Ella did not wince, but she sighed and shook her head. “This is not at all what I expected.”
He raised his brows. “We can turn around if you’re not comfortable. I can almost guarantee that whatever we find at this address will not be pleasant.”
“No, no. We’ve gone this far. We might as well see it out.”
The carriage slowed to a stop. Someone pounded on the outside of it, and she jumped, startled. He resisted the urge to attempt to dissuade her yet again and stepped down onto the mucky dirt beneath him before turning to offer his hand to help her down.
She settled her hand in his, then hesitated as she looked down for a place to put her foot. Her delicate traveling kid boots were going to be ruined. She lifted the skirt of her traveling ensemble to keep it from sweeping the muck and stepped down.
She took his arm, and together they walked onto the boards that served as a walkway and paused to assess the house. Large sections of paint had chipped away from the facade, and one of the first-story windows was broken.
He was keenly—and protectively—aware of the curious glances at Ella. Not only was she unaccustomed to these surroundings, butthe residents here were not used to ladies like Ella gracing their streets. How delicate and refined she appeared in her pristine gown of perse-blue wool with her golden hair tucked beneath the straw bonnet with fluttering ribbons. Determined to keep her close, he tucked her arm more tightly against himself and did not let go.
After double-checking the house number and name on the shingle with the address, he carefully stepped around two broken steps and knocked on the front door.
A pale, scrawny woman with wild, mousy hair and a red-faced baby on her hip answered the door. She fixed her hard gray eyes on him. “What d’ya want?”
“My name is Mr. Gabriel Rowe. I’m looking for someone who I think might live here. May I come in?”
The woman squinted in the late-day sun and then looked at Ella before she stepped back, giving way for them to pass into a dark parlor. The inside of the house was no more inviting than the exterior. Uneven woven rugs did little to mask the dust and dirt scattered on the wooden floor, and the meager sofa and chairs appeared to have been through some sort of fire.
“I dinna want no trouble,” she blurted out as she handed the baby to an older girl and wiped her chapped hands on her soot-stained apron.
“Neither do I.” Gabriel smiled to ease her. “I’m merely attempting to locate someone who might live here.”
She squinted. “Who ya lookin’ for?”
“Professionally he goes by the name Thomas Bauer, but you might know him as something different. He’s a phrenologist. Dark hair and eyes. Very tall. Often wears a sapphire pin on his cravat.”
“Oh,” she scoffed, folding her thin arms over her chest. “Pretentious brute, ’e is.”
“Is he here?”
She scoffed again and swiped her hair away from her forehead with her forearm. “Mr. Grenshaw ain’t been ’ere in nigh a fortnight. And ’e’s behind ’is payments too. If ’n you see ’im, you tell ’im if ’n ’e’s not back with me money, I’m selling everythin’ in ’is chamber to pay ’is debt.”
Grenshaw.Gabriel caught Ella’s eye. “It sounds like he’s left you in quite a bind.”
“A bind? Ha.” She sneered. “I’ve given ’im an extra week on account ’e was wi’ me for so long, but I got men linin’ up for th’ room, an’ I’ve reached me limit.”
Gabriel seized his opportunity. “Do you mind if I take a look?”
She eyed him and them looked toward Ella again. “’is room?”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes. I’ll pay his back rent for permission to do so.”
Her face brightened and she swung out her hands. “Pay th’ debt an’ everything in th’ room belongs t’ ye. Ye can burn it for all I care.”
“No, no. No need to burn anything. You can dispose of it as you wish.”
She extended her work-worn hand, and he deposited several coins totaling the amount she indicated. With her countenance improved she jerked her head to the stairs. “That’s it, first on th’ left. Don’t be long, though. Th’ others’ll be back soon, and they don’t take kindly t’ strangers.”
Gabriel took Ella’s gloved hand and led the way, testing each step to make sure it was safe before she followed. The walls of the narrow stairwell nearly rubbed each of his shoulders as he ascended, leaving him to wonder how Bauer, who was much thicker, couldmake it up and down these stairs. Once on the landing, Gabriel identified the indicated chamber and pushed open the splintered, creaky door just far enough for them to fit through.
Once they were both in the room, he closed the door behind them. The small square chamber punched with the scent of rum, dust, and perhaps a deceased mouse or rat. The floor groaned as he crossed over to the window and pulled back the threadbare curtain to let in light. Gabriel propped his hands on his hips and assessed the dirty room around him. “This is . . . a shock.”
“It is.” Ella stepped farther into the room and lifted a book that was atop the room’s makeshift table.
Gabriel stepped to the wardrobe and swung open one of the crooked doors. Several meticulously tailored pieces hung haphazardly inside, and some had fallen from their hooks and lay in crumpled heaps at the bottom. “It appears he either left quickly or did not mean to return.”
