Belle Vue

PROLOGUETuesday, 17 August, 1869Belle Vue Lunatic Asylum“Get those frigging troublemakers out of my way. I’ll deal with the Grady girl . . . ”Bill Callahan hung back as the beefy supervisor and one of her assistants pulled the two lunatics covered in vomit to their feet. They propped them up, then dragged them past the remaining knot of inmates huddled on the floor and made slow progress along the corridor toward the infirmary.He scanned the jumble of limbs and spotted his target moaning and clutching her stomach, her dress covered in a yellow glutinous mess. He bellowed at his men, bludgeons at the ready, to clear the rest of the defectives from the area and restore order. Rolling up his sleeves, he strode over and grabbed the prostrate Ellen by the back of her collar. The girl was barely conscious, but Callahan felt himself harden. He heaved her over his shoulder, placing his left hand on her buttocks and, ignoring the chaos behind him, headed toward the back stai

CHAPTER TWO Monday, 10 August, 1868Ellen Grady loosened the frayed neckline of her Mam’s shift and wiped the damp cloth over the hot, mottled skin. Mam twisted in the bed and moaned. In the heat, the stained shift stuck to her gaunt frame. Thin fingers clutched her distended stomach and the twisting grew more agitated. Ellen leaned over as blood began to flow from her Mam’s nose. She struggled to hold her still and wipe away the mess. Mam whimpered, and her movements calmed.“Is Mary here? Mary?”If only. With little hope, Ellen had sent her neighbor, Mrs. Flanagan’s boy out several times to the Green Hog pub by the Docks, but Mary had refused. Her half-sister hadn’t come back to Whitechapel when Da died of the same typhoid six months ago and before that hadn’t stepped foot in the lane for six years. Ellen’s eyelids drooped, her head slumped forward. If she could sleep for just a minute.Mam bucked again. Ellen snapped awake and dropped the cloth. Blood spattered her face. She w

CHAPTER FOUR Monday, 21 December, 1868Mary sat in the taproom at the Green Hog wearing her winter coat in vivid magenta. Her matching velvet bonnet lay across the chair beside her, and Bill occupied the seat opposite. She yawned, still tired from the night before and closed her eyes. The bar had been busy keeping Jack fully on the go and of course, she’d kept him similarly active when he’d finished work. But now, she’d changed her mind about visiting one of her customers. Those “gentlemen friends” were partially the cause of her feelings of dissatisfaction. She needed to make some decisions about her future.Jack was a good find. Not excellent, but he’d do for now. The Green Hog took in reasonable money and she, with her occasional clients, made a useful extra. Not enough, though. She wanted more, and damn it, she deserved it. She’d noted long ago though, the harsh fate time and men dealt to whores. If Jack ever found out, she would be out on her rear.Decision time. Give up the

CHAPTER SIXWednesday, 24 March, 1869 The closed cart rattled its way through a set of heavy iron gates. Ellen peered out of the small side window. Her insides quivered as she took in the leafy trees and a sliver of clear blue sky. She whispered its name: Belle Vue. An exotic sound so full of promise. Then came the first view.She gasped at its beauty, like a magical palace. It was so large, she couldn’t see where the two wings of the mansion ended.“What yer grinning at, missy?” asked the thin, grimy man sitting opposite. He wore workhouse garb, coarse and ill-fitting. “It may look good, but it’s still an asylum. A prison fer the likes of us.”Ellen ignored the old fellow shackled hand and foot. For every mile they traveled, she’d felt her spirits rise. London’s dense yellow fog and soot-covered structures were replaced by fresh air, stretches of green and buildings still their original color. How wonderful of Mary to arrange this for her. Ellen wondered if she might find work h

CHAPTER EIGHTWednesday, 24 March, 1869As Ellen entered the building, she blinked and adjusted her focus to the shadows surrounding her. The woman next to her began to twitch and raised her voice to match the not-so-welcoming din that echoed through the gloom. Bodies jostled her on all sides. She staggered along the hallway to where the corridors intersected. To the right, inmates lined the seemingly endless gallery as though on display. Some were motionless, others swayed to and fro. Manic laughter erupted from scattered figures as though they were sharing a private joke by unnatural means. A man, standing near the corner, scolded an unseen companion.But it was the humiliation still to come that dominated Ellen’s thoughts. She struggled to stay calm. A burly female warder, a few feet ahead, stepped in a puddle then kicked out at the cowering figure at the edge of it. Ellen hesitated, unsure what to do, but a shove from behind propelled her into a room on the left-hand side. The m