A Most Peculiar Circumstance (12 page)

“I only wanted to give all of you some last minute encouragement and to remind you to not do anything dangerous.”

Agatha pulled a blanket from under the carriage seat, threw it on top of herself, and smiled. “There’s no need to worry about us. We’re only going to ask some questions and perhaps do a bit of snooping.”

Eliza narrowed her eyes. “You never said anything about snooping.”

“If I’m going to write an award-winning article, snooping will be required.”

“Now I’ll never relax until I get word you’re safe,” Eliza said.

Arabella reached over and took Eliza’s hand. “I know not being able to accompany us is difficult, but . . . if you need a distraction, you could think of ways to get the ladies off the streets for good. It was an ingenious move on Agatha’s part to insist they not solicit customers this evening so they could help us, but that only gets them away from their job for a single evening.”

“I’m surprised they agreed to my suggestion,” Agatha said. “They were so adamant about not accepting charity.”

Arabella released Eliza’s hand and settled back in the seat. “That’s why I was rather ambiguous when I was discussing their payment for assisting us tonight. I admit I might have led them to believe the wages they’re earning are coming from the
New-York Tribune
. We’ll need to be careful and not mention that I’m the one paying them.”

“I’m still not comfortable with you absorbing the full amount,” Eliza said.

“I have more than enough money at my disposal, Eliza, and besides, I’ve decided that helping women get off the streets is going to be my newest cause.”

“I thought your cause was to secure the right to vote,” Katherine said slowly.

“It’s not as if I’m going to abandon the suffrage movement, but I’ve come to realize that while I’ve been campaigning around the country, true atrocities are occurring to women right here in New York. I believe God has had His hand in recent events and is pushing me to lend these ladies my assistance.”

Eliza frowned. “I don’t want to discourage you, Arabella, but I don’t know if these ladies will be receptive to any assistance from you. They were quite adamant about not appreciating charity.”

“It wouldn’t be charity if we found them another way to procure a living,” Arabella argued.

“I have no idea what manner of employment they would be willing to accept,” Eliza said. “From what we’ve seen, they’re relatively uneducated, and you and I both know New York society is incredibly particular regarding what type of servants they allow in their grand houses.”

Katherine blew out a breath. “Perhaps we should simply ask them what they’d like to do with their lives.”

“Now, there’s an idea,” Arabella said. “Simple yet brilliant. I should have thought of it.”

Katherine rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe you’re the type of lady who likes to settle for ‘simple.’”

Eliza laughed. “On that note, I’m going to take my leave before events turn violent.” She shoved open the carriage door, the act causing a frigid burst of air to whip over them. She jumped to the ground and turned. “You will be careful, won’t you?”

Agatha rooted around on the carriage seat, located her reticule, and pulled a pistol from it.

“Why am I not surprised you’re armed?” Eliza said.

“I have one too,” Arabella said, lifting up her skirt to display the pistol securely attached to her leg with a frilly garter.

Eliza shifted her gaze to Katherine. “Just make certain you stick next to these two.”

Katherine whipped up her skirt and pointed to two pistols, one attached to each leg. She dropped her skirt and grinned. “I am Theodore’s sister after all.”

“God help you,” Eliza said before she closed the door and hurried away.

Arabella watched out the frosty window until she saw Eliza disappear into her own carriage, then rapped on the roof and leaned back in her seat when the carriage set to moving.

“So, Arabella,” Katherine began, drawing her attention, “I’m still curious as to what you did to my brother to make him so disagreeable to me.”

Arabella opened her mouth, shutting it when absolutely nothing came to her, but was saved the bother of a response when Katherine continued on as if she hadn’t just asked a question.

“There I was, sitting in my parlor with Theodore, fielding question after question about you, but then I told him
your mother mentioned you’d been spending a bit of time shopping, and he got testy. It was rather odd, especially since Theodore has been known to escort more than his fair share of ladies through the shops.”

Arabella wouldn’t allow herself the luxury of contemplating why that statement rankled her. “I have no idea why the idea of shopping would have made Theodore testy. I can assure you, I’ve never once enjoyed a turn through the shops with your brother by my side.”

Agatha made a
tsk
ing sound under her breath. “Theodore’s surliness had nothing to do with shopping. I think it results from his finding you fascinating, Arabella, but being too stubborn to admit it. I think he realized he wasn’t behaving in his normal fashion and turned surly to distract from his behavior.”

“Theodore does not find me fascinating. Irritating perhaps, but not fascinating.”

Agatha smiled. “Why else would he have accused you of flirting with Grayson?”

“Because he enjoys annoying me?”

“Well, there is that,” Agatha mumbled.

Arabella turned back to the window and allowed her gaze to drift over the people scurrying around the streets, their heads bent and their shoulders hunched against the cold. She caught a glimpse of ships in the distance and turned from the window. “We’re almost to the docks.”

Katherine’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know we were going to hawk our wares at the docks.”

“We’re not hawking our wares. We’re just asking questions. There will be no need for any
hawking
.”

“But . . . the docks are exceedingly dangerous. What should I do if some man approaches me?”

“I doubt we’ll encounter that,” Arabella said. “I’m more than certain our appearance will be a deterrent rather than
an enticement. Just stay by me and you’ll be fine, or you could always remain in the carriage.”

Katherine lifted her chin. “Although I admit I did not realize what our final destination was going to be, I’m not a coward. I’m going with you just as I promised, and I’m determined to be useful.”

“Look, there’s Violet,” Agatha said as the carriage rolled to a stop. She opened the door and jumped to the ground, the long skirts of her gown trailing behind her.

Arabella struggled through the door, followed immediately by Katherine, and took a moment to collect her bearings as a strong gust of wind smacked into her, causing her wig to wobble and her dress to lift up around her. She pushed the gown down, straightened her wig, and took hold of Katherine’s arm before they hurried over to Violet.

Violet’s mouth dropped open as her gaze went from Arabella to Agatha and then lingered on Katherine. “Good heavens, would you look at the three of you.”

“You ladies look like a bunch of traveling actors,” Lottie said as she strode up to join them, with Sarah and Hannah following a few steps behind.

Katherine shook out her skirts. “We’re wearing opera gowns.”

Lottie frowned. “You’re not Mrs. Beckett.”

“I’m Mrs. Gibson, but you may call me Katherine, or maybe Kate would be more appropriate for this evening.”

Lottie’s frown deepened. “Are you married to Mr. Harold Gibson?”

Katherine narrowed her eyes. “You are familiar with Harold?”

“Not personally,” Lottie said, taking a step back as Katherine advanced.

“How do you know him?”

“He’s one of the richest men in New York,” Violet said.
“We know all the rich folks. It can come in handy at times if you catch one of them doing something shady.”

“Yes, well,” Arabella said quickly when Katherine began to sputter, “we should get into our places. Where do you suggest we start, Violet?”

“As we discussed yesterday, we’ll go to the far end of the docks where most of the girls have gone missing. We’ll stroll around and see if anyone suspicious turns up.” Violet drew in a breath and slowly released it. “There’s always the chance that we might run into the madman who’s been stealing our friends, so if any of you feel uneasy about someone, don’t hesitate to yell. Remember, even though we’re going to split up into smaller groups, everyone needs to be with another lady at all times. It would be a cruel ending to this evening if someone else was snatched.”

A shiver ran down Arabella’s spine at those ominous words. She fell into step with the other ladies and tried to ignore the vulgar comments that began coming their way from the men lining the docks. She straightened her shoulders, stifled the urge to address the rude comments, and continued forward, the moisture from the sea stealing through her clothing and causing her to shiver. She couldn’t help the sadness that seeped into her very soul as the thought came to her that Violet and her friends were out on these docks nightly, forced to ignore the elements in order to earn a living.

She was more determined than ever to help them into a better life because
this
was no way to live.

“Here’s where we split up,” Violet said, coming to a halt. “Kate, stick with Hannah and Sarah. Agatha, I thought it would be best for you to come with me.”

“I’ll stay with Lottie,” Arabella said as she caught Katherine’s eye. “Keep your pistol handy, and if you run into trouble, scream.”

“If I run into trouble, I plan on shooting first and then
screaming,” Katherine said. She followed Hannah to stand a few yards away.

Arabella and Agatha exchanged nods and took off in opposite directions, and Arabella and Lottie finally came to a stop under a gas lamp. “What now?”

“We wait for the men.”

Five minutes later, Arabella released a sigh. “I don’t think anyone is going to come up to us, Lottie.”

“It’s your dress. It’s a bit off-putting.”

“Perhaps we should take matters into our own hands.”

Lottie arched a brow. “You want to do the approaching?”

Arabella arched a brow right back. “I was thinking more that we forget about the men and question some of the other ladies down here. Someone must have seen something.”

“You can go talk to that group,” Lottie said with a nod toward five women who were huddled together and looked as if they were scared to death. “I’ll see if any of those fine gents standing over there by that light have seen anything tonight.”

Arabella shook her head. “We should stay together.”

“I won’t get anything out of them if you’re with me,” Lottie said. “Your speech is too refined and your gown too hideous.” She patted her hair. “I’ve been dealing with men for more years than I care to admit, and besides, it’s not as if there’s just a single man. I don’t think they’re going to grab me and bolt from the docks.”

“I don’t know, Lottie. I still think we should stick together.”

“I’m only going to be a few feet from you. You can keep an eye on me, and if I think something’s wrong, I’ll give you a yell.”

Before Arabella had a chance to protest further, Lottie sauntered away from her, let out a boisterous laugh when she reached the men, and was soon deep in conversation with a man who was thin and shorter than Lottie by at least a head.

Knowing full well that Lottie was right and that the man
chatting with her wasn’t exactly a threat, Arabella squared her shoulders and marched her way over to the huddled group of ladies. Once they got over their initial hysterics regarding her appearance, they warmed up to her and told her everything they knew, which wasn’t much. After ten minutes of useless questioning, she finally gave up and was just stepping in the direction of Lottie and her crowd of men when Agatha suddenly appeared by her side, causing her to jump.

“You scared me half to death.”

Agatha smiled. “Sorry about that. Have you had any luck?”

“I’m afraid to say I haven’t.”

“Should we finish here?” Katherine asked as she sidled up next to them. “I don’t recall a time I have been so thoroughly insulted. Do you know, a gentleman came up to me and offered me twenty cents?
Twenty cents
.”

“You should count yourself fortunate. I haven’t been offered anything,” Agatha said. “And no, we can’t leave quite yet. I haven’t discovered anything relating to the disappearances.”

“The man who offered me twenty cents told me there’ve been some new faces down here tonight,” Katherine said. “I tried to learn more, but he wasn’t interested in
talking
to me, and I had to graciously refuse his offer.”

“You pulled out your gun, didn’t you?” Agatha asked.

“I did,” Katherine admitted. “That, unfortunately, brought any attempt at conversation to an abrupt end.”

“Would you recognize the man again?” Agatha asked.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget him.”

“We should go look for him,” Agatha said. She turned toward Arabella. “Do you want to come with us?”

Arabella shook her head and gestured to where Lottie was still laughing with the men. “I don’t want to leave her alone, and . . . why are the two of you not with Violet and Hannah?”

“They said we were putting a damper on their investigation,” Katherine said with a grin. “Agatha and I didn’t want
to be shuffled off to stand beneath a streetlight, so we decided to investigate together.”

“We won’t be long,” Agatha said. “It looks like it’s going to snow again, and these ridiculous shoes I decided to wear will not allow me to remain standing if that happens.”

Arabella smiled. “I told you they were a little too much, but you’re right, it does feel like it’s about to snow. Go check on Katherine’s man, and then we should probably be on our way.” Arabella watched them stride away and took one step toward Lottie, but then froze in place as a shiver swept down her spine. She squinted into the darkness off to her right.

No one was there.

She rubbed her hands down her arms and forced herself to take a deep breath. It was clear her imagination was getting away from her, but . . . why then did she have the distinct feeling someone was watching her?