The Lost Apothecary

On her mudlarking venture in the River Thames, Caroline heeds Bachelor Alf’s suggestion to “look for inconsistencies” (49) in the water. She soon finds a “translucent, sky blue” (50) glass bottle with a “tiny image,” which appears to be some kind of bear. She shows her find to Bachelor Alf, who notes that though the bottle looks “very much like an apothecary’s vial” (50), it is strange that it is missing a “company name, date, and address” (50). He also notices that the glass is “quite uneven in places” (50), leading him to conclude that it is not factory-made. Bachelor Alf tells Caroline that she can keep the vial; he also calls what he does the “best job in the world” (50). His comment leads Caroline to consider her own career choice and how she made it to appease James’s tendency for practicality and to build stability for the children she’d wanted. Caroline considers returning the vial to the river but decides to keep it.

Caroline has an urge to continue researching this vial, so she asks Bachelor Alf if he knows of any avenues that would allow her to do this. Bachelor Alf recommends that she go to the British Library and “ask for Gaynor at the Maps Desk” (53). Upon arriving at the library, Caroline briefly considers abandoning this endeavor and “planning a real itinerary” (54) for her trip. However, deciding that this is something that “James would say” (54), she enters the library and asks for Gaynor at the Maps Desk. Gaynor herself is at the desk and identifies herself as Bachelor Alf’s daughter. Caroline asks her for help finding more information about the vial, but without more identifying information on the bottle itself, Gaynor cannot provide Caroline with much help. Caroline leaves the library slightly disheartened, claiming that she “didn’t believe in the fate of finding things anyway” (57).

On the morning of February 5, 1791, Eliza wakes to belly pain “unlike any [she] had felt before” (58). She worries the pain will prevent her from performing the poisoning, but she resolves to do it no matter what. Eliza’s reflections on her past reveal that she came to London from the small farming village of Swindon with the encouragement of her mother, who is determined to not “doom [Eliza] to a life like [hers]” (60). Her mother told her that London is full of “magick,” sparking Eliza’s interest in the subject. Her mother took her to the servant’s registry office in London, where she was chosen by Mrs. Amwell. Eliza notes that Mrs. Amwell’s hands “shook badly” (61) as she filled out the papers to take Eliza on as a servant, but the extent of Mrs. Amwell’s affected writing did not fully register for Eliza, since she was illiterate in those days.

At the Amwell house, Eliza trained under Sally, the cook and kitchen maid. Initially a kitchenhand, Eliza scoured pots and peeled potatoes. Sally allowed her to assist in the preparation of meals. Mrs. Amwell taught Eliza to read and write, and these early days in the Amwell house solidified Eliza’s desire to “remain in London, in the grandeur of [her] mistress’s drawing room” (61). However, Eliza notes that the pleasant atmosphere shifted when she began observing Mr. Amwell’s eyes on her.

Back in the present, Eliza prepares the eggs and considers why Mrs. Amwell wants to poison her husband. She thinks it may have something to do with the fact that, when Mrs. Amwell was away from the estate a month ago, Mr. Amwell gave Eliza brandy to make her fall unconscious, then “[placed] a hand on [her] navel” (65) and slid it upward before being interrupted by footmen downstairs. Eliza finishes the eggs. As she serves Mr. Amwell his portion, he “[runs] his hand […] upward to [her] lower thigh” (67). After serving the eggs, Eliza waits at the edge of the dining room to see “what would come next” (67).

In the middle of the night, Caroline awakes and vomits. She wants to attribute the sudden sickness to “food poisoning in a foreign country” (69) but considers that it may be something else. To her, this potential pregnancy feels like “a terrible joke” (69), given the state of her marriage. Unable to get back to sleep, she decides to conduct some online research on the vial. Using the keywords “vial bear” (70), she finds a collection of papers, dated 1815 to 1818, from St. Thomas Hospital. Attached to the collection of documents is a “digitized image of a short, handwritten note” (71). The note mentions that the writer could’ve shown inquisitive men “all they wish’d to see at Bear Alley” (72), leading Caroline to do a quick Google Maps search for “Bear Alley, London” (72). Her search confirms that there is a Bear Alley in London, which is a 10-minute walk from her hotel. Caroline decides to visit Bear Alley in the morning. Before she sets aside her phone to rest, she checks her email and finds a message from James, who writes that he “can hardly breathe” (73) with how much he misses her, and that he will be landing in London the following day; he asks her to meet him at the hotel. In light of this information, Caroline’s “hands begin to shake” (73); she feels as though she has “learned about his affair all over again” (73). With James’s arrival impending, Caroline is even more determined to spend the few hours prior to his arrival “[venturing] over to Bear Alley” (74).

Eliza watches Mr. Amwell take his breakfast, though she does not notice any change in his demeanor at first. She reveals that the one thing that scares her about this ordeal is Mr. Amwell’s potential ghost, the result of his “unharnessed spirit” (75). Her fear comes from a story Sally told her about a girl named Johanna who worked at the estate before Eliza arrived; Johanna fell ill, though a rumor circulated that she was actually pregnant. She allegedly died in childbirth, and the baby “never did come out” (76). Eliza claims to now hear Johanna in the walls calling for her, as well as the sound of her baby thumping against her belly. When Sally told her the story, Eliza asked after the father, but Sally just looked at her “like [she] should already know” (76). Eliza asked Mrs. Amwell about Johanna, but she denied Johanna’s existence.

In the present, Eliza watches as the poison starts to effect Mr. Amwell, who rushes upstairs and retches violently. He loses his ability to speak a couple hours later, and Mrs. Amwell calls for a physician. Mr. Amwell’s abdomen is swollen and looks like “an animal [writhes] inside” (78) of it. The doctor tells Mrs. Amwell to send for a pastor, as Mr. Amwell will not survive the night. After the doctor leaves, Mrs. Amwell has Eliza dictate a letter to her mother about Mr. Amwell’s illness. While they’re doing this, one of the servants comes down to notify Mrs. Amwell that her husband has already stopped breathing and that it’s too late for a pastor. At the same time, Eliza gets her first period. At the sight of the bloody cushion, she believes Mr. Amwell’s death has visited some “terrible magick” (80) upon her.