandy and decided that the very next day he must visit number twenty-four Vigo Lane and see what clues, if any, the silent home of a dead girl might yet yield up.
Chapter Five
After some discussion with Sir Gabriel over a hasty but hearty breakfast, it had been mutually decided that the role of young blood, much as John had enjoyed it, should be put aside in favour of some less conspicuous guise. Therefore, with a great deal of reluctance, the Apothecary found himself once again putting on the sober attire of an apprentice. City regulations insisted that those under indenture must wear only garments provided by their Master and that hair should be âcut in a decent and comely mannerâ, though the latter rule was frequently violated, John having been one of the worst offenders in this matter. Yet dark respectable clothing had been a necessity of life.
âI had hoped to put this sort of garb behind me now,â the Apothecary grumbled as he buttoned himself into a long serviceable coat.
âI would imagine that Mr Fieldingâs men adopt many strange disguises,â Sir Gabriel had answered him calmly.
Nothing could have mollified his son more effectively and John had left the house in Nassau Street with the serious look of one whose purpose in life it is to track down criminals.
Vigo Lane, which ran behind the magnificent gardens of the great mansion, Burlington House, was easy to reach on foot from Nassau Street, and today John chose the route that led him through Compton Street and the Huguenot quarter. Here so much French could be heard, so many French people passed, that it was almost possible to believe oneself in France, while leading off Compton Street was Greek Street, where a Greek colony had settled in the seventeenth century. But John turned away from this fascinating quarter and, instead, made his way down Knaves Acre, Brewer Street and Glass-House Street, into Vigo Lane.
Number twenty-four was easy enough to find. A tall terraced house built within the last forty years and not unlike the dwellings in Nassau Street in appearance, it had a fanlight and simple segmental hood above its front door and three steps leading up to the entrance. Moving with hare-like speed, John ascended them and seized the knocker, only to find that the door moved beneath his touch. Giving it a cautious push, the Apothecary saw to his astonishment that the catch had been left open. Hardly able to believe his good fortune, Mr Fieldingâs man stepped into the entrance hall.
An elegant angled staircase rose almost directly before him, to its left an internal access obviously leading to a suite of rooms. It occurred to John at once that the two upper floors mirrored this one and that the whole house consisted of three sets of apartments, though whether the place had been built in this manner or converted at some later time he could not be certain. Going to the door, John tapped on it lightly but there was no reply, no sound from within.
It was while he was seated in the coffee house drinking a restorative brandy and waiting for Samuel Swann to come down the stairs and join him that Madame de Blond suddenly flitted across Johnâs line of vision, only to be followed a moment or two later by what appeared to be her double, neither of them dressed in identical blue today but certainly recognisable.
John cast his memory back to the scene at the Cascade and envisaged them, staring up at the waterfall, rubbing shoulders with Henry Fox, who had appeared to know them.
âIâll wager he did too!â thought John. But what new avenues did this discovery open? Had they gone to Vaux Hall in pursuit of Elizabeth, perhaps hoping to lure her back? Could her death be an awful warning to any girl from the brothel who might think of going astray in future?
With his mind mulling over all these ideas, John Rawlings ordered another brandy and decided that the very next day he must visit number twenty-four Vigo Lane and see what clues, if any, the silent home of a dead girl might yet yield up.
Chapter Five
After some discussion with Sir Gabriel over a hasty but hearty breakfast, it had been mutually decided that the role of young blood, much as John had enjoyed it, should be put aside in favour of some less conspicuous guise. Therefore, with a great deal of reluctance, the Apothecary found himself once again putting on the sober attire of an apprentice. City regulations insisted that those under indenture must wear only garments provided by their Master and that hair should be âcut in a decent and comely mannerâ, though the latter rule was frequently violated, John having been one of the worst offenders in this matter. Yet dark respectable clothing had been a necessity of life.
âI had hoped to put this sort of garb behind me now,â the Apothecary grumbled as he buttoned himself into a long serviceable coat.
âI would imagine that Mr Fieldingâs men adopt many strange disguises,â Sir Gabriel had answered him calmly.
Nothing could have mollified his son more effectively and John had left the house in Nassau Street with the serious look of one whose purpose in life it is to track down criminals.
Vigo Lane, which ran behind the magnificent gardens of the great mansion, Burlington House, was easy to reach on foot from Nassau Street, and today John chose the route that led him through Compton Street and the Huguenot quarter. Here so much French could be heard, so many French people passed, that it was almost possible to believe oneself in France, while leading off Compton Street was Greek Street, where a Greek colony had settled in the seventeenth century. But John turned away from this fascinating quarter and, instead, made his way down Knaves Acre, Brewer Street and Glass-House Street, into Vigo Lane.
Number twenty-four was easy enough to find. A tall terraced house built within the last forty years and not unlike the dwellings in Nassau Street in appearance, it had a fanlight and simple segmental hood above its front door and three steps leading up to the entrance. Moving with hare-like speed, John ascended them and seized the knocker, only to find that the door moved beneath his touch. Giving it a cautious push, the Apothecary saw to his astonishment that the catch had been left open. Hardly able to believe his good fortune, Mr Fieldingâs man stepped into the entrance hall.
An elegant angled staircase rose almost directly before him, to its left an internal access obviously leading to a suite of rooms. It occurred to John at once that the two upper floors mirrored this one and that the whole house consisted of three sets of apartments, though whether the place had been built in this manner or converted at some later time he could not be certain. Going to the door, John tapped on it lightly but there was no reply, no sound from within.
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