“Do you really love me?”
“Yes,” he said in a huff. “Of course I do.”
“I love you, James. I do,” she said, sliding off the side of the bed to kneel before him. “I knew it, for a while now, but I didn’t think… I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around his neck as his spirits lifted. “I love you and I’ll never do anything so wild ever, for as long as I live.”
She loved him. What a world it was.
After Mrs. Stevens returned with his doctoring bag, he set to work. Grace was bathed behind the silk screen and dressed in the softest, frilliest night rail and placed beneath the covers. Once they were alone again, he did a full examination and prescribed her a week’s worth of rest, which was met with arguments, but he insisted. Once he finished, there was a knock at the door.
“Enter,” James said.
Mrs. Stevens entered the room scowling as she was followed in closely by Constable Murphy. James opened his mouth to speak, but the constable held up his hand.
“I know you have your work, Dr. Hall, but I do as well and I need to question the patient at once.”
“Now listen here—”
“James,” Grace said gently, causing him to turn. “I can manage.”
Although it was obvious to everyone that James would rather she didn’t, he only nodded stiffly. He didn’t leave the room, however, and while the constable appeared annoyed, glancing at the door several times to suggest the doctor leave, James refused.
Sighing, the constable came forward and looked down at Grace.
“Can you explain, in your own words, what led you to Rabbit House and what transpired there?”
“Yes. I went to Rabbit House in hopes to confirm a suspicion I had about one of Dr. Cameron’s students. You see, I saw Mr. Roberts paying a man outside Rabbit House a few weeks ago while doing rounds with Dr. Hall. It seemed odd that a medical student would be in Gallowgate without accompanying an attending physician, so I was suspicious. When Dr. Hall told me about the spinning top toy being found at the grave of Pauletta Tidsale, I remembered Mrs. Monty’s son playing with something similar. I was sure that the grave robbers were connected with Rabbit House.”
“And you knew about Dr. Cameron’s involvement?”
Grace shook her head.
“No. I suspected that Mr. Roberts was doing something nefarious, but I didn’t think Dr. Cameron knew about it.” She paused and glanced at James. “He didn’t, did he?”
“I don’t know,” James said, looking up at the constable. “But he was in a foul mood this morning about the entire ordeal.”
“Unfortunately, Dr. Cameron’s involvement seems to be a little more complicated.”
“How so?” Grace asked.
“Well, it seems the doctor was paying a premium for bodies, but had specifically instructed his students not to involve outside parties. Dr. Cameron has been paying for stolen corpses for well over a year now. His student, Mr. Roberts, found the work too strenuous and decided to employ a few fellows from Gallowgate, who also didn’t particularly care for digging up graves. When one of the occupants at Rabbit House died in his sleep, they handed his body over and were paid extra for the, er, well, I suppose the freshness of the body.” The constable shifted from one side to the other, visibly uncomfortable with his own words. “It sparked an idea and when Mr. Roberts offered to pay them extra for clean, fresh corpses, they decided to take matters into their own hands.”
Grace’s hand lifted to her mouth and James took a step forward.
“I think you’ve asked enough questions for now. Please, allow her some rest.”
“Well, we didn’t get to what happened to her in Rabbit House.”
“She was attacked. Nearly killed, what else must she tell you?”
“Dr. Hall, if you’re going to interrupt me, I’ll have to ask you to step outside.”
“Not bloody likely.”
“Please, the both of you,” Grace said, lifting her hands to stop them. “I’m perfectly capable of speaking. Now, Constable Murphy, continue.”
The constable asked several more detailed questions, things that certainly didn’t seem like they were important, at least to James. Things like what her assailants were wearing and exactly what time she arrived at Rabbit House. Eventually though, the constable finished and with a nod, thanked the both of them before leaving. Grace fell asleep soon after and he waited until he heard the gentle snores coming from her before leaving her to sleep in peace.
Upon exiting the room, he found Aunt Belle with that damn cat at her feet. It seemed she had climbed the stairs unassisted and was watching him with intent.
