Thea’s body seemed to stiffen, but her countenance remained calm and relaxed. She touched her stomach briefly. “How does Mrs. White like children?”
“She loves them. Why she even gave Susan here some toys that had been left by a previous tenant. So kind.”
Thea stilled and Dom could see the effort it took for her to continue smiling.
He’d give odds the toys were Tom’s. Something was very wrong here. “Madam, has your husband already departed?”
“Not yet. We still have another two weeks together.” She held out her hand to Thea. “I’m terribly sorry, so rude of me. “I’m Mrs. Horton.”
Thea responded in kind. “I am . . . Mrs. Merton and this is my husband and mother-in-law. What happened to the people in the empty apartment?”
The woman looked slightly confused. “I’m not sure. They left very suddenly about a month ago. She had been very kind to me. Her child was due sometime in the autumn . . .”
“Mama, can we go now?” the child asked. “Bessie will be waiting.”
“Yes, my love, of course.” Mrs. Horton smiled at Thea again. “Perhaps we shall be neighbors.”
Thea’s lips tilted up. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
No sooner had the door to the street closed, when the maid came back in. “She’ll see you now. Shesaysshe ain’t feelin’ well, so you can’t stay long.”
Dom placed his hand at the back of Thea’s waist as they followed the girl down a narrow corridor. The whole atmosphere of the house bothered him, and he needed to touch her, keep her safe.
They entered a parlor decorated in some tawdry flowered material. An assortment of vials and small boxes on the table next to a chaise, upon which a plump middle-aged woman, with improbable blond curls covered by a lacy cap, lay. A brightly colored shawl with a long fringe covered her ample proportions and a piece of wet linen was on her forehead. Unfortunately, it caused her heavy face powder to run. She reminded him of a Drury Lane actress.
“My lord, my ladies, forgive me,” she said in a loud whisper. “I have been laid low and am unable to arise.” She made a sweeping motion with her arm. “As you see I am almost at death’s door, but I am honored by your presence in my humble house.”
Thea made a choking sound and his mother a soft harrumph.
Dom stepped forward, inclining his head slightly. “Mrs. White, we have come to collect Mrs. Cavanaugh’s effects.”
For a moment, the woman turned a light shade of green under the powder and really did look sick, but she recovered quickly. “Poor unfortunate lady, I have nothing of hers left. I had to pawn the lot to pay her rent.”
Clenching his jaw, he stepped forward again. “And her son?”
She gave a dramatic sigh. “The poor little mite ran away. I searched for days—”
“Enough.”He took another step and stood right over her. “I will not be lied to.”
Her hand went to her throat. “My lord, please. My heart.”
“I don’t believe you either.” Thea stepped out from behind him.
“No, neither do I.” His mother glanced around the room. “In fact, I would not be a bit surprised if most of these gewgaws belonged to the families of your victims.”
Mrs. White narrowed her eyes and snarled, “You just try to prove it.”
Thea had come around to stand at the head of the chaise. She picked up a silver box and stepped back. “I believe this is part of the proof. It is engraved with SC.Tom’s mother’s initials. Perhaps he will recognize it.”
Mrs. White moved, but Thea was faster, dancing away from the woman’s claw like fingers. “She gave it to me. As a present.”
“Just like Tom gave you his toys?” Dom gritted his teeth. “I don’t think so, Mrs. White.”
The woman’s terrified gaze went from Thea to Dom and then to Mama. “I told you he left. Ain’t seen him since. Distraught he was.”
Dom had never in his life wanted to throttle a person like he did now. Not even Worthington filled him with such rage. “So distraught that he remembers you sending him away with two men?”
Thea stood off to Dom’s side, while his mother inspected the other objects in the overcrowded room. “That is what he said, is it not, my dear?”
