Laszlo had expected his wife to want to stay in the carriage while he dealt with business at the Institute, but she was the first one to climb out of it as soon as they pulled up, moving from his grip. Laszlo knew that it had been a start, her apologising to him and admitting that she had been distant and closed off. But he knew there would still be a long way to go, especially while Charlotte was unconscious.
She walked towards the door, Laszlo close on her heel. She had her hands in her pockets still, her strides long and purposeful with her head held high. Laszlo almost wanted to know what had gotten into her, but he remained silent as they came to his office. Moving into the room, Laszlo looked around, the sight of Markoe behind his desk enough to make his hands ball into fists. The man had no right in being there. Laszlo slowed his pace, a hand going to his wife's wrist and squeezing it, slowly assuring her that he was able to handle this and didn't want to see her upset by Markoe's presence.
"As a representative for the Board for the New York City Medical Institutions, I'm informing you that this Institute is under investigation."
Elizabeth looked behind Markoe, seeing two men moving through Laszlo's desk drawers and picking up the books on his bookshelf. She noted how one of the officers moved the photo of the two of them on their wedding day with no care, tossing it off to the side. Her teeth ground together as Markoe stood up and advanced towards Laszlo, Elizabeth hovering just behind his shoulder.
"For?" Laszlo questioned, the word harsh and low.
Markoe reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, producing a letter and handing it to Laszlo as he spoke.
"Possible criminal negligence in the treatment of minors," Markoe declared.
It was then when Elizabeth noted a man not in uniform picking at another photo of Elizabeth with Lucy and Charlotte, looking down at it. It was Byrnes. She had seen his face in the paper often enough and Laszlo had dealt with him a number of times in the past, complaining whenever he had to do so.
"Will you be bringing your objectivity to the investigation, Markoe?" Laszlo demanded to know, a sarcastic tone to his voice for he knew that the man would be anything but objective. This was Markoe he was talking about. The two men clearly had agendas and both involved revealing the truth about the other.
"You, Doctor Kreizler, are suspended by the state from practicing medicine, advising professionally in your capacity as an alienist, until the board completes it's investigation," Markoe said, a look of almost smugness on his face as he spoke the next sentence. "And you know how long they can be gone in the summer so your chance to appeal might take a while."
Laszlo grunted in frustration. "Paulie is a complex patient and you are deliberately mischaracterizing what has caused his injury. To put him under your care could cause irreparable harm to him."
"A boy in your care tried to strangle himself in your office and you're lecturing me about doing harm?" Markoe demanded, his voice rising a few octaves higher as Laszlo shook his head in disbelief, stepping away from Markoe and looking to the floor as he spoke.
"It is in my judgment that it wasn't an instance of suicidal ideation," Laszlo retorted, picking his gaze back up and looking to Markoe.
"So you have no concern about the boy?" Markoe asked.
"I did not say that," Laszlo snapped back at the same time Elizabeth failed to hold her tongue.
"You condescending bastard."
There was silence then and Laszlo almost wanted to groan loudly at her outburst. He should have known that she would be prone to snapping, especially considering her current behaviour and what had happened. There was also the added fact that she had always despised Markoe, knowing entirely what he had intended to do to her at his hospital. She could still feel the faint ghosting of his hands pushing her thighs apart when she slept at night, the nightmare taking hold of her. It was just one more nightmare to add to a plethora that she often suffered.
"You would do well to hold your tongue, miss," Byrnes suddenly interjected, his tone gruff and low as Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his comment.
"Or what?" she questioned and Laszlo looked to her once more, seeing the anger in her face. It was almost as though she didn't care. It was almost as though she was unconcerned for consequences.
"We can arrest you," Byrnes warned her.
"For what?" Elizabeth snapped back at him.
"Elizabeth," Laszlo spoke her name lowly, looking to her as she glanced to him and he subtly shook his head once in her direction, not wanting her to do anything she might regret in the end. But she was shrugging her shoulders over to him and then pointing at Markoe.
"You talk about arresting me," she said, her attention turned to Byrnes. "But do you know what he does at that hospital of his? Have you even bothered to look into him? Or does he put enough money in your pocket for you to turn a blind eye?"
"Doctor Kreizler, I suggest you get your wife out of here before she ends up being carted away," Byrnes warned her as Markoe simply stood there silently, clearly smug and pleased with himself. Elizabeth shook her head before Laszlo could say anything, scoffing once more.
"I'm going," she promised them. "But how you bastards sleep at night is beyond me. My husband does everything that he can to protect children…to look after them…and you punish him because of this one incident, an incident that was out of his control. You should all be ashamed."
"Perhaps Doctor Kreizler is not as capable as we believe him to be," Markoe suddenly said and Laszlo's narrow glare turned onto the man, wondering what he could possibly be talking about. But it soon became apparent when the next words out of his mouth were words that stung both of them. "After all, we've all heard how his adopted daughter is currently in the hospital…perhaps this is also a matter for welfare to investigate as well? If he is an unfit parent?"
Laszlo's mouth gaped at that and Elizabeth's brows furrowed on her forehead. She stepped forwards and Laszlo took hold of her by the arm, seeing how she had her hand balled into a fist. He knew what her intention was and, if the police officer had not been present, he might have been inclined to have let her go ahead if he did not get to Markoe first.
"Be careful, missy," Byrnes warned her.
"He's not worth it," Laszlo promised his wife, whispering down to her and then looking to Markoe. "And for him to pass moral judgment over me is almost laughable after what he has done."
"Stay the hell away from my family," Elizabeth snapped loudly. "Or I swear to God I'll do something that I most certainly wouldn't regret, police be damned."
Laszlo's grip on her arm increased once more as he shook his head and turned to leave. He had to get out of that building. He had to get away from Markoe. He led Elizabeth out, his wife shooting one final glare back to Byrnes and Markoe as she left, the two men whispering to each other and looking more amused than upset as to what had happened.
Coming back to the fresh air, Laszlo inhaled a sharp breath, finally letting go of Elizabeth's arm, content that she wouldn't return to the room and lash out against them in there. Hands dropping to her hips, she paced a short length in the yard, dust from the dirt moving into the air from her footsteps. Laszlo looked to Stevie who was sat on top of the carriage, eating an apple and clearly ready to go when they were.
"Who do they think they are?" Elizabeth demanded from Laszlo, kicking at a leg on one of the benches by the wall. "How can they do this to the Institute?"
"Because they have the authority here and I do not," Laszlo responded to her. "Until I have a chance to appeal, there is nothing that I can do. The Institute will remain closed."
"And the children?" Elizabeth asked from him, looking back to him as she saw him look forlornly down to the ground. He shrugged his shoulders as he tried to think of what it was he could do. "Laszlo, they cannot go to an orphanage."
"I fear without the Institute some of them might," Laszlo said to her, knowing that there were some children whose parents had well and truly abandoned them. "But I need time to think of what it is I can do. However, I confess that this incident…I know that it will be widely reported and my reputation might suffer. I might see a drop in the number of children coming to me for help."
Elizabeth shook her head. "I doubt that," she said to him. "People know you, Laszlo. You've been working as an alienist for a number of years. This one incident…you will recover from it."
"How can you be so certain?" Laszlo wondered and she suspected that he was doubting himself.
"Because you're good at your job," she said to him. "You're great at it, in fact. I know that."
"Other people would disagree."
"Other people are idiots," she said without missing a beat and Laszlo, despite the circumstances they were facing, allowed himself to chuckle at hearing her say that. His lips arched on his face and the noise left him as he nodded his head and Elizabeth stood a couple of metres away from him, hands going to the pocket of her coat and she watched him.
He looked up to the walls of the Institute, his gaze dropping to his name that sat proudly above the door. This was all his. He had built this place. He had developed his reputation. He had written papers, helped numerous children, and devoted his life to this place. It was all that he knew. It was his life. But, at that moment in time, he wondered what his life would be like without it and, for the first time in his life, he wasn't terrified at that thought.
"And Markoe is especially an idiot," Elizabeth said to her husband, stepping towards him. She moved a hand to his arm, holding it gently as he looked at her and she looked over his shoulder before she glanced to him for a brief moment. "You're a great father…to both Charlotte and Lucy."
She gave his arm a firm squeeze before dropping it and moving to the carriage, Laszlo watching the back of her and he nodded. He followed her to the carriage and began to consider what was going to happen now that he had no work.
…
Elizabeth woke up with a sense of foreboding in her stomach. She knew that it was either that or the morning sickness, it was hard to tell the difference sometimes. She sat up and looked to the empty space next to her in the bed. He hadn't come home. He was still out. Either that or he was downstairs, sleeping on the couch where he had passed out drunk. Elizabeth hoped for the former. She would prefer to dress and leave the house before he saw her and demanded to talk to her or made rude comments. But then, of course, she remembered that they were due to have their portrait drawn that morning.
Jacob had commissioned John Moore to come and draw them, insisting on a new portrait for their anniversary. Elizabeth had smiled and agreed, not entirely caring. Climbing from bed, she checked the clock. It was still early, having only just gone seven in the morning. She reached for her white robe and pulled it over her nightgown, undoing the ribbons that held her hair in a soft braid over one shoulder. She dropped them onto the dressing table before hearing floorboards groan under familiar weight outside of the bedroom.
Her spine stiffened and she stood up straight, hearing the door handle turn and creak open. She finished placing the final ribbon on the surface, looking in the mirror to see Jacob stood there, his bowtie loose around his neck with the top button of his white shirt undone. His black hair was a mess on top of his hair and there was some stubble forming on his usually clean shaving chin. His beady green eyes found hers in the mirror.
"Have you just got in?" Elizabeth asked from her husband, turning around to look at him, her hands going to her sides and toying with the tie on her robe. She felt her pulse begin to race as he entered the room, hands in his pocket and he stalked around the bed, hand running along the post that went from one end of it to the other.
"Early this morning. I slept on the couch."
"I see," Elizabeth said with a nod. "And where did you go last night?"
"Why do you care?"
"Jacob, it was just a question," she tried to deflect from him, but she knew that it would never work. How could it? He was always so angry with her. He was always finding fault with everything that she did and she knew that was never going to change, not while he insisted on drinking every night.
"Perhaps I should be asking where it is you go? You see, I met Miss Daniels the other week…the woman who you claim set up the book club you attend."
"Oh?" Elizabeth asked and her mouth dried out as she tried to stand tall in his glare, knowing that he knew. He had to know. And now she was either going to have to beg for forgiveness or lie to him. She didn't know which one was going to be easier on her in the long run.
But she was pregnant. He hadn't laid a hand on her since she had told him she was pregnant.
"And so I began wondering why you would lie to me…what you were hiding…" Jacob said, twirling a finger by the side of his brain, indicating that cogs were turning there. "And I didn't think you were stupid enough to lie, but it turned out that I was wrong. I had someone follow you and your routine…and they reported back to me."
"Jacob, it isn't what it seems like," Elizabeth shook her head quickly. Forgiveness, then. "I promise you that it isn't what it looks like."
"Isn't what it looks like?" he echoed back to her. "So you're not going to see that crazy alienist at the park? Sitting with him on a bench under a tree? Why is it you go to him? What is it you get out of this?"
"He's just a friend," Elizabeth said to him, feeling small under his glare as he watched her, refusing to let his eyes drop from hers. "Ever since I met him…he's been a friend…someone to talk to who doesn't talk about the same mundane subjects like dresses and new hairstyles."
"So what do you talk about?" Jacob asked her, folding his arms over his chest and shrugging.
"I…everything…nothing…"
"Have you told him about us?" Jacob asked from her.
"No."
"Liar."
The word hung in the air, dangerous and threatening to take root. Her throat clenched and she could hear the blood rushing into her ears, her breathing turning shallow and her eyes widening and becoming wet. Jacob moved towards her and she instantly stepped back, only for her back to come into contact with her vanity.
"What have you told him?" Jacob demanded to know from her.
"Nothing," she said, trying to keep up the lie.
"I'll give you one last chance, you lying bitch," Jacob warned her, face inches from her as he towered over her, seeing how she shrunk away from him, looking down to the floor and he knew that she was going to start crying. "What did you tell him?"
Tears fell down her cheeks then and she shook her head, lips parted but nothing coming out of them. Jacob's glare increased and his face turned red with anger.
"Speak!" he roared at her, causing her to jump back and sob loudly, unable to stop herself as he reached for her throat, his fingers closing around it, but not tight enough to restrict air. Elizabeth instantly moved so that she was looking back to him, trying to relieve some of the pressure of his hand on her.
"He worked it out," she said, fear well and truly taking hold of her. "He saw the bruises and he deduced that they were from you, but I try to hide them…I told him it was a one time thing…and he…he believed me."
"You're a terrible liar, darling," he hissed the term of endearment, his grip increasing. "And what do you think he wants from you, hmm? Do you think that he truly cares about you? Do you think that he could care about some pathetic, worthless creature like you? No. He pities you. That's all. He pities you in the same way I pity you."
"He's nothing like you," Elizabeth said and she suspected that was perhaps the wrong thing to say. His grip tightened before he turned her around, his other hand moving to the back of her head and slamming her face first into the side of the wardrobe by her dressing table. She yelled in pain as he let go of her, letting her fall to the fall, legs collapsing beneath her.
"You dumb whore," Jacob snapped at her. "You go to him because you think that he cares, but he's a smart man, Elizabeth. He's a smart man and you're just some dumb socialite whose parents sold her off to the highest bidder. He's probably using you for some kind of paper he is writing…some kind of experiment…"
"He isn't like that," Elizabeth shook her head, managing to move to her feet and letting her eyes flicker to the door. She could run. She was quick. She was quicker than he was, especially after he had been drinking.
Jacob laughed at that, shaking his head back and forth. "You really are that stupid, aren't you?" he asked from her, bending at the waist and gathering his breath, almost as though he had been laughing too hard. "No one would want you, Elizabeth…no one truly did. All of those high society boys who you let under your skirts didn't want to marry you, not really. What would they want with a girl who hasn't even been to college? A girl who is naïve enough to think that an actual doctor would want her?"
"You wanted me," she spat back at him and he shook his head.
"At the time," he nodded his head. "But now I can't get rid of you and believe me, I've thought about it. But the fact is that you're mine."
He went silent then and Elizabeth's breath hitched as he spoke to her.
"The only good thing about you was between your legs, but trust me, there's plenty of girls who are better than you and your dear Doctor Kreizler will work that out eventually…unless you've already spread your legs for him? Let the cripple have ruined goods?"
Elizabeth stopped herself from wincing at his crude comment. She remained still, emotionless. Trying not to let him see how his words impacted her. She would do everything in her power to stop that from happening.
"Or do you think that he can be your saviour? Do you seriously think that he can save you from me? Why would he even bother? You're not worth it."
"He already told me to leave you," Elizabeth said, unable to hold her tongue as Jacob narrowed his glare at her and she stepped forwards towards him, but preparing to bolt to the door and run away. "He told me that he would look after me…keep me safe from you…"
"You're not his," Jacob hissed.
"I'd rather be his than yours," Elizabeth retorted and that earned her a palm across the face, the slap almost knocking her off balance as the noise echoed through the room. Jacob glowered at her, spit forming at the corner of his mouth as he yelled at her, refusing to back down.
"You naïve, stupid girl," he snarled. "Look at you. You're nothing, Elizabeth. There are more intelligent and attractive girls than you. He just pities you and probably hopes you'll fuck him. After that, then he'll cast you out. Why wouldn't he?"
"Because he's not like that," Elizabeth continued defending him and Jacob wanted to laugh at her. "He's a good man."
"All men are good men until they get what they want or they get bored and trust me, he would very easily get bored of you."
"I need to change," Elizabeth said, trying to move past Jacob, but he took hold of her arm.
"You're going nowhere until I show you who you belong to, and it isn't that damn alienist," he snapped and reached for the robe she was wearing, tugging it off of her shoulders. But she pushed at his shoulders, trying to keep him off of her as he tugged the buttons of her nightgown roughly, pulling some of them off with the force. But Elizabeth wasn't going to let him get away with this.
She couldn't overpower him, but she could shock him. She gathered saliva into her mouth and spat up at him, blurring his vision and giving her time to escape his grip. She ran for the door and down the hall, Jacob only a few steps behind her as he caught up with her easily, his hand curling into her hair as she tried to pull at it. But he grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back with so much force that she yelled out in pain, feeling a sharp shooting pain in the limb.
"Jacob…my arm," she begged from her husband.
"I don't care. You're mine, Elizabeth. Do you understand me? You're not his…you never will be…and no one else will have you."
"Jacob, please!" she snapped again as she felt him kiss the side of her neck and she tried to get away from him before speaking again, needing to anger him to get him off of her. "I'll never want you, not like I want him…because I love him."
The three words hung in the air, but they had desired effect. Jacob stopped kissing her and she thought that he was going to let her go. She hoped that he was going to let her leave. But he didn't. Before she could get away from him, he had his hand back in her hair and was pushing her forwards. Her foot caught in the spindle of the bannister and she fell forwards, tumbling down the stairs and screaming in pain, her limbs protesting at the movement. She could feel a sharp pain in her leg as well, her ribs aching as she finally stopped falling and laid on her back, hand going to her stomach as she thought about her baby.
The staircase groaned under Jacob's weight as he moved down the steps and stood over her. He spat down at her and reached for his coat from the coatrack. Shrugging into it, he gave her a final glance back.
"You're a dumb, foolish, girl, Elizabeth. He'll work that out eventually."
He left without another word and Elizabeth began sobbing freely, her body unable to move as her hand remained on her stomach and she screamed in pain, hoping someone might hear her. But no one came. No one came for her until John Moore found her in the hallway an hour later.
…
Elizabeth had gone to check on Charlotte as soon as they arrived back home, Marcus in the bedroom and holding Lucy in his arms. He had grown particularly fond of the babe after spending time with her. Lucius was downstairs in the parlour, flipping through a book related to the case that they were working on. Elizabeth took Lucy from Marcus when he said that he had to go back to work and Laszlo appeared in the doorway, thanking the detective for his help.
"Should we talk about what happened today?" Laszlo asked from Elizabeth as she sat down in the usual spot and he looked over her as she glanced up to him. She shrugged her shoulders.
"What is there to talk about?"
"A great many things, I feel," Laszlo said to her.
"Then name them," she urged from him.
"Well, to begin with there was the incident back at the Institute."
"What is there to say about that?" Elizabeth was confused, her brows knitted together in confusion. "We said what needed to be said, Laszlo. You have to appeal this decision and hopefully the board will see that you did nothing wrong."
"And if they don't?"
"They will," Elizabeth replied forcefully.
"But if they don't then I need to think about what it is I want to do and, even if they do reinstate my licence, I have to consider…well…would I be happy to return there or would I want something else?"
Elizabeth's brow furrowed at hearing that and Laszlo sat down on the stool next to her chair, hands folding together in between his legs. He shrugged once more and Elizabeth wondered what it was that was going on in his mind. She moved to angle her body so that she was facing him.
"How long have you been thinking this?" she questioned from him.
"Not long," he confessed. "I just began to wonder if there is more out there for me. I have lived my life inside of the walls of that Institute and I do not know if that is what I wish to do for the rest of my life."
"You would want to close it?" Elizabeth wondered.
He shook his head. "I would not do that," he said. "But a caretaker could look after it in my place. I still believe that the work we do at the Institute is valuable, but I just suppose that it can continue running without me. It doesn't need me and I wonder if there are new pastures for me to take."
Elizabeth thoughtfully nodded, turning her head to the side to glance back to Charlotte. "I know that I don't say anything…and that you maybe don't know…but that Institute really helped me when I came to you," Elizabeth confessed to her husband, her fingers drumming on the arm of the seat as she pulled her legs tighter underneath her body.
"It gave me a sense that I could be useful…that I could help…and even though I know I spent more time with Charlotte, I used to love the way that the other children would look at me, almost as though I did have something to give them…that they wanted me there…enjoyed me reading to them and teaching them," Elizabeth continued, looking down to her hands, her eyes widening for a moment and her forehead frowning. "After years of being told that I was worthless…that no one would want me…working there and being with you began to persuade me that maybe Jacob had been wrong. Maybe I was worth something."
Laszlo moved his hand out to take hold of hers, his fingers curling around hers tightly as he ran his thumb over her knuckles, the motion soothing and tender. Elizabeth peered over to him and Laszlo knew that, despite time having passed, there were still demons Elizabeth fought.
"You're worth more than you know," Laszlo promised her, bending over and kissing the back of her hand gently, not letting go of her fingers as she looked down at their entwined limbs.
"I will support you in whatever decision you take," Elizabeth promised her husband and he had to confess that meant more to him than she knew. He nodded and whispered a soft thank you before they lapsed into silence, Laszlo thinking back on the events of the day. He kept his eyes closed, his hand still in hers.
Elizabeth resumed her staring at the wall across from her and Laszlo knew that she was thinking once again. He began to stand after ten or so minutes, his hand giving hers a final squeeze before he prised his fingers away. He began to move off to the door, but Elizabeth turned her head over her shoulder as she watched the back of him.
"Where are you going?" she asked him.
"I…well…I was just going to go downstairs." He said, not entirely sure what he was doing, only questioning if she wanted him there.
"Can you stay?" Elizabeth asked from him.
Laszlo looked surprised, his facial features fleetingly showing that with his arched brows. He masked it quickly, however, moving towards her and nodding his head. He wondered what she was doing before she stood up and he let her manoeuvre him towards the chair. He sat down and watched her as she hesitantly moved to settle down on his lap. Laszlo moved his arms to give her space, feeling her arm wrap around his broad shoulders as she left her head to rest by his shoulder, her hair brushing against his neck. Laszlo let out a shaky breath, knowing that this should feel normal. And it did when he let himself relax. But it just felt strange after her constant brushing him away. He dared to wrap an arm around her waist, holding onto her and resting his cheek on the top of her head.
"Are we going to be alright?" Elizabeth whispered against his neck, her hand resting in her skirts that were draped over her lap and down his legs.
"What do you mean?" Laszlo questioned from her.
"Us…can it be how it was?" Elizabeth wondered and Laszlo didn't want to tell her the truth. He didn't want to tell her that it depended on what happened to that little girl in the bed. He didn't want to tell her how he feared she would spiral even further down if Charlotte didn't wake. And so he did what he thought was best. He gave her the answer he knew that she wanted to hear.
"We can get through this," he settled on saying to her, not wanting to lie.
Laszlo heard a gentle exhale leave her lips and Elizabeth closed her eyes, burrowing closer against him and knowing that he was lying to her. He had chosen his words carefully. He had told her that they could get through it, but they wouldn't be how they were. She tried not to cry, her eyes wet as she blinked them back and felt him kiss the top of her head as she clung tightly onto his shoulders, almost as though she were clinging onto him completely.
…
Laszlo knew that he had things that needed to be done. He had reluctantly left Elizabeth with Charlotte and Lucy, telling her that he would be back as quickly as possible. But he had to work out what he should do at the Institute and what should happen to the children, but on top of that he still had to help find Libby Hatch. He had found himself back at 808 Broadway the following morning, John and Sara already present.
"How is Paulie?" Sara asked and Laszlo was not surprised that she had heard the news of what had happened at the Institute. No doubt it was on every edition of the newspapers.
Laszlo nodded once, bowing his head and moving around the office as John remained stood with his hand in his pocket.
"They say that he will physically recover," Laszlo said. "But I don't know how far this will set him back in the work I have done with him. He claims that he was trying to emulate Houdini, but I suspect this was a plea for affection…affection that I should have given him." He ran a hand over his chin and both John and Sara could see the turmoil behind his gaze. "I failed him."
"You did not fail him," Sara denied, not wanting to hear him blame himself. "You did everything that you could for him."
She sat down at her desk, John sitting on the other side of it. A map was open between both of them, but Laszlo remained stood, holding onto his cane and his green coat sat on his shoulders, almost as though he had no intention of staying for too long.
"Paulie does not know the Institute is closed and I am struggling to find a caretaker to reopen it."
"Where should he go if it remains closed?" John wondered from him.
"I fear he will be sent to an orphanage," Laszlo replied.
There was silence then, Sara's eyes glimmering with pity as she looked up to Laszlo and spoke, her voice soft, but a determination behind it.
"There is only one thing for it then," she said and he glanced down to her, wondering what she could possibly be discussing. "The Vanderbilt family have called on my services," she explained to him. "Their child has gone missing and they believe that Libby Hatch is the one who has committed the kidnapping. I returned to the house where she had hid the Linares baby and I found items with the Vanderbilt family crest on them…but I also found this too."
She reached into the drawer of her desk and pulled out a silver chain alongside a stuffed bear. Laszlo looked at the items, sitting down in the chair next to John and taking hold of them. Shaking his head, he let his brows knit together as he took the necklace, opening the pendant to see the photo inside of it.
"These were in the room?" he checked.
"I recognised the photograph instantly. It is the one you had commissioned when Lucy was born, was it not?"
"I…I had intended to give it to Elizabeth as a surprise," Laszlo said to Sara. "I had left it on the top of my drawers, but then I couldn't find the box. I thought that I had misplaced it somewhere and had intended to find it before recent events happened."
"And the bear?" John asked. "It's the one I gave Lucy, is it not?"
"Either you or Sara," Laszlo responded, remembering how they had both turned up with the exact same gift. Laszlo picked the bear up and looked over it. Its fur was rather matted and the bow around its neck had come undone, also slightly torn. "Elizabeth said that she feared she had lost it when she took Charlotte and Lucy to the park."
"On a day when she met Libby?"
"Yes," Laszlo nodded his head. "But for her to have taken the necklace…she must have been into our house…she must have had access."
"Did Elizabeth ever invite her in?" Sara wondered.
Laszlo quickly shook his head. "She was careful not to," Laszlo said.
"Well, we could always ask her-"
"-No," Laszlo quickly interrupted John, looking between the two of them as he took a breath and swallowed. "She is going through so much as it is that I don't want her to know this. I don't want to add anymore unnecessary worry to her. She struggles to sleep…worries constantly…if Libby Hatch has taken another child then that means she is not concerned with Lucy and is unlikely to return to our home."
"Should we be keeping this from her?" Sara wondered.
"I…I promised her that we would not keep secrets," Laszlo confessed to the two of them in the room. "But this would do her no good to know. She is fragile as things stand. I fear that one more piece of news that might scare her or cause her distress could break her, especially with Charlotte how she is."
"Then we can keep it quiet for now," Sara agreed with him on that point. "And there is a way your licence can be reinstated. I have told Mr Vanderbilt that I will take this case so long as you are able to practice medicine once again and work with me. I need your expertise, Laszlo. I cannot do this without you."
"I appreciate your will, Sara," Laszlo said earnestly. "But even Mr Vanderbilt does not have the power to overturn the state board without quorum."
"Don't abandon hope, Laszlo," Sara begged from him. "Help me find the Vanderbilt child and Libby Hatch. And not only will we find them, but I promise you that I will hold Vanderbilt to his word and the Institute will be reopened. Let us do that."
Laszlo took a moment before nodding his head. "Hope is in short supply nowadays," he confessed to Sara.
"Even so, we must always have some of it, even if it is only a slither," she said and Laszlo suspected that she had a good point in what she was saying to him. He could only nod and he sat down as John stood up, clasping him on the shoulder and moving towards the chalkboard.
"So, the question is, what do we know about Libby Hatch?" he wondered, picking up a piece of chalk and looking to the two of them, Sara moving to her feet and pacing, her black skirt flowing behind her.
"I felt that we had a bond when we first met and then when I took her for lunch. I feel that Elizabeth also felt the same way."
"Elizabeth did like her," Laszlo agreed with Sara on that point, remembering the conversations they had at the end of the day, laid in bed where she confessed her thoughts and feelings to him and he did the same. "She liked how she was kind and attentive…but she said she almost felt worried about things."
"But there was an intelligence there," Sara added on. "She wanted us to see her that way. She presented that image of herself."
"Liars are like magicians," Laszlo said to her. "We are deceived by what we see and what we are told. However, beneath that…a liar will always tell at least one truth. They cannot maintain a lie forever. And the bond that you felt with her must have been genuine for a reason…the exact same reason why Elizabeth also felt the same way."
Laszlo stood up and leant against the back of the desk, hands going into his pockets as the two men waited for Sara to think and say something. They could see her trying to remember everything there was to remember about Libby Hatch, her mind clearly at work.
"Her father," Sara said and looked between them. "We both lost our fathers."
Laszlo nodded at that. "That would make sense."
"She lost her father when she was young. She said that he had an accident on a bridge."
"But Elizabeth despised her father," John said. "Is it possible for that to be the bond for both of them?"
"Possible, perhaps," Laszlo mused, hand once again cupping his cheek before he drummed two fingers against the bottom of it. "Elizabeth always loved her father as a child growing up. She adored him…but when he turned to gambling and drink, he became a different man. She always told me that was when she felt she had lost him completely."
"Then it could have been that she was telling the truth," Sara said. "Besides, how one can lie about such a thing is beyond me. She was too…there was a vulnerability to her…her look…I think that she was telling the truth."
Laszlo and John nodded, knowing that Sara could have a valid point in what she was saying.
"And such a public act would have been reported," John said and he went to take hold of his jacket. He held it in his fingers. "And the New York Times archive would no doubt have that information that we need. Sara, if you have no prior engagement then a spare pair of hands would be very much appreciated."
Sara only nodded at John and Laszlo caught the look between them. Something was different. He could see that much. John stared for a little too long and Sara only looked down. Had something happened? Laszlo suspected as much, but he couldn't be too certain. He didn't push it either, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable.
"Laszlo, take care and send Elizabeth my best," John said.
"Of course," Laszlo said and John left the room without another word.
Laszlo languished in the silence for a few moments, wondering if Sara was going to speak first. He didn't wait long, only taking a few paces towards the chalkboard before she had his attention once more.
"There was something else I saw when I followed Libby that night," she confessed, hands in the pockets of her skirt. "I hadn't mentioned it before because I had already found Ana Linares."
Laszlo confessed his interest piqued, his head tilting slightly as he moved towards Sara.
"What was it?" he asked.
"I observed from afar Libby and Goo Goo Knox," Sara began and her voice seemed hesitant, almost confused even. "She appeared to be nursing him. He was feeding from her but it also appeared to be rather carnal."
"Lactophilia," Laszlo whispered. "It's most curious," he agreed with Sara on that point.
"Do you have any reason why they might do that? Is there a reason? Can it help us?"
"Possibly," Laszlo answered her final two questions. "But I do not know what that reason might be. The female perspective is one that I am not entirely familiar with, however I know someone who might be able to help."
"Who?"
"Professor Karen Stratton," Laszlo said. "She spoke with me before about the case to give me a different perspective. Her advice proved rather useful and helpful…I also feel that I owe he an apology after what happened yesterday."
"And what did happen?"
"I…perhaps I overstepped, but I had no malicious intentions," Laszlo said to Sara and she wondered what he was saying before he went back to her desk, picking up the necklace that was sat there on the side. He opened the locket and looked at the photo of his family.
"Elizabeth came to the hospital at the same time Karen was there after having heard what had happened to Paulie. I was sat talking to Karen…and she…she said some comforting things and was simply being kind after what had happened, both with Paulie and with Charlotte," Laszlo said. "I reached out and took hold of her hand. Elizabeth saw and came to the wrong conclusion."
"I see," Sara said, arms folding over her chest as she heard him tell her the story and she wondered just what more she could say on the matter. She suspected there was nothing more to it than an innocent and friendly moment.
"She thought that I had called Karen instead of her. She only found out about Paulie after Helen called the house," Laszlo said and he waved a hand into the air. "And then she saw that…and began to worry…after spending the morning confessing to me how she feared I would eventually realise that she is not enough for me."
"Oh, Laszlo," Sara sighed in sadness.
"And I should have known because of what she has been through and what Jacob did to her…the things he said…the way he made her feel," Laszlo shook his head, not wanting to remember exactly what had happened. But he did. He remembered every word she had repeated to him. "But I just want her to see that she has no reason to worry. I just wish that she would, but after what has happened with Charlotte, she is self-destructing. She blames herself for everything. She is punishing herself by convincing herself that she deserves nothing good…including her family…including me."
"I can't begin to imagine," Sara said and Laszlo nodded, agreeing with her on that point. "But you've always been there for her, Laszlo. You've always stood by her side and had her best interests at heart. I cannot imagine what this is doing to you either."
"And that was why I spoke with Karen," Laszlo said. "Someone who perhaps understand why Elizabeth is reacting how she is…someone who listens to my worries so that I don't burden them on Elizabeth at this moment in time…but, naturally, Elizabeth worried that it might be something more."
"And deep down she knows it is not," Sara said. "She is just going through a trying time, Laszlo."
"I know," Laszlo agreed on that point with her. "But I feel I still owe her an apology and she perhaps might offer insight into the case too."
"Do you intend to go and see her now?"
"Might be for the best," Laszlo said. "Could I use your phone before I go?"
"Of course," Sara said and Laszlo inclined his head in thanks, Sara watching him go and she began to wonder just what it was that made loving someone the best, yet most difficult, thing she knew.
…
Elizabeth had almost begun to doze off in the chair, Marcus already snoring across from her. It had just gone four in the afternoon and both of them had been napping, neither of them very talkative. Elizabeth forced herself to stay awake, reaching for the book she had left on Charlotte's bedside table. Picking it up, she flipped it open to the page she had been on that she had folded over. Laszlo hated it when she did that. He wondered why she was so averse to bookmarks, always straightening out the fold whenever he got his hands on the book she was reading. But then she would complain that he had lost her page.
It was all playful, of course. It was bickering, teasing. She would snatch the book back from him and hold it behind her back as he tried to get it back, his arms wrapping around her until the book was forgotten, hitting the floor with a thud and the two of them laughing together.
Elizabeth's lips quirked at that memory for a brief moment before she heard a rustling. Looking up, she glanced to the window and suspected that it was the curtains in the breeze. But it was a still day. Her brow furrowed as the rustling began again and she looked to Lucy in her crib as she heard a moan. Standing up, she peered down at her daughter. But she was fast asleep. The groan echoed in the room again and Elizabeth's eyes opened wide as she turned to the bed, a gasp escaping her as she saw Charlotte's lips part, groaning as her fingers twitched in the quilt.
"Charlotte," Elizabeth breathed out her name loudly, moving over to her and kneeling by the side of the bed. "Charlotte…it's me…"
Charlotte continued muttering as Elizabeth reached for a cushion from the chair behind her and launched it at Marcus. The young detective instantly startled, his snores stopping and his eyes looking around, disorientated from being woken so suddenly.
"What the…" he began, looking to Elizabeth.
"Charlotte…come on…just let me know you can hear me."
Charlotte mumbled again, the noises incoherent before she opened her eyes slowly, blinking a number of times and Elizabeth felt tears cloud her vision. She pushed them away with the back of her hand, her lips arching as she tried to smile encouragingly over to Charlotte.
"There you go," Elizabeth said, tentatively moving her fingers out and brushing Charlotte's hair from her face as Marcus looked at the sight, amazed at what he was seeing in front of him. She was waking up. There was no mistaking it.
"Marcus…can you call Doctor Phillips? Please?"
"On it," he promised her, rushing for the door and down to the phone in the entrance hall.
"Elizabeth," Charlotte grunted out loud.
"It's me, sweetheart," Elizabeth confirmed, nodding with tears streaming down her face, her chest heaving and her stomach flipping. She reached her hand out for Charlotte's taking hold of it and squeezing it gently. "I'm here."
"Lucy?" Charlotte wondered and Elizabeth pondered on what it was she remembered. "Is Lucy okay?"
"She's fine, thanks to you," Elizabeth said, her other hand going to stroke her hair against the pillow softly. "Everyone is fine and you're awake. You're going to be okay. We just need to wait for the doctor to come and check up on you."
"I feel tired," Charlotte muttered and Elizabeth almost wanted to make her stay awake, almost too scared for her to go back to sleep in case she didn't wake again. She didn't think that she could bear that. No, she knew that she couldn't. "What happened to me?"
"You fell over," Elizabeth said to her. "You fell over and you hit your head. You've been sleeping for quite some time."
"Will I be okay?"
"I hope so," Elizabeth said to her. "But we need the doctor to come and make certain of that, alright? So you need to stay in bed and rest for the time being."
"Will you stay with me?"
"Darling, I'm not going anywhere," Elizabeth squeezed her hand and bent down to kiss her on the forehead.
…
Elizabeth knew that Laszlo was going to 808 Broadway. Doctor Phillips had been at the house within the hour, but no one was picking the phone up at 808. They must have gone home for the day. That meant that Laszlo must be on his way home. Elizabeth sat with Charlotte as Doctor Phillips checked her vitals, asking her a series of questions and performing a series of tests. Nodding his head, Phillips at least seemed relieved with what he was seeing.
"You might suffer with some coordination, Charlotte," he informed her. "And your memory might also suffer, but with any luck and with mental and physical exercise, you will make a full recovery. But, for now, you need to continue resting. I need you to keep resting until I see you next and we can see how you've been getting on…with your memory…ability to read…move…"
"Okay," Charlotte nodded, not entirely certain if she had to worry. She felt fine. She just felt tired.
"Mrs Kreizler, I assume you can inform your husband of this?"
"I can," Elizabeth agreed with a nod.
"If not, I can always call later and tell him myself."
"I think I can cope," Elizabeth said to him and Marcus showed Doctor Phillips out of the house.
Looking to the clock on the side, Elizabeth wondered where Laszlo could be. He should be home by now. 808 was not that far away. Looking to Charlotte, Elizabeth saw her yawn loudly and she smiled down to her, brushing her hair behind her shoulder.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" she said to her. "I'll try and find out where Laszlo is and by the time he's home, I'm sure he'll be excited to see you too."
"You don't mind me sleeping more?"
"Darling, not at all," Elizabeth promised her, kissing her on her forehead and smiling widely at her. "You sleep. I will find Laszlo and when you wake up we can have more cake, yes? Would you like that?"
Charlotte nodded and Elizabeth chuckled, giving her one final kiss on the forehead before tucking her back into bed. Charlotte laid down and the quilt was pulled around her forehead as she closed her eyes. Elizabeth went to shut the curtains to give her some darkness and she picked Lucy up from the crib. Leaving the room, she shut the door, leaving it only cracked open slightly.
"She wants to sleep," Elizabeth said to Marcus, coming downstairs and finding him stood in the hall. "But I don't know where Laszlo is. He should be home by now."
"Do you want me to call Sara at John's?"
Elizabeth frowned. "Why is Sara staying with John?"
"Well, since the incident with Libby, he has insisted she stay there for safety. No one knows, however. I only found out because Bitsy told Lucius and he told me."
"I can call them," Charlotte promised him. "Would you mind taking hold of Lucy for a moment?"
"Of course."
Marcus took hold of Lucy, cooing down at her as Elizabeth reached for the phone and began to dial for John's house. She placed the phone to her ear and heard it ring before he answered.
"John, it's Elizabeth," she said quickly, wasting no time in pleasantries or polite conversation. She intended on getting straight to the point. "Do you know where Laszlo is? It's important…Charlotte…she's awake."
"Charlotte's awake?" John responded. "Oh, Elizabeth, that is wonderful news. How is she?"
"Tired, but she says apart from that she feels fine," Elizabeth continued. "But I can't get hold of Laszlo."
"Laszlo?" he checked. "He was at 808 with us, but we went to the New York Times. I don't know where he went…he didn't come with us…oh…just a moment, Sara wants to talk to you."
There was a murmur and the phone was clearly being passed to Sara.
"Elizabeth, Charlotte is awake?" Sara checked.
"She is."
"That is amazing," Sara said to her. "And Laszlo was with us, but he intended to go and meet with a colleague to discuss the case further...I…I do not wish to cause any trouble between the two of you…but it was Professor Karen Stratton."
Elizabeth's stomach sunk at hearing that. She felt slightly deflated, despite telling herself that it meant nothing. She was a colleague. She was someone who helped Laszlo on the case and that was all there was to it.
"Do you know where he was meeting her?"
"I believe it was at some parlour…I think I might be able to recall the address," Sara said, reeling it off as Elizabeth made a note of it on the paper next to the phone, picking the pen up from the side of it and writing it down quickly.
She thanked Sara and hung up, reaching for her coat on the coat stand. She tugged the red material over her dark, blue dress and slipped into her shoes too, tugging them on while jumping on one foot to keep her balance. Pulling her hair from the collar, she pulled the slip of paper from the pad and dropped it into her pocket before looking at Marcus as she entered the parlour.
"I need to go and find Laszlo. I know where he is and I shouldn't be long. Can you stay here?"
"Of course," Marcus said. "Lucius should be here soon anyway."
"Thanks, Marcus," Elizabeth said, moving to peck him on the cheek and kiss Lucy on the top of her head.
Taking off from the house, she rushed down the streets, trying to find a cab and thanking Laszlo for always insisting that she kept money inside of the pocket of her coat. He warned her that she never knew when she might need it in case of an emergency. She finally hailed a cab and gave the driver the address. He stopped just down the road from the parlour as he couldn't get any closer due to a block in traffic.
Elizabeth paid for the fare and moved over to the parlour, her cheeks tinged red and her eyes no doubt still glossy and swollen after all of the crying she had done. Pushing her hands into the pockets of her coat, she entered the parlour and stood behind a queue of people waiting to be seated. She looked around, eyes scanning for any sign of Laszlo.
And then she saw him. He was sat on the raised area at a table. He was seated directly next to Professor Stratton, her hair once again impeccably pulled up into a bun with a hat on her head, her dress flowing down her body in soft swathes. Elizabeth looked over to them for a moment before seeing the way Laszlo's eyes dropped down Karen's body and she wondered just what was happening as she followed his movement.
Karen's hand had gone into her dress, pulling her skirts upwards and revealing the pale skin of her ankle. Laszlo's gaze remained fixed on it for a few moments as Elizabeth remained where she was, almost rooted on the spot and stuck there.
"You see? Do you think that he would ever want to be with you? Why would he?"
The voice in her head was clear as she saw Laszlo run a hand over his chin, picking his gaze back up and looking back into her eyes.
"She's well-educated. She can match his intellect. I told you that you'd never be enough for him."
Karen leaned in closer then, saying something in a hushed tone as Laszlo chuckled and Elizabeth wondered just what could be so funny. She saw his shoulders move up and down and her hands grew clammy inside of her pockets.
"You entertained him for a while…gave him what he wanted…but now…well…now he's found someone whose worthy of him, and that's not you."
Elizabeth chewed down on the inside of her cheek as the queue in front of her disappeared, the waiter finally addressing her. She didn't hear him the first time he questioned her, still focused on the two figures in front of her, Jacob's voice in her head, his words plaguing her mind.
"Miss?"
Elizabeth finally snapped out of her daze, looking at the young waiter in front of her with a concerned expression on his face.
"Are you alright, miss? Are you here with someone?" he asked from her.
"Yes," Elizabeth finally said. "Doctor Kreizler."
The waiter nodded and went off to find Laszlo, despite Elizabeth seeing him clear as day. As he tapped him on the shoulder, Laszlo looked up at the man who bent down to whisper in his ear. Laszlo turned his head over his shoulder and looked to the door, finding Elizabeth stood there. He moved to his feet and reached for his cane, taking his coat from the waiter who handed it to him as he began to leave, Karen watching him.
"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" Laszlo asked as he came before his wife, coat over his arm.
"Charlotte's awake," she said to him and he gasped loudly.
"She's awake?" he asked from her. "When? How?"
"Earlier this afternoon," Elizabeth said to him. "She woke up and Doctor Phillips came…he said that she has to rest…but hopefully she will recover. I tried to call 808 and then I got hold of Sara and she said that you would be here. Marcus is with the girls."
"We should return home," Laszlo said, shrugging into his coat. "This is wonderful…Charlotte…I can't believe it."
"Nor can I, but she's awake," Elizabeth said to him and Laszlo moved his hand to the small of her back, guiding her out of the parlour and lowering his head to kiss her on her temple as they came to the sidewalk. Laszlo continued talking as Elizabeth looked back into the parlour through the glass, her gaze finding Karen once more as the woman took a sip of her drink, her lips arched and head bowed as though she clearly found something entertaining.
"You know that he's going to get bored of you eventually. And that day is coming. It's coming so soon."
Elizabeth pushed the voice back as they climbed into the carriage and Laszlo smiled at her as he called up to Stevie, telling him to get them back home quickly because Charlotte was awake. Stevie happily obliged as Elizabeth took her space next to her husband, his hand moving to pick hers up and hold it tightly as he smiled to her and she forced her own lips to pick up. But there was still that niggling doubt inside of her over what she had just seen. And no matter how hard she tried to push it away, it wouldn't go.
…
A/N: Okay so this is definitely the longest chapter so far! Hope you enjoyed it. A lot happened here – we had some good news, but still more drama to come before things get wrapped up. Love reading what you think and sorry for putting you through trauma, but hoping you stay with me until the end. Do let me know your thoughts/feelings!