Page 57 of The Ambiguous Enigma of the Hunted Lady
After a few hours he acclimated and forgot about the smell, as all Londoners had to for survival. He had not yet become situated however when he was forced to call his carriage to a stop. Hay bales and an overturned ox cart lay in the street.This is no accident.
The sound of a sharp whistle caused his head to turn, and he saw Nash's face peering out from an adjacent alleyway.Time to act.
Francis pushed the door open and jumped down from his coach.
“I'll only be a moment,” he said up to his driver. “Pull around the sidewalk and wait for the oxen to get clear.”
The driver nodded some sort of understanding, and Francis ducked into the alleyway. The walls shot up around him like a lidless prison cell, stretching out before him into darkness.
“The good doctor returns.” Nash's voice floated out of the blackness. He appeared then, slinking over the cobblestones. His favorite large lackey was beside him.
“It's done.” Francis said flatly. Being a good liar was not a terrific skill to possess morally, but practically it served Francis well. While previously his conscious had betrayed his intentions, he fell quickly back into his old step of rambling half-truths.
“Is it?” Nash walked up to him, staring level into his eyes. Francis could smell how rancid his breath was; he could see the rotting teeth and malnourished skin. “You saw her die?”
“I did.” He took a firm stance, thinking of Miss Benson's courage. “I gave her a poison powder, I told her it was medicine. Essentially she suffered a rapid swelling of the brain until–”
“Damn doc!” Nash laughed out. “I don't need to hear that. That's cold blooded, ain't it, Digby?”
“Cold blooded boss.” the lackey grunted.
“Good riddance, doc, you got her good.” Nash clapped him on the shoulder. The feeling jarred Francis, but he maintained his composure.
“So, we're square, you and I?” Francis knew that if he did not address this, then his story would unravel.
“Sure doc, we're square.” Nash chuckled. “Cold blooded bugger, sheesh. Full of surprises, ain't you?”
“I suppose.” Francis said, growing a bit more relaxed.
“We might have to use you again in the future though, doc, don't get too comfortable.”
“That was never–” Francis reacted, flabbergasted by the proposal, but Nash cut him short.
“I don't know what proposal you're talking about, doc.” Nash quickly stepped to meet him, pressing his ill-looking face towards Francis'. “You owed me a lot of money. You took care of this for me, so now you don't owe me any money, eh? Sound good?”
“Yes, but–”
“But nothing, doc. That's that story. All tied up with a bow. But there are other stories waiting to be told, doc, maybe loads of them. In the future, maybe the money goes the other way around, do you hear me doc?”
“I hear you.” Francis whispered. Four months ago, this offer into the underworld would have been exactly the spiral Francis needed to completely self-destruct. Now, after Leah's beating and his brush with attempted murder, he wanted nothing to do with it.
“Run along then doc, why don't ya.” Nash called, giving him a friendly shove back towards the street. “I think you'll find traffic's been cleared up!”
Francis turned and watched the two thugs disappear into the darkness of London's crannies. It was a world wide apart from his, one that he had once ventured to know a piece of; one that had chewed a piece of his soul to pieces.
Doctor Fowler walked back to his coach, seeing that the carts had indeed been cleared.Just who are these criminals really?he pondered,and why did they want her dead so badly? What lengths would they not go to? Will they believe Nash? What have I done?
Chapter 16
Leah had resolved to keep the incident with Doctor Fowler a complete secret. If she were to tell anyone, it would be Kenneth, but telling him was certainly the wrong idea. No doubt he would react poorly – that is extremely poorly – to such news. Such an emotional reaction would undoubtedly be followed by thoughtless actions, and those Leah could not abide by on her account.
Leah could only hope that this might put the hunt off for a time. She had no confidence that she would remain dead in the eyes of Nash and Riphook; such things might last a week or two at best before word leaked out. While she believed she could trust Dr. Fowler with the mission, she did not doubt that the truth would come out of him in a matter of time.
That would bring retribution down upon him, but that was not Leah's concern. It was nothing he hadn't earned for himself, the way she saw it.
These events had set in motion the need for her to abscond. She needed to get to France before Riphook figured out she was still alive. She needed to walk.
Leah lingered for several hours after the doctor left and gave a fair accounting of how he walked into the door to Mrs. Redford. The housekeeper had a difficult time concealing her laughter at the agreed-upon lie and left her in peace.
