Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gwen went directly to Godwin’s Hotel and asked to speak to Danny.
‘Shall I tell him his sister is here?’ asked Mr Everson in a supercilious tone.
‘Yes, please,’ Gwen said snappishly, disinclined to tolerate his sneering.
She took a seat on the bench and gave him a polite smile, but as soon as he went up the stairs, she followed him and waited until he knocked on the door before turning the corner into the corridor, arriving at his side just as Danny opened the door.
Both men stared at her, Danny in surprise and Mr Everson in annoyance.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Everson. I know you have propriety and the reputation of your hotel to think of, but this is far too delicate a conversation to be had anywhere in public, even in your office. It concerns Mr Parry’s – our – niece,’ she said before either of them had time to speak.
‘You’d better come in,’ Danny said, stepping back. ‘Thank you, Mr Everson.’
She entered the room and shut it behind her, as Mr Everson retreated.
‘Gwen, what are you doing here?’ Danny asked, spinning around. He was wearing a shirt and trousers, but no tie or waistcoat.
Gwen put her bag down on the table. The room was large and well-furnished, with a desk upon which lay an open book, face down.
‘I know where Ruth is,’ Gwen said.
‘How?’ His eyes widened then narrowed and his expression darkened. ‘Gwen, what have you done? I told you not to get involved. It’s too dangerous.’
He came towards her, arms outstretched as if preparing to embrace her.
She put her hand to her mouth, remembering the touch of his lips on hers, and shook her head.
He stopped in his tracks, and a look of concern crossed his face that broke Gwen’s heart as she thought of how soon it would change to anger or disgust. Her conviction wavered.
‘It’s too late for that,’ she told him quietly.
She stood opposite him. Inside her gloves, her palms felt damp, and a shudder of dread ran up and down her legs. She wanted to sit down but the armchair was covered with discarded clothing and the only other surface was the bed.
‘I know where Ruth is, and it’s too late to warn me against being involved, Danny, because I already am.’
Danny was looking at her with apprehension but his body was at ease and welcoming.
Once she told him, though, she was sure that he would no longer look like that.
He would never again embrace her in comfort or desire.
She was prepared for him to shout at her, perhaps even strike or shake her, and she was determined that she would endure whatever she had to.
‘Gwen, you’re upset. Let me help you,’ he said gently. ‘Whatever has happened, we can sort it out together.’
‘But I don’t deserve your help.’ She swallowed and balled her hands into fists to stop them shaking and hid them in the folds of her skirt.
‘These past few months have been such a dreadful mess, with one thing after another leading me along a path I never intended to take. Or at least, I did intend to take it, but I took each step without really considering where it would lead. And now, I don’t see how to get back from it. ’
She raised her head and tried to keep her lips from quivering, but failed.
‘There’s something I need to tell you, and I want you to listen carefully. I’ll answer any questions you ask, but please, let me get through what I need to say, or I won’t be able to.’
‘Of course,’ Danny murmured. ‘But let me clear the chair. You look as if you’re going to faint clean away.’
He picked up the armful of clothes and dumped them onto the bed, then he led Gwen to the armchair.
She perched on the edge, while he sat down on the bed.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on her, and she longed to close her eyes and let her troubles melt away in the warmth. She sat upright and cleared her throat.
‘Ruth is in a place called The Rook and Wren – a coffee shop, which is a front for a brothel. It’s run by a woman called Augusta Charles. She also owns a chop house.’
‘I’ve seen that place. I suspected it was down at heel, but not that it was a house of ill repute.’ Danny looked thoughtful. ‘Isn’t that nearby where I first met you?’
Gwen nodded. ‘You promised not to ask me questions until I had finished,’ she reminded him.
He crossed then uncrossed his legs, then ran his hand over his forehead and straightened his collar. He was being very patient, considering how much nonsense it must seem Gwen was talking.
‘Along with two friends, I’ve been investigating Mrs Charles’ business.
We didn’t know she owned the brothel when we were first introduced to her.
We didn’t know anything about brothels at all, in fact.
But gradually, we became aware of it. We’ve spoken to an acquaintance of hers who has confirmed that a young woman with a Welsh accent is working for her. ’
She watched Danny’s face as he absorbed the information, seeing the jerk of his mouth at the mention of Ruth’s work for Augusta. Nausea washed over Gwen, and her neck grew clammy.
‘That was very brave of you, but you have put yourself at risk,’ Danny said. He stood and crossed the room to the coat-stand, clearly believing Gwen had finished her story. ‘If you tell me where the brothel is, I’ll go immediately and demand to see her.’
Gwen licked her lips. She could still keep her part in the matter a secret; she could tell Danny and let him attempt to deal with the matter himself.
She could go with him to Wales and help care for Ruth and neither of them need ever know.
But even with his tantalising offer of a new life in front of her, she couldn’t live with the deception.
‘There’s more, Danny.’
He paused, hand halfway to his coat and lowered it, frowning.
‘When you see Ruth again it is very likely that she will have been forced to drink something that lowered her inhibitions and muddled her mind. It’s a drug that Mrs Charles has obtained.
But apart from what it might have allowed her to do, it will cause her no lasting ill-effects. I can promise you that.’
‘You sound very … certain. Why?’ Danny asked.
Gwen wrapped her arms around herself and wriggled back into the chair, shame heating her cheeks.
Danny’s eyes glinted. ‘Is your husband responsible? He’s a pharmacist.’
‘No!’ Gwen sat up, even amidst the distress, she felt indignant at the assumption that it must be a man who was responsible.
‘I am the person making the mixture that Mrs Charles has been forcing on the girls. Though I didn’t know that was what she was going to do with it.
And if I had known, I would never have given her access to it. ’
Danny walked to the window. He looked out silently before eventually turning back to face Gwen. He folded his arms tightly. The sunshine was bright behind him, casting him into a silhouette, so Gwen struggled to make out his expression.
‘You are involved in this business?’ he asked incredulously.
She dropped her head and then raised it again. ‘I made the medicine they are using to drug the girls into submission, but I promise you, I had no idea it was being used in that way. I thought it was going to be for willing customers. And not in a brothel at that, but in a public house.’
‘When I first met you in that area you told me you were running an errand, but you never told me what it was. I think it might have been more relevant than I realised.’
He stepped forward, a flash of fury crossing his face. ‘I could have found Ruth weeks ago if you had told me!’
‘I didn’t know she was there!’ Gwen cried. Tears filled her eyes. ‘I promise you, I didn’t know that was what Augusta was using it for, or that she owned a brothel. We didn’t intend for it to be anything other than a diversion for women … a bit of amusement.’
‘We?’ Danny’s face was stone.
‘Miss Rosewood and I.’ Gwen dropped her head and covered her face with her hands. ‘It’s all so dreadful. It got out of control. And we have been trying to do anything we can to stop it,’ she mumbled through her fingers.
‘You had better tell me everything,’ Danny said coldly.
Gwen swallowed, suppressing a flicker of irritation. She had been trying to do just that but he had kept interrupting her. She sat up straighter.
‘It started off as a small venture; I was making our tincture to try and earn enough money for Archibald’s eye operation by selling it to Miss Rosewood’s acquaintances.’
‘What precisely is your concoction?’ Danny asked.
‘Opium. Coca leaf. A few spices that we discovered had an interesting effect when combined.’
He shook his head and raked his hands over his temples before turning around.
‘If I had been asked to picture the evildoers who were behind supplying people with opium and bringing them to ruin, I would never have thought to picture someone like you.’
‘Nor would I,’ Gwen said quietly. ‘But then a friend of Miss Rosewood’s grew interested, and said she had a friend – a businesswoman – who might use it.
Augusta Charles. So, we went to see Mrs Charles, and she persuaded us that we could make a lot of money by selling it to her to use with her customers.
But we thought it was for the customers to take themselves voluntarily.
If we had even suspected what her true purpose was, we would never have agreed. ’
A sob swelled up in her throat, stifling her words. ‘It’s such a dreadful mess and I don’t know how to free myself from it. Once we found out what it was really being used for, we planned to stop immediately. And we have a plan to rescue the girls. That’s why I came to you today.’
‘You have a plan?’ Danny’s lip curled. ‘Why not simply go to the police?’
Gwen wrapped her arms around herself. ‘Because I’m scared, Danny.’
‘What are you scared of, exactly?’ His voice was hard. She didn’t expect forgiveness, but it was devastating, nonetheless.
‘Scared of what Mrs Charles will do to us if she discovers our involvement in getting the girls out.’