Chapter Text
Eliza sat in her drawing-room on a Friday evening, her smile as wide as if someone had brought her a huge plate of cookies. "I'm so delighted you could come, Freddie," she said. "What did you tell your mother so you could see me again?"
Freddie Cloughton sat next to her on her settee. Her smile faltered slightly. "I simply told Mother I was going to a classmate's house to study biology."
Eliza stared agape. "You lied to her?"
Freddie gave a wry grin and looked downward. "Mother has been most protective since the assault and won't let me out unless it is to study."
When they had run into each other at the Royal Free Hospital last week, Eliza had been ecstatic when Freddie was amenable to reconnecting. They had not seen each other since Eliza and William had rescued her from a vicious assailant. Her mother had forbidden it.
Freddie continued, "I'm soon to be 19; I can't be kept under lock and key forever." Freddie raised her chin defiantly.
Eliza drew up her eyebrows. "Oh, dear. She won't storm my agency again when she finds out you were here? Parents always find out what their children are up to, adult or not," Eliza said.
Freddie smiled serenely and shook her head. "I will likely tell her myself at some point, but for now, she does not need to know. She stormed your agency?"
Eliza looked a bit sheepish. "No, I exaggerate. When she had come to pay the bill, your mother made it very clear that she felt Inspector Wellington and I put you in danger that day Lillyvick had attacked you."
Freddie frowned. "How so?" she asked.
Eliza took a deep breath. "Your mother asked me if the Inspector and I were courting after we'd come to your house to question you. I'd told her no. But that day in my office, she accused me of being distracted by the Inspector, thereby preventing us from realizing you'd been assaulted by two different men."
Eliza's looked down at her hands to hide the growing pinkness in her cheeks.
When Eliza raised her head at Freddie's silence, she saw her frowning. Eliza held her breath: if Freddie were to take the same stance as her mother, she might as well hear it now, before dinner began and her other guests arrived.
"Mother thought that your colleague, the tall, handsome, Scottish Inspector Wellington cast some sort of spell that made you take leave of your senses?" Freddie asked, deadpan.
Eliza raised her eyebrows at this summation. "Well, I …," Eliza began.
Freddie broke into a grin and smiled crookedly. "I can't blame her for thinking that. Such a man could distract me from endospore formation in bacilli at the best of times."
Eliza let out a long breath with a laugh. Freddie began to giggle, and Eliza along with her. "When Mother said I was not to see you anymore, she didn't tell me her reasons. I kept insisting how you had saved me. Now I understand. But I hold no such grudge. We would not be sitting here together if it wasn't for you and the Inspector."
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that," Eliza said, her shoulders relaxing. "Although I dare say, your corset saved you more than we did..."
"Nonsense! He could have done so much worse had you not arrived at all!"
Eliza couldn't argue with that, even though it had taken a month for her to realize it. A profound sense of gratitude washed over her.
Freddie reached out and grasped Eliza's hand. "Thank you for telling me. Mother is overprotective, and it is not the first time she's kept things from me. I know that my father did not want me to become a doctor. She thinks she's protecting me by not telling me the truth."
"How did you find out?" Eliza blinked, stunned. Mrs. Cloughton had revealed this to Eliza and believed that Freddie didn't know.
Freddie looked down at her lap. "My father kept a journal. I was so distraught after his sudden death that I spent as much time as possible in his study. Mother was the opposite; she was reminded of him too much, avoiding all of it. I found all his journals. To discover that he wanted a typical future for me angered me for a while."
"I can imagine," Eliza said.
"Then I realized that Mother chose to tell me the exact opposite, encouraging me to follow my dream."
"But she led you to believe your father wanted that too?" Eliza said.
Freddie smiled. "She did, but I took it as a grand gesture rather than a falsehood to hold over her. Perhaps that is the advantage of having an American mother--the idea of pursuing a dream is ingrained in their psyche."
Eliza smiled wistfully and wondered what her parents' wishes had been for her while they were alive.
Freddie continued, "When I saw you at the Royal Free last week, I was glad to see you again. I'd very much like to have you in my circle of friends.
"As would I," Eliza said. Eliza reached for her glass of sloe gin Ivy had made for them as aperitifs. Freddie did the same, and they clinked their glasses together. After taking a sip, she asked, "You said Mother thought you and the Inspector were courting. What about now? I assume he is coming tonight. Surely you can divulge a wee bit of gossip before dinner."
Eliza laughed. "You shock me, Freddie Cloughton. I didn't think you'd be interested in such information." When she'd met Freddie, she'd had the impression that she was above discussing the usual boring 'female' topics of fashion, etiquette, and how to find a husband.
Freddie took another sip. "Eliza, I've had my head in books for so many months that any subject other than cell division, anatomical abnormalities, or effects of anesthesia is a welcome distraction. If, of course, you want to tell me. You'd have to be completely unfeeling not to be affected by a man like the Inspector."
Eliza blushed and sipped her gin.
"I see I am right. You are blushing again after hearing the Inspector's name." Freddie laid her glass down on the table and grinned wickedly.
"'Affected' is the proper word. You would make a great detective, Freddie." Eliza took another sip and put her glass down as well.
"Being a doctor is not unlike being a detective. One must observe the patient and listen carefully to the symptoms in order to come to a proper diagnosis," Freddie said.
"You'll be a wonderful doctor," Eliza gushed.
Freddie waved her hand in dismissal. "Yes, yes, now tell me more how Inspector Wellington affects you…."
***
The carriage turned onto the street where Eliza lived. Detective Inspector William Wellington smiled and said, "You're in for a treat, Bremond. Eliza's housekeeper Ivy is a very accomplished cook. If only she could teach Eliza a few tricks."
Detective Colin Bremond had received Eliza's invitation to dinner through William. But he had revealed nothing more about his reconciliation with her. He decided to be upfront and ask the question he'd been wondering about all week: "Have the two of you mended fences, then?"
William set his jaw; he had to decide how much he was willing to reveal about his and Eliza's 'arrangement.'
Just this past Monday, he and Eliza reconciled a month's estrangement over the incident with Freddie. To assuage their growing attraction, she proposed an agreement that they see each other socially, without the promise of engagement. And to share the occasional kiss. It was highly irregular since courtship rules would forbid them from doing so. William assumed it would have to be kept secret. With Eliza's parents both dead, no one could act as a chaperone. Except for Ivy. William wasn't sure what Eliza had told Ivy. So he didn't know what to tell Colin. Or himself. The arrangement allowed him to keep her close. And to become close. It wasn't even a week old.
William rested his head against the wall of the carriage. "We have mended fences. I believe Eliza wished to have us for dinner as a much-needed social visit. We've all been working very hard." William looked out the window to indicate that that topic was closed.
Colin nodded. He knew there must be more to the story than that. But he noticed his boss tended to keep his cards close to his chest, especially regarding Miss Eliza Scarlet.
He decided to drop it for now.
***
"Ivy, you have outdone yourself again, as expected," William said, wiping his mouth with the napkin before she cleared away his plate.
"Yes, I agree, Ivy. Thank you," Eliza echoed. Freddie and Colin nodded and murmured their praise. Ivy smiled and blushed.
"It's no trouble, Miss Scarlet, to cook for you and your lovely friends," she said. "I'll bring the sweets in soon. Did you all want drinks or just tea?"
"Drinks/Tea," was the chorus from all four. They laughed.
Ivy smiled. "I'll brew the tea. Inspector Wellington, would you care to fetch the brandy from the sidebar and serve anyone who wants it?" Ivy asked.
William pushed away from the table. "Of course," he said.
Freddie leaned back in her chair and gave a relaxed sigh. She said, "This is so much better than studying the effects of cocaine or laudanum."
Eliza smiled and patted her friend's arm.
"Would you care to study the effects of brandy Miss Cloughton?" William asked from across the room as he poured a glass from the snifter.
Freddie laughed. "No, I'd best keep a clear head for when I go home. The aperitif Eliza and I had before dinner was enough for me. I'll wait for tea and whatever dessert is."
"Oh, you call pudding dessert. That must be your mother's influence. I'm happy to say that it's gingerbread cake," Eliza grinned. Colin made an approving sound.
"Ah, you managed to have Ivy make you some, then?" William said, walking back to the table.
"I've been craving it ever since I sampled some at the Soho Bazaar last week," Eliza explained. William placed the brandy in front of Colin and sat back down next to him.
"That sounds delicious," Freddie said.
William gestured his drink to Eliza and said, "A drink before dinner, Eliza? Have I influenced you somehow?" He smiled and twirled his brandy.
Eliza gave a sarcastic glare. "It was a drink to celebrate Freddie's and my reacquaintance. I hardly think it will become a habit," she teased, staring at his glass.
"I do hope visiting with Eliza can indeed become a habit," Freddie said. Eliza smiled warmly at her.
Colin put down his glass and looked across the table at Freddie. "Miss Cloughton…,"
"Oh, call me Freddie, please," she insisted.
"Freddie," Colin smiled, "I perceive that you are not supposed to be here this evening?"
Freddie looked to Eliza. She held up her hands. "I've not said a word. Remember, they are both detectives," she said.
Freddie wrung her hands and said, "You perceive correctly. I am supposed to be studying with classmates, but I needed a break. Eliza's invitation to dinner was just the ticket. I'll have the rest of the weekend to look over my lessons and volunteer at the Royal Free again."
"Oh, that's a shame; I was hoping you could join William and me tomorrow evening. I would have liked to have had another familiar face," Eliza said.
William stopped his brandy glass in mid-lift. He gave Eliza a questioning gaze. Eliza subtly shrugged one shoulder.
"Oh?" Freddie shifted to the edge of her seat, eager to hear more about Eliza and William. Eliza had only just mentioned their agreeing to socialize but revealed nothing more. Colin also sat up and twisted to his right to face William. "What is happening tomorrow evening, Duke?" he asked, eyes wide in anticipation.
"William is taking me dancing," Eliza said before William could answer.
William scowled and swallowed some brandy. "There's a public assembly at the Holborn Town Hall. It's one of the few places in London that isn't notorious for any seedy activity," William said and raised his chin.
Colin gave a lop-sided grin to William. "I didn't take you for a dancer," he said.
William looked down into his glass before taking another sip. "Even an Inspector needs a night out," he said and gave Eliza a curious stare. She raised an eyebrow at him.
Freddie glanced from William to Eliza and smiled. "That sounds delightful," she said, then looked at Eliza. "I thank you for thinking of me, but I have much work to do. And I must keep up pretences with Mother and study all day tomorrow." She gave Eliza a discreet smile, marking her approval for such an outing with the dashing Detective Inspector.
Colin cleared his throat. "Can anyone attend this assembly?"
"You need to secure a voucher from the patroness, a Mrs. Goodwin. She will interrogate you as well as any detective to obtain a ticket and let you in," William said with a cautionary tone.
"If it's alright, Eliza, I could be your other familiar face. A public assembly sounds fun. If neither of you mind," Colin said, swigging more brandy.
"I think that would be a fine idea," Eliza said. Eliza glanced at William. He was looking thoughtfully at Colin. He eventually nodded, his face showing his approval.
"I can give you the information to meet the patroness in Holborn tomorrow," William said. Colin raised his glass in thanks.
Eliza wondered why Colin had an interest in attending a public ball. She said, "Colin, you must save me at least one dance. I can't have William monopolize practicing his polka with only me." William gave a mocking snort and finished his brandy.
Colin leaned back in his seat. "As long as you don't make me dance with the Inspector, I am looking forward to it," he said. They all burst into laughter as Ivy entered with tea and gingerbread.