Page 64 of Dark Tidings on the Thames
“Jeanette, can you get word out to some of the flower sellers?” asked Kara. “Asking them to look out for her and send us word if she turns up?”
“I’ll go myself, if I’m permitted?” Jeanette looked to Emelia, who nodded.
“We have to go—it’s nearly evening now,” Gyda said. “We need to catch the sister at home before she sets out for the night.”
“Let’s all go.” Rob moved to stand behind Beth. He raised his chin when Gyda shot him a quelling look. “Beth won’t be left behind. And Iwon’t leave her, not while a murderer is running about.” He took Beth’s hand. “She has blonde hair too, Gyda.”
“I know. Weallknow.” Gyda sent a stern look around the room. “We must be careful. This man is accustomed to hurting people. We have to catch him before he hurts Lily or anyone else.”
Chapter Fourteen
Lily’s rooms werenot far. Jeanette placed them in a court off Clare Street, past Covent Garden and on the other side of Drury Lane. Still, when they found a hack as soon as they hit King Street, they hailed it and all piled in. Kara and Niall squeezed inside with Beth and Gyda, while Rob climbed onto the box with the jarvey.
A heavy silence filled the carriage as they set off, but it wasn’t as pervasive as the smell, or the heat. Kara’s stomach roiled. “Can someone put the window down?” she asked with a desperate gasp.
“It’s not late enough for the air to be noticeably cooler,” Gyda warned.
“It likely doesn’t smell like urine,” Kara bit out.
With a glance out at the relatively quiet lanes of Covent Garden, Gyda shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s true.”
“Gyda, please!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice the smell.” She looked to Niall. “Did you?”
Niall shook his head, but he put the window down. Kara leaned over him to gulp in fresh air. “Are you all right?” he asked with concern.
She pulled the fresher air into her lungs. “We spent half the day on the choppy river and haven’t eaten anything since breakfast, but mostly, I’m worried about Lily.”
“We’ll find her,” Niall said. “We have to.”
Kara climbed out first when the carriage stopped at the entrance to the court. Going to stand at the mouth of the alley, she leaned a hand on the wall and breathed deeply.
“We might need the hack again, depending on whom and what we find inside,” Niall said. “Rob, will you wait here with the driver and watch who comes and goes from the court?”
“I’ll wait with him,” Gyda offered. “He doesn’t know what Royston looks like. Or Lily, for that matter.”
“Oh, should I stay instead?” asked Beth.
“No. You are closest with Lily. If she’s there, you should talk with her. If she’s not, her sister might recognize your name and be reassured.” Gyda shot Rob a mischievous look. “Don’t worry about Rob. I just want a few words. I’ll go easy on him.”
Rob looked resigned, but Kara’s stomach was still roiling. She headed down the long alley that finally opened onto the court. “That one.” She pointed to the door in the corner. It was more faded than the others, and lacked the potted trees and shrubs that brightened up several other doorways in the enclosed court. “That’s the one Jeanette described.” Fighting back nausea, she went and knocked.
Niall and Beth waited behind her. After a long moment passed, Niall stepped forward and knocked harder. A muffled call came from within, sounding sharp and irritated.
Well, Kara was irritated as well, and extremely worried. She raised her hand and knocked again.
The door was yanked open. A young woman in a ragged wrapper glared out at them with flashing blue eyes. Her honey-colored hair was only half coiffed, with most of it hanging down her back. The cranky look on her face faded, replaced with surprise and wariness. “Who are you lot, then?”
“We are looking for Lily,” Kara said carefully. “We need to speak with her, most urgently. Is she here?”
The woman pulled her wrapper more tightly around her. “No.”
“May we come in?”
The woman hesitated.
Beth stepped forward. “Please. It is important.”
