Lethal Remedies by M. Louisa Locke

Author:M. Louisa Locke [Locke, M. Louisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: M. Louisa Locke

Chapter 30

Saturday, near midnight, March 5, 1882

Truscott’s house, Western Addition

* * *

Ella stood briefly on the dispensary porch and examined her surroundings. The night was cloudless and the moon nearly full, illuminating the street in front of the Pacific Dispensary, glinting off the bits of silver on the harnesses of the two carriage horses. The driver, sitting on his tall perch, touched his top hat with the stock of his whip in greeting. His name was Robertson, and this afternoon Miss Sutton told her that he knew all about the purpose of this strange midnight ride across town.

She wasn’t surprised that Miss Sutton had agreed to lend her carriage; what had surprised her was that Martin Mitchell had offered to come with her. Maybe he was angling to get in Miss Sutton’s good graces. She’d heard rumors last fall, among some of the other medical students, that he’d been making up to some wealthy Irish girl attending the university over in Berkeley but that nothing had come of it. Obviously, Miss Sutton was a woman of means. Perhaps that was why he’d agreed to come along, to impress her.

When he and Miss Sutton stopped by this afternoon to tell her about their additional discovery of aconite in the other bottle, Ella tried to persuade them to take this information directly to the Truscotts and demand to see Phoebe. If that failed, they should contact the police. But Miss Sutton finally convinced her that this wasn’t the best idea, telling her about Mr. Dawson’s concerns that a direct confrontation might actually make things worse. She’d felt reassured when Miss Sutton told her that Mr. Dawson promised to go to the police as soon as they had gotten Mrs. Truscott safely out of the house.

Mitchell had stood silently by during this discussion, stroking his ginger mustache and looking impatient. He had only got engaged when she agreed to proceed with the plan to go to the Truscotts tonight, which was when he announced that he would be joining her. Like most men she’d encountered in her life, he acted as if her opinions meant nothing and that she should be grateful that he had decided to take charge.

Once she learned that Mr. Dawson had decided to accompany her, she had been tempted to tell Mitchell not to bother coming. But she knew she shouldn’t let her personal dislike of the man get in the way of making sure this mission was successful. Also, having two men with her certainly did relieve a few of her fears.

With some irritation, she saw that Mitchell was standing next to the carriage, grinning as if this whole thing were a grand lark. She simply nodded to him as she tossed her medical bag onto the floor of the carriage and grabbed her skirt so she could mount the steps unencumbered. She gasped in surprise when she felt his hand on her elbow. He practically thrust her into the carriage, where she tripped over the bag and had to flail awkwardly to keep from falling on the floor.

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