Matron stared at her for a moment before speaking. “You have a filial nature. It’s commendable.”
“I do try.”
Matron stood. “I’ll leave you to your supper.”
Audrey watched her walk away and wondered if the portly, middle-aged woman could be behind whatever it was that she had stumbled upon through Marguerite’s diary. Could she imagine Matron coming to Marguerite’s room and killing her? Killing Alistair? And what of her husband? The quiet, Bible-reading Master who wanted nothing more than a well-run workhouse.
She looked down the table and saw Joseph and Levi looking back at her. They were deep in conversation. This was getting her nowhere. She must do as Henry suggested. They must visit the register office.
She pushed her chair away from the table and went outside into the courtyard to find Frances. Several children were about playing jump rope, but Frances was not among them.
“Frances!” she called out.
Though she recognized all the children from her classroom and they greeted her, she didn’t see her sister.
“Have you seen Frances?” she asked one of her students, but they shook their head.
She moved along the corridors, searching for her sister in the warren of hallways, but couldn’t find her. She rushed down another long hallway, and inside the dormitory she found several children playing marbles, Frances among them.
“Frances!” she said, pulling her sister up sharply. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You gave me a start.”
“I’m sorry, Audrey. They said they had marbles, and I wanted to see them,” she explained, turning to look at the small group of children.
Audrey tried to smile at the children and several mothers nearby. “Of course. I was worried, that’s all. It’s getting late. Let’s head home.”
Audrey watched Frances silently reading beside her at the table as she wrote a short note to Theodocia. She knew this was an inconvenience, but she wanted Frances to stay with her. She was worried for her safety and knew Theodocia’s home would be the best place for her. She hoped it wouldn’t be longer than two weeks. She would send the note in the morning.
That night, she slept fitfully. When she awoke, she pulled on her black gown and went downstairs. In the kitchen, she put the kettle on the stove for tea. When she walked back into the parlor, she got a start. Sitting in her drawing room on the sofa was Chaplain Freeman Reed.
“How did you get in?” she asked him, looking about the room.
“I didn’t mean to intrude, Ms. Wakefield. The door was unlocked,” he said quietly.
“So you just pushed in,” she said, watching him warily.
“I wanted to speak to you. Away from the workhouse staff and prying eyes and ears,” he explained.
Audrey frowned and sat down across from him. “It’s highly irregular. I’m listening.”
“I’ve long been concerned about the workhouse, Ms. Wakefield. There are several people about that I think are up to no good. When there is no proper fear of the deity, godless people, it leads to all sorts of evil.”
“Whom do you suspect is godless?” she said guardedly.
The chaplain looked at her pityingly. “Everyone, my dear. People may attend church because they have to, but in their hearts, they are godless. It’s sad to see.”
She wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. “I imagine it is.”
“The Master does his best. He’s a good Christian man, but his wife, she’s not what she appears. She’s not reverent.”
“Isn’t she?” she asked.
“No. She is not,” he said patiently. “And then there’s that doctor. Flippant and carefree. He takes nothing seriously. It’s offensive.”
“He is carefree, but where’s the wrong in that?”
“I came to you so you would see so I could explain. You must be on your guard. As a vicar’s daughter, you understand the deity. You understand right and wrong. Good and evil. They don’t.” His hands rested on his knees as he leaned into her, passionate in his words.
Audrey thought on his words. “Do you know if there is anything happening here? Anything that you can tell me? Anything that God would disapprove of?”