Slave to the Night (The Brotherhood Series, Book 2) (13 page)

The carriage jerked to an abrupt halt amidst loud cries and protests.

Grace grabbed the edge of the seat. "It probably would have been quicker to walk. What with all the growls and the bleating outside, it sounds as though a herd of sheep have surrounded us and refuse to move."

"Either that or the coachman has taken to impersonating farm animals."

Grace laughed. "Perhaps he is not used to escorting ladies about town and is trying his best to disguise his curses."

Evelyn smiled and after a brief silence suddenly said, "Elliot likes you. I think he likes you a great deal. Far more than he would care to admit."

The sudden change of topic startled her.

"He is just being kind," she said, her hand fluttering to her chest to calm her racing heart. The action was duly noted by her companion who gave another knowing grin. "I didn't really give him much choice in the matter."

"Kindness is the last trait others would associate with Elliot Markham. Although he has always been extremely kind and courteous to me. How he behaves around you, well, that is another matter entirely."

Grace tried to feign a nonchalant manner. But like a child in need of coddling, she wanted to indulge her fantasies. She wanted to believe the viscount held some affection for her.

"He treats me the same as he does everyone else." As soon as the words left her lips she knew it wasn't really the case.

"No, he doesn't," Evelyn said shaking her head. "He treats you as though he is your protector. He looks at you as though you're a juicy piece of pie, and he cannot wait to tuck in. He talks about you as though you are an angel sent down to cleanse him of his sins."

Grace swallowed deeply. Evelyn's honest opinion caused her stomach to perform a range of death-defying somersaults. "I find him the most honourable gentleman I have ever met," she said truthfully. She found him to be the most wickedly handsome, the most desirable gentleman of her acquaintance, too.

Evelyn gave a teasing smirk. "He must be very special to you indeed, for you to judge him so highly."

Grace considered her comment. He made her feel his equal in every way. He made her heart soar, soothed her soul. "He is."

They sat in silence. Her reply still echoed through her mind as Evelyn studied her with what could only be described as a look of excitement.

"And when you find your sister," Evelyn asked, "what then?"

Grace shrugged. She had not thought that far ahead. "We might never find her. But I will not stop looking. I can't think beyond that."

Evelyn offered her a compassionate smile. "I'm sure we will find her." She glanced out of the window. "Indeed, I believe we are stopping outside the apothecary."

As the carriage rolled to a halt, Elliot's footman opened the door and let down the steps. "Wait for us on the corner of Swallow Street," Evelyn said. "We won't be more than twenty minutes."

The footman bowed and relayed the information to the coachman.

Grace studied the dark brown facade of the apothecary shop and noted the number forty-two painted in gold on the arch above the door.

"You seem disappointed," Evelyn said casting a sidelong glance.

Grace shook her head. "I don't understand why Caroline would record something as insignificant as visiting an apothecary in her diary."

Evelyn threaded her arm through hers. "I'm sure it has more to do with who she was meeting and not where she was meeting them. We knew when we set out that it could be a wasted journey."

"Well, the only way to find out is to go inside," Grace said trying to rouse some optimism.

There were a few people milling about inside the shop. One gentleman sat in a chair in front of the counter while the apothecary, a painfully thin man with white hair, pounded away with his pestle and mortar grinding his herbs into powder. The shelves behind him were brimming with a range of glass bottles containing a rainbow of coloured liquids.

On the opposite side, an assistant dispensed perfumes, soaps and balms.

"Let's try over here," Grace said nodding to the perfumery counter. "Perhaps if I make a purchase it will be easier to strike up a conversation."

The assistant acknowledged them immediately.

"I'm looking for sandalwood shaving soap," Grace said with a smile, aware of Evelyn's gaze shooting to her face.

"Certainly, madam. It is one of our most popular products." He scurried off to a cupboard and returned with a small earthenware pot.

Grace removed her glove, pulled off the lid and sniffed the contents. The intoxicating fragrance flooded her senses, rousing a memory of her inhaling Elliot's scent as she kissed along the line of his jaw.

"I would like two pots."

Evelyn tapped her on the arm. "Are you buying those for Elliot?"

She would give one of the pots to Elliot, to thank him for all his help. The other pot, well, she would look foolish if she said she planned to take one home to Cobham and so she simply nodded.

"That will be two shillings, madam."

A shilling for a small pot of shaving soap! No wonder he smelled so divine as it must surely contain only the finest ingredients.

Grace paid the assistant and used the opportunity to ask, "I had an appointment with Hodges last week, and I wondered if I could speak to him again."

"Shush." The assistant's frantic gaze shot left, then right, and he tapped his finger to his lips twenty times or more. "You're not to mention it when there are customers in the shop." The man jerked his head back and blinked rapidly. "Did you say
him
?"

Panic flared.

Grace's heart thumped hard in her chest. Judging by the man's wary expression, she had made a critical error. The only possible mistake was that Hodges was a woman.

"You must be mistaken." Grace offered her sweetest smile. "I'm sure I said
her
."

He raised his head in acknowledgement but did not appear entirely appeased. Offering a wide grin to the last customer leaving the shop, he turned and whispered, "Why do you want to see Mrs. Hodges?"

The hint of suspicion in his voice suggested that whatever services Mrs. Hodges provided, she did not run an altogether honest or lawful business. Grace feared opening her mouth as she had no idea how to answer.

"It is of a personal nature," Evelyn interrupted. She stepped closer to the counter. "It is a delicate situation."

The vague response had the desired effect, and the assistant nodded his head in recognition. "Give me a moment."

He walked over to the opposite side of the shop and muttered to the apothecary who removed his spectacles from the counter and balanced them precariously on the end of his nose. His intense gaze drifted over them from head to toe and after a few moments the gentleman nodded and his assistant scuttled out through a door behind him.

Grace turned to Evelyn. "How did you know what to say?"

Evelyn shrugged. "I thought it covered a multitude of things."

"Well, it seemed to work."

The assistant returned. "Mrs. Hodges will see you now. You remember the way. It's through the door, up the stairs and the last door on the left." He glanced at Evelyn. "You're welcome to accompany your friend if you so wish."

Nerves caused Grace's muscles to stiffen. Acting as an impostor and stepping into the unknown was something she should be used to after the events of the last few days.

Perhaps sensing her unease, the assistant leaned across the counter. "The suppression pills contain only natural ingredients and offer no detriment to the constitution."

Suppression pills?

Grace had never heard of such a thing.

She smiled weakly. "Thank you. And my friend will join me."

The assistant held open the door and bowed graciously before closing it behind them. As they made their way upstairs, Evelyn touched her arm. "What on earth are suppression pills?"

Grace shook her head. "I haven't the faintest idea. Caroline must be suffering from an illness of some sort. Although she seemed perfectly healthy to me. I recall mentioning how her complexion glowed."

"Well," Grace began before offering a deep sigh as they approached the last door on the left. "There is only one way to find out."

Mrs. Hodges was a tall, lithe woman of middling years. She wore her hair tied loosely at her nape and her friendly, carefree manner put them instantly at ease. The furnishings in the small parlour were clean and comfortable; the sweet aromatic smells of numerous oils and herbs drifted up from the shop below to relax the senses. Grace and Evelyn were directed to the sofa while Mrs. Hodges sat in the chair opposite.

"Now. Before we begin, I must ask you how you knew to come here?" Mrs. Hodges said with a warm smile. "It is just a precaution. There's no need to be nervous."

Grace glanced at Evelyn. "We … I was told to come by a friend."

"Has your friend used my services before?"

"I believe so," Grace replied with a nod.

"Good. Then you know there is nothing to fear. You're here for the pills?"

"Yes," Grace replied, although she had no idea what that meant.

Evelyn shuffled forward. "Would you mind explaining a little more about it? My friend is far too nervous to ask."

"Of course." The woman inclined her head respectfully. "The pills work by removing impurities from the system, giving a new lease of energy and vitality. They have been used by women of the gentility and nobility in France for years."

Grace sighed inwardly. They were wasting their time here. If Caroline had come to see Mrs. Hodges, then it was for nothing more than a restorative.

"They work purely on the obstruction," she continued. "To re-establish the natural balance."

"Are there any risks involved?" Grace asked. The word
obstruction
niggled away in the back of her mind. The pills provided a means to rid the body of some sort of impediment. But why would Caroline be interested in that?

"They are risk-free. But are not to be taken if the lady is
enceinte.
"

Evelyn sucked in a breath. "And if the lady is with child and is unaware, what happens then?"

Mrs. Hodges' mouth formed a thin line. "Then the lady is sure to suffer an expulsion."

"Expulsion?" Evelyn asked.

Graced turned to her. "Mrs. Hodges means it will result in the loss of the child." As the words left her lips she choked back a sob, her airways narrowing, restricting her breath.

It all made more sense now. Caroline had invited her to stay with the intention of telling her something important. She was with child and had come to Mrs. Hodges to … to …

"I can see you need more time to consider your options." Mrs. Hodges said in a sympathetic tone. "The remedy is not suitable for everyone. With the obvious risk, it is not a decision to be made lightly."

"Thank you." Evelyn inclined her head as Grace struggled to speak. "We will not waste any more of your time."

The woman rose slowly from the chair and escorted them to the door. "If you decide to return, you must not leave it too long," she said glancing down at Grace's stomach.

Grace nodded but could not raise a smile. To deny a child a chance of life was a criminal offence. No wonder the assistant had appeared a little frantic.

Once they had settled back into Elliot's carriage, she felt she could breathe a little easier.

"Do you believe your sister is with child?" Evelyn's voice sounded calm despite the gravity of the comment.

It was as though the dam suppressing all her feelings had suddenly collapsed under the pressure, and a torrent of emotion burst forth.

"Oh, Evelyn. She must have been utterly desperate, to visit such an awful place. Why didn't she tell me sooner? I could have helped her. We could have talked it through. What if she has taken those terrible pills and something has gone wrong? What if she's lying somewhere, so cold, so alone?"

Evelyn crossed the carriage to sit at her side. She took Grace's hand and cupped it between her own. "Think about it, Grace. Mrs. Hodges didn't recognise you. She did not even give you a second glance. She made no mention of you having been there before, or that you looked remotely familiar. If Caroline had bought any of those pills, surely Mrs. Hodges would have made the usual assumption and asked how you fared with them."

Grace swallowed and tried to calm her racing heart. "You mean Caroline may have changed her mind?"

"Perhaps she acted on impulse. Perhaps she arranged to go there but couldn't go through with it."

Grace looked down to her lap. Caroline never faltered once her mind was made up. "We are no closer to finding her than we were an hour ago."

"No, but it is all starting to make a little more sense now. I think we need to concentrate on who could have fathered the child. Who was her latest beau? Who paid the rent on her house in Arlington Street?"

Evelyn made it all sound so simple.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Grace implored.