Prologue
A lone coach traveled down the worn, cobbled streets; heading towards the shabbier, darker sides of the city of London. The shutters were securely closed and bolted; the blinds drawn shut and only the driver in plain sight. The sharp steel of the horse's hooves striking down in quick, brisk motions in a repetitive 'clack' on the street was the only noise that emanated through the dingy neighborhood.
The driver drew the two horses to a stop with a practiced hand, outside a seedy looking establishment by the edge of the road. The grime that coated the windows and walls in abundance allowed only a small light to filter through, but the fact that the house was occupied could not be missed.
The door of the hackney swung open and a young man of medium height and average build hesitantly stepped out. Nervously, he straightened the poorly done cravat at his neck and glanced surreptitiously about him. The alley cats, the hostile glares directed at him from random passer-by's and the twinge of unease he felt as every second ticked past all served to discompose him greatly.
Finally gathering his wits about him, he hastily tipped the driver and moved up the walk; pausing only briefly before rapping on the wood. A slit near the top of the door was yanked aside, leaving two beady eyes in its place.
After an inspection lasting merely seconds, the short question was gruff and almost rude in its abruptness.
"Name?"
The young man cleared his throat once, twice and then fell silent, seemingly unable to speak through his unease. After a moment spent in such a fashion, he managed to summon his courage, giving his particulars in a comprehensible, albeit somewhat unsteady voice.
"Thomas Bennet."
The slit closed abruptly and many rusted bolts and locks being undone could be heard through the thick wood. Finally, the door creaked open an inch and he was ushered within.
Once inside, Bennet surveyed his new whereabout. He was in a small dirty room which held a shockingly sparse amount of furniture, giving it at best a neglected look. The large table in the middle took up most of the room, scattered on it were a few unorganized papers and notes, along with some empty beer bottles which rolled freely about the tabletop whenever it was jostled.
The sole occupants of the room were three men, whose intimidating glares served to raise his already vast unease. The door slammed shut behind him and he forced down the urge to jump at the unexpected noise. A pang of fear gripped him when he heard the bolts being secured. Why did he ever agree to such a scheme?
Well knowing the answer to his rhetorically thought question, he peered at the men before him hoping that one of them would be the first to speak. After a prolonged silence, he was finally prompted to take a seat and a filthy glass was thrust at him. The cheap wine inside the goblet did not serve to raise his spirits on the situation. He was saved from having to start the conversation or worse, sample the wine, when the man in the middle leaned forward and spoke in low tones.
"Saunders tells me you are taking up this job for him," he paused, inspecting Bennet disdainfully; "Are ya up to the task?"
Bennet nodded slowly.
"This is my first…job," he confessed, when the men deemed not to speak again.
The man looked at him in open amusement.
"All the better," he said with a smirk. "Then you won't be so easily traced back to us."
Bennet frowned slightly at the implications of the statement. Saunders had promised him a simple job as his first one, so that he could get used to the occupation. But the little speech the man gave could make any man of some sense wary. Deciding to wait until the man explained further, he chose to remain silent.
"This one needs to be kept for a maximum of two months," the man continued. Already increasingly anxious, Thomas started.
"Two months!"
Saunders had conveniently forgotten to state the terms of this so called 'simple' job.
"Yes, and for good reason. We cannot allow this mission to be thwarted. After all, T'is not often when we manage to kidnap the daughter of an Earl."
Bennet could feel the blood draining from his face. Things were making more sense now. Saunders had successfully blackmailed him into doing this unpleasant job and he now understood why the man was so adamant as to have him take it up. They clearly needed someone very much unconnected with the actual kidnapping so as to pull it off. And who better than himself?
"An Earl's daughter?" he gasped, the words tumbling out of his mouth. "Surely you understand the possible consequences of this. If you are found out-"
He was swiftly cut off.
"We don't ask for your opinion in the matter," growled the man. The two other men flanking him leaned forward menacingly, as though to emphasize the point. Bennet paled further, scrambling to find a way out of this outlandish circumstance.
"This could put my family under much danger," he hissed.
The man waved his hand airily.
"You had to consider the implications of this before entering into the agreement. Your concerns are not mine."
Now that he had entered into this entire shoddy affair, he wouldn't be able to back down without some severe danger to his person, and these men looked extremely capable of inflicting it. Bennet stopped himself short of an angered reply and contemplated his options, stubbornly avoiding a retort. The man glowered at his apparent indecision, but then seemed to consider driving the topic to a more appealing one.
"To make the required arrangements for a suitable ransom and to withhold the girl for an acceptable period of time, we'd need around two months." The man paused. "But trust me when I say that if this is successful, you would walk away with a handsome amount, Bennet."
Bennet drew in a breath and regarded the man before him quizzically, forcing himself to think of why he was doing this; the promise of money providing extra incentive to the situation.
"How much would you be able to gather as ransom?" he asked finally, a mite curious to the vast amount he was sure they would demand. After all, it was not every day that one got the chance to siphon funds from an Earl.
The man stared at him, his expression unreadable and his emotions masked all the more more efficiently due to the poor lighting of the room;. Bennet determined that he would be unable to make out whether or not the man spoke a falsehood.
"I would say around 80,000 pounds. If we keep the girl longer, we might even be able to claim more," the man said finally.
"And the amount I would be entitled to?"
The man examined his nails disinterestedly.
"We would be willing to give you 10 percent of the ransom for your troubles."
Thomas exhaled slowly as he made the quick calculation in his head. Yes, 8000 pounds was a handsome amount for a job such as his current one. But he was a fool if he was to walk away from this meeting empty handed.
"That is all well and good, sir," said he. "But what of the costs that will be incurred with the housing of the girl? Surely you do not expect me to wait until you receive the ransom, to pay me for this?" He knew that affairs such as these were always at a great risk of going astray,as was often the case with matters concerning the upper spheres of society. He therefore had no intention of acquiescing to the job without making sure that he was, at the very least, adequately funded for it.
The hostility in the atmosphere thickened noticeably, the looks on the faces of all men present darkening as he made his request. A low murmuring began between the men, rising slightly as two of them violently protested to the notion.
Finally the man who was most obviously the leader slammed his fist on the table, hard enough to cut off any other heated replies.
"The man speaks sense," he said lowly. "Very well Bennet, how much would you ask for?"
Bennet watched the man warily. The ensuing consequences if he made an overt demand were not lost to him as he worked up his courage. Finally, his brow furrowed and he met the gaze of the other man.
"4000 pounds."
The uproar was instantaneous; one of them even went so far as to shove his chair backwards and tower with barely contained emotion over Bennet.
"You ask for half the amount?" asked the lead man dangerously.
Anxiety and nervousness racked Bennet as he straightened his cravat. Not willing to back down from the obstacles he faced, he answered with as much confidence as he could muster, given the situation.
"Half the amount is adequate compensation for the losses I would face while raising a girl for a two month period, yes," he said as calmly as he could manage.
The man glared at him for a total of five minutes before sighing.
"Done."
Bennet had barely time enough to breathe a sigh in relief before he was ripped from his seat by the lapels of his travelling coat. Thrust to his feet, he was then most unceremoniously pulled through a small door, which had escaped his notice earlier. Straightening his collars and glaring at the man who had man-handled him so, he surveyed the room he was brought to.
It was a filthy little room, where two single mattresses occupied most of its space. The bad lighting caused him to squint at the bundle of shapes he could just make out, huddled together on the mattresses. He drew closer and inspected the children arranged on the make shift beds.
One was occupied by a young boy who looked no more than 10 years old. He was clutching the sleeping form of a small girl to himself tightly, tear tracks visible standing out visibly on the dirty skin of his cheeks. He stiffened as Bennet stepped closer, scowling up at him and hugging the girl even more securely to him.
Bennet eyed him sympathetically. Judging from the poorly cut clothes he wore, he wasn't one of the gentry, in fact, it would be most probable if he was indeed one of the lower class. His fate could not be worse, if the ransom asked in place of his safe return could not be met, he would be sold off as a slave or sent to work in the other establishments around town.
Averting his eyes from the plight of the two children, Bennet quelled his uneasiness and moved to the other bed. The tiny mattress beheld two sleeping girls, both of whom were shivering under the meager blanket provided to them. The slightly larger one had mousy brown hair, bunched around her head in a fashion often sported by maids, she was turned to the side, attempting to gain warmth from the other body next to hers. Bennet turned his gaze to the other.
It was no difficulty in presuming that the girl was, indeed, very different from the other children in the room. Her dress, although dirty and scraped in places, was of fine quality. Her features, more clear cut; the high cheekbones, dark tresses and sharp features giving her an air of nobility.
She looked so vulnerable in slumber, her tiny form pulled up against the older girls and shivering pitifully. Bennet felt his heart go out to the girl. To be wrenched from a loving family and a comfortable life at so young an age, thrust into a world that was most decidedly not her own, was a cruel fate to befall anyone.
"That's the girl," grunted the man beside him. He reached forward as if to grip her but Bennet stopped him, hastily picking up her slight form and cradling her against him. He would not see a mere child handled so roughly by the likes of these men.
The man shrugged and moved back to the entrance, gesturing for him to follow. As he entered the room, a bag of money was pushed into his hands and he was all but thrown out of the building.
The lead man watched him shrewdly.
"Two months, Bennet and I'll send someone over to pick her up."
And with that, the door was slammed shut.
Glancing around him to see if he was gaining any suspicious stares from the passing people, Bennet hailed the first hackney he could espy and eventually was able to bundle the girl safely into the confines of a carriage.
Heaving a sigh, Bennet sat down across from the child and put his head in his hands. What had he done? He was a man who normally stuck to his morals and yet here he was, caught in the middle of an abduction of an innocent. He had no choice, he told himself miserably. He had no way of refusing to be a part of this without provoking serious danger to his family and his own person.
He made up his mind then and there, would look after the girl as best as he could. Determination flooded his breast. He would do everything within his power to make her two months away from her family more bearable. It was the least he could do to rectify his sin.
His wife would be less than pleased with having another mouth to feed for two months. But the money would cease her protests as it always did. The thought left him with a faint hint of disgust in his mouth. The slight stirring of the girl across him caught his attention, and he watched as her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes were quite beautiful; dark, swirling depths of obsidian black that peeked out from under thick lashes.
She blinked, the sleepiness disappearing, slowly from her eyes. When she finally sat up, it was with a small frown marring her little face as she looked about her.
"Who are you?" she asked finally, peeking at him inquisitively.
Bennet straightened in his seat and smiled at her gently.
"I don't believe we've been introduced," he paused watching her. "My name is Thomas Bennet."
The girl blinked once again, eyeing him.
"And mine is Elizabeth," she finally replied, a grin pulling at her lips.
Bennet chuckled; he quite liked this forward little creature. She attempted to look out the window and he watched as her face fell when she realized that the curtains were drawn.
"Are we going to Mama and Papa now?" she inquired hopefully. "That other man promised he would take me to them after he showed me around the park," she frowned at this, beginning to sniffle.
"But that was yesterday. Then, I stayed the night. I did not like their bed, and the girl I met was sad, I wonder why she was sad..." She trailed off, then looked to him. As if he would answer her unspoken questions. Make everything right once more.
Bennet winced inwardly.
"No, Elizabeth. We are going to my house. You will like it there. There is a little girl about your age for you to play with," he spoke, hoping to distract her from her earlier thoughts.
Evidently it worked, as she leaned forward eagerly.
"Truly? I have always wanted another girl to play with! I only have two brothers, and they are both much older than me," her nose crinkled. "They don't like my games but Richard pretends to be interested." Again her voice dropped in despair for a few moments.
Her expression brightened though as she looked at him again.
"Do you have any story books that you might read to me?" she bounced slightly in her seat, quite excited at the prospect of visiting.
"Do you like books, Elizabeth?" asked Bennet.
He was pleasantly surprised when she answered in the affirmative and began to prattle on about the various tasks she enjoyed doing. Yes, he wouldn't mind keeping this child with him for two months. Indeed, she was most interesting, and he found himself wondering whether he would be disappointed when the day came for her to leave but just as quickly pushed the thought away.
End Prologue
Edited: 06.06.16/ 06.50am