I do not own Miss Scarlet & The Duke.
Well, I thought I would end this in chapter 8 but then creativity struck again. So the story goes on. I would love to know your thoughts on the story. I started writing as a teenager on Fanfiction and now I'm in my 30's and an Author to 4 books on Amazon. I have many WIP's currently but this snowstorm sweeping across the US + finishing Season 4 so quickly, has put me in the Fanfiction mood. There is one thing that will never change in my storytelling journey, I have no idea where to put the commas. So, I'm sorry if the grammar isn't up to your standard but thankfully to publish a story on FF you don't need to pay an editor. :) I hope you are enjoying the story! Thank you for reading and sharing! If you know me in real life, you know I love my stories to have a little Angst, so here we go, I could not resist.
There is a TW in this chapter of attempted assault. Though, the rating remains T.
Here we go...
Chapter Eight
Eliza's heart races, and she shivers. She has finally found it, P.H Lodging Quarters, the lodging quarters for the men at the New York office. There are many lodging houses on this block and it was hard to track down the correct one.
This is so forward of her. She is confident in her boldness when it comes to her work, but not her feelings. This is different. Everything has always revolved around her work.
But as William said in the kitchen that one day, "There are other things in life to consider,"
"Such as," She pressed.
"The future…and I'm not talking about work."
She should have seen it then, in his eyes. But again, while investigating a crime comes easy to her, personal vulnerability does not. Not since she was a girl, and she had so many emotions that seemed to get her into trouble at school. Her emotions would manifest in anger, and it made her a target, especially for harsh girls like Arabella. Her father had to teach her to wear armor. That armor has protected her for years, but she worries that it has also sabotaged her. It's made her afraid, afraid of her own emotions, afraid of vulnerability. Yet here she is, alone, in New York, about to confess her feelings to the man she loves.
She inhales the street's smell of wet cobblestone and mud, with the occasional hint of horse manure. "Pleasant, indeed," She whispers sarcastically and wrinkles her nose, fighting the urge to vomit. However, it would be less over the smell and more over the butterflies in her stomach, threatening to toss her lunch. She feels sicker now than she did the entire trip overseas. She replayed this moment over and over and over, and yet nothing could have prepared her for this very moment.
She wonders what he will say. Will he lecture her for traveling alone, as a woman? Well, of course, he will, that's William. Will he take her out to dinner? Would he maybe kiss her again? Her heart picks up like a racehorse passing its competitor, attempting to win a race.
She closes her eyes and holds her hand up to knock on the door, but it opens at that very moment.
"Oh, my, excuse me.." She says as the door swings open and the sounds of jolly men fill her ears.
"So sorry Miss, may I help you?" The man who reeks of liquor, smiles at her and moves out of her way.
"Hello, I am looking for Detective Wellington." She stands tall, trying her best to embody that same confidence her work brings.
It's happening…it's happening, she thinks.
"He's over in 4B, go on head, his door is that way. A woman really should not be walking these streets so late. Do you need an escort?"
Eliza wanted to trust that this man was upstanding, being an officer of the law and all, but she did not know him and something did not feel all that right.
"Thank you sir, but I will be fine." She says, turning to walk away.
"Oh, ma'am, Duke would insist." He takes hold of Eliza's elbow then, leading her the opposite way.
Eliza's heart picks up again, but this time it's out of sheer fear and anxiety. Surely if she made a ruckus, William would hear and come out of his quarters, or any respectable officer. She tells her heart to calm down, nothing is going on, yet. She reminds herself of other times she's been in danger, and there have been quite a few times. She's always figured it out herself, so if this is another time, she will surely figure it out. She's never needed anyone. She is capable.
She tries to squirm out of his grasp, but the man grips her tighter.
"The Duke's room is just this way." He pushes and pulls Eliza to the alley like she's a ragdoll.
Warning bells sound in Eliza's mind.
"You know, I think I will just wait for him at the restaurant across the way." She does her best to reign in her voice and keep it free from any shaking. She would not let this man know that she is indeed frightened.
"No, he would not like that." The man chuckles as she tries to break contact with him.
"Let go of me." She says pointedly.
"He won't mind, around these parts, we share our whores." The man snorts.
"No! I am not a whore, and you will get your hands off me!" She shouts.
He spins her around just then, trying to kiss her, she shrieks and bites the man's chin as hard and fiercely as she can, he grabs ahold of her cheek squeezing her, trying to get her off of him. She releases her mouth and screams, "Help me!" The man steps backward into the brick wall, hand raising to his chin, her bite has drawn blood.
"You...Bloody.." He does not get to finish his sentence as she punches him in the face, hard. She takes off then, sprinting, as fast as she can in her long dress.
She crosses the street into the restaurant. As she walks through the doors, she looks around and feels horribly embarrassed, this place hosts only the most wealthy of folks, and here she is, looking disheveled as ever.
A woman in a lilac gown approaches her and helps her stand, "Are you alright, Miss?"
Eliza keeps checking behind her, utterly distressed.
"Come this way please, into my office." The woman guides her back to her office.
"Thank you, for your kindness and this safe haven. I was just attacked." Eliza stammers, breathlessly.
"I must get the police." The woman looks at her telephone on the wall.
"Please, do not. I cannot be sure, but I believe the man who attacked me is affiliated with them. I cannot be sure, as I said. You see, I am not from here. I am only here visiting."
"If anything, please, I ask that you get a message to Detective Wellington." Eliza says.
"Duke?" Eliza looks up at the woman, jaw slacked.
"I.. I am sorry, do you know him?" Eliza asks confused.
"He dines here very often. Oh, my. You must be Eliza Scarlet the Private Detective?" Surprise is written across both their faces.
"Yes, yes I am. If you know where he lives, would you please fetch him for me? Send a telegram? Something." She still shivers. Though the fireplace in the woman's office is warm, she assumes the shivers may just be an after-effect of the traumatic experience she has just suffered.
"Miss Scarlet…Eliza, I am sorry to inform you of this, but Detective Wellington is not here. He's in London." She shakes her head, walks to the fireplace, and stokes the fire.
"What? That's impossible." Eliza's eyes widen. Well, not the left one, as that one swells, already turning dark. She has scratches, and some cuts, from the man's nails digging into her face.
"Miss Scarlet, please stay in my hotel here until Detective Wellington arrives back in town. It's the least I can do for you. You are Inspector Wellington's…" As the woman continues talking Eliza flashbacks to William speaking with her in his office, in her early days of detective work.
"I did not know one chaste kiss when we were children, suddenly made you my favored whore?" William challenged her.
Whore. That word rattles her to her core thanks to the last hour's happenings.
That was too close. It's never been that close before, she thinks.
"Thank you, yes, I will accept a room in your hotel, thank you." Eliza nods to the woman.
"You need a doctor, I will send a telegram to one, and if you would like it, I could stay with you during his visit. I mean, I know you could do it yourself, but I just mean, if I were you, I would feel rather shaken up, and being in a new place and all, I think I would just feel safer with another woman by my side is all." The woman talks as fast as a whirlwind, but she has got a point.
Eliza does feel very shaken up, and this woman, well, she knows William, which in this unfamiliar town, makes her a safe person.
"Yes, thank you, that would be much appreciated." Eliza nods. The woman moves to her water basin bowl, dipping her handkerchief into the cool liquid. She walks back to Eliza, and cleans up the blood from her face.
"What is your name? How can I repay this kindness?" She asks the woman tending her wounds.
"Oh, like I said before anything for Detective Wellington's wife. And, my name is Ella Prew, it's so nice to meet you. I do not know how you do it, I would not be able to live so far away from my husband."
Wife?! Her knee-jerk reaction is to immediately spar back and say, "I'm not his wife!"
But her words get stuck on her tongue.
That sentiment, and what it means? Well, it does not feel so cruel. She decides, out of her exhaustion, yes that was it. Out of her exhaustion, she would not argue with the woman.
"Well Ella, thank you for your kindness." She nods.
"Sure, I will show you to your room now." She offers a hand to Eliza, helping her up out of the chair.
Eliza grabs her small suitcase and follows Ella up the back stairs to her room, Room 3.