“
I’d rather touch a viper,” she muttered but Bateman did not catch it.
“
Pardon?” he said but Avery pressed her hand again and she said nothing else.
Bateman smirked at Avery and then turned to leave. He was greeted at his table with raucous cheers and Elizabeth noticed that she recognized a handful of faces. She glanced over at Avery and one look from him told her that he too had noticed.
“
I think it unwise to rush off. I don’t think that he will be back any time soon. We have paid for this meal so let’s eat and try and enjoy the rest of the evening.”
It was easier said than done and though nobody looked directly in Bateman’s direction, the sensation of his gaze however real or imagined made for an uncomfortable night. The entertainment was a little distracting and at least made up for the lack of conversation at their table. As soon as the meal was cleared, Avery was about to suggest calling it an early night when three men arrived at the table. Elizabeth did not recognize them but Avery clearly did.
“
Silver,” the taller of the three stated. He was smiling broadly, his cheeks were crimson and his eyes danced around the table. A rounder man, also well on his way to merry, was effusive and clapped Silver around the shoulders with a warm hello. By far the shorter of the three was less inebriated and considerably cooler with his greeting.
“
I thought it was you. Bateman said it wasn’t but of course I had to see for myself. We have wondered where you had got to over the summer but I can see now just how busy you have been.” His eyes danced over Kate and then Elizabeth.
Avery was cautious but he was less guarded than with Bateman. He stood and shook the round man’s hand.
“
Lloyd, it’s good to see you. Well, Miss Greenwood you know. And these are my good friends George Heston and Miss Ward. This is Lloyd Frensham, Jack Kent,” he indicated the taller man, “and James Cox.”
“A pleasure,”
uttered James not taking his eyes from Avery but nodding towards Heston. He ignored Kate and Elizabeth.
The taller man, Lloyd, threw a bow in Kate’s direction and shook Heston by the hand. Heston looked uncomfortable but Elizabeth was suddenly pleased of Heston’s presence. What little she knew of him she approved of. He seemed a stolid character and she felt sure that Silver had chosen his companion well.
After a few minutes, the three men had drawn up seats alongside Avery and Heston and had begun talking loudly. Silver flashed Elizabeth a look and mouthed the words “Ten minutes”. Without the full attention of Silver or Heston, she felt vulnerable and her neck prickled as though Bateman were watching her from afar. She had glanced around a few times but had not seen him and she hoped he had left already. She noticed Avery, Heston and Lloyd stand as Kate pushed her chair from the table. By the time he had realized, Jack was too late to attempt to stand and by the look of the short James, he had no intention of showing any respect for either Kate or any of her dinner guests.
“
I’m going to the lav,” Kate whispered to Elizabeth. “Are you coming?” she asked.
“The lav? To powder your nose no doubt?”
“Eh?”
“Don’t worry,”
Elizabeth added, rolling her eyes. “I think I shall wait here.”
The comment didn’t go completely unnoticed and Kate blushed a little as she left the table. For a few moments, Elizabeth sat alone on the periphery of the evening, watching Avery’s smile fall upon the three men in turn as he calmly answered questions about his summer. Heston also seemed to be following the conversation and Elizabeth eventually allowed her eyes to wander around the room. She lit first upon the table at which Bateman had been sitting and, seeing it empty, she breathed more deeply and she felt herself relax. With the freedom to gaze around she turned to consider her fellow diners. As she did so, she saw Kate at the far end of the room squeezing behind chairs and between tables. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and smiled. ‘
Typical
’, she thought, Kate was trying to leave unnoticed like a housemaid. Elizabeth would have made herself as large as possible so people would see her coming and have time to step out of her way. As she chuckled, she noticed a face close to the door that she recognized. Bateman. She was not the only one watching Kate’s slow progress from the table and, as she slipped from the room, Elizabeth noticed, with a feeling of unease, Bateman following Kate out. She looked across at Silver who was deep in conversation and she opened her mouth to interrupt but she could think of nothing to say.
“
Is there something wrong?” It was Heston, he was so attuned to waiting upon others that it was only natural he noticed Elizabeth’s pause for attention.
“
Miss Greenwood?” he asked softly.
She considered him for a moment and something about his quiet strength made her feel ridiculous and some of his calm flowed to her. Bateman could not hurt her here. In a few days time, she would be free of London and free of him.
“It’s nothing,” she replied. “Will you excuse me. I think I will join Miss Ward after all.” And with that she rose, excusing herself from the table.’
True to her earlier observations, she swept down the centre of the room so that chairs were drawn back in advance of her passing. She had crossed the room in a matter of a minute. As she exited the main hall, a wide staircase swept back down to the street, or upwards towards the ladies room. Elizabeth was just about to ascend the stairs when an impulse made her take the stairs down. When she levelled out on the ground floor, she followed the stairs down another flight to a darkened corridor. As she stepped from the bottom step, she could make out the muffled sound of a woman’s voice and a scuffling from around the corner. Elizabeth’s heart began to pound and she felt her mouth dry up as she felt her instinct drag her onwards. She stepped lightly to peer around the corridor and, as her eyes adjusted to the gloom, the outline of a man struggling with a woman came into focus. The man held the woman by the wrists and had her pushed against the wall. As the man bent his head again to the woman, Elizabeth was not surprised to see Batemans’s face against Kate’s. In the split second it took for Elizabeth to be filled with rage, she found she could feel the hot breath of Bateman upon her own face as he had pushed himself upon her over the summer. She would not remember lunging at him but Kate would tell her that evening how she seemed to come from the walls themselves. Elizabeth flew at Bateman’s head, grabbing his hair, his cheeks and his eye sockets. She hissed words at him furiously that she had never heard orated before. Words that seemed to come from another tongue and Bateman was knocked to one side, reeling. He drew up his arms to protect himself, hardly knowing what had hit him.
“Ke
ep off! Keep off you devil!”
In the flailing gloom, he caught sight of Elizabeth and began to laugh. She felt her anger rise and her attack became more fierce.
“
Get off her! Get off her! Get off her, you swine. You reprobate!”
He had grabbed hold of her own wrists and though she struggled he was far superior in strength. Kate had been knocked to the floor in the scuffle and she now began raining blows upon Bateman. In one swift motion, he knocked Kate away with a blow to the side of her head. She fell to the floor once more and there she stayed. He had Elizabeth pinned for a moment against the wall in much the same position in which he had just held Kate. Elizabeth shook with fear and anger that she could be overpowered like that. She managed to bend her head to where he held her wrists and bit his hand hard.
“You little bitch,” he shouted though his face showed that same dark excitement that she had seen in the lane that night and she began to scream. There came a rush of cold air then a loud thud accompanied by Bateman yelping.
The next moment, she was free and Bateman was sprawled on the floor clutching his nose. Heston was stood over him, his fists balled and his shoulders rounded forwards as he shadowed Bateman. Kate was warning him.
“
Careful Mr. Heston, be careful.”
Bateman shook his head and then lunged for Hesston’s mid riff, the two of them staggering backwards into the opposite wall. Fists flew and, as they connected, there followed the sickening sound of bone on bone.
Elizabeth’s own rage was far from dispersed and she tried to pull Bateman from Heston. As she did so, Bateman whirled round and pushed her to the ground. She clattered into a packing case and Kate shouted out.
“Be careful. She’s pregnant!”
Both Heston and Bateman stopped. Heston was torn with an urge to assist with Elizabeth and to pummel the remaining daylights out of Bateman. He opted instead to stand still and wait.
“
You’re pregnant?” said Bateman.
Kate groaned and whispered to Elizabeth over and over. “I’m so sorry Miss. I’m so sorry. Oh Lord. I’m sorry.”
Bateman began to laugh.
“
Oh this evening just keeps on getting better! And you the dutiful bride to be Elizabeth! I am appalled! What kind of woman must your fiancé think you to be?”
Elizabeth was numb with rage and her jaw was clenched on her retort. Bateman stepped forward and leaned to whisper close to her ear.
“
Don’t say I never gave you anything.”
It took all her self control from slapping him but she managed to maintain her dignity as she spat back.
“
It is a gift from Silver actually.”
Heston and Kate both looked at each other, their eyes accustomed to the dim light. Bateman continued to stare hard at Elizabeth, his eyes narrowed. She felt a pulse in her temple throb as she waited to see what effect this news had on him. Though she herself had never heard him doubt Silver’s identity there had been plenty of reason to suspect that he knew more than he let on. She held her breath. Eventually, he spoke. His tone was thick with disdain and he curled his upper lip as though Elizabeth had something rotting about her.
“
Miss Greenwood, I am surprised you can narrow it down to just the one man.”
The insult washed over her. She simply felt a sense of great relief. Relieved that, with such an admission, Bateman both accepted Avery’s identity but also rejected any connection with the child.
“You can keep your bastard child and Silver can keep his whore here but Heston here will be arrested. I shall see you jailed for assault, hear?” He jabbed a finger in the air as he touched the back of his hand to his bloodied nose. Heston held his head high but looked nervous.
“
You will do no such thing,” Elizabeth stated calmly.
“
I beg your pardon?” retorted Bateman. Heston and Kate also looked startled. Her tone as authoritative and her voice was steady. With Avery out of danger, she felt suddenly back in control.
“
I don’t like to repeat myself, Mr. Bateman but in your case I see I shall need to make a concerted effort both to speak up and slow down. I said, you will do. No. Such. Thing,” she enunciated loudly.
Bateman bristled and he drew himself up, stepping forwards to within a few inches of Elizabeth’s face.
“
And why is that?” he asked menacingly.
She did not blink as she replied amiably.
“
Because you have made an enemy of me already, Mr. Bateman, you do not now wish to antagonize me. Do you?”
Bateman snorted loudly and began to turn away.
“
I think I shall take my chances, Miss Greenwood.” He shook his head. “Antagonise you? Ha!”
“
I should explain, Mr. Bateman. I am merely a woman of no great importance and of course, whilst I am prone to spend evenings in the company of men with whom I should not be seen, yourself included, I am also prone to spend afternoons in places where I should also not be. Reading things I should not be reading.”
Bateman halted in his steps and turned to consider Elizabeth, his face clouded with confusion.
“
You probably do not know this about me Mr. Bateman but I have a penchant for reading just the most awful of fiction. I don’t speak of those penny dreadfuls you can find in any old bookshop but the fascinating real life stories like the real life tragedies of the circus freak shows you can see on the common. I like stories about men who are tried for their crimes and, when found guilty, are punished. Then there are those crimes so heinous, against the laws of decency of God and of nature that I could not even conceive of a punishment. I have always found the light in my father’s study all the better for reading. But then you should know that. Both yourself and your father have spent a good deal of time in there yourself.”