The House of the Hanged Woman (Albert Lincoln) by Ellis Kate

Author:Ellis, Kate [Ellis, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2020-11-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 44

It was three o’clock and Rose Pretting was still weighing heavily on Albert’s mind. Since their earlier meeting he’d been picturing what would happen to her. She would inevitably face a trial – a diminutive figure standing in the dock with the full force of the law ranged against her; men in dusty black peering at her like predatory beasts. Then, if she was found guilty, she would be incarcerated in a prison cell before facing the ultimate penalty. He pictured her being led into the execution chamber, the rough hood thrust over her head and the noose placed around her slender neck while the chaplain intoned his prayers. He felt her terror as she waited for the last drop. He’d loved a woman who’d met the same fate and the memory made him shudder.

As he walked towards Wenfield’s main street he wondered whether Constable Smith had fetched Rose’s library books as he’d asked. He wasn’t far from her house, so on impulse he decided to check. As a police officer it wasn’t his place to provide comfort to a woman accused of conspiring to commit a brutal murder but his past experiences in that very village had softened his heart. Although he wondered if what he planned to do was an act of simple kindness – or a sign of weakness.

As soon as he reached Rose’s front door he realised that Smith was still in possession of the key so he was relieved to find the maid, Betty, at home. She opened the door and greeted him with a broad smile. She looked happy, almost triumphant.

‘Has the constable been to pick up Mrs Pretting’s books?’

She shook her head. ‘Don’t know what she needs books for. She’s for the hangman.’

‘You think she killed Mr Pretting?’

Suddenly Betty didn’t look so sure of herself. ‘She couldn’t stand him. You could tell.’

‘That doesn’t mean she killed him.’

She folded her arms, ready for gossip. ‘She had a fancy man, so I reckon they did it together. Stands to reason, doesn’t it.’ She looked round as though she feared she’d be overheard. ‘I think they met at that library. Always there, she was. Dolled up to the nines.’ She spoke of the library as though it was a house of ill repute.

Albert decided on flattery. In his experience, it normally worked a treat. ‘A bright girl like you must know what goes on in this village.’

She blushed. ‘I suppose … I grew up in Disley and I only started working here a year ago, so I missed all the excitement with those terrible dove murders.’

Albert had been doing his best to concentrate on the present, but Betty’s words plunged him back into that terrible time; a time of secrets, betrayal and pain. He took a deep breath.

‘Did you ever see Mrs Pretting with a man other than her husband?’

A look of disappointment passed across Betty’s face. ‘Can’t say I did. She must have been careful. But everyone in the village talked about how she always dressed in the latest fashions.

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