Chapter Text
“Where have you been?” Ivy sternly questioned Eliza as she walked in the front door. “Never mind, there’s a letter for you. It arrived an hour ago.” Eliza hung up her hat on the wall peg and reached for the piece of paper Ivy held out to her.
Eliza impatiently brushed off the concern. Ivy had begun worrying over her even more than usual after her disappearance a few months ago. Everything turned out fine. At the time, she was grateful that Ivy had gone for help from William, also known as Detective Inspector William Wellington, of Scotland Yard, or else she may not have made it out of that prison alive, trapped as was. Now, she dismissed the worry, especially that the case was solved and they caught the forgers and her father’s killer. She was starting to feel stifled and short-tempered by Ivy’s overprotective mothering.
“Thank you.” Giving Ivy an impatient look, Eliza carried the letter into the drawing room and sat on one of the overstuffed couches to open it in private. She read it quickly and placed it onto the cushion next to her. Lost in thought, she fiddled with the gold ring on her right hand, sliding it back and forth on her finger.
What should she do?
Her brain went ahead making plans even as she asked herself the question. The letter was from her friend Clara Winters, whom she had first met several months before as Clara Simms. Clara’s case was her first, and took place only a few days after her father’s death. At the time, the pain of her father’s loss had been profound, leaving her in debt, without a source of income, and without her beloved father. Accepting the case from Clara’s husband posing as her uncle, had become a financial necessity. To make matters worse, William had offered very little help and she’d had to lie to him to solve it. Only when she had given him Clara’s husband, the scoundrel, on a silver platter, had he stepped in.
Because of Eliza’s success, Clara received her rightful inheritance and decided to open up a home for unwed mothers at the Winter House on her Blackmore Estate. Clara’s friendship had become important to Eliza and vice versa, given their common understanding as strong and independent women in a man’s world. After Eliza dropped Clara off at the train station that day, which now felt so long ago, she thought she wouldn’t hear from her again. Two week later, Clara sent her a letter of thanks and a regular correspondence and special friendship was born.
Now Clara was asking her for help and Eliza couldn’t say no. Eliza sighed. Clara described few details in her letter. She needed help finding out who had attacked one of her girls and she wrote that the local police were not helping with the case. The letter also included two names - Edward Murdstone and James Steerforth - as well as two train tickets, leaving in three days. The request required some planning and preparation and Eliza didn’t have much time.
Eliza wrote a quick reply and gave it to Ivy to post. She had her next client.