Page 25 of The Lady and the Lion (Victorian Outcasts #9)

twenty-three

A fter three days of staying warm and drinking hot soup, Samuel didn’t feel any stronger, but at least he’d stopped shivering and coughing for minutes on end. Knowing that Vivienne was safe at home was the only ray of sunlight of the past few days.

The new flat creaked and squeaked every time he walked on the floorboards, and draughts blew from cracks in the walls and the roof. One greasy window completed the sad picture.

Not that the view outside was anything exciting—a dark cobbled alleyway closed by two tall brick walls. Mostly drunkards walked by. And the smell of rotting vegetables permeated the air if he cracked a window.

He’d been in worse places, and he wouldn’t mind if not for his wish to see Vivienne.

Captain Jackson stepped into the flat, his nose red from the cold. “Bloody hell. It’s freezing outside and inside.” He touched Samuel’s forehead. “No fever. Good. How are you?” He added another wooden log to the stove.

“Tired.”

“I bet you are.” The captain blocked the front door with a chair before peeking out of the window, half hidden by the threadbare curtains. “This flat isn’t the healthiest of places.”

He tapped the captain’s shoulder before signing, “Is something the matter?”

“I didn’t want to mention it till you felt better, but after all, what’s the point? You deserve the truth.” The captain exhaled. “I saw someone yesterday prowling around my flat. His behaviour was suspicious.”

Samuel stiffened. His nightmare didn’t want to end.

Captain Jackson sat on a chair that groaned, threatening to break under his weight.

“At the hospital, there are people, who work for Murdock, asking about Lion Boy. Other people out there are raising hell to find you. There is a lot of money on your head. Bad news, yes, but on the other hand, I also heard that Cade, too, was sent to the hospital after having dropped into the lake.”

He closed his fists then opened them. “I’m tired. So tired.”

Captain Jackson put a hand on his shoulder. “I think we should leave London sooner than we planned. We’ll go away and return when no one is looking for you. You need a new identity, a new life that doesn’t link you to that swine. Start over. So he can’t bother you.”

Tempting, but what about Vivienne?

“It’s better for Vivienne as well,” Captain Jackson said, seemingly reading his mind.

“Murdock wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her to get to you.

But if you start over outside of the city and live another life, get a proper job, no one will link you to the circus.

And I don’t know what Murdock is legally to you. ”

He frowned.

“Is he your adoptive father? Your legal guardian? Did he simply take you away with him? Did he kidnap you? We can’t have a confrontation with him without knowing if the law is on his side.”

“He abused me.”

“Yes, but who knows what he said to the police? Maybe you’re considered mentally unstable and dangerous, and he convinced everyone that certain harsh treatments were justified.

Doctors who work in an asylum would be sympathetic to his pleas, and if you’re legally declared insane and he’s responsible for you, a judge would order you to go with him.

My point is, we must avoid him at all costs, as much as I would like to shoot him. ”

He sagged. The logic was solid. He had no idea if Murdock was his legal guardian. “Where do you want to go?”

“I have a friend who lives in New York City. He’s happy to help us resettle and accommodate us for a while. A couple of weeks on a ship, and we’ll be there.”

“New York City?” A few months ago, he wouldn’t have known where it was, but thanks to Vivienne and her lessons, his knowledge of the world had increased enough to understand New York City was over three thousand miles and a continent away from London. “I assumed you wanted to stay in England.”

“Cade’s circus travels around the country. By now everyone knows of Lion Boy, and Cade will provide a new description of you. I don’t want to take any risks. We sail to the Americas, get new identities, and eventually we can return.”

He raked a hand through his hair. Risking his freedom now would mean never seeing Vivienne again. “May I see Vivienne? Say goodbye?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Please. One last time before leaving.”

Captain Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose. After a tense silence he said, “I’ll send a message to Dobkins.”

Samuel winced at each step as he walked with Captain Jackson towards Vivienne’s house.

His muscles were sore, and the night’s chill didn’t help soothe the ache in his chest. His fever hadn’t lasted, but it’d left him exhausted.

They stopped at the usual dark corner from which Vivienne’s window was visible. His heart sank. The dark window remained shut. The oak tree branches swayed slowly as if desolate.

Captain Jackson frowned. “I delivered a message to Dobkins. She knew we were coming.”

Maybe Vivienne didn’t want to see him.

“We can’t wait too long. Only a couple of minutes.” The captain searched the street. “I’m sorry, lad.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to another, pondering if he should climb the tree anyway. Poor health aside, he didn’t want to cause her problems.

“Samuel.” Captain Jackson poked him with an elbow. “We must go.”

He nodded, an ache tightening his chest.

Right then, a woman wrapped in a hooded cloak came from around the corner. She looked right and left and sped up towards them. Samuel drew in a breath but released it when Dobkins’s red hair appeared from under the hood.

“Dobkins,” Captain Jackson said.

“I don’t have much time,” she said. “I have bad news. Lady Vivienne isn’t well. She’s caught pneumonia and is delirious with fever. Her mother has not left her bedside.”

Samuel glanced at the window.

Dobkins’s voice quivered. “A physician comes every day to treat her. Her Ladyship sleeps in Lady Vivienne’s bedroom, so worried she is. Maids and footmen are up and about during the night. That’s why you can’t see her.”

The captain’s frown deepened. “How serious is the case of pneumonia?”

“The physician said permanent impairment of the lungs is probable.”

Samuel swallowed hard. This was his fault. If he hadn’t panicked when he saw Cade, Vivienne would be safe.

“Hell.” The captain lowered his voice and gazed around again.

“I have to go,” Dobkins said. “I’m sorry.”

Samuel wouldn’t have the chance to say goodbye. He leant against the tree and tilted his head up towards the window.

“We can’t stay. Murdock is searching for Samuel,” Captain Jackson said. “We must leave London.”

Dobkins tugged at her shawl. “Where are you going?”

“The Americas.”

Her eyes widened. “So far away.”

“Samuel needs to get away, far away. There he can create a new identity to start over and get rid of Murdock forever.” Captain Jackson handed her a velvet bundle. “This belongs to Lady Vivienne.”

Dobkins shifted her gaze from the bundle to Captain Jackson. “You didn’t sell it. How did you carry on then?”

Captain Jackson smiled sadly. “It’s surprising the amount of pounds one can put aside when not drinking.”

She took the bundle, hands trembling. “You’re a kind man.”

The captain chuckled. “Not really. This isn’t a goodbye. We’ll be back once enough time has passed and Murdock stops searching for Samuel.”

Dobkins hugged Samuel in a tight embrace. “Good luck. You deserve a new beginning. I’ll tell Lady Vivienne you came. Send me your information when you’re settled, and I’ll make sure she knows you are safe.”

Samuel glanced up at the dark window one last time, fearing that this was indeed a goodbye.