CHAPTER TWENTYTuesday, 17 August, 1869 After Mary’s visit and the letter of refusal from Doctor Fishburn she’d received this morning, Ellen felt increasingly despondent. Not just about the failure of their escape plan, but because of an ominous worsening in their treatment. Attendants, who she had never worried about, now seemed to target her. She first noticed it a few days ago at comb out.Fifty or so women, two attendants, and four combs. There were no mirrors for the patients in the asylum. They were not allowed any hairpins or combs, and the rules prescribed one style for all, a single plait, covered by a headscarf. Ellen had sat on the bench waiting her turn, thankful she had no sores on her head like some who’d scream as the comb raked over the scabs. Her own hair was still matted and damp from the previous night, but nothing prepared her for the rough jerking and pulling through her tangled locks. She bit her lip and endured the pain. Back in their room, she had asked Harr

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOFriday, 20 August, 1869 Harriet stayed in the infirmary for three days. Rose, in the next bed, was discharged after two. During that time, Harriet asked anyone who would listen if they had seen Ellen. The answer was always ‘no’. She hadn’t seen a doctor or the Matron at all, but when Mrs. Trotter came in to her ward on the third morning, Harriet begged her to check Ellen wasn’t in the mortuary.When the Assistant Matron returned saying the only death in the past day had been an old soldier who’d fallen down the stairs and broken his neck, she was at first relieved.“That weasel Lynton Brown brought him in.” Mrs. Trotter’s round face shone with indignation. “Do you know, he wheeled Titus Sproat in on a barrow and tipped him out on the floor like a sack of potatoes? When I told Brown to have more respect for the dead, he said, ‘He’s beyond any pain now, ain’t he, Miss Fusspot,’ snickering in that foul way he has. The nerve of the man.”Harriet swallowed. “You don

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURSaturday, 21 August, 1869When Harriet woke the next morning, her mouth was parched and her tongue still slightly swollen. But with her first priority clear in her mind, she was ready for the new day. Breakfast passed without incident. She sat silently through the meal and once again played through the events of the day of the cake delivery. Her memory was a jumble. All she could remember was the confusion around them when she and Ellen had staggered out of their room. That, and the fact that before she was taken to the infirmary by Mrs. Craven, Bill Callahan had been there.Should she report Ellen’s disappearance to Mrs. Fishburn? The Matron would first ask what she had done to find Ellen, so she would wait until she had exhausted all other possibilities.Excused from straw plaiting until Monday, she decided to speak to Mrs. Trotter again. Ask her if she had seen Bill Callahan or heard any information that might connect to Ellen’s whereabouts. Harriet made her

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXSunday, 22 August, 1869 Having completed a morning constitutional of unparalleled boredom, Nottidge stepped into the main foyer with Sheridan Lush. Almost immediately a red-eyed barefooted figure rushed toward them, arms outstretched.Lush raised his whistle to alert the attendants when she called out, “No! Please don’t do that. I must speak with you. It’s very important. Please.” The last word came out as a pitiful sob. Lush’s hand paused in front of his mouth.Nottidge eyed the girl’s thin shift, unkempt hair, and tears with irritation. Could no one keep these lunatics in check? He would get Callahan to sort out the culprits. He looked again at the girl—quite attractive and prone to a bit of drama—so then maybe he wouldn’t. Here was an unexpected chance to amuse himself: and perhaps trifle with the sanctimonious Lush.“What’s your problem?” Nottidge asked.“Ellen’s dead, oh God, Ellen’s dead,” she cried. “Poor Ellen, poor Ellen, all our plans.”Nottidge hel

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTSelected Extracts from Coroner’s InquestBELLE VUE INSANE ASYLUMBefore Robert Gribble Esquire,Her Majesty’s Coroner for the County of Hertfordshire.Re: Ellen Catherine Grady, DeceasedREGINA v MARY GRADYDepositions of Witnesses taken at the Coroner’s Inquest13th September 1869 – 20th September 1869Witnesses for the CoronerRE: Ellen Catherine Grady deceasedREGINA v MARY GRADYInformation of witnesses severally taken and acknowledged on behalf of our Sovereign Lady the Queen touching the death of Ellen Catherine Grady at the Belle Vue Lunatic Asylum in the Parish of Saint Nicholas Church, the 13th day of Sept 1869 before Robert Gribble Esquire one of Her Majesty’s Coroners for the said county on view of the Body of the said Person laying dead in Belle Vue Lunatic Asylum, St. Albans in this County.Document dated: 20 September 18691. SAMUEL STOTT FISHBURN—Belle Vue, Medical SuperintendentI reside at the Belle Vue Lunatic Asylum. I am the Medic