Page 96 of A Whisper in the Shadows

They arrived at Evans Court, and Tilda paused, touching Hadrian’s sleeve so that he stopped with her. He pivoted to face her. “What is it?”

“For the purposes of this inquiry, I will be Miss Wren, but as when we called on Mrs. Vickers, you should not be the Earl of Ravenhurst.”

He nodded. “I understand. As it happens, I am also Hadrian Becket.” He smiled at her.

Her mouth quirked up. “I’ve watched how you’ve become more of him than the earl these past several days. Has it been difficult? You made it look rather easy. I know the lodgings are not what you’re accustomed to, and the wardrobe probably isn’t either.” Her gaze flicked to his simple, dark garments.

“It has been different, and I’ve learned a great deal.” Hadrian imagined he would reflect on the period he’d lived here in the Coleman Street Ward for some time.

“But do you miss your home and its comforts?” she asked.

“No more than you, I imagine. I know you miss your bed,” he said with a chuckle.

“True,” she said with a rueful smile. “I’m going to tell Mr. Oldham we’re looking for a missing man. I’d rather not mention Timothy Eaton unless it becomes necessary. I want to hear what he knows before we give him too much information.”

Hadrian nodded and they continued into the alley. They found Mr. Oldham’s lodging, a narrow, rather ramshackle house at the end of a terrace. Hadrian knocked on the door.

A woman slightly older than Hadrian answered. Her light brown hair was scraped atop her head beneath a cap, whilst a few strands flowed loose. She eyed Hadrian and Tilda with a bit of suspicion.

Tilda smiled. “Good morning. I’m an investigator looking into the disappearance of a man from the Coleman Street Ward. My name is Miss Wren, and this is my associate, Mr. Becket. Can we trouble your husband for a few minutes of his time? We understand he is the night soil man for this area.”

The woman’s features relaxed somewhat, though there was still a touch of wariness in her gaze. “I’ll ask ’im if ’e wants to speak with ye.” She did not invite them in and closed the door in their faces.

“I suppose we wait,” Hadrian said wryly. “Should I have offered money?”

“Let’s see what happens. But yes, we may need to do that.” She looked over at him. “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

They waited a few minutes, and Hadrian began to worry that their errand would be for naught. But then the door opened, and a man with dark, receding hair and a razor-sharp nose regarded them cautiously. “I’m Oldham. Who’re ye looking for?”

“A man called Thomas Edgars,” Tilda said with ease. “Specifically, we’d like to speak with you about last Saturday night, when he went missing. We understand you might have loaned your night soil cart to someone.”

Oldham’s eyes narrowed. “I do that sometimes—when I want a night off. I don’t know anybody named Thomas Edgars.”

“Who borrowed your cart last Saturday?” Tilda asked.

“Neither of ’em were Thomas. I can’t ’elp you.” Oldham started to close the door, but Hadrian put his hand on the wood to stop him.

“We understand this is an inconvenience. Perhaps I can make it worth your time.” Hadrian reached into his pocket and pulled out a few coins, which he offered to the man.

Oldham hesitated the barest moment before taking the money and tucking it into his pocket. “A couple o’ fellows asked to borrow me cart. They came ’ere asking just as I was getting ready to leave. Promised they’d ’ave it back within an ’our—but they were late.”

“Do you know their names?” Tilda asked.

“I’ve seen ’em about, but I don’t know ’em personally.”

“Could you describe them?” Hadrian prompted.

“One of ’em ’ad long, dark side whiskers. I remember, ’is eyes were small and shifty. ’E was on the ’eavier side. Smelled like booze. Other one ’ad gray hair and a round nose. ’E kept to the background and the drunk did the talking.”

“Was he actually drunk?” Tilda asked.

Oldham shrugged. “Could’ve been.”

“So this wasn’t really an instance of you wanting to take the night off,” Tilda said. “These two approached you to borrow your cart. Do you know why?”

Oldham blew out a breath. “I don’t ask. It ’appens from time to time, usually during the day though. People want to use mecart to move something. They paid me a decent sum, so I didn’t care.”