Page 61 of Taken to the Grave
Stevens released Audrey’s arm and darted her a look. The barest trace of guilt and indecision lingered in his expression. He must have been the one to inform Abbey about Lord Stromburg and Madame Lee’s visit to Bow Street. Had he also given up Harlan Givens as an informant for Officer Tyne? And now, he was leaving her to her fate. She rubbed her arm, where he’d held her in his bruising grip.
“You are nothing but a coward,” she told him.
Stevens averted his eyes, and then hurried from the room.
“You are correct, Your Grace. He is a coward,” Abbey agreed. “But a useful one.”
“What should we do, Mr. Abbey?” the man standing over Thornton asked. When Abbey twitched his head, turning his ear sharply toward him, the man repeated, louder now, “Mr. Abbey, what should we do?”
Audrey stilled her hand. The bruise on her arm went numb as she blinked and gaped.
“You’re deaf,” she said, and when Abbey didn’t respond or react, she raised her voice. “You’re deaf in one ear, aren’t you?”
He heard her this time. He seared her with a glare before it flashed over to humor.
“The left ear,” she added, thinking of which ear had been taken from the three bodies left in the pleasure gardens.
“Clever. Stevens told me you were a shrew, but I didn’t quite believe it. My mistake.”
Audrey heard the telltale sound of his deafness now. His vowels and consonants weren’t fully formed, something that would be a challenge for anyone who was unable to fully replicate speech.
“Why cut off their ears?” she asked.
For a moment, she thought Abbey might gesture for his brute to grab her and take her away. He could easily turn on his heel and leave the room, ignoring her question. Instead, he strolled across the hall toward her. Instinct demanded that she back away from him, but she held firm to her spot on the floor.
“So many people think that because I am deaf here”—he touched his left ear—“I am also deaf here.” He touched his right ear. “When someone betrays me, I like to demonstrate how, even with just one working ear, I know everything that is said about me or my Sanctuary. When I cut off their ear, I tell them they are about to die. By the look in their eyes, they hear me perfectly well.” He grinned. “Even with just one working ear.”
At that deranged grin of his, her tongue went heavy and useless. She’d met criminals. Killers. This man, however, seemed to take such pleasure in what he’d done. He frightened her as no one ever had before.
But he seemed to enjoy talking, and for the moment at least, she was still breathing.
“What have you done with Gwendolyn Bertram?”
“You should concern yourself with what I’m going to do with you.”
Fear chilled her veins. Cassie had been tasked with sending Bow Street patrols to this place, but what if they weren’t fast enough? What if Sir Gabriel dismissed Cassie? What if Sir was still completely clueless as to what was happening, and Mr. Gye had gone back to his office to continue packing? Or what if Stevens was able to head any constable off as he’d been ordered to do?
She needed time to find some way out of this. Keeping her wits, and keeping Mr. Abbey talking, was one avenue—even if she didn’t know where it would lead.
“All this because you wanted the lease to Vauxhall?” she asked.
Mr. Abbey laughed. “And you have derived that as well. Impressive. No, it was merely a good opportunity that arose out of the need to keep order. Members know the rules. Including the punishment for crossing them.”
“Gwendolyn isn’t a member,” she said.
His chilling grin resurfaced. “After tonight, she will be. And she will not be able to speak of it without suffering the consequences.”
Audrey let out a breath of relief. She was still alive, then.
Thornton, his head drooping forward, arms bound behind the chair backing, gurgled a laugh through his bloody nose and mouth. “You won’t make it until tonight.”
Mr. Abbey rolled his eyes and swished his finger through the air. “Martin?”
The man standing over Thornton drew back his fist and brought it down across his jaw again. Audrey winced as Thornton grunted.
Where was Hugh? Abbey had made no mention of him yet. Neither had Thornton. Audrey met the physician’s eyes as he spit blood, and he gave the barest shake of his head. A signal to stay quiet about Hugh, she deduced.
“Bethany Silas,” she said, wanting to keep Abbey talking. “What happened to her?”
