Chapter 16
Crisp spring air greeted me as I walked along Buckingham Palace Road.
I had asked a maid if she knew where the Adelphi Theatre was located and she’d given me directions.
My aunt and uncle had said my mother used to work there, but even if she wasn’t there any longer, perhaps someone had heard of her and could point me in the right direction.
Though it was early, the streets were already busy as I walked past Buckingham Palace and down The Mall toward the West End.
I had also asked the maid if this was a safe area of London and her response had been, “The safest area you’ll find, miss, though nowhere is completely safe for a lady in London. ”
I’d decided to take my chances without a chaperone. After all, I’d lived in Five Points and gone about my business on my own in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world.
St. James Park was beautiful as the first rays of daylight splashed the landscape.
Ornamental bridges, winding paths, and elegant swans graced the serene setting.
To my left was the formidable St. James’s Palace.
I could still feel the Prince of Wales’s eyes on me as I walked past it.
Lady Mandeville had arranged for him to come to a dinner at our home in one week, and he had accepted.
It was quite the coup for Aunt Maude, and she’d already started making plans.
No expense would be spared for the prince.
It didn’t take long to pass Trafalgar Square, where four large, bronze lions encircled a towering column. Behind it were two beautiful fountains and behind those was the National Gallery.
Just like in New York, the streets were full of people from every nationality and race.
If the buildings didn’t look so different, I would have felt right at home.
The other difference was the amount of attention I was getting.
It was much easier to move about New York in rags than it was in London in a fine walking gown.
A beggar stopped me, asking for money, and when I said I didn’t have any, he spit on the ground at my feet before moving away.
I continued down the Strand toward the Adelphi Theatre, my mind slipping to the Duke of Severton.
The night before, he’d proven to be an adept dancer, and we had continued to spar as before, but he told me very little about himself.
All I knew about him, I’d learned from Lady Mandeville, and she knew next to nothing.
He had not danced with anyone else the whole evening and did not mingle with the others.
Instead, he waited for them to come to him—and they had.
Every eligible woman at the ball had been introduced to him, including Annabelle.
Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville considered it a triumph that I was his only dancing partner.
Before the midnight buffet, Alec and I danced together, and then he took me into supper.
But Lady Mandeville had intercepted me before we could talk and brought me around the room, introducing me to other eligible aristocrats, mentioning the queen’s comment about me to each of them.
She said that we couldn’t be content with only one proposal this season.
I hadn’t spoken to Alec again until we were in the carriage on our way back to 7 Buckingham Gate.
But even there, we had talked little, since Aunt Maude wanted to recount everything that had happened at the ball.
She spoke of the duke ad nauseam, until I was so tired of his name, I wasn’t sure I wanted to ever hear it again.
The duke had seemed so aloof and disinterested in the people at the ball. I was convinced that Lady Mandeville had misunderstood his reasons for coming to London. Was he truly looking for a bride? Or had he come to show his disdain for society?
It didn’t really matter to me. I would let Aunt Maude and Lady Mandeville worry about capturing a coronet. Right now, all I cared about was finding my mother.
The theater wasn’t far from Trafalgar Square. It was a simple brick building with several white columns holding up a canopy over the main entrance that read Adelphi Theatre.
The only door in front was locked. Disappointment tried to dissuade me, but I had known there might not be anyone at the theater this early in the morning. I walked to the side of the building where a narrow alley led to the back and decided I’d come this far, I wouldn’t give up now.
It was darker the farther I walked down the alley. Garbage had been left where it fell and there was an odd stench. When I finally arrived at the back of the building, there was a door with a sign above that read STAGE.
With a trembling hand, I turned the doorknob and was surprised and delighted to find it was unlocked.
“Hello,” I called as I opened the door and poked my head inside. It was even darker in the back of the stage. My eyes hadn’t adjusted yet, and I couldn’t make out any shape.
“Hello,” called a man, though I couldn’t see him. “What do you want? Looking for work?”
“No.” I tried to steady my voice. “I’m looking for an actress who might have performed here a long time ago.”
The man appeared from the shadows. He was an older gentleman with white hair and whiskers. His portly middle protruded over his waistband, and his trousers were held up by suspenders, but he wore no coat.
“An American, eh? You sure you’re not looking for a job?” he asked me. “You’ve got a face for the stage.”
“Thank you,” I said, swallowing my nerves, taking a step back into the alley. “But I don’t need a job.”
He looked me up and down as he stepped over the threshold of the door and held it open. “You sure don’t look like you need a job. That dress alone could pay for a month’s worth of wages around these parts. I should know, I’m the costumier.” He frowned. “Who did you say you were looking for?”
“I—I didn’t. Not yet.”
“Well, come out with it, then. I don’t have all day.”
“I’m looking for an actress by the name of Nellie O’Day. Have you heard of her?”
His face lit with something akin to adoration. “Sure, I have. She used to work right here at the Adelphi, oh, fifteen, twenty years ago now.”
Relief overwhelmed me. I hadn’t thought it would be this easy to find someone who knew her. “She doesn’t work here anymore?”
“No. She gave all that up years ago.” He scratched his head. “I haven’t heard Nellie’s name spoken in a long time. What did you say your business was with her?”
“I didn’t.”
He sized me up. “Say, you look like her. Any relation?”
“Perhaps a distant relationship,” I said, wanting to be vague and feeling oddly relieved that I did look like her, after all. “Do you know where I might find her?”
“Well now, I don’t think you’d want to go and look for her.”
It was my turn to frown. “Why not?”
“I live and work around a pretty tough crowd, young lady, and I usually say what needs to be said. But if I had to guess, I’d say you are a well-bred gentlewoman, and I wouldn’t want to embarrass you by telling you where Nellie is living.”
If he only knew my origins and where I had grown up, he wouldn’t be so hesitant.
“Please tell me,” I said. “I need to find her. It’s a very urgent matter.”
He ran his hand over his whiskered cheek and then sighed.
“Last I heard, Nellie left the theater and went into business as a brothel owner somewhere in Soho.” He held up his hands.
“That’s all I know—and that’s just hearsay, mind you.
” He glanced up and down the alley. “If I was you, I wouldn’t linger ’round these parts too long.
I have work to do. I hope you have some luck finding Nellie.
If you do, tell her hello from Bernard.”
Bernard? I looked at him closely, trying to see if there was any resemblance between him and me. Could he be the B from my locket?
Bernard closed the stage door, and I was alone in the alley. A chill ran up my back. Had my mother started a brothel? And, if so, how was I going to find her? I didn’t know where Soho was, and I wasn’t sure how I would get there.
But I hadn’t come this far to stop looking for her now.
I retraced my steps toward the Strand and when I rejoined the street, a man caught my eye. “Alec?”
He was just walking past the Adelphi but stopped and turned at the sound of my voice. Fear blanketed his face, but it was soon replaced with relief and then anger. He jogged toward me, pulling me into his arms to embrace me.
“Keira,” he said, breathing heavily.
My mouth slipped open in surprise as I let him hug me. “What’s wrong?”
He pulled back, holding me at arm’s length.
“I saw you leaving the house this morning from my bedchamber window, but by the time I was dressed and running out the door, you had disappeared. I asked the first maid I found if she knew where you had gone, and thankfully she said you had asked her about the Adelphi Theatre and whether this was a safe neighborhood. She gave me directions, and I set out on foot as fast as I could.”
“Did you run all the way here?” I was half teasing, but when I saw how serious he was, I sobered. “I’m sorry for scaring you, Alec.”
“What in the world are you doing leaving the house by yourself?” He crossed his arms. “You should know how dangerous it is to walk around London alone.”
“I lived in Five Points. I think I can manage a respectable part of London in the light of day.”
“You never looked like that in Five Points.” He indicated my ensemble. “You’re almost inviting someone to attack you or pickpocket you at the least.”
“You have no idea what I survived in Five Points.” My voice choked as a memory flashed back of being cornered by a strange man in a dark alley. I’d fought and gotten away, but the thought of it had haunted me for years.
“You’re right. I don’t know what happened to you before I met you.” He swallowed and shook his head. “I wish I had met you much sooner and helped you get out of there. But you’re out now and it’s my job to protect you until—” He paused.
“Until what?”