The Grand Gesture
William's head was spinning, as he stood looking down at Eliza staring up at the building in front of her. It had been a whirlwind few weeks, and he still wasn't entirely sure his feet had touched the ground.
It started with a trip to Eliza's office at Henry Scarlet's Agency. She wasn't there, of course, she was rarely there these days since Nash's agency was keeping her far busier than when she worked for herself. He'd let himself in with his key and he'd stared around the office that once belonged to his former mentor. The room held so many memories for him, not just of times with Henry, but with Eliza too.
He looked at the chairs remembering all the occasions that he and Henry had shared drinks and discussed cases together, followed closely by similar times with Eliza. He looked at the picture of Henry standing proudly next to Eliza when she was younger. It was taken not long before he met them. Sometimes, he still can't believe his luck that Henry saw something in him and chose to take a chance mentoring him.
He glanced at Eliza's blank desk, Henry's stack of encyclopaedias lined up on a shelf on the wall and the large map of London outdated from a time before the expansion boom when the world felt smaller. He sat down at her desk and looked around contented. The walls could use a fresh coat of paint, and the fireplace a clean-up, but this room still felt like home in a way.
He knew that Eliza hid a bottle of good sherry in the bottom drawer, just for the occasional late evening nightcap and he poured himself a drink. Sherry was a little too sweet for his liking, it lacked the distinct smoke and burn of a Whiskey. It was wrong to poke around while she wasn't there, and he wasn't looking for anything, but he started to pull open a few drawers just for something to do rather than to see what was in there. In the top drawer, he found a brown paper package haphazardly opened, with the string still slightly wrapped around it.
He casually moved the top wrapping and the lamp light hit the gold nameplate attached to the thick dark oak wood. Eliza Scarlet, Private Detective Agency. It made him smile at first, seeing her name so carefully engraved, and then he realised she'd not put it up, nor had she made the name changes to the agency that she suggested when she thought she would be coming into a sum of money from finding Martin Crabtree.
This is what she wants, he told himself in the silence of the room. This agency, her agency, not working for someone else. He releases a heavy sigh, because the one thing she wants, he can't give her. He's not Patrick Nash with the largest detective agency in London and he can't offer her tons of money any more than he can give her independence and freedom. He's simply a workhouse kid, with no family, little money, and a job with rules and regulations to follow.
In the two years since Henry Scarlet had passed, never more had he wished the man himself was still alive to offer his guidance on what to do next than at that moment, but the office remained eerily silent.
As he left her office downhearted, deep down he knows no matter how much he loves her, he will never be able to offer her enough. She deserves the adventure of a lifetime, and all he can offer is this town.
Then, something he never expected happened. Superintendent Munro was suddenly re-assigned to Bristol, meaning Chief Inspector Sutton had to step up and whilst there was talk this was temporary while a replacement was found, it seemed no one was in a rush for one to be found. William hadn't even given the change a passing thought. He'd never even considered for a second that he would be asked to step up to Chief Inspector, after all, he'd been passed up for promotion so many times before that he didn't even dare to dream of it.
Yet on a dreary wet Monday morning, he stood in a state of shock in front of Sutton, who was asking him just that, and not temporarily, but in a permanent position. Certainly, he had worked with Sutton for years, and their paths crossed on numerous occasions, but William never thought that it meant he would consider him for a promotion so readily.
"We've been down on numbers for too long, and as someone who's been in the position, the home office has thankfully listened to me and agreed to some extra funding. It means juggling around some people, and if you want it, the job's yours."
"Yes… Sir…" William answered without a second thought, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Good. You'll start today I'm afraid since we're so short of men, so whatever you've got on, you'll need to pass it over to someone else."
William nodded; despite the fact, at that moment his mind couldn't even comprehend what cases he even had to hand over. Sutton dismissed him with a single folded piece of paper to take to the head cashier, who would update his employment record with his new position and wage.
Just as he reached the office door and his hand reached for the door handle, William's mind kicked in enough to make one request and he turned back around.
"I need Detective Fitzroy on my team, Sir."
Sutton took barely a second to consider the demand, before waving his hand at William, seemingly without a care for what he wanted.
"If you really want him, he's all yours." There was a slight confusion mixed with relief in Sutton's voice before he turned back to look over one of the piles of papers left on the desk. William smiled as he walked out of the Superintendent's office and strode back to his own quickly closing the door and resting against it while he unfolded the piece of paper in his hands. He was shaking as he stared at the amount.
He'd made 12 pounds a week as a Detective Inspector, and with this promotion, that would increase to 21 pounds a week. He was in shock; his heart was racing, causing the blood to pump through his veins so fast he could feel it everywhere. He remembered running away from Glasgow without knowing or caring where he would end up so long as it was as far away from the workhouse as possible. He'd been caught pickpocketing by Henry who then had scared him straight with a night in the cells and a stand-in court in front of Judge Wilkes.
Henry had given him a view of what his life would be like if he continued that path before he began to pay him to deliver messages, then finally convinced him to pursue a future as a Police Officer. Never in his life back then did he think this new wage was possible for him.
He was so elated that he instantly pulled his hat from the stand and made his way to find Eliza at Nash and Sons to share his good fortune with her. He tried to control himself and hide his excitement as he reached the office and was disappointed to find she wasn't there. Nash was surprisingly cordial, given that one of the last times they had met William had punched him to the floor.
"You might like to try her old office. She was looking for some of her father's books to bring back here," Nash said gleefully.
There was something in Nash's tone, but William wasn't sure what it was, perhaps it was just his way of showing off that Eliza worked for him these days and not with William. However, William took no notice of it, as nothing was going to dampen his mood. Instead, he took off to her old office as quickly as he could.
Only she wasn't there either, nor had she removed any of her fathers' books from her office as Nash had suggested she was doing. What he did find was a letter that had been opened but discarded in her bin. It seemed that the offices below hers were being vacated but their current occupants and the landlords were enquiring if she wished to take over an extended lease.
William stared at it as he did some calculations in his head, wonder and possibility ran like wild horses in his mind. Could he do it? Could he somehow give her something worth more to her than just love? What if she didn't want it? Certainly, she was struggling with the detectives at Nash and Sons, but that didn't mean she wouldn't choose to stay. Was he crazy even thinking about it?
"Tempus Fugit, my boy…." Henry's voice boomed loud and clear in his mind.
Whilst William was usually the king of procrastination, on this occasion, he wasted no time and jumped straight in with both feet. So, as he got to grips with his new job and team, he also managed to secure the lease to the larger offices below Eliza's office. He was so busy in the week following his promotion and sorting the paperwork for the office, that he didn't even see Eliza until he literally walked into her as she rounded a corner towards his office at Scotland Yard.
"Eliza…" William offered as he grabbed hold of her arms to stop her from falling back to the floor.
"William how are you?" she asked with a grin as she straightened herself up.
"Fine, you?" he asked suddenly feeling nervous.
"I'm good. I haven't seen you in a while so I thought I would stop by, and see what's been keeping you so busy…"
She was smiling, but there was something that made William suspicious, and he panicked that she'd somehow found out what he was doing. He looked at her blankly waiting for her to say something more rather than slip up himself.
"I hear Congratulations are in order…" William blinked with confusion until Eliza continued. "Your promotion…. To Chief Inspector…"
Suddenly he realised in all his eagerness to not reveal his plans for the office below hers, that he'd forgotten to tell her about the promotion, and despite it, he was happy she was talking about that, and he chuckled.
"Sorry, it's been crazy busy around here," he offered by way of an excuse, as the tension in his shoulders loosened and he relaxed a little. "Who told you?" He asked, but he felt he knew the answer.
"Fitzroy told me. He said you even asked for him personally to join your new team and that you've been burning the midnight oil ever since. Working all hours to impress Superintendent Sutton."
If he didn't know better, he'd say she almost sounded impressed by his dedication, and dare he think it, perhaps she was proud.
"Well, I'm trying…" They both chuckled. "How are you getting on at Nash and Sons?"
"Oh fine…" Her words might have said one thing, but her tone said another, and as he looked closely, he could see a sadness in her eyes that made him want to question her further, but Eliza shook her head, and it was gone.
"Your files on my team were most useful; I think I might even have won around at least one of the men. We currently have a blackmail case involving a member of parliament that we're working on. We have a drinks reception party we're supposed to attend tonight," Eliza explained.
William eyed her deeply as if trying to work out why some of her usual bounce and spark was missing as she spoke.
"Do you want a drink?" he offered, pointing his thumb towards his office, and wondering if she needed to talk.
"No. I should let you get back to your work," she smiled awkwardly. "And I need to prepare for tonight…"
She smiled and turned to leave before William stopped her by speaking.
"If you're not too busy, perhaps we could have dinner, next Friday night? Celebrate together?"
She turned back and he noticed her fiddle with her mother's wedding ring, a sure sign that she was nervous. They hadn't had dinner out together since before he'd begun courting Arabella, so there was nothing to say she'd say yes.
"I'd…. I'd like that…" Eliza offered gently, and for the first time in a while, William saw what he felt was genuine affection from her.
Spurred on by the fact she'd said yes to dinner, William went full speed ahead with his plans. He'd given himself six days to finish off what he needed, and he decided he was going to tell her what he'd done over dinner that evening.
During the day he was up to his ears in work and managing his new team, with Fitzroy as his righthand man. It was more paperwork and distribution of cases to the appropriate team than the detective work he enjoyed but he didn't care.
At night, he was at the offices, cleaning, tidying, and painting. Only once did Eliza almost catch him as she worked late into the evening in her office above. It was curious that she had chosen to work there and not at her office at Nash and Sons, but William couldn't dare question her on it without her wondering how he knew she'd been there.
William found he quite enjoyed the quiet evening while he worked away making the offices presentable. Though Fitzroy was constantly asking if he was okay, given how tired he seemed, and even commented one morning on the fact William had paint still on his hands. William had made up an excuse about having to give his house a fresh coat of paint in the evenings. Painting, it seemed, Fitzroy knew all about from a friend who was an artist and the lad proceeded to give him a ten-minute monologue all about it.
The only positive was William got the name of his friend and when he contacted him that afternoon, the young man said he could easily do the work William was enquiring about within the short timeframe he had.
Despite how tired he felt from the long hours, excitement kept him going and all he had to do when Friday arrived was keep Eliza away from her old office. Unbeknown to Fitzroy he had the task of distracting her, and William had the perfect case, an intriguing missing person on the other side of the Thames that would keep her busy for a few hours at least.
"I want you to get to Nash and Son's, give this to Miss Scarlet and tell her I need you both to work on it personally," William explained to the lad, who was staring at him completely confused.
"But Sir, what am I supposed to say if she queries it?"
"Anything you like, just make sure she doesn't give it to any of her team, it has to be her working on it."
"Sir, I'm not sure I completely follow why Miss Scarlet needs to work this case…" Fitzroy asked as he looked over the case file, unaware of why it was important to William for Eliza to work it.
William wasn't about to give Fitzroy any information for fear the lad might slip up and reveal something to her, and all he needed was someone to keep her out of the way, so she didn't go near her old office, so instead, he just smiled.
"Trust me, she's going to want to work it, and then come to find me the second you're back."
William had a smile on his face the whole morning, and even more, when at lunchtime he went past the office to check on the last thing he needed to do. He bounced up the stairs, let himself in and walked straight to her desk. He looked around the office impressed that the fresh coat of cream and red paint he'd done the night before looked so much better in the daylight.
Then he opened her desk drawer and pulled out what he was looking for. He ran his thumb over her name while he hoped Henry would be looking down approving of what he was doing. If she wasn't going to make the change, then he'd just have to show her he believed in her and do it for her. Without another thought, he left the office and finished the last piece of his plan.
When Fitzroy returned to the station at 4 pm, William had already sent Eliza a message advising her to meet him at her old office at 6 pm so they could discuss her finding on the case before dining together. He was filled with anxious thoughts in the few hours he needed to wait and doubt slightly crept in. What if she didn't like it? What if she chose to stay working for Nash? What if she hated the changes that he'd made without even asking her if she wanted to? Perhaps he should have discussed it with her first.
Thoughts ran through his head until he admitted he would drive himself mad wondering how to deal with it should the problem arise. He would go and meet Eliza and simply hope that she took his offering with the sentiment it was meant. A gift of support.
At 5.30, William strode out of Scotland Yard and took his carriage to Eliza's office. His stomach was a jumbled mess of nerves that he'd never felt before in his life, and whilst it was a short journey, he honestly felt a little sick at the prospect of what Eliza would think.
His carriage pulled up just short of Eliza's office, and William noticed her strolling towards the building. He cursed himself that she was early because he had hoped to arrive just before her. Instead, all he could do was watch helplessly from the carriage as she turned towards the office door and a second later, she stopped completely still as if she'd walked into an invisible brick wall.
From his position, he couldn't quite see her face, but he watched as she raised her hand to cover her mouth, seemingly in total shock. She didn't move from her position for a full minute, and William carefully climbed out of the carriage full of anticipation of her thoughts.
The large sign above the office door looked clean and fresh with its new deep red paintwork and gold lettering reading, Miss Eliza Scarlet, Private Detective, expertly done by Fitzroy's friend. It had been covered up when he passed by earlier, so it was his first time seeing it finished, and he was pleasantly surprised at how impressive it looked.
In the late afternoon sun, the brass plaque that she'd had made but never put up sparkled in its place on the wall next to the door announcing Miss E Scarlet, Private Detective 1st and 2nd-floor offices.
William smiled apprehensively as he approached slowly behind her, noticing that she was still unmoved, as her eyes were fixed on the sign. He wished he could read her mind and know what she thought. He gulped and prepared himself for what was about to happen.
"Looks good, doesn't it?" William said confidently.
Eliza jumped, having not heard his footsteps and quickly turned her head and looked at him full of shock and wonder.
"What did you do?" She asked softly, her eyes wide and unblinking.
William hid his momentary panic, with the fact that Eliza didn't seem in any way angry with her words.
"I thought it was about time for a change," he shrugged. "And since you hadn't, I thought I'd do it for you."
Eliza turned back to look at the building, and William noticed her laboured breathing. Well, she hadn't shouted at him, so that was probably a good sign. He allowed a few moments to watch her before he tapped her arm and made a motion with his head.
"Come on, I'll show you the inside…" He smiled and walked past without looking back as he used his key to unlock the front door, and he hoped she would follow.
"Inside?" Eliza questioned, and he felt her eyes on his back. She had been so taken aback by the change of name on the large sign, she'd not noticed the gold plaque.
A few seconds later she finally picked up her skirt in her hand and moved and slowly followed as he made his way up the stairs to the first floor, unlocked the door, and opened the offices on the first floor.
He turned the dial on the gas lamps one by one illuminating the room and showing off the freshly painted cream and red walls with a strip of blue between them that matched her office upstairs. He'd cleaned up the two large windows that were letting in the last orange rays of evening sunshine and had gotten the nets washed and then re-hung them. Finally, there was a beautiful hand-painted gold sign on the cream-painted back wall, once again by Fitzroy's friend to match the sign on the front of the building.
William held the door as Eliza walked in and whilst in a state of shock, placed her bag on the desk nearest the door and looked around the office in wonder. William watched her as he removed his hat and placed that and the key on the desk near the door before he perched on the corner of it. The silence in the room was deafening, and unsure what else to do he started nervously rambling.
"I've given the walls a coat of paint, so the office colour matches your office upstairs, I've given upstairs a freshen-up as well. There are three desks in here, I've organised them, this one near the door, and then two behind so the light from the windows should work, but we can move them around if you prefer. There's a small office through the door at the back on the left, but to be honest, you can't swing a dead cat around it. I was thinking you could work there when you want to be here with your team, but you might like to meet clients in your office upstairs as it's bigger. I think perhaps if we can work out maybe one senior detective, and then one junior one to start, you go from there…"
William stopped and looked at Eliza who had remained unusually quiet and had yet to look at him, and panic came over him that he'd overstepped her boundaries.
"I know it's not exactly as big an office as Nash and Sons but…. It's yours…"
He stared, watching every movement, as Eliza's eyes darted around before they locked on the sign with her name on it. He wished she'd say something. The anticipation missed with her silence was almost killing him.
"So, what do you think?" William dug his hands in his pockets and nervously awaited her assessment. Was his gesture enough? Too much? Had he stepped too far outside the boundaries of their friendship?
"I…" she was lost for words as she finally turned and looked at him. "William, this… its… wonderful… but… I… can't afford this…" Eliza stumbled.
William nodded, he didn't fully understand her finances, but he was reasonably certain that she had earnt a decent amount at Nash and Sons, and she'd probably put some of it away for future use.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that…" He started to explain himself bashfully while Eliza stared at him confused and interrupted him quickly.
"Why? Is the landlord so desperate he's offering this to me for free…" It was a joke, and she was half laughing as she asked until she noticed William wasn't laughing.
"Not exactly…" William rubbed the back of his neck before he continued. "I saw the letter in your bin from the landlord and my promotion gives me a decent wage increase. I managed to negotiate a reasonable weekly rent and, I can cover it."
"But why? She asked him, seemingly in a daze.
William chuckled softly, surprised she couldn't work out why he would do it for her. It was the same reason he'd do anything for her.
"Because this is what you want, to work for yourself, chose your cases, and I know you can do it…"
"But with Miss above the door?" she asked astounded.
William heard the concern and uncertainty of her words, and for the first time, he realised she might be insecure about her own abilities. He'd teased her before about having Miss above the door, but he knew better now.
"Eliza, you're the most confident, capable woman I've ever met. You took up Henry's agency with nothing but an unquestioning belief that you could do it. I saw the plaque in your drawer, and I know this is what you wanted, your name up there… I figured if you weren't going to put it up, then I would."
"You don't think that will scare clients away?" Eliza blinked, clearly unsure, as she looked at him. She touched her mother's wedding ring and sighed.
"So, what if it does? It's worth a try, isn't it? You've come so far since you took over this place, you've worked hard. You've started making a name for yourself at Nash and Sons, people are talking about you, and you've done enough to know you can make it work…"
Eliza dropped her eyes to the floor before she spoke.
"You suddenly seem to have a lot of faith in me…"
He'd always had faith in her, knew she was capable and with her dogeared determination she would achieve anything she wanted. He'd told her sometimes, but now he realised that perhaps he could have said it more often.
"Well, you've proved me wrong on so many occasions, I've learnt it's erroneous to bet against you…" William chuckled, as Eliza rolled her eyes. "You can do anything, Eliza, no matter what anyone thinks… I know you'll make this work."
"And you want nothing in return?" she queried slowly.
"Why would you think I want something in return?" he replied confused.
"Because doesn't everyone?" she said sadly.
He watched as Eliza looked around the office, a faint smile on her lips as her eyes landed everywhere in the room. As the smile grew a little more with each glance, William's heart grew in confidence that he'd made the right choice for once.
"Call it an investment in your future," he offered with a shrug as if it was nothing.
She moved through the room towards the sign on the back wall. She tentatively touched her name written in gold lettering. It wasn't Nash and Son's, it wasn't a big agency with the ability to get any case that walked through the door, but she had the freedom to choose which clients she wanted, and what staff she hired. He'd help her find staff who wanted to work with her, rather than against her.
"Why would you do all this… for me?" She asked barely above a whisper as she turned back to look at him.
Again, with the why, he sighed. Could he tell her? Could he admit how he felt? Was she ready to hear it? It was on the tip of his tongue, but at the last moment, he held back a little.
"Because… I just want to see you happy…" William admitted softly, his eyes locked on her with a gentle kind smile. That was the truth, and all he wanted, was to see her happy, he could be content with everything else.
She blinked, clearly contemplating a response, but unable to form any words. Until she stepped back towards him and as she stopped in front of him, she raised her hands. For a second, he thought she was about to hit him, and he flinched, but she didn't. Instead, she flowed her movements effortlessly cupping his face in the palm of her hands and pressing her lips to his in the softest, sweetest kiss he'd ever had.
He was grateful that he was sitting down, not only putting them easily at the same height, but he was sure his legs wouldn't have held him up. Her unexpected gesture took him by surprise, and it took him a moment to recover and realise he wasn't dreaming, Eliza was there and kissing him. Cautiously he turned his head, trying to prolong the moment as long as he could, and slowly he raised a hand to her waist. Fear that he would scare her off made him hold back from how he truly wanted to wrap her up in his arms and pull her a little closer.
When she pulled her lips away and rested her forehead against his he wasn't sure what to say as he looked down watching as she caught her breath. He wanted to hope this meant that she might be ready for their relationship to become more than "just friends" but he was afraid of having that hope dashed.
"Thank you…" she uttered quietly. Her eyes were downcast like she was afraid to look up and catch his eyes.
William moved his hand and lightly touched her chin, gently pushing her head up as he moved his a little backwards so he could fully take in her face.
"You're welcome,"
He wanted to kiss her, wanted her to know exactly how he felt about her without needing to say the words out loud, and it was taking every ounce of his control not to. His eyes searched hers, questioning if it was the right time for them now. Eliza closed her eyes, his gaze too much, as she nodded, slowly answering his silent question.
As she finally opened her eyes, they were sparkling. It was like she was seeing him for the first time, as they smiled slowly at each other. Tentatively, they both leaned in a little and met perfectly in the middle as their lips touched again.
William felt his confidence grow, she wasn't running, she wasn't pulling away this time, and it wasn't a dream. As her hands slipped from his face and moved around to the back of his neck, he leaned in kissing her with more purpose, and his hand tensed on her waist. Fearless, he let himself kiss her freely, and he felt his heartbeat quicken as he lost himself in the feeling of her. This kiss surpassed the memory of kissing her when they were young and any dream that he'd ever had of kissing her could never be this good. It was comforting and familiar, yet strange and new, and he never wanted it to end.
He didn't stop when Eliza suddenly pulled her lips from his, but he could tell just by how breathless she was that he'd overwhelmed her. His thumb stroked her cheek reassuringly, and he prayed he hadn't pushed her too far, but once again he realised, she wasn't moving away from him.
As they stood in the dying daylight of the new office, neither knew what to say to the other, yet William felt sky-high, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and knew it was exactly where they were supposed to be.
"So…" William started but then stopped unable to form any words.
"So…" Eliza blushed.
"How about some dinner to celebrate…" He was smiling, and he wasn't sure anything would clear it from his face.
"Dinner…" Eliza smiled nervously.
Though she seemed reluctant to move, she casually stepped backwards, and William dragged his hand over her, keeping his fingers on her till the last moment.
He picked up his hat, placed it on his head and then held out the key to the new office to her for her to take. Her smile grew wide with excitement and their fingers grazed as she accepted it from him.
He let Eliza lock up her new office as he made his way downstairs. She followed, and he stood back admiring the large sign once more as Eliza locked up the front door. She moved towards him and then turned around standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him as she too stared up at the sign.
"What do you think my father would say?" Eliza asked as she brushed her knuckles slightly against his. Whether she was meaning changing the name of her business, or the development between them he wasn't sure.
"It's about time?" William replied as he turned his hand offering it to her. "Or she's your problem now…" he teased, and she rolled her eyes, for once not biting back.
"I hope he'd be happy…" she smiled.
Eliza discreetly tucked her fingers into his and William locked their fingers tightly together.
"He would be," he sighed happily.
William pulled Eliza's hand up and tucked it into the crook of his arm and pulled her close to his side. He looked down at Eliza taking in the beautiful expression on her face.
For the first time in a long time, he felt blissful at how far he'd made it in life. He was a respected Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard, he hoped he'd done his mentor proud, and he had the woman he loved on his arm.
Not bad for a kid from the workhouse.
The End