Colleen Gleason - The Clockwork Scarab

“If he got the beetle coin from the girl, then I would definitely know all about her.” I rose. Even if it wasn’t Lilly Corteville, a Society girl—or any girl—had no business being held prisoner by the likes of Bad Louie. “Take me to her, Pix.”

He sobered, eyeing me. “What’s the chances you’d stay ’ere instead?”

“None.”

Whatever he muttered under his breath probably wasn’t a compliment. Resignation in his face, he gestured for me to stand. “Come on, then.”

Pix’s two friends accompanied us as we left the pub and descended to ground level. We went only a couple of blocks before turning down a dark, close alley. A bridge that had once connected across the third street levels sagged, untraversable, above my head. Pix glanced at my ready pistol and curled his lip. I could almost read his sneer: he didn’t need a blooming pistol. “Stay ’ere. Wait. Watch. I’ll be jus’ a minute.”

I complied, but only because one of the other men stayed as well. The night was filled with distant shouts and clanging noises, the rare rattling of carriages, barking dogs and yowling cats, the hiss of steam. Neither my companion nor I spoke.

I watched the area where Pix and his companion had disappeared. There was a dark building in front of us, and they’d gone in there at ground level. Then I heard a shout in the distance. And gunshots.

I sprang to attention, my gun in hand, and started to move. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Bad Louie. More gunshots and shouts echoed through the night. Light flashed in a small explosion as I started down the dark alley, hurrying in the direction Pix had gone.

But before I got more than a dozen steps, two shadowy figures appeared. They were running, and one of them had something large and heavy over its shoulder. I didn’t need to see to know the runners were Pix and his friend.

“Run!” More shouts and gunshots filled the air.

I stayed with my companions as we dashed through a dizzying maze of streets and alleys, up flights of rickety stairs and over narrow bridges, down and up again until I was completely lost. We turned down a narrow street with dark sky-touching buildings and then ducked into the entrance of a large, black structure. There was a loud clang behind me, and the sound of a metal bolt being thrown.

Someone shoved me along in the dark, and I was propelled down some stairs. A man cursed, another person pushed and guided me, and finally I saw the faint glow of light. At the bottom of the stairs, I stepped into a completely different world than the dark, dingy, dirty Whitechapel streets above.

This was someone’s living quarters, and very well furnished. Settees and rugs had been arranged in a large open space that looked just as comfortable as a parlor in any Society home. Gas lamps . . . no, electric lights cast cool, white illumination. Much sharper than the mellow golden glow that lit the rest of London. Something mechanical whirred softly in the corner.

Well, here was the answer to one question: where Pix hid all his stolen loot.

I turned to him. He was sliding the large, heavy item from his shoulder onto the settee. I realized his burden was a person he’d retrieved and carried all this way.

The clear light played over her face, and beneath the dirt and bruises, I recognized Miss Lilly Corteville. She was conscious. Her eyes fluttered and focused, then fear and shock filled her expression.

“Lilly,” I said, kneeling next to her, yanking off my cap so she could see my face. The pins ripped from my hair and scattered. “It’s me, Evaline Stoker. You’re safe now.”

I could have sworn I heard someone whisper Evaline behind me, as if testing out the name, but the chamber was filled with so many other sounds that I couldn’t be certain.

“Lilly,” I said again, looking at her cut, bruised face. The poor thing. What had she lived through? “You’re away from that horrible man. Whatever happened, you’re safe.” I found one of her hands and closed my fingers around it. Her digits were cold and stiff.

Her lips moved, and I couldn’t tell what words they formed, but I understood. “Water, and something to eat,” I ordered over my shoulder. “Hurry. And . . . something warm. She’s like to freeze to death.”

I’d hardly spoken the words when a soft blanket was thrust into my hands. I tucked it around the poor girl, but not before I noticed her torn, filthy clothing. It had once been fine and expensive, but now it told the tale of her experience: blood and dirt stained, lacking ruffles, lace, and other embellishments that could be stolen and sold.

She’d been missing for weeks. She’d obviously been wearing the same clothing all that time. Had she removed the lace and ruffles to raise money, or had they been stolen right off her by Bad Louie or someone else? I burned to ask questions, of her and of Pix, but I knew the time wasn’t right. The girl was in shock, and she needed to rest.

And as for Pix . . . He’d saved her from a terrible situation. And in spite of everything I knew or suspected about his criminal habits, I had to thank him for that.

After dabbing her face clean with warm water and a bit of soft soap I hadn’t thought to ask for, I helped Lilly Corteville drink some thin broth. Her gaze skittered about, and she didn’t release my hand until her eyes closed. At last she slipped into a restless slumber.

Extricating myself, I stood and found Pix watching me. The other two of our companions were sitting across the room, playing dice at a table. My host sat in a chair, lounging in his deceptively relaxed manner. But I sensed tension and an air of something I couldn’t define emanating from him.

“You’ll take good care o’ ’er, now, won’t ye, luv?”

“Right after I find Bad Louie,” I replied. Now that I had seen Lilly and her condition, I understood just how bad that man had been.

“No need f’that,” he replied. “Bad Louie won’ be stealin’ no more pretty girls.”

“You killed him?” I had a moment of shock competing with disappointment. I’d wanted to have a hand in the man’s punishment.

“Oh, ’e ain’t dead. ’E jus’ wishes ’e were.” There was no humor in his words.

“Thank you for helping her . . . and me. But now I must get her home.”

“Aye, I’ve made the arrangements. Now, will ye sit and take a sip o’ tea wi’ me?”

I took the cup he offered and settled in a chair between Lilly and Pix. The tea was fragrant and sweetened, without milk. Just the way I liked it. How did he know?

And how, I wondered not for the first time, had he known my name? My vocation?

“Better’n th’ale?” he asked, watching as I sipped.

“I think I could get used to the ale.”

His lips curved. “Aye, I’d expect nawt less from ye. An’ now I’ve a question for ye, luv,” he said as, all of a sudden, I realized how exhausted I was. My eyelids grew heavy, and weariness rushed through my limbs. It had been busy night.

“What’s that?” I replied, taking another drink of the soothing brew.

“Why did ye let me win?”

I smiled at the hint of aggravation in his voice.

“Because I could.”

I set the teacup down, and despite the fogginess that had begun to swim over me, I added, “And so now you owe me one.”

He chuckled in that low, rumbly way of his. “And so it is. Now, close yer eyes. I’ll see ye and yer friend ’ome safely.”

Blast him! “You drugged my tea!” I struggled to sit upright. But my muscles were loose and my brain was foggy.

“Now, luv, a bit o’ laudanum ne’er ’urt anyone—so long’s it’s jus’ a bit. An’ I can’t ’ave ye leavin’ ’ere, and rememberin’ where my crib is, can I? I’m not one for unexpected guests.”