The entry was for baked goods, but there was no need for such a fee. The workhouse had its own bakery, laundry, tailor, shoemaker, vegetable garden, orchards, and stables. They had workshops for carpentry, the infirm, a chapel, and a mortuary. There was no need to purchase these items outside the workhouse.
“Here it is again.” She pointed out the next page.
Over several pages, they spotted over twenty baked good entries, along with entries for tomatoes and apples.
“That makes no sense. We have an orchard and vegetable garden,” Audrey mused.
Henry met her eyes. “We don’t need any of these things unless it’s off-season for them but still.” He shook his head. “We would have kept them preserved in the icehouse. I’ll speak to Master tomorrow. It may be easily explained.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“You sound very skeptical,” he told her.
“No, you’re right. I’ll wait until you speak to him tomorrow.” She hesitated. “There’s something else. I—I wanted to tell you right away, but I wanted to think about it. I thought maybe I imagined the whole thing.”
He set down the paper he was holding. “Tell me what?”
She was uncertain what to say but then spoke. “After we parted, when you went to the meeting, I had the strangest encounter. I don’t know what to call it…. I was walking down the hallway, as I’ve done a thousand times, and the gaslights were all out. It was dark. There was a figure at the end of the hallway. I could tell it was a man. He was tall, broad-shouldered. He just stood there. In the dark. I called out to him, but he didn’t say anything. Then he took something out of his pocket that looked like a billy club and he smashed the gaslight. I ran from him then, and he didn’t chase me.”
Henry looked at her and then swore. “This is madness!”
“No! Don’t you see? We’re on the right track, Henry! Whatever we’ve stumbled upon they know. They’re scared we’ll discover the truth!” she said excitedly.
“They’re scared?” he repeated. “I’m scared! I’m scared something is going to happen to you and I won’t be able to stop it!”
“Henry, we have to go on. We have to finish this. We’re on the right path.”
“I agree,” he told her. “We must finish this but not at the cost of losing you.”
“You won’t lose me. I did as you said. I locked the door at night. I’m careful. I’ll continue to be very careful.”
“I don’t like this.” He shook his head.
“We have to finish this,” she told him.
“I hate like hell every time I have to walk through that door away from you,” he told her bluntly.
Her back straightened in defiance. “I can’t let them cower me. I can’t let them do that. I must stand up to them.”
Henry shook his head and closed the ledger. “At least come to the grand house.”
She shook her head. “No.”
He sighed. “I’ll speak to Cuthbert tomorrow. I’ll ask him about these entries. He may have a perfectly good reason.”
“He may. And then he may not.”
They both stood up, and as she walked him to the door, he caught her in his embrace and whispered huskily in her ear, “Very soon I’ll ask you to come to the house on the River Yare. It won’t be just to take tea or to have supper.”
She looked up at him. “Am I to stay at the house forever?”
“Until death parts us.”
“Isn’t there a question somewhere in this conversation? A question I have to answer,” she teased.
His stare was intense as he studied her. “There is. Soon I’m going to ask it.”
She felt her heart flip. “I’ll have to ponder my answer.”