The Bone Garden: A Novel (4 page)

“Buried just today,” said Jack, taking a shovel.

“How did you know about this one?”

“I ask around. I listen.” Eyeing the grave, he muttered, “Head should be at this end,” and scooped up a shovelful of mud. “Came through here a fortnight ago,” he said, flinging the mud aside. “Heard this one was near to giving up the ghost.”

Norris set to work as well. Though it was a fresh burial and the dirt had not settled, the soil was soaked and heavy. After shoveling only a few minutes, he no longer felt the cold.

“Someone dies, people talk about it,” panted Jack. “Keep your ear to the ground and you’ll know who’s about to go in. They order coffins, buy flowers.” Jack flung aside another scoop and paused, wheezing. “Trick is not to let ’em know you’re interested. They get suspicious, you got yourself complications.” He resumed digging, but at a slower pace. Norris did the lion’s share, his shovel splashing deeper and deeper. Rain continued to fall, puddling in the hole, and Norris’s trousers were caked with mud all the way up to his knees. Soon Jack stopped shoveling entirely and climbed out of the hole to squat at the edge, his wheezing now so loud that Norris glanced up, just to be certain the man was not on the verge of collapse. This was the only reason the old miser was willing to share even a penny of his profits, the only reason he ever brought along an assistant: He could no longer do it alone. He knew where the prizes were buried, but he needed a young man’s back, a young man’s muscles, to dig them up. And so Jack squatted and watched his assistant work, watched the hole deepen.

Norris’s shovel hit wood.

“About time,” grunted Jack. Beneath the cover of the tarp, he lit the lantern, then grabbed his shovel and slid back into the hole. The men scraped away mud from the coffin, working so close together in the cramped space that Norris gagged on the odor of Jack’s breath, foul with the stench of tobacco and rotten teeth. Even this corpse, he thought, could not smell so putrid. Bit by bit, they cleared away the mud, revealing the head end of the coffin.

Jack slipped two iron hooks under the lid and handed one of the ropes to Norris. They climbed out of the hole and together pulled against the lid, both of them grunting and straining as nails squealed and wood groaned. The lid suddenly splintered and the rope went slack, sending Norris sprawling backward.

“That’s it! That’s good enough!” said Jack. He lowered the lantern into the hole and looked down upon the coffin’s occupant.

Through the shattered coffin lid, they could see that the corpse was a woman, her skin pale as tallow. Golden ringlets of hair framed her heart-shaped face, and resting upon her bodice was a nosegay of dried flowers, the petals disintegrating under the falling rain. So beautiful, thought Norris. An angel, too soon called to heaven.

“Fresh as can be,” said Jack with a happy cackle. He reached through the broken lid and slipped his hands under the girl’s arms. She was light enough that he could drag her, unassisted, out of the coffin. But he was wheezing as he lifted her from the hole and laid her on the tarp. “Let’s get her clothes off.”

Norris, suddenly feeling nauseated, didn’t move.

“What? Don’t want to touch a pretty girl?”

Norris shook his head. “She deserves better.”

“You didn’t have no problem with the last one we dug up.”

“That was an old man.”

“And this is a girl. What’s the difference?”

“You know there’s a difference!”

“All I know is that she’ll fetch the same price. And she’ll be a lot pleasanter to strip.” He gave a soft cackle of anticipation and pulled out a knife. He had neither the time nor the patience to undo the buttons and hooks, so he simply slipped the blade under the neckline of the corpse’s dress and rent apart the fabric, tearing the gown open down the front to reveal a gossamer-thin chemise beneath it. He went at his task with gusto, methodically ripping open the skirt, pulling off the tiny satin slippers. Norris could only watch, appalled by the violation of this young woman’s modesty. And to be violated by a man such as Jack Burke! Yet he knew it must be done, for the law was unforgiving. To be caught with a stolen corpse was serious enough; to be caught in possession of a corpse’s stolen property, even a fragment of her dress, was to risk far worse penalties. They must take nothing but the body itself. So Jack ruthlessly stripped away the clothes, removed the rings from her fingers, the satin ribbons from her hair. He tossed them all into the coffin, then glanced at Norris.

“You gonna help carry her back to the wagon or not?” he growled.

Norris stared down at the naked corpse, her skin white as alabaster. She was painfully thin, her body consumed by some long and unforgiving illness. She was beyond help now; perhaps some good could still come of her death.

“Who’s out there?” a distant voice shouted. “Who trespasses?”

The challenge sent Norris diving onto the ground. At once Jack doused the lantern and whispered: “Get her out of sight!” Norris dragged the corpse back into the open grave, then both he and Jack scrambled into the hole as well. Pressed close to the corpse, Norris felt his heart pounding against her chilled skin. He did not dare move. He listened for the footsteps of the approaching watchman, but all he could hear was the beating rain, and the thump of his own pulse. The woman lay beneath him like a compliant lover. Had any other man known the touch of her skin, felt the curve of her bare breast?
Or am I the first?

It was Jack who finally dared to raise his head and peer out of the hole. “I don’t see him,” he whispered.

“He could still be watching.”

“No man in his right mind would be out in this weather any longer than he has to.”

“What does that say about us?”

“Tonight the rain’s our friend.” Jack gave a grunt as he rose, straightening stiff joints. “Best we move her quick.”

They did not relight the lantern, but worked in the darkness. While Jack lifted the feet, Norris gripped the nude body beneath the arms, and he felt the corpse’s damp hair drape across his arms as he lifted her shoulders from the hole. Whatever sweet fragrance had once blessed those blond ringlets was now masked by the faint odor of decay. Already her body had begun its inevitable journey to putrefaction, which soon would erode her beauty as skin disintegrated, as eyes sank to hollows. But for now the girl was still an angel, and he handled her gently as he lowered her onto the tarp.

The rain slowed to a drizzle as they quickly refilled the hole, shoveling mud back onto the now vacant coffin. To leave the grave open would only advertise that resurrectionists had been at work here, that the body of a beloved had been snatched. They took the time to cover their tracks rather than risk setting off an outraged inquiry. When the last of the earth had been replaced, they smoothed over the ground as best they could with their shovels, working only by the dim glow through the clouds. In time, the grass would grow in, a headstone would be planted, and loved ones would continue to lay flowers on a grave where no one slept.

They wrapped the corpse in the tarp, and Norris carried her in his arms like a groom bearing his new bride across the threshold. She was light, so pitifully light, and it took no effort at all to bring her across the wet grass, past the gravestones of those who had passed on before her. Gently he set her on the cart. Jack carelessly tossed the shovels beside her.

She was treated with no greater care than the tools rattling next to her, her corpse jolted like mean cargo as they rode through an icy drizzle back to town. Norris found no reason to exchange words with Jack, so he kept his silence, longing only for the night to be over so he could part ways with this repellent man. As they neared the city, they shared the road with other carts and carriages, other drivers who would wave and occasionally call out greetings of shared misery.
Not a night to be out, eh? How’d we get so lucky? It’ll be sleet by morning!
Jack cheerily returned the greetings, betraying not a hint of anxiety about the forbidden load he was hauling.

By the time they turned onto the cobblestoned street behind the apothecary shop, Jack was whistling. Anticipating, no doubt, the cash that would soon line his pocket. They rumbled to a stop on the paving stones. Jack jumped down from the dray and knocked on the shop’s back door. A moment later the door opened, and Norris saw the glow of a lamp shining through the crack.

“We got one,” said Jack.

The door opened wider, revealing the bearded, heavyset man holding the lamp. At this hour, he was already dressed in his nightclothes. “Bring it in, then. And be quiet about it.”

Jack spat on the stones and turned to Norris. “Well, come on, then. Bring her in.”

Norris lifted the tarp-covered body and carried her through the open doorway. The man with the lamp met his gaze with a nod of recognition. “Upstairs, Dr. Sewall?” asked Norris.

“You know the way, Mr. Marshall.”

Yes, Norris knew the way, for this was not his first visit to this dark alley, nor was it the first time he had carried a corpse up this narrow stairway. On the last visit, he had struggled with his burden, panting and grunting as he’d dragged the corpulent body up the stairs, fat naked legs bumping against the steps. Tonight, his burden was much lighter, little more than the weight of a child. He reached the second floor and paused in the dark. Dr. Sewall squeezed past him and led the way up the hall, his footsteps creaking heavily across the floorboards, the flame of his lamp casting dancing shadows on the walls. Norris followed Sewall through the last doorway, into a room where a table waited to receive its precious merchandise. He gently set down the corpse. Jack had followed them up the stairs and stationed himself at one end of the table, the sound of his wheezing magnified by the stillness of the room.

Sewall approached the table and pulled back the tarp.

In the flickering lamplight, the girl’s face seemed to glow with the rosy warmth of life. Wet tendrils of hair released droplets of rainwater that trickled down her cheek like glistening tears.

“Yes, she’s in good condition,” murmured Dr. Sewall as he peeled away the tarp, exposing the naked torso. Norris had to suppress the urge to stay the man’s hand and prevent this violation of a maiden’s modesty. He saw, with disgust, the lascivious glint in Jack’s eyes, the eagerness with which he leaned in for a closer look. Gazing down at the girl’s face, Norris thought: I am sorry that you must suffer this indignity.

Sewall straightened and gave a nod. “She’ll do, Mr. Burke.”

“And she’ll make for some fine entertainment, too,” said Jack with a grin.

“Entertainment is not why we do this,” Sewall retorted. “She serves a higher purpose. Enlightenment.”

“Oh, of course,” Jack said. “So where’s my money? I’d like to be paid for all this
enlightenment
I’m providing you.”

Sewall produced a small cloth bag, which he handed to Jack. “Your fee. There’ll be the same when you bring another one.”

“There’s only fifteen dollars in here. We agreed on twenty.”

“You required Mr. Marshall’s services tonight. Five dollars is credited toward his tuition. That adds up to twenty.”

“I know damn well what it adds up to,” said Jack, ramming the money into his pocket. “And for what I provide, it’s not nearly enough.”

“I’m sure I can find another resurrectionist who’d be quite satisfied with what I pay.”

“But no one who’ll deliver ’em to you this fresh. All you’ll get is rotten meat crawling with worms.”

“Twenty dollars per specimen is what I pay. Whether or not you need an assistant is your decision. But I doubt that Mr. Marshall here will work without adequate compensation.”

Jack shot a resentful look at Norris. “He’s my muscle, that’s all. I’m the one who knows where to find ’em.”

“Then keep finding them for me.”

“Oh, I’ll have one for you, all right.” Jack turned to leave. In the doorway, he paused and reluctantly looked back at Norris. “The Black Spar, Thursday night. Seven o’clock,” he snapped, and walked out. His footsteps thumped heavily down the stairs, and the door slammed shut.

“Is there no one else you can call on?” asked Norris. “He’s the worst kind of filth.”

“But those are the people we’re forced to work with. All resurrectionists are alike. If our laws were more enlightened, then vermin like him would not be in business at all. Until that day, we’re forced to deal with the likes of Mr. Burke.” Sewall moved back to the table and looked down at the girl. “At least he manages to procure usable cadavers.”

“I’d happily choose any employment but this, Dr. Sewall.”

“You wish to be a physician, do you not?”

“Yes, but to work with
that
man. Is there no other task I could perform?”

“There’s no need more pressing to our college than the procurement of specimens.”

Norris gazed down at the girl. And said, softly: “I don’t think she ever imagined herself as a
specimen.
”

“We are all specimens, Mr. Marshall. Take away the soul, and any body is the same as another. Heart, lungs, kidneys. Beneath the skin, even a young lady as lovely as this one is no different. It’s always a tragedy, of course, for one so young to die.” Briskly, Dr. Sewall pulled the tarp over the corpse, and it gently billowed down over the girl’s slender frame. “But in death, she will serve a nobler purpose.”

Four

T
HE SOUND OF MOANING
awakened Rose. Sometime in the night she had fallen asleep in the chair beside Aurnia’s bed. Now she lifted her head, her neck aching, and suddenly saw that her sister’s eyes were open, her face contorted in pain.

Rose straightened. “Aurnia?”

“I cannot bear this any longer. If only I could die now.”

“Darling, don’t say such a thing.”

“The morphine—it gives me no relief.”

Rose suddenly focused on Aurnia’s bedsheet. On the stain of fresh blood. She shot to her feet in alarm. “I’ll find a nurse.”

“And the priest, Rose. Please.”

Rose hurried from the ward. Oil lamps cast their weak glow against the shadows, and the flames wavered as she ran past. By the time she returned to her sister’s bed with Nurse Robinson and Nurse Poole, the stain on Aurnia’s sheets had spread to a widening swath of bright red. Miss Poole took one startled look at the blood and snapped to the other nurse: “We move her to surgery at once!”

There was no time to send for Dr. Crouch; instead, the young house physician, Dr. Berry, was roused from his room on the hospital grounds. Blond hair in disarray, his eyes bloodshot, Dr. Berry stumbled sleepily into the surgery room where Aurnia had been rushed. Instantly he paled at the sight of so much bleeding.

“We must be quick about it!” he said, and fumbled through his bag of instruments. “Must evacuate the womb. The baby may have to be sacrificed.”

Aurnia gave an anguished cry of protest. “No. No, my baby must live!”

“Hold her down,” he ordered. “This will be painful.”

“Rose,” pleaded Aurnia. “Don’t let him kill my baby!”

“Miss Connolly, leave the room!” snapped Agnes Poole.

“No, we’ll need her,” said Dr. Berry.

“There are two of us to hold down the patient.”

“Even you and Nurse Robinson may not be strong enough once I begin.”

Aurnia writhed as a fresh contraction gripped her, and her moan rose to a scream. “Oh, God, the pain!”

“Tie down her hands, Miss Poole,” ordered Dr. Berry. He looked at Rose. “And you, girl! You’re her sister?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Come here and keep her calm. Help hold her down if need be.”

Shaking, Rose moved closer to the bed. The iron smell of blood was overwhelming. The mattress was soaked a brilliant red, and Aurnia’s blood-streaked thighs were fully exposed, all attempts at protecting her modesty forgotten in the more pressing concern of saving her life. One glance at young Dr. Berry’s ashen face told Rose that the situation was grim. And he was so young, surely too young for such a crisis, his mustache a pale wisp on his upper lip. His surgical instruments were soon scattered across a low table as he frantically rummaged for the right tool. The instrument he picked up was a frightening device, by all appearances designed to maim and crush.

“Don’t hurt my baby,” Aurnia moaned. “Please.”

“I’ll try to preserve your child’s life,” said Dr. Berry. “But I need you to lie perfectly still, madam. Do you understand?”

Aurnia managed a weak nod.

The two nurses tied down Aurnia’s hands, then stationed themselves on either side of the bed, each grasping a leg.

“You, girl! Take her shoulders,” Nurse Poole ordered Rose. “Keep her pressed to the bed.”

Rose moved to the head of the bed and placed her hands on Aurnia’s shoulders. Her sister’s milk-white face stared up at her, long red hair spilling across the pillow, green eyes wild with panic. Her skin gleamed with sweat and fear. Suddenly her face contorted in pain and she tried to rock forward, her head lifting off the bed.

“Hold her still! Hold her!” ordered Dr. Berry. Grasping his monstrous forceps, he leaned in between Aurnia’s thighs, and Rose was grateful that she did not have to witness what he did next. Aurnia shrieked as though her very soul was being wrenched from her body. A burst of red suddenly splattered the young doctor’s face and he jerked back, his shirt sprayed with blood.

Aurnia’s head flopped back against the pillow and she lay panting, her screams now reduced to whimpers. In the sudden quiet, another sound rose. A strange mewing that steadily crescendoed to a wail.

The child. The child is alive!

The doctor straightened, and in his arms he held the newborn girl, the skin bluish and streaked with blood. He handed the baby to Nurse Robinson, who quickly wrapped the crying infant in a towel.

Rose stared at the doctor’s shirt. So much blood. Everywhere she looked—the mattress, the sheets—she saw blood. She looked down into her sister’s face and saw that her lips were moving, but through the wails of the newborn she could not hear the words.

Nurse Robinson brought the swaddled infant to Aurnia’s bed. “Here’s your little girl, Mrs. Tate. See how lovely she is!”

Aurnia struggled to focus on her new daughter. “Margaret,” she whispered, and Rose felt the sudden sting of tears. It was their mother’s name.
If only she were alive to see her first grandchild
.

“Tell him,” Aurnia whispered. “He doesn’t know.”

“I’ll send for him. I’ll
make
him come,” said Rose.

“You have to tell him where I am.”

“He knows where you are.”
Eben just never bothers to visit
.

“There’s too much bleeding.” Dr. Berry thrust his hand between Aurnia’s thighs, and she was now so dazed that she scarcely flinched at the pain. “But I can feel no retained placenta.” He swept aside his soiled instruments, sending the forceps thudding to the floor. Pressing his hands on Aurnia’s belly, he kneaded the flesh, vigorously massaging the abdomen. The blood continued to soak into the sheets, seeping in a wider and wider stain. He glanced up, and his eyes now reflected the first glint of panic. “Cold water,” he ordered. “As cold as you can get it! We’ll need compresses. And ergot!”

Nurse Robinson set the swaddled infant in the crib and scurried from the room to fetch what he had asked for.

“He doesn’t know,” Aurnia moaned.

“She
must
lie quiet!” Dr. Berry ordered. “She exacerbates the hemorrhage!”

“Before I die, someone must tell him he has a child…”

The door flew open and Nurse Robinson hurried back in, carrying a basin of water. “It’s as cold as I could make it, Dr. Berry,” she said.

The doctor soaked a towel, wrung it out, and placed the frigid compress on the patient’s abdomen. “Give her the ergot!”

In the cradle, the newborn cried harder, her wail more piercing with each breath. Nurse Poole suddenly blurted: “For pity’s sake, take that baby out of here!” Nurse Robinson reached for the infant, but Nurse Poole snapped: “Not you! I need you here. Give it to
her
.” She looked at Rose. “Take your niece and quiet her down. We need to attend to your sister.”

Rose took the screaming infant and reluctantly crossed toward the door. There she stopped and looked back at her sister. Aurnia’s lips were even paler now, the last remnants of color slowly draining from her face as she whispered silent words.

Please be merciful, God. If you hear this prayer, let my sweet sister live.

Rose stepped out of the room. There in the gloomy hallway, she rocked the crying infant, but the baby would not be comforted. She slipped her finger into little Margaret’s mouth, and toothless gums clamped down as she began to suck. At last, silence. A cold wind had found its way into the dark passage, and two of the lamps had blown out. Only a single flame glowed. She stared at the closed door, shut off from the one soul whom she held dear.

No, there’s another to love now, she thought, looking down at baby Margaret.
You.

Standing beneath the single flickering lamp, Rose studied the baby’s pale and downy hair. The eyelids were still swollen from the travails of birth. She examined five little fingers and marveled at the hand’s plump perfection, marred only by a heart-shaped strawberry mark on the wrist. So this is what a brand-new life feels like, she thought, looking down at the sleeping child. So rosy, so warm. She placed her hand on the tiny chest and through the blanket felt the beating of her heart, quick as a bird’s. Such a sweet girl, she thought. My little Meggie.

The door suddenly swung open, spilling light into the hall. Nurse Poole came out of the room, closing the door behind her. She halted and stared at Rose, as though surprised to see her still there.

Fearing the worst, Rose asked: “My sister?”

“She still lives.”

“And her condition? Will she—”

“The bleeding has stopped, that’s all I can tell you,” snapped Nurse Poole. “Now take the baby to the ward. It’s warmer there. This hall is far too drafty for a newborn.” She turned and hurried away down the corridor.

Shivering, Rose looked down at Meggie and thought: Yes, it’s far too cold here for you, poor thing. She carried the baby back to the lying-in ward and sat down in her old chair beside Aurnia’s empty bed. As the night wore on, the baby fell asleep in her arms. Wind rattled the windows and sleet ticked against the glass, but there was no word of Aurnia’s condition.

From outside came the rumble of wheels over cobblestones. Rose crossed to the window. In the courtyard, a horse and phaeton rolled to a stop, the canopy concealing the face of the driver. The horse suddenly gave a panicked snort, its hooves dancing nervously as it threatened to bolt. A second later Rose saw the reason for the beast’s alarm: merely a large dog, which trotted across the courtyard, its silhouette moving purposefully across cobblestones that glistened with rain and sleet.

“Miss Connolly.”

Startled, Rose turned to see Agnes Poole. The woman had slipped into the ward so quietly Rose had not heard her approach.

“Give me the baby.”

“But she sleeps so soundly,” said Rose.

“Your sister cannot possibly nurse the baby. She’s far too weak. I’ve taken the liberty of making other arrangements.”

“What arrangements?”

“The infant asylum is here to fetch her. They’ll provide a wet nurse. And most certainly, a fine home.”

Rose stared at the nurse in disbelief. “But she’s not an orphan! She has a mother!”

“A mother who most likely will not live.” Nurse Poole held out her arms, and her hands looked like unwelcoming claws. “Give her to me. It’s for the baby’s own good. You certainly cannot care for her.”

“She has a father, too. You haven’t asked him.”

“How can I? He hasn’t even bothered to show up.”

“Did Aurnia agree to this? Let me speak to her.”

“She’s unconscious. She can’t say anything.”

“Then I’ll speak
for
her. This is my niece, Miss Poole, my own family.” Rose hugged the baby tighter. “I’ll give her up to no stranger.”

Agnes Poole’s face had gone rigid in frustration. For a dangerous moment she appeared ready to wrench the baby from Rose’s arms. Instead, she turned and swept out of the ward, her skirt snapping smartly with every stride. A door slammed shut.

Outside, in the courtyard, the horse’s hooves clattered nervously on the stones.

Rose went back to the window and watched as Agnes Poole materialized from the shadows of the walkway and crossed to the waiting phaeton to speak to the occupant. A moment later the driver snapped the whip and the horse clopped forward. As the vehicle drove out the gate, Agnes Poole stood alone, her silhouette framed by the glistening stones of the courtyard.

Rose looked down at the baby in her arms and saw, in the sleeping face, a miniature in flesh of her own dear sister.
No one will ever take you from me. Not while I still breathe.