A Case of Curses by Jess Faraday

Author:Jess Faraday [Faraday, Jess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBT Mystery, Gaslight Mystery, Historical Mystery
Publisher: One Block Empire (an imprint of Blind Eye Books)
Published: 2019-10-06T22:00:00+00:00

•••

When Miss Henrietta Wallace took her seat on the other side of the table, I could see why she had captured Dr. Al-Mahdi’s attention. She was striking—as thin as bone china, and as pale as a watercolor painting. Her eyes were a startling deep blue. But what was truly arresting was the contrast between her appearance and her choice in clothing. She looked to be around twenty-three years of age, yet she wore a frumpy, shapeless dress more suited to a maiden aunt. Its drab color added years and weight, and did not match, in either design or tone, the frivolous, brightly colored silk scarf around her neck.

“I understand you were Dr. Selkirk’s typist,” I said, as she settled into her chair.

“That’s correct.”

“How long have you held the position?”

“A little over a year.”

“And before that, you studied at Girton College. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Girton was the ladies college at Cambridge. According to Findlay’s notes, Miss Wallace had received a degree in Classics with distinction. To hear Findlay tell it, everything she’d done since then had been accomplished with distinction. Miss Wallace’s accent wasn’t quite the glass-cutting variety of the upper classes, but it was close. She could have married well and had a much easier life, but she’d chosen differently—and had possessed the resources to do so.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, Miss, it seems strange that someone with a first class degree from Cambridge who is fluent in six languages should take a position that requires little more than finger dexterity and the ability to use a typing machine.”

Her blue eyes flashed, and her lips tightened.

“Constable, women may be making our way into the universities, but when it comes to employment, most doors are still barred from the inside. Yes, I support myself by copying other people’s writing. But it’s a far sight better than spending my days wiping the noses of overprivileged brats, or spooning porridge down the gullets of bedridden old women.”

“I see.” I hadn’t thought about it that way. And if those were the choices, I could see why she’d be annoyed. “Still, Edinburgh is such a long way from London. Surely you might have found a position closer to home.”

“I wanted to work in a museum.” For just a moment, her face lit up, revealing a glimmer of the excited girl beneath. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I’d have preferred something a bit more challenging, but I was grateful to take anything. And to be fair, it doesn’t pay badly.”

“It pays well enough, it appears,” I said, gesturing toward an exquisite-looking pen peeking out of the pocket of her dress, “for you to afford a beautiful writing instrument.”

Her hand went to her pocket. “This? It was a gift.”

“May I?”

She handed it to me. Up close, it was even more impressive, with an etched silver body and one of the new pointed nibs. I handed it back.

“What was Dr. Selkirk like to work for?” I asked.

The light left her eyes like a candle snuffed.

“It was difficult, at first.

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