“Looking for you. We’re leading an investigation into a theft at my shop.” Speaking from her head, not her heart, Eleanor mentioned the Home Secretary. “I’m sorry, but we’ve come to arrest you for stealing a bolt of silk and a silver hat pin. You need to come to Bow Street and answer our questions.”
“Bow Street?” Emily’s chin hit the floor. The flare of guilt in her eyes confirmed her motives were immoral. “Please, Miss Darrow. Whatever I’ve done, it ain’t my fault.” Tears filled the young woman’s eyes. “I had no choice.”
Eleanor’s shoulders sagged with the weight of betrayal. “I trusted you. I tried to convince Mr Chance that he was mistaken. You’ve made me look a fool. You lied, lied about your parents. We know about Ivy.”
Emily’s knees buckled, and she grabbed the chair rail for support. “Who told you about Ivy? No one knows but Uncle Jack. Did he visit you? Did he break his promise? Did he tell you the secret?”
Eleanor looked baffled. “What secret?”
Theo intervened. “We seem to be at cross purposes. Why would Miss Darrow be interested in a secret about your mother?”
The woman stared at him like she had nothing in her head but straw. Her mouth gaped, her breath falling in ragged pants. “You said you knew about Ivy.”
“We know she was not the perfect mother,” Eleanor explained.
“Emily!” the landlord called from behind the oak counter. “What do these fine people want to drink?”
They ordered ale.
Emily hurried away and returned with two mugs. Her hands shook as she placed them on the crude table. “We can’t talk here. Don’t arrest me, miss. I’ll pay for the silk I took. A shilling a week once I find work as a seamstress. Now you’ve changed the locks, he’ll look for other ways to line his purse.”
“You’re referring to your uncle?” Theo’s blood simmered. He despised men who used children and women to do wicked deeds.
“Don’t look, but he’s sitting at the table behind me. The man with the red waistcoat who thinks he’s a gent. Down your drinks and leave. He likes to start trouble when he’s pickled.”
Theo did look.
Rogers had sunken eyes and a perpetual sneer that showed his crooked teeth. His bloated belly was incongruous with his thin frame. He had a cruel glint in his eyes, typical of most bullies.
“Perhaps I might persuade him to find employment,” Theo said through gritted teeth. “A legitimate way to fill his coffers.”
Emily clutched her chest. “No, sir. Best you leave now. I’ll come to the shop tomorrow while I’m out looking for work. I’ll find the funds to pay for what he took. I swear.”
Eleanor did not try to placate her and seemed determined to get answers. “Were you hiding at the shop the other day? Did you push me down the stairs, fearing I’d discover what you’d stolen?”
“Push you down the stairs? Good heavens, no.” Emily’s brow furrowed. “I could never hurt you, Miss Darrow. You’re the only person who’s ever believed in me.”
“Yet you stole from me the minute I turned my back.”
“It weren’t my fault. He made me do it. I told him there’d been thieves in the shop and it was in a dreadful state. He said no one would know if we helped ourself to a few things.”
Theo made to stand, but Eleanor touched his arm to stall him. “Wait. We’ll tackle Mr Rogers in a moment.” Her gaze sharpened on Emily. “You came to steal the silk at dawn. Hours after the incident. How did you know what had happened at the shop?”
Theo watched Emily intently, looking for signs of discomfort or anything that suggested she was about to lie. She seemed calm and rational.
“Uncle Jack sent me to beg for more work,” Emily uttered. “He said I wasn’t to come home until you’d agreed. I saw the mess when I arrived, and ran home and told him.”
Theo wondered why she’d not called a constable, but after taking a deep breath, Emily answered the question.
“I was too scared to fetch a watchman in case he thought I’d done it. Then Uncle Jack made me return with the cart and take the silk. When Mr Franklin saw me out his window, my uncle said it would look like I was saving your stock.”
Indeed, Eleanor may have been none the wiser had the silversmith not kept a close watch on the street.
“It’s time I had a word with Uncle Jack.” Theo spoke loud enough for the buffoon to hear. There’d be hell to pay if Jack had attacked Eleanor in the yard.
“Please don’t,” Emily begged.
But Uncle Jack pushed out of the seat and strode towards them, swaying like he was on deck in a storm. “They pay the girl to serve, not to keep you entertained.”
Some syllables were slurred, and his pronunciation was anything but precise. He reminded Theo of his father. A pathetic fool who thought gambling and liquor could solve life’s problems.
“This is Miss Darrow,” Emily blurted. “She’s come to offer me more work. Says I can have two full days next week.”
Jack looked at Eleanor, his beady eyes narrowing. “So you’re the dressmaker Emily’s so fond of. My niece thinks the sun shines out of your arse, but I reckon—”
Theo shot to his feet. “You’ll mind your tone and language, or else I’ll wrap your tongue around your scrawny neck.”
Jack’s head pitched left, then right. “What did you say?”
“I said I’ll knock your crooked teeth down your throat.” Theo rounded the table, hoping the fool would throw a punch. “Then I’ll have you arrested for theft. You stole silk and a silver hat pin from Miss Darrow’s shop. We have a witness statement placing you at the scene.”
Jack laughed, then burped, releasing a waft of rum. “I ain’t stolen a thing. I went to the shop with Emily because she had to collect work to bring home. As far as I know, the silk is in her room.”
Eleanor stood, keen to join the fray. “You sold the silk, or did you force Emily to do that too? I suspect her father is turning in his grave, angered by your mistreatment. I’ll be keen to hear what your wife says on the matter.”
That’s when the drink got the better of Jack, and he raised his clenched fist. “You keep my Daisy out of this. If you—”
Theo grabbed the drunkard’s arm and twisted it behind his back. “I’ve warned you once. Let’s take this conversation outside.”
