Page 41 of The Lady and the Lion (Victorian Outcasts #9)

thirty-eight

V ivienne’s belly seemed filled with crickets when she walked up the steps to the front door of her parents, Dobkins following close behind.

After Samuel had found signs of an intruder, the urge to catch Dr. Tucker had grown. And she wanted to do something useful for her new family.

Before knocking, she took a good look at the house where she’d spent some miserable years for no reason other than a fraud who had taken advantage of her innocence.

She knocked on the door.

The footman who opened it froze for a moment before holding the door for them. “My lady.”

Vivienne stepped inside. “Is my father home?”

“I’ll tell him you’re here.”

“I need to talk to my father first, then will you tell my mother I'm here as well? Give me ten minutes with my father, then tell my mother.”

“My lady.” The footman bowed while the butler appeared and greeted her warmly before he led her and Dobkins to her father’s study.

While they waited, Dobkins insisted on standing in a corner, pale since the morning’s incident.

“Don’t be so upset,” Vivienne said.

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me, even after we found evidence I was right. Someone was lurking in the garden.”

Vivienne exhaled. “Nothing happened, and panicking won’t help.”

“I lost my temper, but I was frightened.”

The door opened, and when her father entered, she ran to him. “Father!”

“Darling.” He hugged her before taking her by the shoulders and studying her face. “I say! You look so much better, rosy and full of energy.”

“I am. And look at my new gown.” She twirled to show him how she’d put on some weight. “Can you see the—Father!”

He was swallowing hard, his eyes shining with tears.

She nodded at Dobkins who left the room.

“I’m so happy, but also I’m so angry with Dr. Tucker.

” He sucked in a deep breath and composed himself.

“Superintendent Johnson said they don’t have enough evidence to arrest him.

I’ll move heaven and earth to get that thug behind bars.

He took advantage of our pain for his gain.

He tortured Samuel. He must be locked up. ”

“About that…there’s something I need to tell you.” She glanced at the door. “Apparently Mother made some generous donations to Dr. Tucker.”

He wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. “It’s not possible. I would never approve…” He touched his forehead. “She gave him money without telling me. She lied to me.”

“I’m afraid so,” she said when he started to walk towards the door. “I understand you’re angry, but I must ask you to rein in your anger for a moment. I’m here to talk to Mother about Dr. Tucker and understand if she knows where he is.”

“Since they’re accomplices,” he completed.

“Right now, I need her to tell me everything. Let me handle the conversation.”

He nodded and sat on the sofa, beckoning her to do the same.

“I made so many mistakes with you.” He hunched his shoulders as if tired.

“I let your mother suffocate you and deceive me. What has our family become? We haven’t spent happy days together in years.

Your mother rarely sees her grandchildren, and we argue more than we talk.

Adele’s death destroyed us, instead of making us more united. I hope you’ll forgive me one day.”

“I’m sure we can be the strong family we’ve always been again. Mother will see reason once Dr. Tucker is brought to justice with evidence of his crimes.”

He seemed to age ten years in a second. “When my Adele died, I lost my wife, too. I lost myself, too. I was too focused on my own pain not to see what was happening. I think…” He paused and lowered his gaze as if feeling shame.

“I think I didn’t want to see it. And even when you fell sick, my fear and dread of going through that pain again made me weak.

I should have followed my instinct and order Dr. Tucker to leave. ”

The door opened, and he fell silent.

“Vivienne.” Mother entered the room, looking like a ghost, she was so pale.

Father stood up, fists clenched. Vivienne gave him a shake of her head.

Her parents had a lot to discuss, but she wanted to know where Dr. Tucker was first. If Father confronted Mother about the money, she might refuse to say anything.

Mother fiddled with the silver box before sitting on the armchair next to the sofa. “I’m glad you came. And look at you. So beautiful.”

“You didn’t come to my wedding.” Vivienne hadn’t planned to start the conversation with an argument, but the accusation had come out before she could think.

“You left the house like a thief at night.”

“For good reasons,” Father said at the same time as Vivienne said, “You scared me.”

“Scared you?”

“You authorised Dr. Tucker to lock me up in an asylum.”

Mother was flustered. “I did not. I would not do such a thing. I would never, ever let someone take you away from me.”

That made Vivienne paused. What Mother said was true. She’d never let Vivienne out of the house without a fight. Why would she send her away all of a sudden?

Mother lifted her chin. “Who told you that lie?”

“Dr. Tucker.”

It was Mother’s turn to remain speechless. Her lips parted as if someone had slapped her.

“He isn’t the lovely man you think he is.” She suppressed another angry comment. Otherwise, she wouldn’t learn anything about Dr. Tucker.

“And as you can see, Vivienne is much better now,” Father said. “No need for that quack anymore.”

A smile brightened Mother’s face as she eyed Vivienne. For a moment, she was the caring, happy mother Vivienne remembered, free from pain and the burden of the past.

“We know you made some generous donations to Dr. Tucker,” she said in a gentler tone.

Mother glanced at Father, a tremor going through her.

“We’ll discuss that later,” Father said in a brusque tone.

“I want to know now, Father. Tell me the truth, Mother.”

“He did everything to save your life and succeeded. Of course I wanted to support him and his work.”

“Do you know where he is now?”

Mother stiffened. “Someone threw accusations at him, claiming he’s a fraud…” She frowned, her gaze becoming lost. “Why would he lie?”

“Are you starting to realise now who he really is?” Father pinched the bridge of his nose.

Vivienne closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself. “Do you know his whereabouts?”

Mother folded her hands in her lap. “Well, I know he owns a flat close to St. Giles on Arrow Street.”

“Does he live there alone?”

Mother wrung her hands as she did when one of her crises was imminent. “He has an associate, but I don’t think they share the flat.”

“Thank you.” She rose. Her anger simmered under her composure, but if she was honest, pity more than anger filled her heart. “I hope you understand what he did to me was wrong.”

Mother rubbed her temples, her cheeks paling.

“Father.” Vivienne hugged him. “Talk to her. I think perhaps she is no longer under Dr. Tucker’s spell.”

“I’m happy you’re safe.” He kissed her forehead.

Not the reassurance she wanted to hear, but Father had every right to be angry.

There wasn’t much Samuel could do but let time pass.

William and Captain Jackson were searching Dr. Tucker’s flat in St. Giles. He’d wanted to join them, but since Dr. Tucker was aware that Mr. Lyon was Lion Boy, the captain had dissuaded him from coming.

As for the guards he meant to hire, so far, he hadn’t found anyone he trusted. Maybe he was too difficult to please.

So he was at home, spending time with his wife. Not that he was complaining. Quite the opposite.

Sitting on the piano bench next to her, he stared at her as she tried to teach him to play a tune. The sunlight lit the tips of her eyelashes with tiny glimmers of gold, making her whole lovely face glow.

She focused on the keys. “You need to press the keys like that to make the sound delicate and beautiful. Your turn. Repeat the sequence.”

He plunked the music away, causing a sparrow perched on the windowsill to fly away indignantly.

Vivienne laughed. “You’re doing it wrong.”

Yes, he knew that, but hearing her laugh was worth the scolding.

“Like this.” She gently placed her fingers over his. “Follow me.”

Everywhere .

She gave him a mischievous smile, pressing her fingers against his.

A sweet tune filled the air. But he wasn’t looking at the keys. He was looking at her intense face as she floated through the notes. Her radiance glowed again, like the full moon after an eclipse.

He didn’t hear the music, nor did he see what his fingers were doing. His only focus was on the sensation of her hands on his and the sweet sound of her laughter. Finally, he heard it again.

“See? It’s not difficult.” She stopped playing but kept her hands over his.

Not difficult at all. Falling in love with her was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

He dipped his head and kissed her, meaning only to give her a quick kiss. But she trapped his face in her hands and held him in place.

As she moved her lips over his, he let himself go into the sensation of the kiss. Even his fears—always lurking under the surface of his emotions—dimmed and became nothing more than scarecrows.

He held her by the waist and pulled her closer. Her breathing sped up.

“Samuel,” she whispered his name in a moan that triggered a shot of pleasure through him. “Can we go upstairs?”

He stood up, holding her hand, but Bernard entered the room, breaking the spell.

“The captain and William have just arrived and would like to talk to you, sir,” the butler signed.

Samuel shouldn’t complain, but…he did. He sighed and headed for the sitting room with Vivienne.

William and Captain Jackson were pacing and talking excitedly when Samuel entered.

“What is it?” Vivienne asked.

“We have him!” William waved a bunch of papers excitedly. “Everything you ever wanted about him.” He kept waving the papers in the air.

“Stop this fuss. You didn’t win at the roulette.

” The captain snatched the documents from William’s hand and dropped them on the low table.

“In a safe William opened with impressive skills, we found evidence of Tucker buying large quantities of belladonna, arsenic, and lead. We have his recipes written down, letters, and his notes on how to keep the patients sick without killing them. He kept records of every patient he treated. Ever. We also found a few angry people willing to testify against him.”

William crossed his arms behind his head, a smug smile on his face. “We only have to inform the police. May I be the one? Please?”

“Wonderful.” Vivienne beamed.

Samuel rushed to go through the documents. The captain was right. There was everything to build up a case against Dr. Tucker.

“No offence, Mr. Lyon,” William said, “but I think I’ll work for the police from now on. The job seems more thrilling. There’s the excitement of the chase, the break-in, the tension, and all for a good purpose.”

Samuel’s excitement diminished when he went through the pages regarding Cade’s Circus. And Lion Boy. There was a long list of all the mixture of drugs he’d taken while at the circus. Each entry had notes on how his body had reacted to the drug and which potion was the best to make him aggressive.

Dr. Tucker had played with him, experimenting on him and on other circus workers to make them stronger or fearless.

A lump of emotion swelled in his throat as he remembered those dark days when he hadn’t been in control of himself. The walls closed in on him, and he couldn’t breathe. Anguished noises came out of him.

“Darling.” Vivienne closed her hand around his.

“Bloody hell, sir,” William said, turning serious. “I’ll stay here if you care so much. I must be the best footman you’ve ever seen.”

“Shut up.” Captain Jackson took William’s arm and dragged him to the door. “Mr. and Mrs. Lyon need a moment.”

When the door was closed, she wiped his tears with her delicate fingers. He hadn’t even realised he was crying.

“It’s over.” She caressed his face and hair. “He can’t hurt you anymore. You won.”

“He’s still here.” He pointed a finger at his head. “I’ll never get rid of him.”

“Yes, you will. Once the police take him into custody and lock him up, we can forget the past and move on. Think about all the people we’re going to save by catching him. He won’t be able to hurt anyone else.” She scattered kisses on his face. “Don’t let him be here with us. He isn’t welcome.”

He held her, hating Murdock’s power over his emotions.

“I trust you,” she whispered. “You’re strong enough to beat him.”

“I’m not sure.”

“Then you can borrow my strength.” She kissed him again.

“You’ll be left with none if I use it to defeat my fears.”

“I have plenty. Don’t you trust me?”

He hugged her. Just holding her slowed his quick pulse.

“You aren’t alone,” she whispered, caressing the back of his neck. “You have friends and a family that loves you. That’s more powerful than gold. Trust me. Trust us.”

He buried his face in the crook of her neck to hide from his fears. When he released her and stared at her face, he only found love.

She stroked his jaw. “I’m so proud of who you are and of what you’ve become. That’s a stronger victory than getting Dr. Tucker arrested. We’ll work on your fears, starting with you sleeping with me every night and not leaving after a nightmare.”

Well, that sounded like a bloody good remedy.