The de Vere Inheritance

Chapter Sixteen - 25th August 1632

Elizabeth could not fathom why she had thought that the streets might feel different. They were the same as they had always been. She therefore was resigned to acknowledge that it was indeed herself who had changed. She had not spent very long periods of time outdoors since the incident where she was locked in her room, and as a result the fresh air and sounds were not something she felt acquainted with any more. She'd only really ventured out for a walk around the park and to the apothecary and back.

She'd had no choice but to go in search of more tonics. Her supply of them was depleting rapidly and Elizabeth had more than once wondered if somehow Eric might have stolen some from her. Was it possible that he had returned to the lodgings and managed to sneak in? Harry had changed the locks of course, but Eric was a schemer after all. He would see the changed locks as a challenge rather than a certain defeat. Elizabeth was well aware though that her memory was not what it once was. She had considered that she could be waking in the night and taking some tonic to try and soothe her cough, thus using up more of it than she thought. It did not seem untoward that she might forget something so trivial.

It was her second trip to the apothecary in just a few days, but Elizabeth wanted more than tonics this time. In spending so much time with Athos, she had forgone her usual dabbling with opiates and laudanum, not because she did not need them but because she knew that Athos would not approve. She had her suspicions that he might have dabbled himself over the years but of course he would cite her illness as reason enough for her to abstain. Elizabeth had grown tired of the almost sleepless nights though. If nothing else, she wanted some laudanum to aid her sleep. Athos was no longer staying with her at night and she was glad of it, for she felt worse each morning than she had the day before. She was shamed for anyone to see her in that state.

The bell tinkled over the door of the small shop as she entered, her list of ingredients for her tonic clutched in her gloved hand. She handed it over with a small smile for the apothecary and turned to browse the shelves whilst she waited. An older woman did the same on the other side of the shop. Elizabeth waited until the older woman had retrieved her potions, paid for them and left the shop before she dared ask the apothecary for the extra things she wanted. He levelled her with a look that might have caused some people to doubt but Elizabeth held his stare. She'd visited his shop before and she was sure that he recognised her. Sure enough, after a few seconds of deliberation, he placed another few vials onto the counter.

Elizabeth hid her shock as she glanced into her coin purse and saw how much money she had left. She had just enough to pay for her potions, but little besides. She paid the man because she felt too ashamed to admit that she had no money. It would have felt rather foolish, standing there in what was actually quite a fine dress even if it was just slightly out of fashion and trying to convince someone that she'd fallen on hard times. She'd have to do the one thing she'd resolved never to do and ask Harry for some money. She did not think he would mind in the slightest, but she knew his parents would likely have a thing or two to say on the matter. She knew that Eric's words had been cruel and he'd been trying to hurt her but Elizabeth had wondered if there was perhaps some truth in it all. Were her in-laws growing frustrated with having to provide for her mother and brothers?

Elizabeth pushed the thoughts from her mind, well aware that she would end up with a torturous headache if she let herself dwell on such things. She took the phials from the counter and placed them in her coin purse. It was too bulky to place back into her pocket so she held it's strings in her hand and left the shop. As soon as she had crossed the threshold back out into the street, Elizabeth knew that something was wrong. It was as if something had clamped hold of her heart, stopping it from beating in those few seconds. She sucked in a frightened breath as a shadow crossed her vision and before she knew it, Elizabeth had been dragged from the shop front into an alleyway.