Shrines of Gaiety

The narrative shifts to Freda. Before Freda ran away from home, her mother’s boyfriend sexually assaulted her—another reason that Freda left. Freda dreams of becoming a famous actress and once played a small part in a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Florence and Freda are unlikely friends. While Freda barely attends school and has an absent mother, Florence attends a fancy Catholic school and has attentive, religious, well-to-do parents. Florence’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ingram, consider Freda a bad influence on Florence.

Frobisher continues his journey to the morgue to investigate the murder of the latest girl to wash up on the banks of the Thames. The dead girl—whose name will later be revealed as Minnie, an employee in Nellie’s clubs—who was murdered, has only one silver shoe on and a locket around her neck. Inside is a picture of a woman, presumably the girl’s mother, and a dog.

Frobisher takes the dead girl’s locket, planning to ask around London’s jewelers to see if any of them sold it to her and might know her. She is the fourth woman to wash up dead in the past month. Frobisher thinks of Gwendolen’s missing girls: “He couldn’t help the odd sense that Gwendolen Kelling’s missing girls were the harbinger of something. There was evil in the air of London” (121).

Gwendolen gets a note from Frobisher asking her to find out if either Freda or Florence wore a locket. Gwendolen writes a note to Cissy Murgatroyd, Freda’s aunt and the person who asked Gwendolen to go to London in search of Freda and Florence. In the note, Gwendolen asks Cissy to check with Freda’s and Florence’s parents whether either of the girls wore a locket.

The narrative flashes back to the aftermath of the robbery of Gwendolen’s handbag and Niven reflects on Gwendolen: “Niven preferred the kind of woman he could forget about the moment she was out of his sight. That was why Gwendolen Kelling annoyed him so much. He still remembered her” (131). It’s revealed that the women who robbed Gwendolen were members of the “Forty Thieves.” Niven pays off the women in exchange for the return of the purse. He proceeds to Gwendolen’s boarding house to return it to her.

Frobisher returns to his home; his wife, Lottie, ignores him. Lottie has an as-yet undefined mental illness. The marriage seems loveless. Lottie goes to bed, and Frobisher spends his evening alone. He suspects that Maddox is aligned with Nellie—and that other police may be, too: “What if they were all in league with Maddox? What if the whole barrel was rotten?” (137). Frobisher has faith in Sergeant Oakes, nicknamed the Laughing Policeman: “[Oakes] seemed like he might be a man [Frobisher] could trust” (137). Later, it will be revealed that Oakes is working with Maddox to run a sex work ring targeting vulnerable girls and that Oakes is a murderer.

The narrative returns to Nellie, who is meeting Azzopardi. Azzopardi doesn’t reveal why he’s seeking out Nellie. Azzopardi offers to buy Nellie’s clubs for 50 thousand pounds—less than what they’re worth. Nellie tells him that she will consider his offer, even though she has no intention of taking it. Nellie is disturbed by Azzopardi: “He didn’t want to pay money for the clubs. Did he even want them? She suspected he was after something else altogether, but she couldn’t imagine what” (142). Nellie’s guard is up: “First Maddox, now Azzopardi. The barbarians were at the gate” (143).

The narrative shifts to Ramsay who is working on his crime novel. He’s come up with a title, “The Age of Glitter” (145), but has barely written a word. Ramsay’s writing is interrupted by the noise of the scullery maid, smashing a rat with a frying pan. Ramsay and the scullery maid have a glass of brandy together, and the scullery maid tells Ramsay about her history. Ramsay tells the scullery maid, “Thank you for telling me about your people” (147). The scullery maid is incensed: “‘Like we’re a different breed? […] And “my people,” as you put it, may be thieves, but at least they’re honest thieves. Your people are the rotten ones!’” (148). Ramsay is surprised by the outburst.

The narrative jumps back in time to when Freda and Florence first come to London. It is Freda’s idea to run away and she convinces Florence to join her. Once in London, Freda and Florence enroll in a dance school and find lodging in a boarding house on Henrietta Street with a woman named Mrs. Darling. Florence and Freda don’t realize it, but Mrs. Darling performs illegal abortions in the boarding house.

Freda and Flora settle into London life. While Freda spends her days pursuing her dreams of stardom, Florence spends her time seeing the London sights and reading thriller novels. Freda is enamored with the idea of Tutankhamun. Regarding the murders in London, Florence tells Freda that Tutankhamun is “haunting the streets, looking for victims, because we dug him up and disturbed his eternal rest” (158). It is implied that Florence has an intellectual disability. As the girls’ stay in London drags on, Freda starts to feel guilty about convincing Florence to run away with her: “Freda had a feeling it was going to end badly. One way or another” (161).

Frobisher’s sleuthing has revealed that Freda and Florence attended the Vanbrugh Academy of Dance. Gwendolen goes to talk to the owner to see what she can learn. The owner, Mrs. Sherbourne, claims that Florence and Freda haven’t been to dance class in months. However, when Gwendolen asks a student about the girls, the student reveals that—while Florence hasn’t been attending class—Freda has been recently. The student also tells Gwendolen that Freda had an audition at the Adelphi. Gwendolen wonders why Mrs. Sherbourne lied to her. Gwendolen goes to the Adelphi Theater but finds no trace of Freda or Florence.

Nellie is spending the afternoon at her favorite club, the Crystal Cup. She sees a vision of Maud: “She was dripping water on the lovely herring-bone maple of the floor. […] There was a glass of absinthe in Maud’s hand and she raised it in a toast.” (173). That evening, Nellie goes to the Amethyst. Again, she sees Maud. As she enters the club, she says: “After you. Try not to drip everywhere” (175).