Page 83 of Lady Gambit
Nora huffed and rested her plate on the grate. “I told you when you came to pick my mind before. Big black hat. Big shiny shoes. One ruby eye on a stick. That’s the devil what made me dizzy.”
“Why? What had you done?”
“Done?” Nora’s eyes bulged. “Nothing. Happen I knew too much. Those devils stole Caterina off the street. It took me months to find her. Then I saw the poor lamb picking pockets on West Street.”
Picking pockets!
“You speak of Mrs Haggert?” Delphine said.
“Who else? She stole you right from under your mother’s nose.”
Aaron turned from the window, his temper barely contained. “Did I not say Mrs Haggert is the devil incarnate? I’ll take great pleasure in making her pay for what she’s done to this family.”
A memory slid into Delphine’s mind. That of Mrs Haggert gripping her wrist so tightly it left a bruise, tugging hard and dragging her from the shrubbery.
We need to get her away from here and quickly.
Other memories fought for supremacy.
She was staring into a basket of flower petals, too scared to put her hand inside and scatter them as instructed. A woman beside her was crying, begging the maid for help.
What did it mean?
Perhaps it was time Dorian explained how her parents had died. It might be a valuable piece of the puzzle. It might spark an important memory. But first, she had to learn everything she could from Nora Adkins.
“How did you know my mother?” she said firmly.
“I worked at your house in Bolton Street. I know everything that went on there. I know what they did.” Nora glanced at Dorian and Aaron and snarled. “But I’ll not tell you in front of these blighters. I’ll hang for what I know. Happen you wouldn’t want to tarnish your mother’s memory.”
Beyond desperate for answers, she turned to Aaron. “Leave us for a moment. I want to speak to Nora alone.”
“Like hell,” both men echoed.
Dorian’s hand slid around her arm. “I’ll not leave you with her. We’ll find the answers we need another way.” He met Aaron’s gaze. “Have Sigmund fetch the watchman. I’m sure Nora is missing her cell at Bethlem. And we need Daventry to get a warrant for Powell’s arrest.”
Perhaps Dorian was right to air his concern.
He’d been distrusting of Nora since she arrived.
Indeed, Nora shot to her feet and made a hullabaloo. “I ain’t going back to that hellish place. And I ain’t meeting my maker until I’ve brought death to the devil who put me there.” She grabbed her scuffed boots from the hearth. “I came here of my own free will, and I’ll leave the same way.”
“There’s nowhere to go.” Dorian sounded like a constable from Bow Street. “The man you mean to murder is dead. And you won’t get within a hundred yards of Mrs Haggert.”
If Nora wasn’t mad before, she was now. She stamped the floor and shook her head and swore like a dockside lout. Without warning, she lunged at Dorian, hard and fast, pushing him in the chest with all her might. “Stay back, you wretch!”
He stumbled in shock, giving Nora the valuable seconds needed to thrust her hand into her boot and draw a small pistol.
Everyone gasped.
“No one move,” Nora cried, cocking the hammer and aiming the gun at Delphine. “Don’t test my patience. I’ll shoot her. Make no mistake.”
Nora’s eyes flitted about though her hand remained steady. Every facial muscle conveyed a determination to carry out her threat.
Was the woman unhinged?
Was this merely a last bid for freedom?
“I’m sure you don’t want to hurt me.” Delphine raised her hands in surrender. “I’m sure this is a simple misunderstanding.” How did one reason with a maniac?
