Among the Darkness Stirs

The figure said nothing. Audrey took a step forward, wondering if she was merely making this up in her head. Maybe the man was lost. Maybe he had a perfectly reasonable purpose for standing motionless in the dark hallway.

This sounded silly even to Audrey, and she took another step forward. Then she watched as the man took a step forward and pulled an object out of his pocket. It looked like a small club. A billy club! She watched as he took the club and smashed the gaslight next to him, shattering it. Audrey’s eyes widened, and her heart pounded even harder inside her chest.

He began to move towards her in slow, measured steps, and the glass from the lantern crunched under his heavy boots. Without looking back, she turned in the opposite direction and ran down the hallway, moving as fast as she could. She made it all the way to the courtyard, and when she turned around, it was like a bizarre nightmare. The figure was gone.

Levi was coming up the walk, and he saw her. “Audrey? Audrey, are you all right? You look startled.”

Audrey could only manage a nod, incapable of words. Her heart still raced, and her breath came in short pants.

“Here,” he said. Taking her by the arm, he helped her sit on a nearby bench.

“Thank you, Levi. I was startled. But I’m okay,” she said and realized her hands were trembling.

He stared at her in concern. “Are you sure? Let me walk you back to the cottage.”

Audrey flinched when he reached for her again, and she realized she was even afraid of Levi. Perhaps he had been the man in the hallway. Perhaps he was the one behind all this. Perhaps—

“No, I’m fine. I’ll walk back myself. The fresh air will do me good. Thank you.” She tried to smile at him.

“All right. Take care,” he told her as she was leaving, but he didn’t look too convinced.

She looked back behind her and watched Levi walk towards the stables. She must return to the board meeting to see Henry.

“Our meeting ended early,” he explained when she met up with him. “The rest of the board isn’t keen on such details. They each have their reasons for being a part of the workhouse. They reviewed a few pages and then left.”

“Would you like to take the ledger and come back to the cottage? I could make us a small supper and tea.” Honestly, she didn’t want to be alone.

“I’d love that.”

She made a simple supper of cheese omelets and strong brown tea as he admired the domesticity of her movements.

“I would be a happy man coming home to you every night,” he told her honestly.

She glanced up at him. “Would you?”

“I would.”

She chuckled lowly. “I don’t think most men want a woman who has an education and a job.”

“It’s all the more reason I like you. You’re different. Set apart.” He pulled the ledger between them. “I suppose we should get to work.”

“What are we looking for?”

Henry thought for a moment. “Anything out of the ordinary. Any large amounts. Strange amounts.”

“You have more experience than I. Can you show me an example?” she asked.

He looked down the page he was on and tapped an entry. “See here? Cotton. It’s a bit high, but we might have had more inmates at that time so they needed to make more clothes for them.”

Audrey nodded. “I see.”

“It might be a bit difficult, as you aren’t used to the ledgers and what is normal. I’ll point out a few more.”

He did, and when she felt more confident, he took the left side of the ledger and she took the right, and they worked together. She refilled their teacups once, and they returned to poring over the ledger. Audrey was taking in the amounts and the handwriting that noted the entry when she saw something that made her frown.

“This is unusual, isn’t it?” she said, pointing out one entry.

He looked over at the entry and frowned, too. “It is.”