Disclaimer: J.M. Barrie owns Captain Hook. All other characters live in my head.

A/N: So this is my first proper fic. I'm quite pleased with it. Of course it was made all the better by my beta DDAgent. What an angel of an agent she is!

Chapter One

James Matthews-Barringer stood in the crowd of graduates looking out at the sea of faces staring back. He half hoped his mother would be there, but assumed she wouldn't be. He was not disappointed. James was a handsome man, with hair in the fashionable style of the day. It flowed like a black river down his back, and was tightly coiled. Some said he looked a little like the ruling monarch of the present, Charles II. He had friendly blue eyes, despite his hard childhood. His father had died of Cholera, shortly after James' elder brother, David, died of the same. His mother withdrew, ignoring James for the most part. She became a cruel woman. James went through a myriad of nannies, but none stayed very long, mostly due to his mother's harsh nature. At the age of fifteen he was sent away to Eton. Now he was passing with honours, but there was no one to see his triumphant moment when he finally became a man.

James was a popular young man, loved by everyone who met him. He was ready to begin his job on Monday, working for Grayling and Smythe Ltd, a respected law firm. He was to be a lawyer. He had managed to secure a house in Kensington Square, and had the pleasure of being able to go for walks around Kensington Gardens. James was successful, happy and more importantly had just stepped over the threshold to manhood. All that he needed now was to meet a suitable woman, who would give him many sons.

The eighteen-year-old man was so happy, so joyful. He had no unhappy thoughts.