Among the Darkness Stirs

“You’d be safe there, too.”

“I’m not moving to the grand house. Frances is one thing but not me.”

Henry watched her face. “What did the chaplain say?”

Audrey looked down at her teacup. “He said he wanted to speak to me away from prying eyes.”

Henry shrugged. “That could be used either way. He’s covering for himself or he thinks something is up.”

“How long has he been at the workhouse?” she asked.

“A few years,” Henry remembered.

Audrey pulled the teacup and saucer to her but didn’t drink it. “He said he was concerned about the workhouse. He said people are up to no good. They don’t fear the deity, he said. But when I asked him to elaborate, he wouldn’t.”

He leaned back, listening intently. “Go on.”

“He said the Master was a good Christian man but not Matron.”

“Not Matron?” he repeated, not understanding. “Elspeth is as Christian as they come. Both the Meachams are.”

“Maybe the chaplain holds a grudge for something and is bad-mouthing them.” Audrey shrugged. “He said she’s not reverent. Then he went on to complain about the doctor.”

“Old man Beesley?” he said, teasing her.

She shook her head. “Yes. He said he was flippant and carefree. So he is, but what’s wrong with that? He’s amiable. He told me to be on my guard. To understand right and wrong. I asked him if he knew of anything happening in the workhouse, and he quoted scripture and left.”

He tried to piece it all together, but he was struggling. “What scripture?”

“’To Me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste,’” she told him.

“Deuteronomy,” Henry mused.

“It is,” she agreed.

Henry contemplated her words. “The book of Deuteronomy is mostly about laws and punishment.”

“I think he senses something isn’t right, but I don’t think he’s genuinely aware,” Audrey told him.

Perhaps, but Henry didn’t know what to think yet. “How did the conversation end?”

“As oddly as it began. I asked him if he would take vengeance out on someone and he looked at me as if I was some silly child and said God would take vengeance.”

Henry paid for their tea, and they stepped outside onto the street. It was getting dark, and he looked about for a hansom cab to hire.

“I want you to come stay with us, Audrey. I would feel better,” he said.

“I’ll remain where I am for the time being,” she told him. “But thank you for offering.”

He shook his head. “You know two people are dead. You know someone hit me wanting to slow us down. Why are you insisting on staying in the cottage?”

Her back straightened. “You make it sound as if I’m deliberately being irresponsible. As if I’m putting myself in a dangerous path by staying in my home.”

He looked down at her and felt a strange sensation sweep over him. He loved her. He knew he loved her, and he was frightened to death that he might not be able to keep her safe. “I can’t be with you every moment. But at least in the grand house, you’ll be with my mother, servants—” He saw the tightness in her face and knew she would not be swayed. “You are so stubborn. You wish Frances to be safe, but not yourself.”

She said nothing as they continued to walk along the street.

“I must get home. We have a rather long meeting tomorrow with the Board of Guardians,” he explained.