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earlier, that if I should hear one just one whistle-blast then it was time to call it a night; however, if I should hear a series of whistle-blasts , then I should come running to Wygate s aid. I told him it was a most excellent idea; and with that, we began our stroll about the park. Wygate said, later on, he had spent his night walking the perimeter of the park with Alice, again, looking into men s faces trying to gauge their character , as Alice did her work . He mainly focused on their eyes, and their mouths. He said most men seemed quite cordial as they talked over a price; then as services progressed most would just close their eyes, enjoying the tranquility of the moment as Alice slipped down and out of site; or they would get wide-eyed with excitement, laughing, as Alice bounced around on their laps after having exposed her bosom to them. 142 THE PRINTER S VAMPYR These blokes, he said, treated Alice most kindly. However, he did say, there were a few blokes whose eyes only got narrower as either service progressed followed by some very creepy laughing and leering smirks. He said these blokes concerned him the most for they looked like trouble to begin with, treating Alice with little regard. But, by the end of the night, he saw none that looked like a crazed killer, looking for a certain fixated gleam he had been made aware of by Mr. Watt and Mr. Trundle. Finally, he said, he also spent some time looking over the carriages, just as Mr. Watt and Mr. Trundle had instructed him, looking for anything unusual like a box in an unusual location where a man could hide a child if he had so desired. He also made note that a few customers still did inquire about him with none particularly interested in having a pristine virgin for such a handsome price. (Thank the dear Lord for that.) While Wygate was doing his job Vyola and I were enjoying each other s company; however, with Mr. Watt out and about, we remained more diligent in our duties than in our affair. But, truth be told, we couldn t help but to share a laugh or two as we strolled about, as well as a few kisses. We just couldn t help it, we were falling in love, and good ol Mr. Watt could see that. Now, as for Mr. Watt, he roamed the park trying to keep an eye on his men, as did Mr. Trundle, going from post to post seeing if they were watching out for Wygate instead of engaging the ladies. Mr. Watt, later on, made it known to us that he has no love for the ladies of Hyde Park , being a devout Presbyterian; however, on the other hand, he is wise enough to know that, one, he will never be able to rid London of them, and two, that they make a great, tho somewhat reliable, resource for selling his papers. (And just to let you know Dear Reader, while checking up on his men, Mr. Watt was also offering gratuities to the ladies of Hyde Park for any information about London s political leaders, which he got plenty of.) And as for Mr. Trundle, he just kept a distant eye on Wygate, looking for any suspicious characters that came his way. After a good three hours we heard a quick, single blast of a whistle. Mr. Watt had decided to call it a night, for nothing extraordinary was happening; plus, it was getting late. As agreed upon earlier, we all headed back to the northeast corner. Upon hearing the whistle Wygate looked at Alice and said, Ah, shift change, being code for time to go, bidding her goodnight as a rather ornate carriage pulled up. Alice asked him if she would see him on the morrow and he replied that she would. They then WILLIAM M. CULLEN 143 gave each other a quick hug. She smiled at him, telling him, Don t you worry Wymina, we ll get him. From the northwest corner everyone, supposedly, headed home. (A couple of mates did go back since they were now officially off duty.) Vyola and I took Wygate back to Vyola s where he told us of his evening s adventure while Vyola brought him back to normal. He did say Alice and the other ladies took to calling him Wymina. Once Wygate was ready to go home, he thanked Vyola for her work, bidding her good evening. I, on the other hand, took her into my arms and gave her a one long loving kiss, which caused poor ol Nyx to start growling, again. Wygate, noticing Nyx s demeanor, felt he needed some affection as well; therefore, he knelt down and began hugging and kissing the animal playfully. Nyx snarled, but accepted Wygate s affection without apprehension; in fact, he stopped snarling and began returning the affection by licking Wygate s face, causing all three of us to laugh; and with that, Wygate and I took our leave, going to our respective abodes. At the time I did not know it, but there was a bloke across the street, hidden amongst some shadows, watching me come home. He worked for a man who, apparently, did not like what he had read in Mr. Watt s paper that day. Once back in my room I went over my scheme for I knew I had only days upon which to make it work; therefore, I could only hope that this man would, soon, need our bait or slip up in some way. So help us God. CHAPTER EIGHT Looking Out For Our Own Thursday, Nov. 8, 1725 Work started with hearty spirits; however, once we opened the shop that morning for business, we received some very somber visitors, a refined young couple named Mr. and Mrs. Albert Collier, who had quite the serious countenance about their presence; and followed by them were a slightly more dour, but older, couple whose names were Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Rumson. They had come to inquire about the second girl who we had proclaimed to the public in our flier on Tuesday. The Colliers said the girl was their daughter April Marie telling us she had gone missing this Saturday past. April was supposed to have gone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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