Edgar Allan Poe and the London Monster by Karen Lee Street

wristband.”
    â€œPickpocket?”
    â€œIndeed. He is a speedy judge of occupation and temperament. He knows at a glance which character is likely to provide him with the most sport.”
    At that moment, we were delivered two large bowls of meat stew with bread. Its fragrance made my belly ache with hunger, and I attacked my dinner with unseemly haste. Dupin extinguished his cigar and approached his food with what could only be described as caution. He prodded at the contents of his bowl for a time without partaking.
    â€œI can assure you it is rather good, and I have not expired from the ingredients.”
    Dupin acknowledged my words with a nod. He dipped his spoon into the bowl, paused to inspect the stew more closely, then tasted it cautiously. His face was the picture of restrained disgust as he pushed the dish away. After a gulp of wine he returned his gaze to me.
    â€œIt seems the Arnolds are no mere figments of Mrs. Allan’s imagination,” he said, lighting another cigar. “They existed. Indeed I have found evidence of their elopement.”
    His words caused me to choke on my food. “But how did you come to know that?” I spluttered, when the coughing subsided. A strange brew of emotions flooded through me, with indignation chief amongst them. Had Dupin read the letters left for me? Had he been the one to leave the letters at the desk? I breathed deeply to calm myself and dispel my irrational thoughts.
    Dupin retrieved a sheet of paper from his pocket and slid it toward me. “I located this announcement in The Morning Post when I was consulting the Burney Collection at the British Museum today and took the liberty of copying it.”
    I unfolded the paper to reveal Dupin’s small, precise handwriting.
    ANNOUNCEMENT
    Miss Elizabeth Smith, the sixteen-year-old daughter of William Smith, eloped on Saturday the seventeenth of April 1784 from her father’s house in Mayfair to Gretna Green with Mr. Henry Arnold, twenty-three years of age. The particulars are these: the Smith family had an evening of entertainment planned at Vauxhall Gardens, but Miss Smith suffered a dizzy spell and remained at home with hermaid to attend to her. Miss Smith’s indisposition proved to be a clever performance, however, and she and her maid spirited themselves away from the house and were met by Mr. Arnold in a post-chaise. They drove off into the night, and it was not discovered until morning that she had gone missing. Mr. Smith was highly angered to learn of his daughter’s elopement. He had opposed the match as Mr. Arnold had been a footman and was lately “of the theatre”, a profession Mr. Smith deemed unsuitable for the husband of his daughter. He had forbidden Miss Smith to have any contact with Mr. Arnold, but she is a young lady of stubborn and impulsive character. The two continued to meet in secret despite her father’s wishes and the plan was concocted to defy him with an elopement to Gretna Green. It is said that Mr. Smith remains highly piqued with his daughter’s actions and it is uncertain whether he will recognise her impetuous marriage .
    I could feel my face warm with a rush of blood. “Are you quite certain this is genuine?”
    â€œMost certain,” Dupin said calmly. “I have no reason to deceive you.”
    â€œI was not suggesting that.”
    Dupin raised his eyebrows; it was clear he had discerned the hint of mistrust upon my face.
    â€œI am sorry if I seem ill at ease, Dupin, but my nerves are dreadfully agitated. I was attacked when walking through Russell Square this afternoon, and harridans made off with the purse I was about to give them in charity.”
    â€œIt grieves me to hear that. It is unfortunate that mendicants are often not content to beg for charity.”
    â€œThere was more to it than that. Something rather peculiar.” I hesitated to mention the boutonniere, but Dupin stared at meexpectantly. “It