Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Keriah checked the other jars in Lady Nola’s satchel, but only one contained the Goldensuit. The others were valuable herbs such as saffron and ginseng.
She returned to the front room, searching the shelves, and found a jar labeled “chickory” as well as some paper used to fold into packets for herbs and medicines.
At Lady Nola’s work table, she shook the Goldensuit roots onto the paper, folded it to enclose them, and tucked it into a pocket of her cloak.
She could not allow Lady Nola to possess Goldensuit plants and possibly create more Berserkers.
Then she emptied some of the pale, fibrous chickory roots into the dark jar. She replaced the jar with the rest of the chickory back onto the shelf and banked the coals in the grate before making her way back to the workroom.
She dropped the dark jar of chickory root into Lady Nola’s satchel and replaced the cloak draped over it.
Mr. Verling found a chair tucked into a corner and pulled it out for her. She dusted it off and sat gingerly on it, and while it trembled, it didn’t collapse into a heap of sticks. He also found a wooden stool which, while considerably lower, was far sturdier.
Then they waited.
Forced to sit still, Keriah thought she would be terribly bored, but she found herself dozing. The anxiety of the past several days had made it difficult for her to sleep, and she had often distracted her tired mind with apothecary work.
She was uncertain of the passage of time, but she guessed it was around two hours later when she heard the latch rattle on the back door. It swung open silently, and a short cloaked figure swiftly entered. The door shut behind her, plunging the room back into the gray light from the grimy window.
Lady Nola didn’t notice the two of them at first, but when her eyes had gotten accustomed to the dimness, Keriah was directly in her line of sight. The old woman jerked in surprise.
Mr. Verling rose to his feet, and Lady Nola was about to rush back toward the door, but Keriah called out, “Lady Nola, we only wish to purchase from you some herbs and information. We mean you no harm.”
She hesitated, but her body was still tense, as if she was trying to decide if she should still attempt to flee.“You’re the one who has been buying poisons from me.”
“How did you know?” There was no need to dissemble since she was indeed hoping to buy more poisons from Lady Nola.
“The maid you sent to buy them speaks like she’s from Rasken Hill, but her mannerisms give away that she’s in service to some rich lady. Is that you?”
“I am an apothecary,” Keriah said, not answering her question. “She assists me.”
“An apothecary who buys poisons?”
She needed Lady Nola to trust her, and she had a suspicion about why the old woman was intending to leave so precipitously. “I am creating a sedative to incapacitate Jack’s men and put them to sleep.”
Lady Nola’s dark eyes seemed to whirl in their sockets. “You are with that group that captured that madman—what do they call them in the Long Glades? A Berserker.”
Keriah tried not to tense at the word. She had no need to answer Lady Nola.
The old woman glanced at the satchel in the corner, then continued, “There are rumors about a group of people who captured a man down by the burned factory on Harding Lane.” Her eyes unfocused as she thought.
“With the herbs and roots you purchased, perhaps it is possible. How did you get him to drink it? Or did you use a powder? Oh!” Her eyes seemed to flicker as if there was a flame deep inside.
“The archer. He smeared paste on his arrow tips. That is how you gave the Berserker the dose.”
Keriah had thought Phoebe had collected all her arrows from the burned factory when they sedated Mr. Coulton-Jones, but she must have missed one. She would need to tell Mr. Drydale immediately. “Yes,” she said to Lady Nola.
“A clever recipe.” Lady Nola smiled at her, showing a missing tooth. “For that information, I might even tell you what you wish for free.”
“First, I need these herbs.” Keriah handed over a slip of paper. She wasn’t certain if Lady Nola would be willing to even speak to them after she asked her questions.
“How much do you want?” Lady Nola was still slightly suspicious of the two of them, but it seemed her instincts as a shop-keeper could not be suppressed.
“I’ll take all the rest of what you have.” She reached through a slit in her gown and retrieved the leather pouch of coins she had tied around her waist, then dropped them on the table, where they clinked loudly.
At the sound, Lady Nola’s eyes lit up once again in that strange way, as if she had fires burning deep within. “But of course.”
She disappeared behind the curtain again, and this time, Mr. Verling followed her, likely to ensure she didn’t run away again. But Keriah could hear the clinking of bottles as she bustled about, gathering the items on the list.
She brought them back to Keriah, who placed them in a rough woven bag she had brought with her.
“And what do you wish to know? Not that I am promising to answer,” Lady Nola added.
“Do you know of any Oriental apothecaries?” Keriah asked.
The question startled the old woman. She scratched at her head through the dirty mobcap, causing the frizzy gray curls peeking out from under the edges to quiver. “Chinese apothecaries? I can’t say I know of any …”
Keriah reached for the leather pouch of coins. “Perhaps I paid you too much.”
But Lady Nola snatched up the leather pouch quickly. “You’ll not be cheating me, for I gave you all the rest of my stock of herbs that you requested.”
“You will find that amount more than double of what they are worth,” Keriah said calmly. “More than enough to buy this information from you. Telling me these things will not put you in any danger.”
“Bah! You say that, but I did not think treating that young man would put me in danger, and yet Mr. Dix has returned and is searching for me.”
“Mr. Dix?” Mr. Verling took a step forward. “Do you mean Apothecary Jack?”
“Watch your tone,” Lady Nola snapped at him. “And be respectful. Around here, he is called Mr. Dix.”
“Mr. Dix has returned?” Keriah suddenly felt it was difficult to breathe. Her heart galloped in her chest, and her stomach quivered. No, she would not cast up her accounts, no matter how alarmed she had become.
They had turned Jack over to the Ramparts to imprison, but that had been before Sir Derrick was killed, before Mr. Norton had framed Mr. Drydale for the murders of Mr. Antingham and Mr. Uppleby.
Apothecary Jack was free from prison.
“Norton freed him,” Mr. Verling said to Keriah in a low voice that Lady Nola would not be able to hear.
Keriah swallowed. She had wondered, earlier, if Norton would have done so. Now she understood why Lady Nola was leaving—she had stolen a Goldensuit plant from Jack, and he was returned.
She turned back to the herb woman. “Surely Mr. Dix would not care if you told us the names of Chinese apothecaries? Unless he is killing all apothecaries, in order to eliminate his business rivals.”
Lady Nola shook her head. “He doesn’t care about that. But I’m certain he wouldn’t wish for me to give information to the people who captured or killed one of his Berserkers.”
“You already sold us the herbs,” Mr. Verling pointed out.
“He won’t know unless you tell him,” Keriah said. “And if he is upset at you for treating a certain man, I doubt he would pause before killing you in order to graciously give you time to tell him about us.”
She actually wasn’t certain if Jack cared enough about their identities to listen to Lady Nola, but her words accomplished her wishes—namely, to strike fear in the heart of the herb woman.
Keriah was relieved she hadn’t needed to mention the jar of Goldensuit roots she’d taken—which Lady Nola had most certainly stolen from Jack—in order to force her to speak.
Lady Nola’s eyes grew wide. “I won’t say anything to him,” she said in a trembling voice.
Keriah wasn’t certain if she believed her, but the old woman seemed sincere, at least for the moment.
“Tell us about any Oriental apothecaries you know.”
“There used to be two,” Lady Nola said reluctantly. “I don’t know if one of them is still working, or even if he is still alive. He is called the Chinaman—no one uses or even knows his real name. He keeps a shop in Soho, on one of those narrow streets off Wardour Street, not far from the theaters.”
“That isn’t much information,” Mr. Verling said.
“I know nothing more about him,” Lady Nola snapped at him.
“And the other one?” Keriah asked. “You said you were unsure if the Chinaman was still alive, so what about the other one?”
“No one remembers his name, either. They simply refer to him as the Oriental herbalist. His shop is in Jem Town somewhere, I don’t know where.”
They would need to travel to both areas and simply ask around for the two men. Keriah hoped it would not be difficult for them to find them.
She rose, wobbling slightly from the weakness in her knee after sitting for so long. Mr. Verling was at her side swiftly, his hand at her elbow to steady her. She nodded her thanks to him.
Looking at Lady Nola, she said, “Thank you.” She had no illusions that Lady Nola would tell Jack about the two of them, if she built up the courage to go speak to him. “Do you know where Mr. Dix is?”
Lady Nola shook her head. “He used to sell his poisons from the room above The Stuck Door tavern, but I have heard he is rarely there now.”
Perhaps they had some time, then, for Lady Nola would not be able to speak to Jack if he was not easily found.
Keriah glanced at the open satchel. Perhaps her fears were unfounded, and Lady Nola would disappear into the night.
“Thank you.” Keriah moved toward the back door, followed by Mr. Verling.
“Don’t thank me,” Lady Nola muttered behind her. “You’ve poked at a devil, and he’ll not simply poke back. He’ll set your life aflame.”
Keriah said nothing in response to her ominous words and simply left Lady Nola’s home.