Chapter Eight
On the floor below, both women reached the entrance hall to see the unmistakable presence of Sir Henry Lamb and his mutton chops that he was so fond of. Even as he had watched the two beauties make their grand entrance, his fingers had been stroking absently at the mutton chops adorning both sides of his face.
“Ladies, are you ready to go?” He asked after he had stepped forth and placed warm dry kissed onto the backs of both of their hands. “I’m afraid we all have been running dreadfully behind today so if you have anything that needs doing, can it please be done with haste.”
Millie rolled her eyes at the man before crossing through the foyer and picking up two pairs of her binoculars from a small table that stood solitary at the side of the room. They eyes glasses had been commissioned by her friend at the market but their multi-purpose design meant that they would do for such occasions as the opera as well as for spying on the neighbours if she so wished.
“Those are interesting,” The man put in lamely when she returned to the waiting group and handed over the second set to her friend.
“Thank you,” Millie nodded her head before turning her gaze towards the door, or more importantly Percy. He was in full uniform and was stood by the door with his back straight, no expression upon his face and his chin tilted to the air. “Shall we go. After all, we wouldn’t want to be late.”
Sir Henry, who had been looking a little too much at her governess, startled back a few steps and nodded his head. “Yes, of course.”
He blustered about for a few moments, his cheeks puffing up as he blushed before he finally clicked across the tiled floor towards Percy. Taking his cue seamlessly, Percy stretched out an arm and pulled open the door wide enough so that everyone could pass through without brushing their skirts against him. Millie headed the back of the group and as she passed by him the pair exchanged glances, hers with raised brows and lips that were twitching to smile while he allowed himself to twinkle his brown eyes at her before nodding his head and pressing his lips together. Within a second he was back to playing butler once more and he closed the door swiftly behind them all.
Now all Millie had to look forward to were several hours in the company of her nervous caregiver and the eccentric man who would probably spend most of it looking at Emma out of the corner of his eyes but too much of a fool to do anything about it.
As she sat in the back of the coach, who had been eccentric in its own right, the blonde allowed herself to sit back and enjoy the peace while it lasted. She would no doubt have to be charming and smile at the right places when they reached the theatre. It was one of the most popular forms of entertainment among the wealthy which meant she was about to endure several hours of people trying to prove that they were better than her or had more things than she did.
With a clatter and a bang, the coach clicked a few times around them all before it pulled to a stop. A quick glance out of the window revealed a large two story building, illuminated brightly even in the early evening air by hundreds carefully disguised lamps.
Dozens of people were stood outside, chatting loudly and laughing even louder. The scene was infectious and yet set dread in the pit of Millie’s stomach. The door was pulled open before she could even think of saying she was ill and instead she was forced from the carriage as the coachman held his hand out to her, beckoning her from the safety.
As she waited for the other’s to disembark, the young woman, dressed in green silk taffeta for the evening, swept over to the staircase which lead to the front terrace. Waiters were ambling around collecting glasses that had been discarded around as well as taking barked orders from every other person as they swept past. She knew people waited here, though they probably wouldn’t recognise her because how could someone who rubbed shoulders with them all and drank Madame Mo’s moonshine as well as the rest of them could be a well to do lady with more money than sense.
Still as she passed by some of the other of her clockwork inclined friends, she ducked her head until they passed her by without a single glance in her direction. She knew that was a difficult thing to do as she was oddly beautiful in these circles. At nearly six foot, slender figure and breasts that were larger than most of her build, she often drew a lot more attention. Add to that her name and her connections, and she was often the most desired companion at these kinds of functions.
And yet not one of them knew to call her Millie instead of Millicent, and not one of them knew she would rather be anywhere else than here - except Emma of course.
Reaching the terrace, she looked behind her to see Emma and Sir Henry walking up the steps together. She had her head ducked and pinkness to her cheeks while he nattered on oblivious to her flustered state. That was one good thing in the man’s favour, he was too oblivious to notice Emma discomfort. If he noticed and said something to her there was no doubt in the young woman’s mind that her friend would start having heart palpitations and would struggle to breath. She had seen her like it once before when she and Percy had terrified her so badly that she had gotten into a ridiculous panic. They had been banned from seeing one another for two weeks after that.
“Clancy?” a squeaky voice enquired from behind her.
Hunching her shoulders and ducking her head, Millie hoped that their attention would pass but a hand wrapped around her arm and she was pulled around to meet a blonde woman whose hair was almost as white as hers but as far as the younger and taller woman knew, it was definitely not natural.
“Clancy, it is you!” Forced laughter reached her ears as the petite woman before her now clapped her hands together in faux excitement. “How is your father dearest? I was hoping to speak to him actually.”
Her eyes strayed over Millie’s head looking for her absentee father. Eventually they returned to his progeny but with disappointment now lingering within their depths.
“Father has been terribly unwell I’m afraid.” Taking on a more cultured air which she reserved for such occasions, Millie offered her a simpering smile which brought bile up in the back of her throat. “I will tell father you were asking after him though.”
She stepped to the side and attempted to navigate around the woman but she just side stepped and blocked her path. The smile was back on Ermintrude’s face but it was almost painful to look at for the young woman. Still, she offered her own shaky smile which was a grimace if anything, and stood politely with her hands clasped before her.
“See that you do.”
When the other still didn’t walk away, Millie was forced to stand there in uncomfortable silence as she tried to think of something – anything – to say to the woman. But Ermintrude wasn’t paying her any attention. She was looking out at the others, smiling and waving to the other guests like she was a famous theatre star herself. And then Millie realised what she was doing.
Taking advantage of the petite lady’s distraction, Millie backed up a few steps. She paused every time the woman looked like she was going to glance back at her and when the overly powdered face remained averted she continued to edge away. It was only where there was enough distance between them that Millie Clancy did the cowardly thing. She turned on her heels and pushed her way through the latest surge of guests to find a more secluded spot. Ermintrude was exactly the type of person she disliked talking to because they never held any real interest in what she had to say, they only wanted to stand by her side so they could share her relative fame about town.
She had just secluded herself into an alcove, far away from the likes of Ermintrude Valance, when a hand landed upon her shoulder. Screaming a little and batting at the hand, Millie turned on her heel to see Emma and Sir Henry arm in arm. In an instant Henry was holding both of his hands up in apology while her friend reached forwards to put a comforting hand upon her arm.
“I’m sorry to startle you Miss Clancy,” Henry proffered as he kept his hands up about his face.
Both women idly wondered whether his hands were itching to stroke his mutton chops but refrained from voicing such thoughts.
“It’s fine Sir Henry. I just had to get away from Miss Valance.” She nodded her head over to the woman who was still standing where she had been abandoned, waving and smiling continuously. She probably hadn’t even realised that she had been left on her own.
Her mutton chop loving acquaintance gave a full, belly shaking laugh. His face quickly turned the shade of a beetroot while the two women were left staring at the man in confusion.
It took him several minutes to compose himself for he would often straighten, glance towards Ermintrude Valance and then fall back into another fit of laughter. At one point the women thought they may have to call a physician to assist the man as he could barely breathe from laughing so much.
“Sorry ladies,” he shook his head and wiped the tears that had dripped from his eyes and fallen on to his cheeks. “It’s just you expression when you looked at her and then the way she was waving and smiling like she had just finished a two hour performance and was greeting her adoring fans. It’s all quite absurd but I thank you, it has been years since I last laughed that hard.”
Both women nodded at him, their cheeks red and their teeth showing as they smiled. They knew at least one thing for certain from this trip, Sir Henry Lamb had a beautiful laugh and the beautiful ability to laugh without thought of how they looked doing it. For Sir Henry looked absolutely ridiculous in his merriment but it warmed the women’s hearts to see a man so unrestrained in his joy.
“Come, I think I have delayed us enough and we have surely missed the first few scenes already.” He held out his elbows to both of us, reverting to the man of propriety as he escorted us away.
He was right on their timing. As the three of them approached the theatre doors they saw that they had been closed on the lower levels and there were no longer people on the terrace except for the odd member of the serving staff picking glasses from the shrubberies.
Thankfully they were able to slip in without notice as Sir Henry’s influence and wealth ensured that he had a box seat rather than mingling with the rest of the town. It also meant that their group were a safe distance from the irritating blonde from before whom they could see was too busy chatting to her friend in the third row to even realise that the production had begun only a few feet away.
Twenty minutes passed in relative ease. At the intermission, the group moved back onto the terrace to get some drinks and Ermintrude, in her persistence, appeared as if out of thin air and situated in the midst of the group. She made no attempt to disguise her interest in the young Lord stood with them which caused much discomfort in the women but Sir Henry himself was as blissfully unaware as ever.
Noting that Emma retreated further within herself the longer that Ms Valance in all of her fake blonde beauty continued to flutter her lashes at the Lord, Millie did the thing that she hated more than anything and wrapped her arms through Ermintrude. The blonde’s speech stopped abruptly as she turned her own brown eyes to meet the young Miss Clancy’s grey eyed gaze. The smile she got in response unsettled her deeply.
“If I could have a word.”
Not waiting for an answer the two blondes departed from the group and kept walking until Sir Henry and Emma were no longer in view.
Hidden from sight, Millie abruptly dropped the other woman’s arm and stepped away.
“Sorry I needed an excuse to leave.” She said apologetically to the other blonde who huffed and sent a look back outside.
Miss Valance made to take her powdered face back outside so, in desperation, the other woman did the only thing she could think of.
“Before you go, I thought you might like to know that you have lip colour on your teeth.” Continuing on like she hadn’t noted the other woman’s horror, she patted her on the arm. “I would have felt just awful if Sir Henry had seen. Us women have to stick together.”
But Ermintrude was no longer listening. She clapped her hand over her mouth and rushed away to find the nearest mirror which just so happened to be in the bathroom much to Millie’s dismay. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten before following. There was no way that the woman would be able to survive another ninety minutes without a bathroom break.
Pushing open the bathroom door, Millie closed her eyes and waited for the tirade that was bound to hit her when the Valance heir realised that her teeth were perfectly fine, but there was nothing. Apart from the repetitive dripping sound, the bathroom was silent.
Stepping inside, she allowed the door shut, her eyes open wide as she moved further into the room. Immediately she winced at the carpet which sloshed under her feet obviously waterlogged. At least she hoped it was water. Walking down the line of stalls, she saw that one was locked the rest free to use. Despite her need to use the bathroom she waited outside for several minutes, her arms folded across her chest, her foot tapping against the carpet.
Getting tired of the games, she knocked her knuckles against the door and waited but there was nothing, not even hurried shuffling of someone trying to tidy themselves up.
“She probably isn’t even in there,” the young woman muttered to herself, crouching down in front of the door.
She inhaled before lowering her face and peering under the door. Millie fell back and screamed, screamed as loud and as long as she could. When she finally had to pause to get her breath her hand pushed itself through her hair causing the white blonde strands to turn red. She didn’t notice though, her eyes were wide, entranced as they stared at the lifeless eyes on Ermintrude Valance from where she laid upon the floor, a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should be.
The horror of the situation hit her and scrambling to her feet, she drew in a breath so large that it hurt her lungs. With one more glance at the sodden carpet which she now realised was soaked in blood, the woman let out a scream so loud it rung within her ears.
She backed up towards the door just as it swung open, the force of it crashing into her. She was knocked to the side, her scream cutting of as she bounced off of the wall. But not before she saw the cubicle door slip open and cloaked figure slipped out.
Her last thought before her traumatised mind dragged her under, was that she had just been inside a room with the infamous Ripper.