Excerpt: The Ripper Girls

“Olivia, go upstairs.” William’s voice was unusually harsh. She reached out for him. “William, what’s wrong?”
He grabbed her shoulders. “Just go upstairs. Something’s not right tonight, and I don’t want you caught in it. Stay upstairs where its safe and don’t come down until I’ve told you it’s all right.”
Olivia obeyed him meekly. Once she was safely on the landing of the second floor, she looked back at him. He pointed. “Get in the bedroom, Olivia! Lock the door behind you!”
For the first time since their marriage, Olivia decided to go against his orders. She moved out of his line of sight, but instead of entering the bedroom, she closed the door from the outside and moved back down the hall. If her husband was in trouble, she didn’t want to sit trembling in fear in their bedroom, not knowing what was going on.
With that in mind, she found a shadowy spot on the landing and sat down. From here, she could peek through the railing into the entry hall, but was positioned in such a way that anyone looking up would be hard-pressed to see her. Tugging her skirts out of the light, she peered through the bars.
William was pacing back and forth in the hall, muttering to himself. Olivia leaned forward as much as she dared, but she couldn’t make any of it out. He ran his hands through his hair and exhaled roughly. She’d never seen him this agitated; what on earth was going on?
A loud pounding at the door made her jump. William himself had frozen at the sound. Then straightening up, he turned toward the door and jerked it open.
Oliva was startled to see Nigel Ferriman stalk into the hall, looking uncharacteristically angry. “Are we alone, William?”
“Yes,” William answered, slamming the door behind him, “I’ve dismissed the servants for the night, and Olivia’s visiting friends. I’ve done what you asked; now tell me what the hell’s going on.”
“I know what you’ve been up to, Winters,” Nigel said, his voice a strange mixture of a growl and a hiss, “Don’t think I haven’t seen the pattern.”
“What the bloody hell are you talking about, Nigel?”
“I’m not like all those underpaid clerks of yours, Winters. I’m not stupid. Maybe the rest of the board believes your tripe as well, but I know the truth. Stop assuming I’m as idiotic as everyone else.”
“I swear to you, Nigel, I have no idea what you’re speaking of.”
“Don’t lie to me, William!” Nigel shouted, his voice echoing off the ceiling, “Drake takes too much of his sleeping draft. Bergson gets his cravat caught in a door and strangles himself. Wood is struck by a cab when the driver loses control. Oh, I saw it all after that. I thought you’d press charges, but I didn’t think you’d resort to outright murder!”
His back was to the railing, but Olivia was sure William’s face had gone pale. “Murder? How dare you, Nigel! The loss of those men was a blow to the bank; to imply that I had anything to do with it is an insult both to me and the memories of the desceased!”
“You’re not denying it, you bastard!” Nigel’s face was flushed with anger, his hands clenched into fists. “I don’t know how you found out about our little operation, Winters. We tried so hard to keep it covered. Wood was a master at concealing our tracks. But I guess all your meticulous double-checking of records was our undoing.”
William’s back had gone rigid. When he spoke, his voice was practically quivering with rage. “So that’s what it is. All those numbers that didn’t quite add up. How long were you stealing from the bank, Nigel?”
“Why bother asking? You should know already!”
“I can’t believe you’d do this, Nigel!” William was shouting now, and Olivia curled in on herself; she’d never seen him like this, “I trusted you! You were my partner! You helped make The Winters Bank one of the most profitable banks in London! And all this time, you were stealing funds behind my back!”
“Maybe I was, but at least I’m not cowardly enough to have the offenders murdered! I suppose if word got out that your workers were stealing from you, you’d lose credibility. So instead of making it public, you had us dealt with quietly than ruin your precious reputation!”
Nigel’s face jerked sharply backwards as a dull crack resounded through the hall. It took a minute for Olivia to realize William had struck Nigel across the face. “You’ve gone too far, Nigel.” William’s voice was dangerously calm, “You’re the cowardly one here, not I. You’re panicked and assuming that all these deaths of your co-conspirators mean I’ve had them killed. I can accept that a man as guilty as you would think something like that. But don’t you dare imply that I’m as base as you.”
Nigel rubbed his face, and his eyes had narrowed to slits. “Either you’re telling the truth, or you’re doing an excellent job of hiding your guilt. But it doesn’t really matter which. I’m not going to let you do me in like you did the others. And there’s only one way to make sure of that.”
With that, he lunged forward. There was a flash of silver, and William screamed. He staggered back, and Olivia clapped her hands to her mouth to muffle her own scream; there was a knife embedded in William’s left breast. Nigel yanked the knife out, bright red blood dripping down the sides, and William sank to the floor, blood leaking through his hand. Nigel’s eyes glittered. “When they find you, they’ll think a burglar was caught in the act, and things turned deadly. I only hope your wife doesn’t take her life when she finds out; she’s such a pretty thing.”
“You won’t get away with this,” William rasped, his voice sounding faint and garbled, “You’ll have to answer for this.”
“Of course I will,” Nigel said, tipping over an end table, shattering the vase that stood on it, “When I’m dead.”
Olivia wanted to stand up, to run down the stairs and attack Nigel, but she was frozen in place. Having wiped the blade on his cloak, Nigel turned back to the door and started scratching at the knob, making it look as if there’d been a forced entry. William tried to stand and stop him, but the wound had been too deep; his entire hand was covered in blood now. Nigel noticed him out of the corner of his eye and laughed curtly. “Don’t bother, William. The best you’ll be able to do is bleed on me. Better to use the time to make your peace.”
William, his breath now coming in short pants, fell to the ground. He looked up at the ceiling…and his eyes met Olivia’s. His eyes widened in shock, and Olivia started shaking. Nigel, oblivious to all this, finished with the door and took one last look back. “Farewell, William. I’ll take good care of the bank for you.”
With that, he went through the door and disappeared from view. Moments later, Olivia heard the faint clattering of hooves galloping away from the house. The minute those sounds had faded, Olivia discovered she could move again. Flying down the stairs, she entered the hallway and crouched by William’s side. “William?” her voice was trembling, “William?”
He turned to look at her. “I told you to stay in your room, Olivia. What if he’d seen you?”
She grabbed his hand, shuddering at the blood coating it. “I was afraid for you. I couldn’t help it!”
His breath was becoming shallower. “At least you’re safe. I couldn’t bear it if he’d hurt you too.”
“William, don’t talk. I’ll run for a doctor.”
His hand tightened on hers. “No. Just…just stay here. It’d be too late if you went for a doctor. I’d…I’d rather have you here.”
Tears were pouring down her face now. “Oh God, William…please don’t go. I need you here!”
“I’m afraid…I don’t have much choice in the matter.” He coughed wetly. “Olivia…you heard what he said. Don’t follow me. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Go to the police. Have him arrested.”
“I will, William. I promise I will.”
He smiled, eyes overly bright. “That’s a good girl.” He shivered violently, and Olivia lifted him up, holding him in her arms. “William, please…”
He touched her face. “Kiss me.”
Choking back a sob, she leaned forward and pressed her lips into his, hoping that she could put just a little more air into his body. When she took her lips away, he looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, little sparrow.”
“I love you too, William. I love you so much.”
He squeezed her hand gently. Then his head fell onto her shoulder. When she lifted it, he was still smiling, but the light had faded from his eyes, which stared blankly forward. Olivia shook him. “William? WILLIAM!”
When the servants returned an hour later, they found the lady of the house lying on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, clenching her husband’s body in an iron grip.