Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough Read Free Book Online Page B

how we had stood on the steps afterwards and chatted, looking out over the hubbub of Camden.
    ‘You should come here more often, Thomas.’ Mary smiled as Charles refilled our glasses. ‘You know you’re welcome for dinner whenever you wish.’
    ‘That’s most kind,’ I replied and was glad when Charles continued the conversation, asking Juliana about her recent botany studies. The study and drawing of wildlife was quite a hobby of hers. I let their chatter wash over me, making the appropriate noises when they were required, while in my mind, I was once again standing on those steps at Camden, and my eyes caught on a figure on the other side of the road. He had beenstanding perfectly still, and although his head had tilted downwards I had seen the glint of his eyes in the sunshine as they peered out from under the brim of his hat. He had been watching us. That in itself hadn’t registered overly with me as I talked; there were always a small number of ghouls or newsmen who would gather outside an inquest. What I now remembered noticing was how heavy and waxy his dark coat was; I could not conceive why anyone would wear such a garment on a day so humid that most sane men just wanted to rip away their collars and let their skin breathe. He was a tall man, and the black coat reached almost to his ankles. One arm had been tucked within its folds, even when he had suddenly ducked away and moved swiftly down a side street, perhaps having realised he had been observed.
    The memory had been lost to me – it had, after all, been nothing of consequence at the time – but now, now , it had significance. It had been him, I was sure of it. The man outside the Rainham inquest was the same man with the withered arm whom I had seen in the opium dens – but what had he been doing in Camden that day, and why had he been watching us so intently? Surely it could not be a simple coincidence? I wished I could see more of his face in my memory, and I also wished that I could trust my memory entirely. Could this be my imagination playing tricks on me through my exhaustion? The man and his obvious search for someone had become a curiosity to me of late, so perhaps my mind had simply moved him from onesection of memory to another? I tried to concentrate on the dinner.
    ‘I think it’s so important that a man has a purpose, don’t you agree, Dr Bond?’
    I looked at Juliana. She had grown up in the past year, and now had a confidence in her demeanor that changed her from a child to a woman. Her eyes were lively and intelligent and her chestnut curls and skin glowed with health.
    ‘I think it’s imperative,’ I said, smiling.
    ‘That’s why I’m so proud of James. He’s achieving so much, and has such a brilliant mind. I have no doubt that soon his company will be the largest import business in the whole of London.’
    ‘That sounds quite something,’ I said. James Harrington was a little older than Juliana’s twenty-one years, but he was still a young man: a fine-looking one, with a charming smile that tilted slightly downwards when under scrutiny. I thought that he was not one of these over-confident sorts who filled the gentlemen’s clubs these days, always competing with one another in business or gambling. He was a serious type, I decided as I saw a slight blush creep under his collar, a quiet man at heart. He would suit the exuberant Juliana well.
    ‘Oh, Juliana,’ the young man under my scrutiny started, interrupting her, ‘I fear that although I love the faith you have in me, you are making me sound rather too impressive.’ Harrington squeezed her handon the table and then turned his attention to me. ‘I was unfortunate enough to lose my father last year, just before I met Juliana, but the success of the business is very much all his work. I fully intend to do him credit by expanding it, but I have a lot to learn yet. I’m afraid I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have to his work while he and my mother