[Sir John Fielding 02] - Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander

Author:Bruce Alexander [Alexander, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New York : Putnam
Published: 1995-05-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

In which John Clayton has

his say, and Jimmie Bunkins

takes me on a journey

Sir John Fielding allowed himself no day of complete rest of a Sunday. He could not, for the harvest of villains and malefactors was always greatest on a Saturday night. These felonies he would tend to, lest the strong room become to o crowded, yet he heard no civil cases on Sundays, nor low misdemeanors. This made, generally, for a more leisurely day. HE would rise late, for church attendance was not his habit, eat well, hear such cases as were necessary, then be on his way for the rest of the day and evening. Mar Alfred Humber, whom I had met at Lloyd’s Coffee House, had become his frequent companion on these weekly rambles about the town. He was a bachelor and SIr JOhn, of course a recent widower, but both men were of an agge and dignity that their nights out consisted of no more than a bit of pleasant strolling while it was still light, a good dinner at some eating place, and a bit of drinking afterwards. I beliefe that Mr. Humber’s intent was to ease Sir John’s bereavement. Thus in the past few weeks a pattern had been established, a pattern which would be broken on this Sunday whose action I am about to describe.

I was first surprised by his relatively early appearance. Though not yet fully dressed, he was well on his way. As I sat sipping my tea, finishing my bread and dripping, he emerged from his bedroom in breeches and shirt, asked Mrs. Gredge for a dish of tea, and me he asked to shave him. This was a duty I had taken over from Mrs. Gredge, her failing eyesight putting him risk. Though I was a couple of years away from shaving myself, I had watched my father at it many a time and had a fair notion of how it was done. I had become better at it in the past days, and he now seemed quite satisfied with the work I performed for him three or four times a week.

And so, as Mrs. Gredge heated water for the shaving pan, I finished my breakfast and laid out the shaving gear. How I loved to strop that razor!

“Shave me close, Jeremy,” said he to me. “It might be well to do the job twice.”

I did as he wished, taking care, drawing no blood; and after I had finished, he tested his cheeks with his fingertips and nodded his approval.

“I shall be needing you today, Jeremy. Dress well and wash. Be ready in an hour.”

I was. Yet it was still at the midpoint of the morning when we two descended to the ground floor. Sir John there asked after the number of prisoners in the strong room, which was not great, and the circumstances of their arrests. Satisfied, he led me to his chambers and inside.

“Leave the door wide,” said he, “for we shall be having company. Come to think of it, we may need some chairs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.