Chapter 42

Edited by Old Rotorhead

Hermione sipped her coffee. “You will understand that Lydia is concerned. The report in the Mercury was very worrying for her. There are reputations to be maintained. She does not know what is going on and you’ve been avoiding her.”

“I have,” Angelica sighed. “I know I should have talked to her but ... it’s difficult.”

“Yes, I can imagine. Tell me all about it and we’ll see what we can do.”

Angelica began at the beginning, from the first encounter with Kathy, through her kidnap, her breakout and her shooting spree.

“I knew I had to shoot him, or he would only have caused problems in the future. And then...”

The door opened and Susie came in.

“Oh!” she said, “I didn’t realise you had anyone with you.”

“You’re just the person. I was about to talk about you, but since you’re here you can join us.” said Angelica. “This is Lady Hermione White. This is Susie who runs the ‘gentlemens’ club’ about which I know absolutely nothing.”

“Of course you don’t,” said Susie. Grinning she turned to Hermione. “You’re Capt’n Jake’s wife,”

“Guilty as charged,” Hermione laughed. “He’ll never get away from that. I wouldn’t want him to either.”

“Now,” Angelica took up where she had left off. “Susie and Abby came to me and asked if I could help them. Since there was no longer anyone left who had been in charge, they asked if I thought they could take over, and if they could, would I help them. We talked to the Chief Inspector, I think you know him, and he said he saw no reason that they shouldn’t.”

“We wouldn’t know how to run a business, but we knew Angie and we knew she could do it,” said Susie. “And that’s all she does for the business, she doesn’t do any, umm, entertaining. That’s our side of it. Mind you, she’s come up with some excellent ideas. The whole place has been redecorated, and the rooms have nice beds and washing umm, facilities. And we’ve got a bar which makes money. And then there’s the lingerie, ” Susie said it with a French accent, “Angie got it designed by Victoria’s ‘specially. The girls look really good in it.”

“I saw some things like that in a French ah, establishment,” said Hermione. “There were some that I couldn’t work out what they were for, I wasn’t there long enough.

“What were you doing there?”

“We were on our honeymoon,” said Hermione. “We rescued Susan. She’d been kidnapped and taken to a brothel. There was a cupboard full these things in the room they’d taken her to. I think some of them were for other things, but certainly there were handcuffs and whips.”

“Interesting,” said Susie. “We’ll have to investigate. Anything we can do to make the clients happy.”

“Was Susan...” Angelica began

Hermione laughed. “There were two big men doing their best and she injured them quite badly.” She turned to Susie. “Do you have trouble getting girls?” She asked.

“No, not really,” Susie replied. “Some of them were forced into it by Corbyn’s bitches, they were free with their canes. And we’ve got several older ladies. Then there’s the part-timers, women who are married but come in for something different. A bit of afternoon amusement or thrill, I’m never sure which. They earn a bit of money to buy new dresses from Victoria’s,” she laughed. “We’ve got one who comes in of an afternoon, and then we’ll see her husband in the evening. Whether their husbands know I’ve never asked. We’ve even got one who is a Lady, and when I asked what would happen if she was with child she laughed and said her husband would think it was his. Provided it wasn’t black of course, so we try to be careful, but I think she likes the gamble.

“Good heavens!” Hermione was genuinely shocked.

“There are many men,” Susie went on, “who pay extra for pregnant girls.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I suppose they like to think that they were responsible, or something, always difficult to fathom men’s minds,” Susie had a twinkle in her eye. “Would you like to give it a try?”

Hermione hesitated, a picture in her mind. “No, I really don’t think so.”

“But you thought about it,” Susie laughed. “That’s how it starts.”

“Ha! No, I was thinking for a second about my would-be rapist.” said Hermione.

“Would be? What happened to him?” asked Susie.

“He almost succeeded, but I shot him. He was my father, before you ask.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Heavens. I thought the likes of that only happened to girls like me. Have we got another action girl? Do you carry a gun?”

Hermione looked and Angelica. In unison they lifted the hems of their dresses to show the Derringers in their boot tops

“Sometimes I carry it in my bag,” Hermione told her.

“So do I,” said Angelica.

“Heavens!” exclaimed Susie. “Am I safe?” She looked at Angelica, “Are you going to tell her about your ideas?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it. I support what you are doing,” she nodded to Hermione, “Nice to meet you Hermione.” And with that Susie left.

“So what else is there ... Angie?” Hermione was a little surprised to be called Hermione, but this was a very different situation to one where she would normally be introduced. Less formal, she wondered, all girls together?

Angelica smiled. “That’s Susie,” she said. “All girls together.” She went on to explain the three properties which they now had and her ideas for them. “It’ll take some money to do it, and the big problem is that although we have the deeds, they aren’t in my name obviously, I can’t own property, I’m a woman. Perhaps one day. In fact, I’ve no idea who the person is whose name is on the deeds. It isn’t Corbyn.”

Hermione thought for a moment. “So, you really need a name on the deeds which is fictitious. So no one else can claim the property.”

“Yes.”

“And you need some money, and the banks won’t lend to you.”

“Yes.”

“And you need a cover story, and since you are not running the, might as well call a spade a spade, brothel, you need plausible deniability.”

“What?” said Angelica.

“It means that you have a story which covers things up, but which is believable. Even if people don’t believe it really. For instance, you are working on the buildings for the owner ... what shall we call him?”

“Augustus Honeywell Grey,” said Angelica. “I’d thought about it.”

“I like that,” said Hermione, “And you know nothing of whoever it is who rents the third of one. So, if someone suggests you are running a house of ill repute, you can put them straight.”

“Yes. That sounds good,” said Angelica, thoughtfully. “Yes, even I can believe that.”

“Right. So should Lydia. Even if she doesn’t.” said Hermione. “Let’s go and see if my uncle is at the bank.”

Bea was held quite tightly, and since it was a flour sack, she was taking shallow breaths because of the dust and the difficulty of fresh air getting into the sack. She had been carried no great distance when she detected that she had been carried up a gang plank on to a ship. Feet sounded on the deck of the ship, and then they went down a companionway, along a passage, a door was unlocked, and she was dropped on the cabin sole with a few words in Chinese. The man who had carried her in grabbed the bottom of the sack and shook her out. Bea stood and brushed herself off. Standing in front of her was the wizened pirate woman who had followed them in. She had a broad grin on her face. To one side was a man dressed, well, much, she thought, as she would expect a pirate to be dressed, a revolver in a sash about his waist, and a knife in a scabbard hanging by his side. Almost behind her was Lotus Blossom.

The woman gave a crowing cackle. “Bitch! I shall sell you to an Arab sheik, much money. And she,” she indicated Lotus Blossom, “will make my fortune, and get me my revenge.”

Bea laughed at the woman who, as she expected stepped towards her intent on shouting in her face. Bea made a grab for the woman, but the man grabbed her before she got more than a pace, She spun round under his hand, reached out to his sash, cocked and fired the revolver. The bullet must have gone down through his hip and he screamed as he collapsed on the deck. Before Bea had the gun in her hand the woman had fled, slamming the door behind her. Bea yanked the door open, outside was a short corridor and beyond that was the base of the mast which blocked her view of the companionway. It was set in a space the full width of the ship. She could see the woman disappearing up the companionway, but two men had come down and had taken cover on either side firing a couple of shots in her direction.

In the silence that followed there was the rattling of a final breath as Lotus Blossom used the man’s knife to cut his own throat. Messy, Bea shuddered.

One of the men tried a wild shot, but it was nowhere near her, and neither was there enough of him showing to get a sensible shot. She looked at the mast. There were iron bands around it. Could she try a deflection shot? She recalled her father’s explanation of angles when he was playing billiards and she only a small girl. Smaller than now she giggled. The chances of doing much damage to either of the men wasn’t good, but worth a try. She aimed, moved to improve the angle and fired. There was a squawk from the man that side and the man the other side broke cover. Before he could aim at her she shot him, and he crashed to the deck.

Which left Bea with a dilemma. Had she hit the man, or had he just squawked because of a near miss? And if she had hit him, was he badly hurt? There was only one way to find out. Bea moved quietly up the far side of the corridor from the man and Lotus Blossom moved up the near side. By the time they got to the end nothing had happened, but Bea could hear the sound of someone shivering with fear. Taking a deep breath, she leapt forward and took cover behind the mast. There was no need. The man, little more than a boy, was no danger. She stepped over to him and took his gun. Lotus Blossom picked up the other pirate’s gun.

“He can go up ahead of us,” Bea told Lotus Blossom, who nodded and ordered the man in Chinese, and then in another language but there was no reaction. He clearly understood neither, although whether that was because he spoke another or was too scared to react was irrelevant. Bea grabbed hold of him and forced him to stand and pushed him towards the companionway. Whilst he appeared to be no threat, she certainly didn’t want him behind her just in case he decided he could be a hero. They came up into the dilapidated deckhouse. The jalousies were all drooping and awry and Bea could see through them to the woman who was behind them at the mast. A moment later Lotus blossom saw her and with obvious intention started to run. Bea tried to stop her, having realised from the smell that the woman was splashing about a bucket of lamp oil. If Lotus Blossom fired her gun at close range she’d be caught in the resulting flame. Bea aimed at the woman and fired. The bullet hit the mast close to the woman’s head, and the lamp oil exploded in a sheet of flame. The force of the explosion knocked Lotus Blossom over. The woman was writhing in the flame. Bea stepped forward and shot her. In retrospect she hoped that was a reaction of mercy rather than a deliberate act of killing.

But at that moment there was no time for reflection as the fire began to take hold. The crew had clearly deserted but help began to arrive from the surrounding area, the one fear of everyone was that it would spread to other vessels and the storage sheds. Bea’s first thought was for Lotus Blossom who had not moved since the explosion. She picked up Lotus Blossom by the shoulders and began to drag her towards the gangway. When they got there Lotus Blossom began to come to and Bea got her to stand. With Lotus Blossom leaning heavily on Bea, they made their way across to the pier.

Jake’s final night crossing the North Sea was spent alone. Where, he wondered, were all the ladies tonight? However, a good night’s uninterrupted sleep would do no harm. Mid-morning the next day they arrived in Kristiania. Having obtained a cab to take them to their hotel, Jake visited the port office to enquire when the ’Valkyrie’ was expected. Captain Olsen, he was told, would be there within the week. So, plenty of time to see the sights of the city and write to Hermione. This, of course, amounted to kicking his heels, not something that Jake took kindly to. On the plus side he had two delightful ladies to kick his heels with.

Kristiania was undoubtedly a beautiful city and they toured its many attractions, but by the time the ’Valkyrie’ arrived they were wondering just how many ways there were for a chef to present herring.

When they returned to the hotel on the third day Myrtle announced that their luggage had been searched.

“Who could have done that?” wondered Susan. “Is anything missing, Myrtle?”

“As far as I can see only that we now have no spare ammunition,” Myrtle told them.

They were, of course, still carrying their guns with them, so there was no problem there. But they wondered if those would still have been in their luggage had they not been carrying them.

They looked at one another.

“Bizarre,” said Myrtle. “Is someone intending to have a gun fight and wants us to have no ammunition? Who would want that? And why?”

“I’ve no idea,” said Jake. “And nothing else is missing?”

“No.”

“Well, I’ve six shots anyway, and you have two,” said Jake

“Four,” said Susan, “we both have two spares in our handbags.”

In Jake’s experience spare ammunition was of little use since you rarely fired off more than one or two rounds in a fight. And no one wanted a fire fight if they could help it, it was a sure way of getting hurt. Additional ammunition was something you put in your luggage before you left because, well, because you did. You never expected to use it.

Captain Olsen welcomed Jake aboard the ’Valkyrie’.

“It is good to see you again, Sir Jacob. Lady Hermione is not with you?”

“You have a good memory, Captain,” Jake laughed.

“With good reason, I think,” Captain Olsen replied.

“Lady Hermione is now my wife, Captain. She is expecting our first child, so she is at home.” said Jake.

“Congratulations,” said Captain Olsen. “And the ladies?”

“I am escorting Miss Grey and Mademoiselle Sauvage to Koenigsberg,” said Jake.

Captain Olsen grinned, “Of course you are.” He slapped Jake on the back. “You have the same cabins,” he said and left them with a chuckle.

It took very little time for Jake to settle into his cabin and then he came out and leant on the rail surveying the port. A few minutes later he was joined by Susan who had left Myrtle to finish.

“This is a Norwegian ship, isn’t it?” Susan asked.

“Yes,” Jake confirmed.

“So, more herring.”

“Probably, but it is good for you. Look at all those Norwegian ladies, tall and slim with wonderful complexions,” said Jake.

“I noticed you were looking.”

“Ah, but none of them could hold a candle to you, Susan.”

“Then why were you looking at them? Surely you should only have eyes for your companion, Sir Jacob.”

Jake turned, put his hands around Susan’s waist and picked her up. He stepped back through his cabin door and set her down. He pulled her to him and kissed her. After a moment her lips parted and then her mouth accepted his tongue. Clearly, he thought, she had done this before. This went on for a minute or two with Susan’s muscles seeming to have given up trying to hold her upright.

“Ooh la la,” said Myrtle. “If you are going to do that then you should close the door.

Susan came back to life and pushed Jake away.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “You would take advantage of a lady.”

“It didn’t look much like you were being taken advantage of to me,” said Myrtle. “I should have been fighting him off.”

“Really,” said Susan. “Just as you did the other night?”

As had become their habit Jake and Susan took a turn around the desk after dinner, at which there was, surprisingly, no herring. Ahead of them they saw a flash of colour that disappeared almost immediately. They looked at one another.

“Did you see that?” asked Jake.

“Yes,” Susan replied. “Mrs White and Miss Scarlet.”

All things considered; life was ticking along quite well in the Totterdown household. Totty had been accepted as the mistress of the house with few problems. She had had to obtain permission from the lawyers, Messrs Travis Perkins, to employ a housekeeper but that had not been a problem. Mr Travis had queried whether she might be better off with a butler, but he accepted that she preferred a woman to run the house, and she had a footman should a man be required. For what she had no idea. And so the aptly named Mrs Black joined the household. Aptly named because she never wore anything but black. She was an attractive woman of some forty summers, a widow who had been left almost penniless. She was always pleasant and seemed to get on well with the rest of the servants and, most importantly she was very efficient without being overbearing.

Baby Martin was now growing rapidly and seemed to be a very healthy and largely contented young man. Totty delighted in him as did his nursemaid.

It was several weeks after the funeral and the reading of the will that Mr Travis requested an interview. Totty was naturally concerned as to the outcome of this meeting, but she decided there was little she could do other than accept what was said on the day, and if necessary, fight the decision later. Baby Martin was shown to Mr Travis and demonstrated that he was possessed of a healthy pair of lungs.

Totty sat quietly in her black dress and veil looking demure and innocent.

“Lady Totterdown.” Mr Travis began. “You are aware of the terms of your husband’s will which are, I think, quite straightforward. You inherit everything subject to you having produced and heir to His Lordship. And therein lies the problem. Although you have produced an heir, it was not until after His Lordship had passed away. I have consulted with my partners, and we have consulted with higher authorities, and it has been determined that since the heir was extant at the time of His Lordships untimely demise, although not yet borne, that you had discharged your obligation and that therefore you should inherit the entire estate. estate. As a widow, you are considered in the law a femme sole, with the rights to own and control property, but given that the predicate for your

inheritance was the birth of a male heir, the heir has rights as well, such that your untrammelled use

of the estate is limited to your dower rights, about a third of the estate. As a condition of obtaining

judicial approval of your inheritance, the heir’s portion, the greater part of the estate, I’m afraid,

must be administered by a trust, which we have taken the liberty of preparing for your review and

signature. This may limit your dower rights to the extent that their exercise might impair the value

of the heir’s portion. There will be some papers to sign if you could call at our office in a day or two. Do you have any questions?”

“I’m sure I shall, Mr Travis, but at the moment, I am somewhat overwhelmed by your news.

“I shall leave you then,” said Mr Travis. “If you require any assistance please ask, and I shall look forward to seeing you at our office at your convenience.”

Totty rang the bell and a maid came to show Mr Travis out.

She walked sedately out of the drawing room and to the foot of the stairs. From there she hitched up her skirt and ran up the stairs shouting Yeeeeeeesss. She arrived in her sitting room somewhat out of breath. Rose came out of the bedroom.

“Is everything well, m’lady?” she grinned. She could tell the Totty was very pleased, and why not.

“Yes and no, Rose, I’ve got the lot, well, Martin has most in trust, but we’ll not be out on the street.” she grabbed hold of Rose and kissed her thoroughly. “We may have to work for our dresses too,” she giggled, “but tonight, we shall celebrate.”

Totty had taken to having her meals in her sitting room. She could see little point in her using the large dining room all by herself, and Rose was quite happy to serve her. Invariably there was more food than she could eat, cook being of the opinion that there ought to be more of her. This evening, rather than a glass of white wine she told Rose to bring a bottle of champagne and an extra glass for herself. She invited Rose to sit down and toast the future after which Rose cleared away, and then returned to help Totty get ready for bed. They finished the wine and Rose removed Totties day wear and helped her into a thin nightgown.

“Join me,” Totty said.

Rose smiled, “I thought you’d never ask.”

In moments she had removed her uniform to reveal an item of Victoria’s Secrets latest bedroom wear. To be quite correct it was Josephine and Myfanwys’ latest bedroom wear which they had developed whilst Victoria had been away.

“Where did you get that?” asked Totty, and then said, “You’ve been to see Josephine and Myfanwy, haven’t you?”

Rose grinned and twirled to show the effect that so little material had on her.

“I went to see them because I thought that was the best way. They told me I had to go and be photographed, and then, when I returned, they gave it to me,” Rose told her, grinning.

Totty closed with her and drew her into a kiss. After a minute she drew back, there was something about that kiss. She held Rose at arm’s length.

“That isn’t all you did to get it, is it?” she said.

Rose’s complexion turned the colour of her name. “They are very ... persistent, aren’t they? I know I shouldn’t have, but...”

Totty burst out laughing. “They are, aren’t they? The first time I went there I don’t think my feet touched the ground,” she had a faraway look... “ I did learn a lot, though, and you seem to have too. So, I think we should ... practise.”

Hermione and Angelica were in luck. A member of the bank’s staff was, as always, in the foyer ready to assist clients. Hermione asked if her uncle, Lord Kingswood was in.

“He has someone with him at the moment, m’lady, but I’ll go and ask.” He told them.

Less than two minutes he was back to conduct them into see Lord Kingswood. The person with him was his Chief Inspector.

“Hermione, Miss Grey, you know the Chief Inspector I believe,” Lord Kingswood smiled. “How can I help?”

“We are looking for a lawyer who is willing do something not quite legal,” Hermione began.

Lord Kingswood looked at the Chief Inspector. “Finding one who won’t is more difficult,” said the latter.

Hermione explained the problem.

“So, you want these deeds transferred to, what was it? Ah yes, Augustus Honeywell Grey, who doesn’t exist, so that no one can claim the property, because Augustus Honeywell Grey is really you?” Lord Kingswood shuffled the papers into a neat sheaf. “I couldn’t possibly have anything to do with something like that.”

The girls faces fell. Lord Kingswood handed the papers to the Chief Inspector who looked through them.

“I’ll drop them into you next week,” he said, with a grin.

The girls thanked him profusely.

“I imagine you are going to provide finance for this, Hermione,” said Lord Kingswood.

“Yes,” Hermione replied whilst Angelica looked surprised. “I think it will make a good return.”

“I hope Jake will think so. It could backfire despite the ‘plausible deniability.”

“He’s not here at the moment,” Hermione smiled. “We’ll see when he gets back, but I think my reputation will be safe, and hopefully Angelica’s too.”

After they had left the Chief Inspector looked at Lord Kingswood.

“Have you seen the name on these,” he asked.

“Yes,” Lord Kingswood replied, “Clewso. Perhaps that will shed a little light on that mystery.”

“A lead for us to follow up, m’lord.”

Outside the bank Angelica turned to Hermione.

“You are going to finance this?” she asked sceptically.

“Yes, I have my own income, and I think it will make money. Your only other source would be one of Susie’s customers, and that might not be such a good idea.”

“In that case, partner,” said Angelica, “I’d better get some figures together, so you know what you’re in for. We’d better go and see Lydia and set her mind at rest.”

“You’ll be able to keep working for Jake?” asked Hermione in the cab on the way home.

“Yes, I’ve got a good staff, and this shouldn’t take up too much time,” replied Angelica.

A statement that was likely to haunt her.

It wasn’t that Victoria was fed up with being a mother, but after the first few days it was nowhere near as exciting as her business life and her energy levels had returned to normal. So, she was very glad to hand baby Peter over to his nursemaid and head for her office. It wasn’t going to be a long visit, but it would enable her to show her face to everyone. Having looked in the shop she went to see Nerissa to see how she was getting on. It seemed she was pleased to have her mother home and was delighted with her new baby brother. From there she went up to see the photographic studio and what the two men, Phil and Ben were up to. Their portrait business was going well and there were a couple of new dresses that had been modelled by a face she didn’t recognise. The same face appeared in the lingerie photos.

“Who is this?” Victoria asked. “And where did the stuff she’s, well, not quite wearing come from?”

“Jo and Miv sent it over. I think they’ve got quite a bit of it. The girl is Totty’s maid. She’s good, not as good as Totty with dresses, Totty just seems to be ... a part of the dress, or it’s a part of her, but with this stuff ... well, Rose is just an invitation to the bedroom.”

Victoria fanned herself.

“Yes, I can see what you mean, but ... is it too much for public consumption?”

“That,” said Phil, “is where you make the decisions. Left to us ... well, you know.”

“Yes,” said Victoria. “I think I do. I’d better go and see Josephine and Myfanwy.”

Half an hour later she was looking at sketches and some finished products that were making her feel quite light headed.

“I’m really not sure about this, who on earth are we going to sell them to.”

“Almost all the women in the workshop want one,” said Josephine. “And I’m not sure why because they are going to use them to attract men, and you know what happens then.”

“Yes, I’ve just been through that,” replied Victoria.

“Oh, Patrone, I didn’t mean...” Josephine realised she had made an error.

Victoria laughed. “What do you think an old hag like me would look like in one, I wonder.”

“Patrone, you are beautiful. You would look so good,” said Josephine. “You must try one, here...”

“Oh, I don’t think ... so...” but she was now in the hands of a pair of experts, something she should have known. And she did look good she realised as she had a brief look in the cheval mirror, and after that she had her first sexual experience since giving birth. And all the good bits still worked.

Peony found Mr Downes. “Captain, my mistress is ... I don’t know where she is.”

Peony always called him captain, the same as she did Fitz.

“When did you last see her?” he asked.

This was difficult because Peony didn’t seem to have much idea of time in a European sense.

“After our first meal, but it is nearly the middle of the day,” Peony told him.

“Let’s go and see the captain,” he said.

It took a few minutes to find Fitz. Peony explained to him that it was some time, and she was worried.

“Has anyone seen Bea?” Fitz asked. “She was coming back here from the warehouse.”

Both of them shook their heads no, they hadn’t seen her either. Zeke joined them, but he hadn’t seen them either. At that moment they heard two shots and then a third. They looked in the direction of the shots and could see a plume of smoke rising some little distance away.

“Do you think...” asked Downes.

“Yes,” said Fitz, and started running.

Until they arrived at the end of the pier where the fire was, they had no idea as to the source of the fire. Once they were there it was obviously a burning ship, but they could see little of it through the smoke. Their dilemma was that they had no idea if this was where the girls were, there was little point in risking their lives for nothing. Fitz, however, was determined, even if the others weren’t going he was. As he started forward the smoke cleared for a moment and they could see two figures making their way along the pier, one leaning on the shoulder of the other. All four dashed towards them. Zeke picked up Lotus Blossom, and Fitz hugged Bea, then supported her as they walked back to ’Rigel’.

Angelica was as good has her word and almost exactly a week later she showed Hermione over the buildings and told her what was to be done in each one. Susie accompanied them so that she would know exactly what was happening. When they had completed the tour, they went back to the office where she showed them the costings that she had worked out, together with when money would be needed. And of course, the total cost.