Chapter Three #4
Benjamin knew he frowned, but Orson shrugged off Benjamin’s concerns. “No objections, ma’am,” Orson responded.
Although Benjamin was not best pleased to leave Richard with the woman, he followed Titan, Hartley, and Beaufort through the halls to the lower level.
He was just beginning to understand how the house had been adapted for its present use, only to step into the main gaming room, likely at one time part of a ballroom, for the garden encircled the area through the main door and to the left of the entranceway.
“So, the coat was found in this particular niche,” Titan said as they came to a halt before one of the columns which was closer to the privates than the rear entrance of the house.
Benjamin studied the column, walking around it as far as he could go. “So, it would be possible for someone to secure the coat without another person noting his actions for a reasonable period of time.”
“Yes, we do not use these spaces near the privates in the same manner as we use the ones closer to the kitchen or the gentleman’s smoking room and the private gaming rooms,” Titan explained.
“We attempt to keep those closer to the middle available for new packs of cards and other items the dealers require. Those near the kitchen are for that staff’s needs.
These two on each side of the privates have small towels to wipe a person’s hands or dirt off one’s boots. ”
Benjamin studied the opening. “So the coat was in this corner?”
“Yes, in the shadows,” Titan explained. “I was searching for what we thought might be a few cards placed inside when a particular gentleman used the privates. We thought he changed out two of the cards he insisted on carrying with him when he excused himself from the table to address his needs. While I searched for the suspect cards, I noticed the coat.”
“Did you remove the coat then?” Beaufort asked.
“No. The other players protested the man’s obvious schemes.
Lord-so-and-so claimed his innocence. I privately suggested his lordship should present me the two cards he had removed from that nearby niche…
” Titan pointed to another pole some eight feet removed, “and accept the two dealt to him by Quince in their place. Lose graciously. Call it a night. And no one would be the wiser.”
“Then when did you claim the coat?” Benjamin asked.
“After the Den closed for the night, or should I say morning,” Titan explained.
“At first, I thought one of the workers who live outside of the Den had placed it there, so I waited to see who would claim it. No one did. Later, I worked it free from its place and showed it to Mrs. Dove-Lyon. Later still, the mistress and I showed it to the girls, for they are required to dress appropriately when they go out to the shops or to the house where the children are raised.”
Benjamin did not much like the idea of children not being raised by their parents, but he supposed it was good of Mrs. Dove-Lyon not to turn both mother and child out on the street.
He was beginning to understand how he had initially misjudged the woman.
First, she assisted in tending Duncan’s wounds and now she had proven herself a woman of compassion, not just passion.
“They are required to wear a coat and such over their customary wear?” Hartley asked with a frown.
Titan chuckled. “The girls dress as would any London citizen when they are outside the walls of the Lyon’s Den. Most wear coats, a hat, and gloves, as would any shop girl or merchant’s wife.”
“I suppose all that makes sense,” Benjamin remarked, realizing he had not thought much on how some women must survive.
“Sometimes the girls wear a coat that once belonged to a loved one,” Titan explained. “Sometimes they claim one second-hand from one of the charities. Mrs. Dove-Lyon insists they make a respectable appearance outside these doors. In fact, the mistress will not hire a girl who is slovenly.”
“Do we know which of Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s ladies had the coat?” Hartley asked, as Benjamin continued to circle the column slowly, looking for any scratch marks or other clues.
“Not with any absolutes,” Titan confessed.
“Another of our ladies saw one of the girls applying for a position wearing the coat, but she did not recall seeing the woman again after she met with the mistress. Though such is not unusual. Our ladies are not expected to work and reside in the Lyon’s Den every day of the week.
It would be possible for a girl who comes in only a few days each week not to be noticed by those who live within these walls, especially as a new employee.
She would have to be around for perhaps six months or more to become part of the close community offered to them behind these doors.
Moreover, some work the early hours. Some the later ones.
Some are friends. Some only tolerate each other.
As long as they perform to Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s expectations, the mistress does not place herself in the woman’s life. ”
“So is the woman the other girl mentioned still employed within?” Beaufort questioned. “Might we speak to her?”
“The woman left after only a week, saying the chaos of the shooting had frightened her. Hermia overheard another older woman, who had sought Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s matchmaking services, say she knew of a domestic position.
Though none of us saw them leave together, we assume the young woman tried her hand at being a servant or a shop girl. ”
“So, all we must do is to discover which of the thousands of maids, seamstresses, cooks, scullery maids, or other faceless females working in London’s homes and shops is missing a coat that might or might not have been worn by someone who attempted to kill Lord Macdonald Duncan,” Benjamin protested.
Hartley sighed heavily as he secured the coat again. “Back to the beginning.”