Page 94 of A Devilish Element

“Betsy spouts superstitious twaddle every time she opens her mouth,” Eliza countered.

“Apart from when she’s just plain surly,” Jem added.

“Or they valued a decent wage,” Bell continued. “One thing I think Whistler and I can both attest to is that Linfield was generous in that regard.”

“Perhaps they knew one another previously.”

“No!” Both men adamantly asserted.

“Eliza, he had no inclinations of that sort. Not for maids.”

“Well, perhaps she made an advance, and he spurned her.”

Bell rolled his eyes, clearly not persuaded. “Would one really poison someone for that? I should think she’d be relieved he didn’t dismiss her on the spot.”

Well, they might both claim Linfield had no interest in the fairer sex, but that didn’t explain the nonsense with Henrietta. Jane certainly hadn’t been mistaken about what she’d witnessed. Linfield’s cock had certainly been inside that woman’s mouth. She made the point with passion, which won her a response of, “Desperation,” from both men.

“He was willing to try anything, and you realise she was a bawd,” Bell said.

Jem nodded. “T’was once said she was the lady to see if one wanted that particular service, especially if you had a reluctant member. It’s what he told me, anyway. Even showed me the entry in Grose’s almanack. George pretends he doesn’t know about it, but he knows. He doesn’t know who his father is, mind. Poor sod.”

“Lots of rumours though,” Bell added. “One of which starts with B—”

“Linfield’s father is also Cluett’s?” Eliza gaped at the physician.

“’Tis but a rumour, Miss Wakefield. Now, if we’re through with the gossip, I propose returning to conversing with the corpse. It’s more likely to yield something sound instead of a lot of speculation about nothing.”

While Bell took himself off, Jem reached for her.

“Don’t.” Eliza smacked Jem’s hands away.

Resigned, he let his hands fall to his sides. Eliza made another quick survey of the shelves, to make sure she hadn’t missed the bottle. It was definitely missing, and while she admitted, stealing a bottle of medicine was hardly a solid basis for a declaration of guilt, there remained enough of a tickle in her mind for her to refuse to let the notion go.

Truthfully, she was mad at Jem too, mad at having been deceived, and madder still knowing she’d been in possession of his affections and somehow lost them. It rankled to learn his compliance to Linfield’s wishes had been won using her as leverage. And Doctor Bell had known and not done a thing about it.

“The rest of us have rather more valid motives for putting him in the ground,” Jem said gently.

“Mayhaps, she does too.”

The bruised parts of her soul certainly agreed.

“I’m right about the phosphorus.”

“Aye,” Jem agreed. “That you can’t dispute.”

“And she’s the one who had it, and she’d likely know something of its properties. She told me her husband was an apothecary.”

Bell, on the threshold of the other room, about turned. “Mrs Honeyfield told you that?”

“Yes, what of it?”

The colour had drained from the doctor’s face. He remained eerily still for a moment, then the ringlets of his wig quivered as a shiver ran through his wiry body. He set aside the gristly lump of meat he still carried, scalpel too, and steepled his blood-stained fingers before him, though whether that was in prayer or thought, Eliza couldn’t determine.

“Ludlow, what is it?” Jem cautiously approached.

“Nothing, most likely. In fact, it’s almost certainly nothing. A coincidence. But… then again if it’s not…”

He looked to Eliza, then Jem. “Jesus, I warned him at the time there’d be repercussions. Would he listen? Of course not. It was a miracle enough that he even had the sense to vacate town for a while, the blind fool.”