Shattered Dreams (7 page)

Decision
made, she lengthened her stride and hurried back toward the busy
coaching inn. As she went, she quickly blocked out the little voice
of doubt that asked her what she was going to do if there was no
refuge.

Without
food: she could just about survive; for a day or so anyway. Without
a job: well, she could continue to search for one, and be prepared
to do whatever was needed in order to earn some money; within
reason.

However,
without anywhere to at least get warm, dry and clean: she was
sentenced to death. If she couldn’t present herself neatly, she
wouldn’t get a job. Without a job, she couldn’t get accommodation,
food, and the daily necessities she needed just to survive, it was
as simple as that.

With her
mind going around and around in a desperate whirl, she ducked her
head, tried to ignore the bitter wind that chilled her to the bone.
Whether she could afford accommodation or not, she desperately
needed a drink, and somewhere to get warm while she tried to decide
how she was going to find someone to employ her.

Harry
studied the relentless downpour outside the window, and cursed
fluidly.

“
What do you think it is all about, Harry?” Barnaby asked with
a frown. He threw the letter back onto the desk, and propped his
boots up beside it. “Why do that to anyone?”

“
Ever heard of a Mrs Bolsworthy?”

Barnaby
screwed his eyes up, and peered through the window across the
valley. “No. It doesn’t ring any bells with me.”

“
She is the one who recommended the job,” Harry sighed, and
watched Barnaby’s brows rocket skyward.

“
Did you get a description?”

Harry
nodded. “She sounds suspiciously like someone I have seen in town,
but cannot be sure.”

He
searched his memory for the last time he had seen the rather rotund
lady in town, who matched the description Tilly gave him. It must
have been several weeks ago now. He could remember her because she
had looked as though she was searching for something; or someone,
and muttering to herself as she pushed rudely past
people.

“
The young girl, Tilly, was absolutely devastated, Barnaby. So
much so that, for a moment there, I thought she was going to pass
out when I told her that I already have a housekeeper.”

“
No job or family back home?”

“
No. Her mother is dead. No mention of her father, and her
employer died, so Tilly needed to leave her position.”

“
It sounds like she is a perfect candidate to vanish,” Barnaby
growled in disgust. “God, Harry, just what have we stumbled into
here?”

Barnaby’s words rang hollowly in Harry’s ears, and refused to
be ignored. “What do you mean; she is the perfect candidate to
vanish?”

“
It reminds me of a case I heard about a few months back,”
Barnaby mused. “A young girl was sent to take up a new position in
a respectable house; a scullery maid, or something. Anyway, her
delighted family scraped enough money together to buy her a ticket,
and put her on the post chaise. They never heard from her again.
When they did go after her, they learned that the house she was
supposed to go to work at didn’t actually exist.”

“
Where was this?” Harry asked with a frown. A sickening sense
of dread swept over him, and he knew how that he had been wrong to
let Tilly leave the house.

“
Somewhere in Yorkshire, I think,” Barnaby replied with a
frown.

“
Were the Star Elite involved?”

Barnaby
nodded slowly. “The girl just vanished though. The town had a busy
coaching in, just like this one, and there were just too many
people around to notice her. The investigation has been shelved for
now because there are no leads.”

Harry
cursed bitterly, and fought the sudden urge to punch
something.

“
Someone got their hands on my seal, and forged my signature,”
Harry snarled. “Jesus, Barnaby, if I can get proof that either of
the Dandridges’ sent that letter to Tilly, I am going to damned
well make sure that they never get out of prison.”

“
Where are they at the moment?”

He ran
his hands down his face wearily. “In the kitchen.”

“
What about the Dandridges’?” Barnaby asked, and threw a
furtive look at the door as he leaned forward. “Have you been able
to find much out about them?”

“
Apart from what Hugo has already told me? Not really,” Harry
sighed. “I know for a fact that they do far too much sneaking
around to be trusted. Charles Dandridge goes out at all hours of
the day and night, and is away for several hours at a
time.”

“
Where to? Do you know yet?”

“
I followed him through the woods to the far end of town, but
lost him again. By the time I got back, Mrs Dandridge had also left
the house, but must have gone the opposite way. It was a good
couple of hours before either of them came back. The damned woods
are so dark, and lead to several roads. It is impossible to know
for sure if either of them went into town, were collected by
someone in a carriage, or went to one of the nearby villages.” He
looked at his friend. “It’s why I sent for you.”

“
I am glad you did,” Barnaby declared firmly.

Harry
nodded to the woods at the front of the house, which covered half
of the hillside and led to the south side of Tooting Mallow. “They
are the thinnest and relatively easy to get through. The woods out
back are the worst.”

Harry
stared at the rivulets of rainwater on the window, but saw nothing
of the shadowy landscape outside. Instead, his mind was focused
firmly on the hauntingly beautiful face of the woman who, he
suspected, would be a part of his dreams forever. Tilly.

He was
angrier with himself more than anyone else, because he knew that
should have given her a roof over her head for a couple of nights
while he got to the bottom of the letter, and she decided what to
do with her life.

As his
eyes refocused on the gloom outside of the window, he turned his
attention to the huge building nestled across the valley. Even from
a mile or so away, the place looked dark and sinister.

“
What is that place?” Barnaby asked with a scowl.

“
It’s Tooting Mallow Poor House: the arse end of
hell.”

“
I cannot believe that anyone would willingly go there,”
Barnaby growled.

“
People do though.” Harry just hoped to God that Tilly
hadn’t.

“
Do you think that Dandridge has a mistress in town?” Barnaby
mused thoughtfully. From what he had seen of Charles Dandridge, the
man was lucky that he had managed to find someone as dog-eared as
Mrs Dandridge. It would be a fine miracle indeed if he had actually
acquired a lover as well.

Harry
snorted and shook his head. “I doubt it,” he replied
absently.

For some
reason, he couldn’t get his eyes off the huge poor house. He prayed
that Tilly had taken his advice and caught the first post chaise
out of town. However, the God awful end of the world place that
people were often forced to go to, was there; just on the horizon.
He knew, deep inside, that someone as worried, destitute, and
helpless as Tilly, could very well turn to the poor house for
help.

The
thought of someone like her ending up in a place like that made him
feel a little sick.

He had
only ever been in a poor house once, and that had been to fetch
someone the Star Elite had needed to help with one of their
investigations. It was worse than prison.

It
wasn’t that the place had smelled, or had been full of people
dragging chains behind them. It was just that the people who needed
a poor house to help them survive had a sense of helplessness, and
hopelessness about them that had truly horrified him. He had wanted
to open the doors and let everyone out so that they could be free
of the shackles of destitution, but knew that even if he did, they
probably wouldn’t leave because they had nowhere to go.

The poor
house was, for most people, the very last resort. People were only
ever forced to go to one, they never went through choice.
Unfortunately, by the time a person sank to such levels of despair,
they were unable to find any way to claw back out. They turned up
on the doorstep of a poor house, penniless and broken, in search of
a bed, and somewhere dry to stay. Once there though, they rarely
left again.

“
I can keep watch on Mr Dandridge tonight,” Barnaby sighed.
“Do you have a room for me here?”

“
Top of the stairs. The spare rooms are on the right,” Harry
replied. When he sensed Barnaby was watching him, Harry turned to
look at his friend wryly. “Thank you for coming. Although, once you
taste Mrs Dandridge’s cooking, you may wish you had chosen a room
at the tavern.”

Barnaby
grinned at him. “Do you think she is trying to poison you by
stealth?”

“
God knows,” Harry growled, and threw his friend a rueful
look. “She certainly isn’t looking for a recommendation. That much
is a fact.”

“
What do you want to do about that?” Barnaby asked as he
nodded to the letter. “I think it is safe to assume that one of the
Dandridges’ had something to do with it. If they didn’t send it
themselves, they signed and sealed it for someone else to send the
letter. What I don’t get is; why? What would they want with someone
as young as Tilly? Why put the letter in your name?”

Barnaby
didn’t say as much to Harry, but the young woman who had just left
was downright gorgeous. She was young, beautiful and beguiling; but
what would the Dandridges’ want her in Tooting Mallow
for?

He
studied his friend carefully, and wondered if Harry was actually
thinking about the investigation at all; or whether he was focused
more on the young woman.

“
What bothers me is, why lure Tilly here and then allow her to
leave again?” Harry whispered, unable to get his mind off
her.

Barnaby
looked at him in the eye. “It is only my opinion, you understand? I
rather believe that she would have been better off staying here.”
He nodded toward the window. “They have brought her here for a
reason: we just don’t know what it is yet. Out there, she is
vulnerable because she has nobody to protect her. Here, although
she has the Dandridges’ under the same roof, at least she can call
out for help if they try anything. We can guard her a damned sight
better if she is here.”

“
Like what? What could they try? Why?” Harry felt like he
wanted to beat his head against the table, and cursed in bitter
frustration when the answers weren’t forthcoming.

“
God knows, but we will find out,” Barnaby
promised.

After
several moments of thoughtful silence, he pushed to his feet and
fetched Harry’s jacket.

“
Where am I going?” Harry asked as he took it off
him.

“
After her. Get her back here, Harry, before they get to her,”
Barnaby growled with a nod toward the window.

Harry
didn’t need to be told twice. He snatched his jacket off his friend
on his way to the door.

The busy
tap room was noisy, and packed with smoke and people in equal
measure. Tilly jostled her way to the bar, where she paused to
catch her breath for a moment while she tried to decide what to ask
for. She had never been in a tavern before and had no idea what was
on offer. Somehow, judging from the rather lower class people who
were there, she didn’t think wine was available, and had no idea if
they had even heard of elderflower water, or lime
cordial.

When the
barman finally looked at her, she opened her mouth to speak only to
close it again with a snap when a mug of some kind of fetid brew
was slapped on the bar before her.

“
Coin,” the barman grunted.

“
Pardon?” Tilly felt pinned to the spot by his surly stare,
and wondered for a moment what kind of language he grunted
in.

“
A’penny for the ale. You want it or not?”

Tilly
hesitantly handed him one of her few precious coins, and watched
his eyes widen. He snatched it off her with such speed that she
didn’t even see his hand move. Before she could blink, several
coins of change were shoved across the bar at her seconds before he
turned away.

She
quickly turned away and studied the room in search of a dark, quiet
corner to hide in. Thankfully, just such a place appeared through a
gap in the people. She hurried over to the solitary stool in the
corner and took a seat, then suddenly wished she hadn’t.

In stark
contrast to the raucous revelry within the hostelry, she suddenly
felt cold, scared and incredibly alone tucked away all by herself
as she was. She took a sip of the liquid the man had called ale,
and wondered whether it was really mop water in disguise. She
wrinkled her nose up and slid the mug back onto the table with a
sigh. If she sipped it slowly, she could take an hour or so to
drink it, and thaw out while she did so.

How long
she sat there for she couldn’t tell. There was no clock within the
room, just plenty of people. She knew better than to take the coins
she had left out of her pocket so that she could count them, so
tried to remember how much money the bar keeper had shoved at her
while she weight up her options.