“And then went back to take her to the river?”
“Elwin handled that part. He took one of my cloaks and returned to the alley for Miss Risby. She was still unconscious but not yet dead. He wrapped her in the cloak.”
“How did he get her out of the alley and to the river?”
“You will have noticed that Hastings is a large man. Miss Risby was a small woman. Elwin simply put her over his shoulder and hauled her out of the alley as though she were a sack of coal. When he reached a side street he summoned another cab.”
“How did he explain his burden to the driver?”
Victoria smiled. “That was simple enough. He explained that the woman with him was a whore who had entertained him and then passed out from too much gin. Out of the goodness of his heart he wanted to see the woman safely back to her lodgings near the river. The driver asked no questions.”
Louisa shuddered. “But Hastings made a mistake. He could not resist the temptation of the necklace Fiona wore that night. He removed it before he threw her into the river.”
Victoria laughed. “You must not blame Elwin for taking the necklace. I removed it from Miss Risby when we left her in the alley. One could hardly allow such a valuable piece of jewelry to go into the river. I had planned to have the stones reset in the modern style, of course.”
“I understand why you and Hastings murdered Fiona Risby, but why did you arrange to disappear and come back as the proprietor of a brothel? Bit of a comedown, wasn’t it?”
In less time than it takes for a viper to strike, Victoria’s beautiful features were transformed into a mask of rage.
“Are you mad?” she rasped. “Do you think I wanted this? I loved him. Do you hear me? Elwin was the one man on earth I trusted. I thought we were two of a kind, meant for each other. I taught him everything he knows about manipulating money and the greed that consumes most people. Everything.”
Louisa realized she was holding her breath. Victoria was on the brink of some inner precipice.
“What happened?” she asked gently.
“That was when the bastard concluded that he no longer needed me. I think that killing Fiona Risby gave him a sense of power. Having murdered once, he found it easy to do it again. He came for me a few days later when I was asleep. He used chloroform. I woke up too late to do more than put up a weak struggle. He held me down while he finished the job.”
“But you lived.”
“It was luck and fate that saved me that night. I was partially awake when I went into the water. I knew how to swim, and I was wearing a nightgown, not a dress and corset. I was pulled from the river by some deranged man who had a hovel near the water’s edge.”
“What did you do?”
Victoria’s mouth thinned, and her eyes tightened. “I survived. It is something I am very good at, Mrs. Bryce.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
“The man thought I was some sort of fey being that had been sent to him. He took excellent care of me. When I recovered, I made my plans.”
“Why didn’t you simply come forward and tell the authorities what had happened?”
Victoria gave a scornful laugh. “Surely you are not that naïve, Mrs. Bryce. I had no proof that Elwin had tried to kill me. You know as well as I do that the authorities are very quick to leap to the conclusion that any woman, wife or not, who lodges charges against a gentleman of Hastings’s background is suffering from hysteria.”
Memories of Lord Gavin’s relentless assault on her nerves before the final attack sent another shiver through Louisa. She had known then that if she had gone to the authorities they would have considered her to be suffering from female hysteria.
“Yes,” she said. “I know.”
“At best I would have found myself locked away in an asylum. The other, far more likely possibility, of course, is that Elwin would have had another go at killing me.”
“So you remained in hiding.”
“And I formulated my vengeance.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t simply murder Hastings.”
“I thought about it many times, but that would have been far too easy. I wanted him to suffer. I yearned for him to roast over a long fire. I needed him to see his destruction bearing down upon him slowly, inevitably.”
“You murdered the former owner of Phoenix House, didn’t you?”
Victoria’s twisted features relaxed back into their customary beautiful alignment. “It was not difficult to get rid of her and assume control of this place.”
“Where does a lady who moved in some of the best circles of the Polite World learn to operate a brothel?”
Victoria was coldly amused. “Why, Mrs. Bryce, can’t you guess? I know the business because I was raised in it.”
Louisa stared at her. “You were a prostitute?”
“My stepfather sold me to a brothel when I was twelve years old. I learned the business very well, indeed. By the time I was eighteen, I was running the place. I met Elwin Hastings when I was twenty-two. He was a client. We were married eight months later when I convinced him that I could make him rich. I kept my promise, but the bastard didn’t keep his.”
“You’ve been following me, spying on me for the past few days,” Louisa said.
“I heard rumors that someone was making inquiries about Phoenix House among the women who go to Mrs. Woods’s establishment in Swanton Lane. I thought it best to find out what was going on. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you were a correspondent for the Flying Intelligencer.”
Louisa did not know what to say. “You are an amazing woman, Victoria.” She raised her eyes to the vaulted ceiling. “Where am I now? Inside your new brothel?”
“Yes. Welcome to Phoenix House. Let me assure you that the profits have increased quite dramatically since I took charge.”
“I can’t believe that you willingly returned to this world.”
Victoria made a derisive little sound. “And I would have credited you with a more worldly view of the matter, Mrs. Bryce. The reality of the situation was that I required money in order to exact my revenge. In case it has escaped your notice, it is virtually impossible for a woman who lacks family connections or a wealthy husband to make her fortune in our so-called modern age.”
“Was it difficult to lure Hastings to this place?”
“Not at all.” Victoria smiled again. “I know his tastes better than anyone, after all. I told you, once you comprehend those things that a man desires above all else, you have him in your power.”
“You’re going to kill him, I assume?”
“Yes. Tonight, in fact. I hadn’t planned to do it so soon. I wanted Elwin to suffer financially first. I have been working on my plans for months. The investment scheme he is so proud of is doomed, I’m afraid. He would have lost everything. Then he would have committed suicide, of course. After which I would have reappeared as the grieving widow. With the profits I have made from Phoenix House I would have been able to resume my rightful place in Society.”
“You concocted the scheme?”
“Of course. I used Grantley to handle the details and to lead Elwin to it.”
“When you no longer needed Grantley, you killed him.”
Victoria shrugged. “I thought it best.”
“What of Thurlow? Why did you murder him?”
“He discovered my identity here at Phoenix House. It turned out that one of the girls was servicing him on the side. He became suspicious from something she said and managed to get inside by coming here as a client. He snuck upstairs and spied on me. He caught a glimpse of me without my veil and recognized me instantly.”
“What did he do?”
“The fool tried to blackmail me. He threatened to let Elwin know that I was alive.”
“So you went to his lodgings, waited for him to come home one night, and shot him.”