Judge Turpin had plans to marry a very specific ward of his. His only ward. Over the years that he had watched her grow, he became more and more intrigued in her. He had watched her bloom from a girl into a beautiful woman. He had taken her on like a daughter. The first time he had realized that he had fallen for his ward, he didn't know what came over him. It started when she turned thirteen. From that moment on, he refused his usual paid whores and loose women to his bed. He would save himself for Johanna, although it left him in sexual agony for years. That's when he began to lust over her through the keyhole. Watching her every moment, listening to every sigh, every note, and treasuring her every movement. He knew it was wrong, it only made him want her more. Perhaps the only thing in his way was that he was nearly four times her age… but that didn't matter. She would be his. He made it his goal to win her over, with or without her consent. He would have her for his wife, even if he knew she could never love him. She was like a breath of fresh air to his mansion. Without her it would be dull. Almost like a cemetery home. He needed her desperately. His love wouldn't be a secret anymore. He had held back his emotions and the urge to touch her long enough. His feelings wouldn't be kept a secret. Not anymore. He couldn't tell her of his feelings simply on a whim; he needed to plan out what to say in a calm manner, as if to coax her into the idea of him becoming her husband. He wanted her to love him. He only kept her away from the world was because he was sure his little girl would end up like her mother… There were worse men than the Judge out there, he was sure of it. He wouldn't let anybody near Johanna. He wouldn't have any man or woman near his ward. They would have to go through him to get to her. She belonged to him and him alone.
She was the only person he dared to actually care about. Sure, he made love to countless women, he had his needs. Every man has urges and needs, but he loved Johanna with all his heart. He never loved a woman more than he loved her. And that's saying something! He's made love to many women. Most of them paid whores and loose women who thought that they would be getting somewhere by sharing his bed. That wasn't love. As stated before, he has needs and urges that need tending to. There was one woman other than Johanna that he had loved, or at least he thought he did. That woman was Lucy Barker. He thought he could simply just send her husband away and take his place as head of the family, but no. Lucy Barker wouldn't have it. After that horrid night that he had taken advantage of her body at his party, he felt guilty. He didn't mean to cause her that much grief. It was all a game to him. He even offered to provide for the child, but she refused. Turpin thought that the woman was unfit to be a mother. He immediately saw to it that Johanna Barker would be in his custody. He'd always wanted a daughter, anyhow. He left Lucy some money to live on her own. The Judge wasn't that heartless, he still made sure that woman was at ease. But, of course, that all stopped when she began to molest men on the streets, desperate for spare change. Had she gone insane? That simply wouldn't do. Edmund Turpin wasn't letting his ward anywhere near that lunatic, even if she happened to be her mother.
Growing up, Johanna was spoiled rotten. She was the judge's prized possession. He adored her. Johanna always was on top of his list. If Johanna wanted comfort, he would stop whatever he was doing to see that Johanna got attention. If Johanna needed anything, she received it. He loved being needed by her in a way that a child needs an adult. Of course, Turpin didn't lust over Johanna at a young age. Heavens, no. He had his whores to keep him company when he needed to be relieved. Johanna had a semi-happy childhood, or at least she thought she did. She didn't know of anyone else to compare childhood's with. Turpin made his little ward busy. He would have piano lessons for her, cooking lessons, French lessons, a private tutor, and a handful of books of the most classic literature for Johanna to read. He wouldn't want to see his little girl being bored. It wasn't until he realized that she was too beautiful and too perfect to be shared with the world. He stopped the lessons and tutoring at once. It started when she turned twelve. No one was to know that he even had a lady in his house. She was his little secret. Of course, Johanna couldn't be kept a secret for long… He wished he'd have seen the signs sooner… He wished he had been more cautious than he already was with Johanna. Why didn't he know that someone was to see Johanna if she was brooding by the window? This all started with a young sailor named Anthony Hope.
He was a rambunctious young boy who seemed naïve and unpredictable. He was a sailor, which explains a lot. Sailors would go to whore houses in order to relieve themselves from stress. He noticed how he was looking at Johanna. It irritated him so. He didn't know what was worse; that the boy had an erection or that he gained her rare smile? Oh, the fury Turpin felt. He was jealous beyond belief. All that hard work making Johanna into a proper young lady, only to be abused by a young sailor. He wouldn't have it! He wouldn't have his Johanna be made that sailor's whore. He knew it wasn't Johanna's fault. Could she help being so beauteous and luscious? Her golden hair glistening in the sunlight, her skin illuminated by the light of the room, her succulent breasts… Oh, how he wanted to gently kiss them, along with the rest of Johanna's developing body. But he couldn't, he knew how wrong it was. He was practically her father, and she loved him like a father. He was scared that she would only love him like that and not in the way that he loved her. At that point, Turpin didn't mind if she would never love him. He wasn't letting that girl out of his sight. He loved her too much to let her go. What would he do without her? He wasn't sacrificing his chances with Johanna for a young sailor to catch his ward's eye. That was when he declared to Johanna that she was forbidden to be near the window. She didn't argue, she obeyed him. She didn't know what was so bad about some boy admiring her… She actually found it rather nice that someone was thinking fondly of her. Someone her age was interested in her, but it didn't matter. She obeyed her guardian no matter what the command.
Likewise, Edmund would do his best to see to it that each and every command Johanna had was met. Well, within reason of course. He wasn't a complete idiot. Even as years past, and Johanna well knew all the rules of living in his househould, he wrote her a list of rules. There was hardly anything that Johanna could do. She couldn't even sew without asking permission, for her guardian feared she would prick herself with the needle. Not thats she needed permission, mind you. For he watched her as much as he could, not daring to tear his eyes away from her well developed body... Really, who could blame him? There was nothing wrong with a grown man falling deeply and madly in love with a young woman - There was no relation between the two, and she was the age to be married. Why not to him? He could see nothing wrong with them to be married, but he did not consider that Johanna would. He grinned ear to ear at the thoughts of him ravishing Johanna on their wedding night. Not before. This was the only thing in his life that he would keep pure.