Laszlo's head was pounding. He didn't want to open his eyes even though he knew that he was awake. He knew because he could feel his stomach churning and there was a pulsing feeling in his head. He groaned and moved his hand to his forehead, fingers running along it and feeling his hair had fallen there. He finally gathered the courage to peel his eyes open, but the room was thankfully dark. He had expected the light to be streaming in, but the curtains were still closed firmly. He managed to push himself to sit up, swinging his legs off of the couch as he grunted at the movement, his limbs feeling heavy.
He was in the sitting room of the suite, but he was completely on his own. A blanket fell down to his waist and his brow furrowed. He didn't remember putting that over himself when he got in. His brows knitted together on his forehead and he pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't even remember coming into the hotel. How did he get there? He sat up and pushed the blanket over to the side and noted that his shoes had been pulled from his feet, tossed to the corner.
He looked to the clock on the mantlepiece and saw that it was only six in the morning. Moving to his feet, he stammered forwards, his bowtie loose around his neck and his top button undone. He shrugged out of his jacket and left it on the piano bench before moving down the small corridor towards the room he was sharing with Elizabeth. He pushed the door open and his wife was sat up in bed, dressed in her nightgown with a book resting in her lap on top of her bent knees. She started to flip over to the next page, but paused, keeping her finger on the top of the paper.
"What-"
She interrupted him with a finger to her lips and motioned to the crib next to her. She slipped from the bed and looked over and down to Lucy. She bent over the crib, tucking her hair behind her ear before she moved over to Laszlo and took hold of him by the arm, leading him out of the room. She quietly closed the door and whispered to Laszlo.
"I've just gotten her back to sleep," she informed her husband, not wanting him to wake Lucy up. "She was restless for most of the night."
"I never heard her," Laszlo muttered and scratched the back of his neck as Elizabeth stifled a laugh, her lips turning upwards and her brow arching in his direction.
"I'm surprised," she said, a tone of sarcasm in her voice. "Come on, let's leave her to sleep."
Elizabeth moved to the third bedroom and left the door open for Laszlo to follow her. He closed the door behind him and rested against the wood as Elizabeth folded her arms over her chest and stood by the four post bed, her hip jutting out as she leant against the wood.
"So," Elizabeth began, "how's your head?"
"It feels as though a brass band has occupied it," Laszlo grunted, his hand running over his forehead again. "And my stomach is churning."
"That, Laszlo, is what happens when you drink too much."
"I had thought that I knew my limits. I know my limits for everything. I am not a man who overindulges," Laszlo complained and he pulled his waistcoat off, dropping it to the bench at the vanity that was empty. He peered down and looked at his reflection in the mirror on top of the dressing table and ran his hand along his chin, feeling the scratch of his beard. "But I don't know what happened last night. How did I get back here?"
"You don't remember?" Elizabeth asked from him and she went to sit down on the ottoman at the end of the bed. She pulled her legs up and folded them underneath her body.
"I remember being at the saloon with Cyrus and the rest of the party…and I think I made a speech."
"You did, but apparently you forgot your speech and left it back in the first place you visited before the saloon."
Laszlo turned around to see her smug expression on him. He managed to straighten himself out, moving his hands into his trouser pockets as he looked at her, creases forming on his forehead.
"How do you know that?" Laszlo queried from her.
"John and Sara brought you back up to the room last night," Elizabeth said. "They told me exactly what had happened and you were inebriated then. Apparently you had too many glasses of champagne and schnapps."
"I think the last time I was like that was perhaps when I was at college and John took me with him to whatever party he wanted to attend," Laszlo complained and he sat down next to Elizabeth, flopping back onto the bed behind him, legs dangling over the ottoman. "At least I can continue to blame Moore for being the bad influence."
"Oh, don't blame John for your mistake," Elizabeth teased him, hand moving to his chest and patting it as she angled her body towards him. "Besides, you were quite an entertaining drunk…almost preferable to when you're sober."
"You tease me," Laszlo said, hands resting on his stomach as he looked to the canopy over the four-post bed, trying to focus on a spot and stop the room from spinning.
"Not in the slightest," Elizabeth responded, but she was slightly toying with him. But she enjoyed doing that. She quite enjoyed toying with Laszlo and, at that moment in time, he clearly didn't know if she was telling him the truth or not. "You came in here and practically professed your undying love for me…telling me how much you love me and wanted to be more romantic…"
Laszlo closed his eyes tightly, almost as though he was trying to remember what had happened. He was about to tell her that didn't sound like him, but he could remember something like that. He remembered John and Sara being stood to the side, but he had eyes only for Elizabeth and had been so engrossed in her, caressing her cheek. He groaned loudly and she laughed softly, trying to keep her voice down as she rested on her side against the end of the bed, watching Laszlo as he remained on his back.
"Remembering?" she asked from him.
"Vaguely," he said to her. "I spent most of the night talking about you…telling John how marriage is wonderful…"
"And promised me love letters," Elizabeth added on.
"I did," Laszlo recalled. "Perhaps I might have over-exaggerated my ability last night."
"Luckily I'm not going to hold you to anything that you've said," Elizabeth said and she adjusted the nightgown on her shoulders, pulling her hair over one shoulder and running her hands through the ends of it. "But don't worry, it was nice to see you drunk and out of control…plus it was quite funny."
"Glad I can entertain you," Laszlo said to her.
"You're fine," she assured him. "Do you want some coffee or tea? It might help?"
"I don't know if I can stomach anything," Laszlo said with a shake of his head as she moved to her feet anyway. "Maybe I need to stay here…just laid down."
"Oh, I don't think you'll be moving for a few hours," Elizabeth said and she let her nightgown fall down her body to the floor. "Come on, just get into bed and try to get some more sleep. It's still really early."
"You were awake when I came to the bedroom."
"I managed a few hours of sleep," Elizabeth said to him and she moved out to take hold of his hand, helping him to sit up again. She left him perched on the ottoman and moved to the bed, pulling the quilt back and adjusting the pillows. "I would say that you should get changed, but you've already creased everything you're wearing."
"I know," Laszlo said and Elizabeth went back to him. She held her hand out and he took hold of it, despite the fact that he knew he could make it to the bed by himself. He climbed into the covers, feeling the mattress dip under his weight. "Never thought that you'd be putting me to bed like a child," he commented as Elizabeth pulled the duvet around him and he kept her hand inside of his, his thumb running over the back of her knuckles.
"Never thought I'd really see my husband so drunk, but here we are," she teased him and he chuckled darkly and then stopped himself, turning serious for a moment or two.
"I am sorry," he said to her.
"Whatever for?" her smile remained on her face as she perched on the edge of the bed and folded one leg over the other.
"You were sat here…with our children…worried about them…but I was drinking and enjoying myself, well, I think I enjoyed myself," Laszlo told her. "And then there is the fact that your husband used to drink himself into oblivion-"
"-Don't go there," she interrupted, squeezing his hand firmly inside of her fingers. "You're not Jacob, Laszlo, and I wasn't scared when I saw you drunk…because I know that you're not him. And if you enjoyed yourself then you enjoyed yourself. You had to go out and keep up appearances and, by the sounds of it, you did just that."
"Apparently so," Laszlo agreed with her on that point.
"It's fine," she said and bent down, kissing him on the forehead and brushing his hair back on top of his head.
"I need to be up by nine," Laszlo said to her. "I am going to see a woman who photographs dead children to see what she knows. Sara is sending Bitsy undercover to the Lying-In Hospital. Apparently a girl…Colleen…was the last one to see Martha Napp."
"Then I will wake you for nine," Elizabeth promised him and he closed his eyes, his lips parting at hearing her speak and she watched him for a few moments, wondering what it was that he was thinking. Her lips remained arched at the sight of him before he spoke, his voice a low grunt.
"There was a dancer," he mumbled. "I remember everyone enjoying her talents…but I didn't…I didn't want her near me."
Elizabeth gulped to stifle her chuckle. "It's quite a relief to hear that you only have eyes for me."
"It's always been you," Laszlo mumbled and Elizabeth felt her chest swell at hearing him speak in such a manner. She lowered her lips to meet his for a moment and pulled back, squeezing his hand before leaving it by his side.
"Get some sleep," she encouraged from him.
She moved to the door and closed it quietly, shaking her head and smiling at the entire situation, hating to admit that she was quite amused by Laszlo's antics.
…
Laszlo had been to see the woman who took the photographs of dead children, finding himself haunted as he stood inside of her office and looked at the photographs that were strewn everywhere. His eyes had widened and he had done everything in his power not to let his churning stomach betray him. His thoughts immediately went to the parents and he couldn't begin to understand what they would feel at the loss they had suffered. He couldn't begin to imagine a world without Lucy and Charlotte now.
Returning to 808 after his meeting, he had climbed the stairs and been grateful that he had had some fresh air before the meeting had begun. The Isaacson twins were already there and John and Sara were also in the office. He moved into the room, shrugging out of his suit jacket due to the warmth as eyes turned to him once the footsteps had quietened down and he stood still.
"Laszlo," John said, his voice slightly too loud for Laszlo's liking, but he didn't say anything, just winced at the sudden pain in his head. "I'm amazed to see you out and about this morning."
"On the contrary, I feel just fine," Laszlo said, leaving his jacket hung up and placing his cane against the wall.
"Really?" John questioned and their gazes met, but Laszlo knew that John didn't believe a word he was saying. Why would he? "Well, in that case how is Elizabeth? Your sweet…loving…and beautiful wife, I do believe, is what you called her?"
Marcus almost spat his coffee out as John's lips remained coyly turned upwards, clearly enjoying his taunting a little too much. Sara tried not to laugh at the previous incident, but she had to confess that she found it to be quite entertaining. Hitting John around the arm softly, he looked down to her.
"Stop teasing," she warned him.
"On the contrary, I believe that John quite enjoys teasing me because he feels that he can embarrass me by discussing my drunken behaviour and how I used terms of endearment for my wife that I usually reserve for private," Laszlo confessed. "But I have no such embarrassment for Elizabeth is all of the things that I have said she is."
"He's deflecting," John pointed out.
"Am I? Or are you simply teasing to account for your own insecurities when it comes to relationships?" Laszlo pushed him and he saw John's smirk falter and his own grew at the sight of him. He had him there.
"Enough, both of you," Sara warned them. Rolling her eyes, she folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. "It is like dealing with children. Señor Linares is on his way over here for an update on the case so you can quit with your mind games and bickering."
Laszlo and John went silent while the Isaacson twins exchanged entertained looks. Laszlo moved over to the window and looked outside, seeing the rain begin to pour down once more. There had been a brief reprieve on his way over to 808, but it seemed that was all it was to be. Sara and John began talking about the case while Laszlo allowed his mind to drift off as he tried not to think about how much he was ready to fall asleep at any given moment.
It didn't take long before Señor Linares arrived, Sara giving him an update on the case and telling him how she believed it was a nursing woman who the kidnapper is. She assured him that they were slow and loathe to kill as the man shook his head, hands behind his back and standing tall as he looked at each of them in the room.
"I don't understand," he said.
"The black marks on the gown," Laszlo began to explain to him. "It is carbon. Powdered charcoal."
"It was used as an antidote to the poison," Lucius added on.
"We found both the antidote and the poison in the child's stomach," Marcus concluded, hands behind his back.
Señor Linares began to shake his head, the anguish on his face palpable and clear. Laszlo could understand why he was looking at them in such a manner and he could not, for one moment, blame him. He did not want to know about the Napp child, not really. He only wanted his own child. It was pure, understandable selfishness.
"This may be interesting for the Napp baby, but you have done nothing for us."
He turned around and Laszlo knew that he had to try and placate him somehow.
"Just like you Señor, I am not of this place, other than having the burden of being considered an enemy of the state, you and I experience American authorities similarly," Laszlo said and Sara continued to watch him, wondering if what he said would strike a nerve with Linares. It seemed to work, the man's hands remaining on his hips as he turned back around to look at Laszlo.
"The police are not interested in finding your child, Señor," Sara promised him. "They believe that you staged the kidnapping."
"I can corroborate that," Marcus said, his voice slightly lower than usual as he backed up Sara on what she was saying.
"We are your detectives, sir," Lucius said to him.
That seemed to placate him somewhat, almost as though, deep down, he knew that the police had no interest in his case or what it was he was going through. Letting out a sigh as Sara asked him to let her present their theories, he nodded bluntly and Laszlo kept his gaze focused on the man. He sat down at the table and Linares also took a seat.
They told him how they had found the key ingredient used to kill a child and how it was obtained at a hospital they had their sights on. They told him all about Bitsy and how they had sent her undercover after she had gained employment courtesy of a good word from Oggie. Linares had asked how long it would be before they got results and Sara tried to assure him that she hoped it wouldn't take too long.
Linares left shortly after and Laszlo had watched the back of him. He couldn't begin to imagine what pain the man was going though and he prayed silently that he would never have to find out.
…
"And up you go."
Elizabeth was doing her best not to laugh as Marcus Isaacson lifted her daughter into the air, spinning her around in his arms. She made soft noises, but so far there was no laugh from her. He brought her back down to face height and Elizabeth swore that one day Marcus would make a great father: "And you go down." He concluded before wrinkling his nose
"And I think someone needs changing," Marcus suddenly said as he continued bouncing Lucy in his arms, his hand holding the back of her head delicately in his palm.
"I'll do it," Charlotte suddenly proclaimed and Elizabeth looked to her as she climbed down from the armchair she had been sat in, a book in her fingertips. She had been trying to finish Moby Dick, but had confessed herself more invested in watching Marcus with Lucy, hoping that he didn't drop the baby as he held onto her. Charlotte had become particularly protective over Lucy, seeing her as her little sister.
"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked from her, standing by the piano and pouring Marcus a drink.
"I can manage," Charlotte promised.
"In that case, everything is in the spare bedroom," Elizabeth said to her and Charlotte took Lucy from Marcus, cradling her gently as the baby pulled at her long, curly hair. But Charlotte didn't mind in the slightest. She disappeared into the room just as Marcus sat down on the couch, Elizabeth handing him a glass of bourbon.
"How is the investigation going?" she wondered from him and he nodded his head in thanks for the drink, cradling it between his hands in between his thighs. He sat back and Elizabeth tucked one leg under her body and bent her elbow on top of the couch, her cheek sitting in the palm of her hand.
"Bitsy has gone undercover at the Hospital and she met Sara on her lunch break. She told her that there is a woman there called Colleen Ledwidge who works on the ward and lost her child…Sara wonders if she kidnapped the Linares child to replace her own lost child. Apparently she has quite the temper and was angry with Richard Osgood."
"Osgood?" Elizabeth echoed. "As in…from the Osgood family?"
"The one and only," Marcus took a sip of the drink, letting out a loud 'ah' as he finished his sip. "She was discarded by him and he got another girl pregnant who is currently in the hospital."
Elizabeth shook her head. "These men are pigs."
"I can't disagree with you on that point," Marcus concurred with her. "We wonder if it is her or the matron as she is more than likely able to gain access to the aniline…but the wet nurse would have better access."
"So you've narrowed it down to two individuals?"
"Three," Marcus said and let his head turn to the side to look to her as she twirled strands of hair in her fingertips, eyes wide as she continued to watch him. "Doctor Kreizler still thinks that Markoe knows more than he is letting on. Although, by this stage, I wonder if his vendetta against Markoe is personal."
Elizabeth shrugged, looking down at the strand of hair she had twirled around her finger. She bit down on her bottom lip. "I imagine it probably is," she confessed to Marcus, knowing full well that Laszlo would not let Markoe get away without a fight. He would do everything within his power to stop him from abusing his power as he appeared to have done so numerous times before.
"He intends to confront him tonight."
"At John's engagement party?" Elizabeth asked, meeting Marcus's gaze again. She shook her head and dropped her hair, reaching for Marcus's glass and taking a sip of the alcohol as he raised an amused brow before she handed it back to him. "Does John know about this? He's going to be fuming. This is his night…not a night to investigate."
"He doesn't know, but I thought the same thing as you," Marcus said. "I didn't say anything, of course. John's invited me and Lucius to the party, but I don't think it's our scene."
"They can be quite tiresome," Elizabeth admitted to Marcus.
"I would have thought that you loved them," he replied.
Elizabeth scoffed and shook her head. "You have to spend hours being nice to people who talk about you behind your back. You have to smile when you don't want to smile…and honestly, the best thing about those parties is the food."
"You almost make me want to go," Marcus said in a teasing voice and he finished his drink as Elizabeth heard the key in the door. Looking behind her, she saw Laszlo enter the suite, his hand holding onto his cane in his fingertips as he looked at the sight on the couch. Elizabeth was angled towards Marcus who was sat with spread legs, his knee almost touching hers and a glass in his fingers.
"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Laszlo questioned.
"Not at all," Marcus said. "I just thought that I would come and spend some time with Elizabeth after our meeting."
"It was quite insightful," Laszlo nodded his head and closed the door, leaving his cane in the rack next to it and shrugging out of his jacket.
"Marcus has told me about your plan," Elizabeth said, her tone turning serious and Marcus took that as his cue to leave. He placed the glass on the table next to the couch and stood up as Laszlo arched his brow down to his wife as she turned to face him, her hand curling around the top of the red seat. "About how you plan to launch an inquisition at John's engagement party."
"I should get going," Marcus said and he reached for his jacket and hat, not bothering to put them on as he reached the door. "I will see you another time, Doctor Kreizler."
"Indeed, thank you, detective," Laszlo said, catching Marcus's eye and he knew the thank you was sarcastic, no doubt for landing him in hot water.
"Elizabeth, I'll call by in a day or so."
"Bye, Marcus," she said and he opened the door and scurried through it.
Once he was gone, Elizabeth folded her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side. "Well?" she questioned from her husband and Laszlo went to sit down on the other side of her.
"You know that you have quite the stare on you," Laszlo said.
"Don't try and deflect," she warned him.
"Simply stating facts," Laszlo shook his head at her and then sighed, nodding his head once. "But yes, Richard Osgood will be at the party tonight as will Markoe. I assume Marcus filled you in on everything?"
"You assume correctly," Elizabeth said. "But promise me that you might consider leaving it? Or, at the very least, not ruin John's evening? This is his engagement party and he should be allowed to celebrate in peace for a few hours. It has been months in the planning. How would you feel if someone tried to ruin our marriage?"
"They did," Laszlo responded. "Your parents did everything they could to stop us."
"Fine, but we eventually did get married and it was perfect," she said.
"And I am not trying to ruin his marriage," Laszlo said. "I will simply talk to Osgood on his own in a quiet location, along with observing Markoe's behaviour. I will do nothing to attract attention. I promise."
She sighed, knowing that was as good a deal as she was going to get from Laszlo. "Fine, but be careful."
"As always," Laszlo inclined his head. "Now, where are the girls?"
"Charlotte went to change Lucy," Elizabeth said.
"I shall go and check that they are fine and say hello," Laszlo said and he made a move to stand before he felt Elizabeth take hold of his wrist so that he was hovering, crouched above the couch. He looked back and saw a coy smile on her face, one that he knew very well whenever she was feeling particularly flirtatious with him.
"You didn't even say hello to your wife," she pointed out.
"Ah, how neglectful of me," Laszlo said, his tone equally teasing as he bent down and kissed her chastely, whispering against her parted lips as he pulled back. "Hello."
"Hmm, that's better," Elizabeth smiled and leaned up to peck him one final time. "Go and see the girls."
Laszlo moved off down the corridor, Elizabeth moving and tidying the suite up. She adjusted cushions as she heard Laszlo speaking with Charlotte, the little girl laughing at something he had said. Once Elizabeth had finished making the room more presentable, she moved off to the bedroom, finding the door open. Laszlo was laid half on the bed on his side, his arm propping him up and his legs dangling off the edge.
"It's easy," Charlotte said to Laszlo as she wondered just what it was he was doing. She leaned forwards and took the coin from his palm, moving it in her hand. "You move it from one hand to the other while adjusting your wrist, like this," she said and Lucy remained next to her, laid on the bed with her limbs moving around her. "And then when you do this, it looks as though it has disappeared."
Elizabeth's lips turned upwards. "Are you still trying to teach her magic tricks?" she asked from her husband.
"No, as a matter of fact, she is ruining all of my illusions," Laszlo said. "She's too perceptive."
"Only because you're not very good at hiding the coin," Charlotte retorted.
"I take great offence," Laszlo said, his tone of joking. "I am known to be quite a capable magician."
"Really?" Charlotte asked and she tilted her head to the side and gave him quite the stare and he chuckled under the intensity of it. "Because I think I might be better than you."
"Then I will challenge you to that one day," Laszlo said at the same time a knock on the door sounded. Elizabeth turned her head over her shoulder, Laszlo standing up from the bed and looking to her.
"Are we expecting someone?"
"I am, yes," Laszlo said, remaining cryptic as he moved off and over to the door and Elizabeth looked over to him as he went. She shrugged over to Charlotte and gave her a wink, telling her just to stay with Lucy. Following Laszlo through to the sitting room, she heard him muttering with someone outside and she arched her brow, arms folding over her chest. He came back in and closed the doors, holding a large bouquet of roses in his hand as he did so. Elizabeth's eyes widened at the sight of them and he moved over to her, his gaze downcast onto the bunch of flowers.
"I know that I told you I was not entirely romantic," Laszlo said. "And you would struggle to get love letters from me, but I suspected that buying flowers…well…I am able to do that."
"They're lovely," Elizabeth commented as he handed them over to her and she felt their petals and inhaled them. "But you didn't need to."
"On the contrary, I wanted to," he replied and she looked up and across to him once more, dangling the bouquet in her arms before she leaned closer to him and pecked him on the lips.
"Thank you," she said, giving him another final, quick peck. "I should put these in water. I think I saw a vase in one of the bedrooms."
She held the flowers to her chest and moved off, Laszlo watching her go and smile widely. His own lips remained arched at the sight of her so happy and he vowed to do everything in his power to keep that smile on her face for as long as they lived.
…
John's engagement party was as lavish as Laszlo had expected it to be. He knew that Violet Hayward liked extravagance. He could see that much. He had congratulated John and Violet, giving them Elizabeth's apologies as to why she could not be there. Laszlo had stood on the veranda and looked down onto the floor as Hearst gave his speech, almost humiliating John. Laszlo felt sorry for his friend, mainly because he knew that this was not what he wanted, not truly. He wanted Sara and his feelings were true towards her, just as Laszlo suspected that her feelings were true towards him.
Once the speech was finished, Laszlo took a sip of his champagne as people laughed and gossiped around them. He was about to re-join the party and find Sara when he saw the familiar looking man move down the quiet staircase and past a waiter holding a tray of champagne. Richard Osgood looked as though he was trying to find a moment's peace, but Laszlo was not about to let him have that on his watch.
He followed him down the steps, champagne in front of him in his fingers. Osgood turned around to see Laszlo making his way towards him and almost wanted to roll his eyes and groan loudly as he picked up another glass of champagne. Once the corridor was clear, Laszlo spoke, his voice clear and confident.
"The three agencies of action within human nature are appetite, spirit and reason," Laszlo commented, his free hand going into his trouser pocket as Osgood stood in front of a pair of drapes, his forehead seemingly shining with sweat. "I can see that appetite has vanquished both spirit and reason."
Laszlo waited for him to speak and he did so, moving closer to him along the red carpet down the middle of the steps.
"I know who you are. You're that damned alienist."
"And you, sir, have had quite the harem at the Lying-In Hospital," Laszlo responded, not missing a beat. "A new girl in the research wing, I understand."
"Have you been spying on me?" Osgood demanded, tone becoming irate. "I can have you removed not only from this party, but from the country as a foreign undesirable. You and your family."
Laszlo was not intimidated by his threats. He didn't give into them nor did he acknowledge them. "A child went missing from the hospital. A child who was murdered," he said. "The killer has taken another one."
"This has nothing to do with me."
"It has everything to do with you, Osgood," Laszlo retorted. "To you, these girls are merely playthings."
Osgood began to walk away, murmuring as he went. "They are hardly innocent."
"And what do you know of Colleen Ledwidge?" Laszlo asked to his back, but it got him to stop his ascension back up the stairs. His shoulders hunched and his spine stiffened. He turned back around to look at Laszlo, his gaze flickering between him and the floor.
"You think that Colleen…Miss Ledwidge…" he caught himself. "You think she is responsible for these crimes?"
Osgood returned back down the step he had taken up, standing straight across from Laszlo so that he didn't have to raise his voice. He kept it low and even.
"Colleen worked in service. She was impressed by fine clothes, a dinner out. Perhaps I persuaded her to think that my intentions were…" he stammered for a moment, trying to find the right word. But Laszlo found that word for him.
"Honourable?" he suggested.
Osgood looked down, almost as though he felt some semblance of regret for what he had done to Colleen.
"Is she violent?" Laszlo pushed him.
"She's hot blooded and quite feisty," Osgood said, shaking his head. "But she is not violent. You know how it can be, Doctor Kreizler. She is like a mare that needs to be broken in. Don't tell me that your wife is anyt different. The beautiful Miss Elizabeth Johnson was quite the temptress when she joined society."
"She is no longer that girl," Laszlo said.
"Because Jacob saw to that," Osgood replied. "And she understood the rules when she married him."
"What rules?" Laszlo demanded. "The rules where the man takes everything from her? Destroys her prospects in respectable society? Meanwhile, he commits affairs…destroys other women and perhaps, just as you did, sends her God knows where and takes her child from her?"
Osgood pursed his lips at hearing the alienist. "Your wife destroyed her own position in society when she started whoring around with you while she was a married woman," he declared. "And as for Colleen, I thought that her child had died."
Osgood began to walk away, moving up the stairs and back towards the main party.
"You will do well to refrain from mentioning my wife," Laszlo called out to him. "And to remember that a day of reckoning comes for us all."
Osgood didn't turn back around and Laszlo finished off his champagne before placing the glass on the try a waiter was carrying. He remained where he was for a few moments, pulling his pocket watch out and checking the time. It was growing late. He looked to the image he had placed on the other side of the clock, seeing Elizabeth's face looking up at him as he sighed at the sight of her and wished she was with him. She always made things more entertaining. He could imagine her whispering in his ear about people who she had met before and whose secrets she knew.
He moved back among the floor to the party, checking on Sara as he passed by and eyed Markoe suspiciously. He wondered where Violet and John had gotten to, realising that he hadn't seen them conversing with people for quite some time. He found his way back to the veranda and looking down on Markoe, drinking another glass of champagne slowly as the cake was wheeled out and six or seven women gathered around it, using their hands to break into it and creating quite the mess. They were looking for the ring hidden in the cake, no care for hitting passing people with cake.
Laszlo's lips arched as he thought about Elizabeth. She would be disgusted at wasting good food.
"It's somewhat depressing," Laszlo said to no one in particular, although a man had been stood behind him. "Such wanton extravagance fills me with melancholia."
The crowd continued cheering.
"It's just like Versailles," he said. "I have counted three Louis Quatorzes and at least four Marie Antoinettes. And what was it she said to her starving subject? If you don't have bread then let them eat cake?"
Laszlo's lips arched once more as he whispered under his breath. "A notion my dear wife would not be object to."
"I believe she actually said let them eat brioche…but that was a pastry of course. And I don't mean to be pedantic, but I think you will find there are only three Marie Antoinettes and not four."
Laszlo turned around at the voice addressing him, seeing a woman stood behind him. She had dark hair that was pulled back into a bun at the back of her neck, a dark necklace around her neck and a low cut black dress on her form. Her neck was long and arching, her collarbone sticking out from her skin. Her eyes were dark, but rather enchanting, with a teasing glimmer in them.
"And I think that one of them down there is Madame de Pompadour, who was chief mistress to Louis XV and not a Marie Antoinette. But anyone could make such a mistake."
"Chief mistress?" Laszlo checked, not once letting his gaze drop from the woman in front of him, wondering who could be so bold as to randomly strike up conversation and be clearly so observant.
"Yes, it was an actual position at court," she responded, brows arched and Laszlo's lips turned upwards. "And who are you? What do you do? And how are you here?"
"I'm an alienist," Laszlo said.
"As am I," she responded, not once skipping a beat.
"You're teasing me," he chuckled.
"Yes, I'm teasing you, but it's also true," she said and extended a hand towards him. Laszlo moved to place the champagne glass into his bad hand, moving his right hand out towards the woman as she introduced herself. "Karen Stratton," she said. "I was Violet's professor at Barnard."
"Professor Karen Stratton," Laszlo said, finally putting a face to the name. He knew that he must look quite a fool as he spoke. "I've read all your work. I'm Doctor-"
"Doctor Laszlo Kreizler," she finished, keeping hold of his hand and shaking it. "I know exactly who you are, Doctor. Who in New York hasn't heard of you? And most of the important people are here. But it is quite the honour to meet you."
"The honour is all mine," Laszlo said, dropping her hand from his grip. "I would quite like it if we could perhaps meet and discuss-"
"-Here's my card," she interrupted, taking one from her bag and handing it over towards him. He took it in his hands as she gave him a smirk and a nod. "Do call on me."
She walked away and Laszlo looked over to her as she manoeuvred away and back down the stairs towards the main floor. Laszlo chuckled again at the scenario, tucking her card into his pocket and wondering just what more he could find out from Professor Karen Stratton.
…
It had gotten quite late and Elizabeth was on the verge of sleep. She was curled up in the armchair, the lamp the only source of light above her. She had a book in her lap, reading one of Laszlo's monographs as she tried her best to decipher what it was he had written about. A part of her wished that she understood Laszlo's work. She wished that she understood what went on in his mind. It was an insecurity, she didn't deny that.
She had felt it when she had been convinced that Laszlo was interested in Sara Howard. She remembered that feeling of jealousy when he had first started working with her. She remembered knowing that she had been foolish to think that Laszlo could care for her. She was not well-educated. She had never gone to college. She couldn't pretend to understand Laszlo's work. And her husband's intelligence intimidated her because, to begin with, she had thought that he would grow tired of her.
She felt as though he would grow bored with her not being able to keep up or understand. She knew that he loved her. She knew that he would do anything for her. But would it be enough forever? Would she be enough forever? She had thought that she would be. That was until Laszlo returned from the engagement party, talking to her about how he had met Professor Karen Stratton.
He told her about the woman's work. He told her how she was one of the most respected experts in her field, working in the same area as Laszlo. He told Elizabeth about her work and how it had been an honour to meet her, placing her card in his document wallet on the dining table in the suite. They had gone to bed, Laszlo wrapping his arm around Elizabeth as she held his hand, running her thumb up and down his fingers.
She hadn't slept well. She knew it was ridiculous. Laszlo had married her. He had married her and he had been the one who had done everything for her. He had risked everything for her. He loved her and that was enough.
She closed the book in her lap and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and looking at the roses on the table besides her. Her lips arched and she shook her head. She didn't doubt Laszlo. How could she? It was herself she doubted. She suspected that stemmed from years of being told that she was never good enough.
She looked to the clock on the wall across from her and wondered where Laszlo was. It was late. He had told her that he was going to meet Sara, John and the Isaacson twins after work, but she had thought that he would be back earlier than eleven. She uncurled herself from the ball she was in, placing the blanket over the back of the chair and moving to her feet. She dropped the book onto the table and ran her hands over the petals of the flowers.
"I'm being stupid," Elizabeth said to herself and shook her head. She turned the lamp off and began to move to the bedroom, preparing to run a bath.
But before she got anywhere, a knock on the door sounded. Elizabeth turned the main light on, the chandelier above illuminating the room. She moved over to the door and peered through the small hole in it to see who it was. Laszlo had his own key, but she had been visited by John, Sara and Marcus a few times.
But this was not them.
Pulling the door open, Elizabeth looked at the woman stood in front of her. "Libby," she spoke her name, seeing that her eyes were wide and wet. "What are you doing here?"
"I need your help…Sara told me to come here…" Libby said, crying with tears falling down her cheeks. Wisps of hair had fallen from the bun at the back of her head. She had red, splotchy cheeks and her uniform was crumpled. She looked a state and Elizabeth nodded, pulling the door open and letting her in.
"What's happened, Libby?" Elizabeth asked as the woman began pacing in the sitting room. "Talk to me, please."
It was at that moment when the phone began to ring in the room. Elizabeth's brow furrowed once more and she moved towards it, but she froze in her tracks when Libby spoke, a coldness to her voice and a distinct warning to her voice.
"I would leave that if I were you," Libby said and all sense of fear had left her. Her voice was no longer shaking.
The phone continued to ring and Elizabeth felt her stomach drop and her vision blurred. She blinked, trying to stay grounded as Libby turned to look to her, meeting her eye.
"What is going on, Libby?" Elizabeth asked, the phone still ringing.
"You had to make this hard for me," Libby said, her voice going up an octave as she spoke and then Elizabeth saw it. She saw what she had pulled out from her skirts. She held the knife by her side and moved forwards, her eyes not once leaving Elizabeth.
Elizabeth pushed her green skirt behind her legs, her white shirt clinging to her as she began to sweat.
"I thought that the rock would divert attention to Markoe and drive you closer to me," Libby said, stalking towards Elizabeth as the phone stopped ringing and the room became quieter. Elizabeth backed away from her, wanting to be nowhere near the woman moving towards her with a predatory stare. "You'd confided about the stranger to me…and I thought this would do the same…I didn't think that you would lie and leave…and without telling me."
"We didn't tell anyone. We were-"
"-Liar," Libby interrupted her, head tilting to the side and eyes widening. "You told Sara Howard. You told John Moore. You even told one of those detectives."
Elizabeth moved around the dining table, keeping her hands in her skirts as her eyes flickered around quickly, looking for any sign of a weapon that she could use. Libby stalked her around the table and Elizabeth's mouth dried out and she wondered where Laszlo was. Had that been him calling? It had to have been. Did he know?
"How do you know we told them?" Elizabeth asked, trying to stall for time. If it was Laszlo then he had to be on his way here.
"Sara Howard can't lie," Libby said. "And after we had lunch together she took a carriage to this hotel, which I found odd…and then there was John Moore. He brought your drunken husband here and told him that he would help him up to his wife…you," Libby concluded. "And finding the room was quite easy. The good doctor would only pay for the best room and the current night concierge and reception are drugged…sleeping. I found out what room it was you were checked into."
"Well, you found me," Elizabeth said, flapping her arms out, but Libby shook her head.
"It isn't you who I want," Libby said. "You would never have left the city, not without your husband. You're too needy. You're too attached to him to leave…so if he was here then you had to be here…you and Lucy."
"It was you," Elizabeth deduced. "You were the one Charlotte saw that night."
Libby nodded her head as Elizabeth continued backing away around the room, moving to the other side of the piano.
"She ruined my plan, but it bought me time," Libby said to her, picking the book up that Elizabeth had put down. She saw that it was one of Kreizler's works. She looked to the red roses on the table next to the chair and her lips curled menacingly. "And do you know what your mother would have done?"
"My…my mother?" Elizabeth stammered out, her brows pinching together and her lips parting.
Libby rolled her eyes. "She came to you in the park that day and I knew what she had planned to do to you…how she had planned to take your baby and marry you off to some rich man. I followed her after you had finished talking to her and told her what I could do for her…I told her that Goo Goo would clear her debts if she did me this one favour…if she gave me Lucy."
Elizabeth gasped for a sharp breath, her heart hammering against her chest and she could hear the blood pumping into her ears. She shook her head back and forth, refusing to believe what she was hearing.
"She refused," Libby said. "And so I did what I had to do."
"You killed my mother?" Elizabeth checked with her.
Libby laughed at that, pointing the knife in Elizabeth's direction. Elizabeth flinched at the sight of it, even though she was a good distance away from her. She would keep it that way too.
"Don't pretend to be sad!" Libby snapped at her. "You hated your mother. If anything, I did you a favour."
"You're crazy," Elizabeth spat out at her.
"No!" she yelled back at her. "I am anything but crazy! You, on the other hand, don't deserve your daughter. I've seen how you are with her and I can give her a better life than you ever could…you and that absent husband of yours. Where is he now? Not here. He's never here, isn't that what you complained about when he worked on the Napp case? Do you ever think it is because he has had his fill of you?"
Elizabeth didn't let her words bother her. She was too busy trying to plan a route out of the room.
"I've seen it before…rich men become bored with their wives…their mistresses…and they toss them aside. You can only spread your legs so many times to keep him entertained," Libby continued at the same time Elizabeth heard a door open down the small hallway off the sitting room. Both sets of eyes turned to it and Charlotte's figure slowly emerged.
Sleep was still in her eyes and her hair was mussed up on the top of her head. Her nightgown came down to her ankles and she was rubbing her eyes with small fists.
"Elizabeth?" Charlotte spoke her name. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Elizabeth lied.
But Charlotte saw the sight in front of her. Libby was looking at her, seeing how the little girl's eyes fell down to the knife that she was holding in her fingertips.
"You just stay there," Libby said, moving towards Charlotte.
But Elizabeth was already acting. She wasn't letting Libby anywhere near Charlotte. She picked up the vase containing the flowers and was about to smash it at Libby before the woman turned around. Elizabeth threw the vase towards her, watching it smash against her front and fall to the ground, shards of glass falling onto the floor around her and water pooling by her feet.
"Charlotte, take Lucy and run!" Elizabeth demanded from the girl.
Libby moved towards Elizabeth, the other woman having picked up a glass bowl from the table and lobbing it at her.
"She's not taking Lucy anywhere," Libby warned Elizabeth.
"You're not having my daughter," Elizabeth snarled at her, turning to pick up anything she could to throw at Libby, but she backed herself into a corner. Libby brought the knife across in front of her, trying to stab at Elizabeth, but the other woman ducked under her advancement.
If living with an abusive husband had taught Elizabeth anything, it was that she could avoid maximum damage with quick reflexes. But she never thought she would be in this position. Libby lunged at her again with the knife, Elizabeth grabbing her wrist and pushing it back, the two women fighting against each other. Elizabeth moved her head closer to Libby's hand, biting down on it with as much force as possible. The woman screamed in pain, her grip on the knife seeming to slacken as Elizabeth went to try and take it from her hands.
But Libby regained her composure, using her knee to hit Elizabeth in the stomach and wind her. Elizabeth bent at the waist, Libby's grip on the knife tightening again as Elizabeth rolled to the floor to avoid her attack. She lifted her foot and kicked Libby in the knee as hard as she could, the other woman falling to the ground next to her.
"You're a feisty one," Libby complained as she straddled Elizabeth's hips, the woman beneath her squirming under her grip as she tried to gain her breath from being winded. Elizabeth took hold of Libby's wrist once more, stopping her from bringing it down and cutting her.
"Charlotte! Go!" Elizabeth yelled as she saw the girl carrying Lucy.
"No!" Libby roared, turning to look to Charlotte. "If you go then I'll kill her! I'll kill her right now!"
Charlotte hesitated, her mind torn in two. But Elizabeth wasn't letting Libby get away. She gathered enough saliva into her mouth and spat up at Libby, the woman repulsed for a moment as Elizabeth used that to her advantage and pushed her from on top of her. She began rushing to Charlotte, but Libby grabbed her by her hair, stopping her in her tracks and banging her head against the table next to her.
Elizabeth's vision blurred at the sudden injury and she gasped loudly for breath as Libby advanced towards Charlotte. She held the knife in her hands still, Charlotte moving back towards the door. But Libby grabbed hold of Charlotte by her hair then, the young girl unable to move because her arms were holding a wailing Lucy.
"Give me her," Libby demanded and Charlotte shook her head.
"No," she screamed, crying at the pain on the top of her scalp as Libby continued pulling at it.
Elizabeth managed to gather herself to her feet as Libby finally took Lucy from Charlotte's hand. The little girl thumped at her waist, but she was no match for Libby. She pushed her off to the side and Elizabeth saw her trip over the edge of the rug, her arms flailing as she fell backwards, her head hitting the corner of the piano.
"Charlotte!" Elizabeth roared as she fell to the ground and Libby looked to her on the floor, eyes wide and arms engulfing Lucy.
"Charlotte…Charlotte…" Elizabeth repeated her name as she remained on the floor, eyes closed and body limp.
"I didn't…I didn't mean that…" Libby shook her head back and forth.
Elizabeth crawled over to Charlotte and she moved her hand to the back of her head, feeling how it was sticky with blood. She lifted her fingers to her eyes, tears clouding her vision as Libby moved slowly to the door, giving her excuses.
"She got in the way. I didn't-"
"-Give me my daughter!" Elizabeth interrupted her, refusing to let her take Lucy. She moved to her feet as Libby's hands scrambled to find the doorknob, but Elizabeth was quick. She was behind Libby in seconds, grabbing her red hair and slamming her forehead into the door, this time disorientating her. She grabbed Lucy from her arms and took the knife, slamming it into Libby's shoulder.
The nurse yelled out in pain as Elizabeth drew back, slamming it into her again. She pulled it out and took a step back, her eyes wild and blood splattered on her face in specks. Looking to Libby, the nurse swore that she would have killed her. She had never seen anyone look so hellbent before.
And so she opened the door and she ran, clinging onto her shoulder tightly. Elizabeth wanted to follow her. She wanted to stop her. But she didn't. She dropped the knife to the side and stumbled back to Charlotte, collapsing onto her knees next to her and leaving Lucy to the side.
"Charlotte…it's okay…darling…it's alright," Elizabeth said to her and reached to take her into her arms, cupping the back of her head and feeling the blood once more. There had been blood on the floor, staining the floor and coming from her head. "Help!" Elizabeth yelled, hoping that someone could hear her as she tried to regain her senses. "Please!"
She was about to move to her feet and reach for the phone, but voices suddenly entered the room then.
"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!"
She turned her head over her shoulder to see Laszlo move into the room, John and Sara close on his heels with Marcus too. Laszlo came to kneel next to his wife, looking over at Charlotte as Sara knelt by Lucy, picking her up and cradling her, trying to soothe her and stop her from sobbing.
"She's bleeding," Elizabeth sobbed. "Laszlo…she…she hit her head…"
"Give her to me," Laszlo encouraged from his wife, moving her gently to him as he looked at her head and he called out to John, his own eyes filling with tears. "John, we need to get her to a hospital now."
"Allow me," Marcus said at the same time John went off to get an ambulance. Marcus sat next to Laszlo, the two men using their expertise to try and help Charlotte as Elizabeth clung onto the little girl's hand, squeezing her fingers tightly and begging for her to wake up.
...
A/N: I think this might be the longest chapter yet. Hope it wasn't too long. Again, I have two ways the next chapter could go so would love your feedback/anything you want to see. Let me know what you think!