Page 16 of Corpse in the Canal

Poised for trouble, Solomon turned the corner to find more black shadows. The street seemed unnaturally silent, apart from their quiet footsteps, echoed some distance behind, and the sound of his own breathing.

But none of the ominous shadows leapt out at them. Even so, Solomon didn’t breathe easily until they reached a wider street with lights.

“Where now?” David asked.

They had traced Harvey’s movements up until Thursday morning. “Home, I think. I suspect we’re about to run out of luck here. Let’s find a hackney…”

*

The evening party at the establishment was at its height when Constance breezed in. Both delighted and relieved to find everything running smoothly, she spent a few minutes in the salon, greeting clients like old friends, exchanging a word with each before a rapid catch-up with Sarah, her lieutenant, who had apparently quarreled with a new girl called Tulip, recently brought in off the streets.

Leaving Sarah to keep her eagle eye on the salon, Constance went in search of Tulip and found her drinking hot chocolate in the kitchen with Janey. Janey, now their chief assistant at Silver and Grey, was a longtime resident of the establishment. At first Constance had taught her to read and tried to train her as a lady’s maid, for she was quick and eager to learn. But she could never keep control of her wayward tongue, and so had moved to Silver and Grey, where she was increasingly useful to the business. And she enjoyed the work.

Both establishment cooks, who were clearing up as much as they could before morning, were giving Tulip the evil eye, although they greeted Constance with spontaneous smiles of welcome and offered to make her anything she liked.

Constance laughed. “I’ve eaten and drunk as much as I’m able, but thank you. Get off to bed, by all means. How did you get on, Janey? Did you take the room?”

Aiming for respectability, Janey was looking for lodgings away from the establishment, now that she earned regularly. She had been going to see somewhere on the edges of Covent Garden after work.

“It was decent,” Janey said. “And a fair size, too. I liked the girl I’d be sharing with and the landlady seemed fine—sort of down to earth and took no nonsense, but honest, like. I said I’d take it—I can move in right away—only now I’m wondering if I did the right thing.”

“There was something you didn’t like?” Constance asked, while Tulip slurped her hot chocolate with evident enjoyment.

Janey wriggled in her seat and tapped her fingernails against her cup. “I don’t know, miss,” she said restlessly. “Maybe I got too used to here. I’m usually back here by six, but it fair puts my hackles up when someone tells me I have to be home by ten or get locked out. What if I have to work late for you? Or go out after work and don’t come home till midnight? I feel like I’m tied.”

“Well, if you’re locked out, you can always sleep here.” Or pick the lock…

“Then what’s the point of having a different home?” Janey demanded.

“It’s a dilemma,” Constance agreed. “I suppose you have to decide what it is you want most.”

“I’m already taking up space some other girl could use,” Janey muttered.

“Sleep on it,” Constance advised. “You could always try the new place for a month, and if it doesn’t work, try some other place that’s not so strict.”

Janey sighed and stood up. “Or respectable. Good night, Mrs. S. I mean G.”

“Good night, Janey.”

The others had gone too, leaving Constance and Tulip alone in the candlelit kitchen.

“So how have you found your first week here?” Constance asked.

Tulip shrugged. “Some of the girls are fine.”

“I gather you’ve excluded Sarah from that list of the fine.”

“You told me I don’t need to whore no more.”

“You don’t.”

“Then why’d that cow try to send me in there?”

“To the salons? She asked you to help serve at the supper table.”

“We all know what that means!”

“Except you, apparently. Tulip, in this house, serve at the table means only serve at the table. But I understand you’ve already annoyed Sarah by refusing to do anything else she asks you. Only the sick get to do nothing here, and then only until they’re better. Otherwise, everyone works together to keep the place clean, put food on the table for us and our guests.”