They fell in line with the other spectators about to enter the dark tent when Mother stiffened, taking Vivienne’s arm. “Goodness, what ishedoing here?”
“Who?” Vivienne gazed around and didn’t need an answer.
The disgraced Captain Jackson stood next to the canvas wall, smoking a cheroot. Smoky clouds puffed out of his lips as he surveyed the queue with keen interest. His black beard needed to be trimmed, and his red-rimmed black eyes seemed to beg for a good night’s sleep.
Vivienne averted her gaze before the captain noticed her scrutiny. “He’s a free man, Mother. Even drunk army surgeons have the right to attend a show.”
Mother considered the captain responsible for Adele’s untimely death. Vivienne didn’t know anything about medicine or medical drugs, but she remembered Adele’s gaunt and sweaty face as the disease had consumed her from the inside out. No one could have saved her sister.
Mother scowled. “Don’t be clever with me. I don’t want him to see us. If he tries to talk to us, I don’t want anyone to think we’re associated with that creature.”
A little too late. The whole of London knew how close the captain and Father, Earl of Huntington, had been until Mother’saccusations had made himpersona non gratain every London circle.
“That quack should be imprisoned,” Mother hissed, clenching her purse.
“Please. He did his best and was deeply distraught by…what happened,” she whispered the last words.
“You listen to your father’s excuses and not to me.” Mother pressed her lips in a flat line. “As usual.”
Dobkins gave Vivienne the slightest shake of her head. Better not to discuss that further. An argument would be a waste of breath. Disparaging and destroying the captain’s life after Adele’s death was Mother’s only reason to carry on living.
Vivienne chanced another glance at him. Her heart was torn in two. Captain Jackson had shown great compassion and sorrow for Adele, but her mother had fallen into desperation and melancholia from the day they’d buried Adele. She understood Mother’s anger towards the captain, but she didn’t think the captain was entirely to blame.
The captain was staring at them, a dark eyebrow arching. A puff of smoke came out of his mouth.
“Bother. He noticed us. Come quickly.” Mother grabbed her hand and pulled her forwards. “Despicable man. I heard he’s become a thief, so desperate he is for his liquor. The police almost caught him after he broke into Garrad’s.”
“How do they know it was him if they didn’t catch the thief?” She walked along a passageway in the dimly lit circus.
Mother shrugged. “Rumours.”
Ah, so therefore it had to be true.
She got distracted once inside the circus. Except it wasn’t a normal circus with rows of seats around the central ring, but it was a wide hallway closed by canvas walls swaying slowly at the passage of the audience. The red canvas colour and the dim lightfrom the lanterns gave the illusion of entering the maws of a monster.
The cloth had to be thick because Vivienne didn’t hear the chatter from the people queuing outside.
“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.” An imposing man with a top hat bowed at the entrance of a curved corridor so long she didn’t see the end. Everyone fell silent. “I’m Cade, your host. Behind me lies a series of stages to show you the prowess of my human curiosities.”
A low murmur spread.
Cade smirked and paused for a long moment. “We found and selected extraordinary people from all over the world, a unique collection of talents and wonders. Be warned, some of the curiosities aren’t for the faint of heart. You may experience great distress. Proceed at your own risk.” He waved and beckoned them to follow him. “Enjoy the marvel of Cade’s curiosities.”
“Perhaps we should leave.” Mother wrung her hands.
Vivienne started to walk on. “I’m sure there’s nothing too frightening. It’s just a way to create the right atmosphere.”
The passageway was lined with open stages on one side. Bright lights lit the platforms, and she had to squint after the semidarkness of the hallway. The place looked more like an art gallery than a circus with the human curiosity on display as if they were paintings.
“You can choose to stop at a stage or to walk on,” Cade said, leading the group. “But I’m sure you’ll find all the curiosities fascinating.”
The first curiosity was a young woman who could bend her body at angles Vivienne wouldn’t have believed possible. Dressed in a pair of loose trousers and a tight shirt, she curved her back and arched her legs so that her toes would reach her lips from over her head. The move seemed easy and effortless, but Vivienne winced at the thought her back would break.
Loud applause soared at the woman’s ability to wrap her legs around her neck or stand upside down, balancing her weight on her thumb. Vivienne had to admit it was impressive.
“It can’t be normal,” Dobkins said.
Mother didn’t look amused.
