"That's why I'm here. I need your help."
He nodded and shifted forward on the chair. "Of course. I understand. You need a man to accompany you into these areas to investigate further." The way he said 'man', so earnestly, had me smiling. I couldn't imagine George fending off any villains unless they were perhaps children. He might be tall but he was slightly built and his hands didn't look like they'd done much more than turn pages his entire life.
"Not quite what I was thinking." I had promised Jacob that I wouldn't go into Whitechapel after all. "I wanted to speak to your maid, Finch, again."
"Oh." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "That won't be possible. She left yesterday after we spoke to her. Just ran right out the door Mrs. Crouch said."
I had suspected Finch wouldn't return but I didn't want him to know that I knew what had happened, let alone that I was responsible for her leaving. It would seem the other servants hadn't told him either, thankfully.
"I see," I said. "Then it seems I will ask you to accompany me after all, but not to the areas where the victims were found. I'd like to find Maree Finch. Perhaps we could try the school she attended. My own maid said she knew Maree and that the brother, a thief, had returned on a few occasions to speak to her. The last time was right before she came to work for you. We might learn something more about them both from the school."
He beamed. "Excellent idea, Emily. I'll get my coat."
A few minutes later we were skirting Green Park. George had wanted to take his carriage but I didn't think it was a good idea. The wealthier we appeared, the less likely the children would be prepared to speak to us.
"Does Beaufort know you're going to the school with me?" George asked as we entered the poorer part of Clerkenwell nearly an hour later. It was darker in the slum area and not only because the clouds had thickened, extinguishing what little sunshine had managed to seep through the smog. The tall tenements lining both sides of the narrow streets like tired soldiers cast permanent shadows onto the slippery cobbles below. Their walls were almost black with many years' worth of the city's grime having settled on the bricks. "No," I said, dodging a fast-moving child of about nine years.
"Ah."
"Ah?"
"How long will it be before he joins us, do you think?" Another child raced past followed by a shouting adult. "Thief! Thief!" The man stopped near us and gulped in several deep breaths. "That little rat stole my pocket watch," he spluttered between gasps. "Did you see which way he went?"