Page 1 of The Lady and the Lion (Victorian Outcasts #9)

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F rom now on, Vivienne would do as she pleased and always express her opinions without caring about what other people thought of her; she hoped Mother was all right with that.

As a good start to her new resolution, she’d convinced her mother to let her see the show of Cade’s Circus of Curiosities, the event of the moment.

Everyone in London talked about the famous travelling circus with no animals, acrobats, or magicians; the attractions were extraordinary people with unique skills.

In the carriage with Mother and their maid, Dobkins, Vivienne couldn’t sit still. It was so rare that Mother allowed her to go out, for an event that wasn’t a tea party or a ball, that London seemed like a foreign city with its cobbled streets and imposing red brick buildings.

“Human curiosities,” Mother said in a disapproving tone. Her mourning black gown added an aura of gloominess to everything she said. “They will attract hundreds of people from all over the city.”

“Exactly.” Vivienne nodded. “Isn’t that exciting?”

“Not in the least.” Mother stroked absentmindedly the small silver case where a lock of dear late Adele’s hair lay.

Vivienne had loved her elder sister, who died too soon from scarlet fever a few years ago, but she didn’t feel the need to clutch Adele’s hair constantly.

She winced inwardly as guilt gnawed at her. Years after the tragedy, Mother was still mourning. Her pain deserved respect.

“Where there are large gatherings,” Mother said, “there are also infections and diseases.”

Dobkins exchanged a glance with Vivienne. Adele had contracted scarlet fever without attending any major gatherings; she’d taken a walk in the park and fallen sick two days after and died in less than a week. But pointing that out would start an argument Vivienne didn’t want to deal with.

“What are the main attractions?” Mother slid the silver case into her purse.

“Just to name a few, the strongest man in the world, my lady,” Dobkins said. “The most flexible woman in the world, and a young man who has been raised by lions.”

“Raised by lions?” Vivienne scrunched up her face. “It sounds impossible.”

Mother put a hand on her forehead. “Imagine what kind of germs that man is carrying. Heavens, lions! Vivienne, you aren’t going to get close to him. Let’s go back home.”

“No, please.” She took Mother’s hand. “I really want to see this show.” Most of all, she craved something different from the extremely controlled days she spent with Mother between piano lessons and visits to old matrons.

“I’ll have a hot, soapy bath drawn for Lady Vivienne when we’re back, my lady,” Dobkins said.

Mother pondered that before nodding. “Add kerosene to the water.”

A protest died a quick death on Vivienne’s lips. Kerosene. She would smell like a stove for a week. But if she expressed her opinion, Mother would be upset, order the coachman to return home, and Vivienne would spend the day cooped up at home…as it had happened dozens of times.

Compromises. She accepted her fate without enthusiasm, and London’s cloudy sky seemed to mirror her feelings.

She pretended to listen to Mother’s long list of things she wasn’t supposed to touch to avoid catching any infection.

After hearing Mother complain many times about how recklessly people behaved regarding hygiene and illness prevention, she’d developed the ability to retreat into herself and block the chatter and noises around her.

She wouldn’t hear anything, only her thoughts.

Sometimes, she played a song in her head to calm the frantic beat of her heart.

Perhaps this skill would grant her a place in Cade’s Circus.

The red-and-white striped circus tent was visible from a distance, rising in the middle of the field of London’s main racecourse.

People crowded the path leading to the tent.

The carriage rolled to a stop, and Vivienne jumped outside without waiting for the footman and ignoring Mother’s warning to mind the step, lest she break her ankle.

She joined the queue of excited and chatting ladies and gentlemen, waiting to enter the tent.

Mother wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Don’t stand so close to other people. Look at these people. Mixing with anyone and everyone. There should be a separate line for us. It’s disgusting.”

A lot of things were disgusting, according to Mother.

Vivienne loved dancing and making new friends; she loved new gowns and fancy food, and she wouldn’t mind starting her own family, which was the purpose of having a Season.

But Mother’s gloomy behaviour and fears disheartened her.

Why couldn’t she enjoy the parties without having to worry about getting sick?

Besides, catching a contagious disease wasn’t as easy as Mother feared.

She’d gone to tea parties and to the theatre and never got sick.

An attendant in a black-and-yellow uniform stood at the entrance of the circus. “Welcome to Cade’s Circus, the best, most entertaining experience of your life.”

With a quiet warning to be careful not to touch the man, Mother dropped the coins for the tickets into Dobkins’ hand. A quarter-pound each. The most entertaining experience of their lives wasn’t cheap.

They fell in line with the other spectators about to enter the dark tent when Mother stiffened, taking Vivienne’s arm. “Goodness, what is he doing here?”

“Who?” Vivienne gazed around and didn’t need an answer.

The disgraced Captain Jackson stood next to the canvas wall, smoking a cheroot. Smoky clouds puffed out of his lips as he surveyed the queue with keen interest. His black beard needed to be trimmed, and his red-rimmed black eyes seemed to beg for a good night’s sleep.

Vivienne averted her gaze before the captain noticed her scrutiny. “He’s a free man, Mother. Even drunk army surgeons have the right to attend a show.”

Mother considered the captain responsible for Adele’s untimely death. Vivienne didn’t know anything about medicine or medical drugs, but she remembered Adele’s gaunt and sweaty face as the disease had consumed her from the inside out. No one could have saved her sister.

Mother scowled. “Don’t be clever with me. I don’t want him to see us. If he tries to talk to us, I don’t want anyone to think we’re associated with that creature.”

A little too late. The whole of London knew how close the captain and Father, Earl of Huntington, had been until Mother’s accusations had made him persona non grata in every London circle.

“That quack should be imprisoned,” Mother hissed, clenching her purse.

“Please. He did his best and was deeply distraught by…what happened,” she whispered the last words.

“You listen to your father’s excuses and not to me.” Mother pressed her lips in a flat line. “As usual.”

Dobkins gave Vivienne the slightest shake of her head. Better not to discuss that further. An argument would be a waste of breath. Disparaging and destroying the captain’s life after Adele’s death was Mother’s only reason to carry on living.

Vivienne chanced another glance at him. Her heart was torn in two.

Captain Jackson had shown great compassion and sorrow for Adele, but her mother had fallen into desperation and melancholia from the day they’d buried Adele.

She understood Mother’s anger towards the captain, but she didn’t think the captain was entirely to blame.

The captain was staring at them, a dark eyebrow arching. A puff of smoke came out of his mouth.

“Bother. He noticed us. Come quickly.” Mother grabbed her hand and pulled her forwards. “Despicable man. I heard he’s become a thief, so desperate he is for his liquor. The police almost caught him after he broke into Garrad’s.”

“How do they know it was him if they didn’t catch the thief?” She walked along a passageway in the dimly lit circus.

Mother shrugged. “Rumours.”

Ah, so therefore it had to be true.

She got distracted once inside the circus.

Except it wasn’t a normal circus with rows of seats around the central ring, but it was a wide hallway closed by canvas walls swaying slowly at the passage of the audience.

The red canvas colour and the dim light from the lanterns gave the illusion of entering the maws of a monster.

The cloth had to be thick because Vivienne didn’t hear the chatter from the people queuing outside.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.” An imposing man with a top hat bowed at the entrance of a curved corridor so long she didn’t see the end. Everyone fell silent. “I’m Cade, your host. Behind me lies a series of stages to show you the prowess of my human curiosities.”

A low murmur spread.

Cade smirked and paused for a long moment.

“We found and selected extraordinary people from all over the world, a unique collection of talents and wonders. Be warned, some of the curiosities aren’t for the faint of heart.

You may experience great distress. Proceed at your own risk.

” He waved and beckoned them to follow him.

“Enjoy the marvel of Cade’s curiosities. ”

“Perhaps we should leave.” Mother wrung her hands.

Vivienne started to walk on. “I’m sure there’s nothing too frightening. It’s just a way to create the right atmosphere.”

The passageway was lined with open stages on one side. Bright lights lit the platforms, and she had to squint after the semidarkness of the hallway. The place looked more like an art gallery than a circus with the human curiosity on display as if they were paintings.

“You can choose to stop at a stage or to walk on,” Cade said, leading the group. “But I’m sure you’ll find all the curiosities fascinating.”

The first curiosity was a young woman who could bend her body at angles Vivienne wouldn’t have believed possible.

Dressed in a pair of loose trousers and a tight shirt, she curved her back and arched her legs so that her toes would reach her lips from over her head.

The move seemed easy and effortless, but Vivienne winced at the thought her back would break.

Loud applause soared at the woman’s ability to wrap her legs around her neck or stand upside down, balancing her weight on her thumb. Vivienne had to admit it was impressive.

“It can’t be normal,” Dobkins said.

Mother didn’t look amused.

The next curiosity was Hercules, the strongest man in the world, as a plaque at the base of the stage read. Tall and muscular, he towered over the crowd a good foot and a half.

“Don’t get too close.” Mother pulled her back. “I don’t like the smell.”

She sighed and craned her neck to see what was happening on the stage.

Cade beat his baton on the floor. “I need a volunteer to make sure that the anvil on the stage is real.”

“I’ll go.” A man from the crowd stepped forward and tried to lift the anvil. His face reddened, but he didn’t lift the heavy-looking block an inch. “Very much real, folks.”

Cade nodded at Hercules to start.

Hercules lifted the anvil with a single hand and raised it over his head without any change in breathing. Shocked shouts came from the audience. He lifted a bench where six women were sitting without a drop of sweat.

Next came the woman with what was claimed to be the highest-pitched voice in the world, capable of breaking glass with one high note.

“Remove your glasses,” Cade said. “Stash them into your pockets.”

“Heavens. This is dangerous. We might get hurt.” Mother pulled Vivienne back, weaving through the crowd.

“I won’t see anything from here.” Vivienne shrugged herself free.

“Vivienne.”

“Mother, please.”

The woman on stage cleared her throat before letting out an acute note that she held for almost thirty seconds. Vivienne covered her ears as the water glasses in front of the singer shattered into sharp pieces.

She clapped her hands with everyone else after the performance. That had been incredible.

“Move to the next one,” Cade said.

What would be next? She sped up to get a good spot before someone tall blocked her view.

“Vivienne, don’t run,” Mother said from behind her.

She slowed her pace, huffing.

Mother rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment. “I need a breath of fresh air. Let’s go outside.”

“You go. I want to see the next one.”

Tension tightened Mother’s features.

“I’ll be right here. Go. I’ll see you in a moment,” she said.

Dobkins nodded. “My lady, come. Let’s go outside. Lady Vivienne will wait for us here. It’ll take us a minute.”

Vivienne was already walking towards the next stage. Before Mother could protest, she sprinted off.

Her smile vanished when she caught a glimpse of a cage. Not a stage, but a proper, solid cage with thick iron bars and rushes on the floor.

“I must ask you not to scream,” Cade said in a low tone. “Screams upset him. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lion Boy!”

Vivienne couldn’t see anything when a few people shoved her out of the way and took her spot.

“Excuse me!” She was ignored.

Loud thuds erupted from the cage with the metallic shackling of chains, and the people in front of her gasped, stepping away and bumping into her. More people rushed towards the stage.

She was pushed back as excited spectators shoved her right and left. What was the fuss about? Aside from thuds, she didn’t hear anything.

Mutters spread. A woman seemed about to faint. A child gripped her mother’s legs.

Vivienne squeezed herself through the crowd and finally saw the inside of the cage.

A half-naked young man covered in dirt was crouched in a corner of the cage among rags and worn blankets. A leather cloth covered his crotch, but aside from that, his well-defined muscles were exposed.

But that wasn’t what petrified her.