He was walking down the street on an unusually sunny winter morning. Rarely did they ever see such days in London. He felt the warmth on his face. Delighted, he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, willingly allowing the gold rays pouring from the sky to shine on his skin.
All of a sudden, he saw an apple rolling on the ground next to him. Intrigued, he turned around to locate where it came from. Apparently, a woman had dropped her basket full of apples on the street. A carriage passed by and some of the fruits were smashed under its wheels, while others rolled away on the dusty road.
She tried to collect them but to no avail. She was also holding a baby in her arms, which made the task even more complex. He came closer to her and observed her - in her fury, she didn't notice him. She was a beautiful woman. His eyes wandered on her golden locks, her green eyes, her soft, full lips, her lovely figure… He felt his heart beating a little faster.
Enchanted by her beauty, he kneeled and collected some of the apples for her. Before she could say a word, he nobly took the wicker basket from her arms and carefully filled it with what was left of its original content. She graced him with a precious smile. He smiled back, a golden tooth shining momentarily behind his grin.
"Here you are" he said with a smirk as he handed her the basket, "but be careful with your apples. There won't always be a polite judge out there to help you."
"Oh, thank you so much… Mister…"
"Judge Turpin. At your service."
She blushed and smiled awkwardly.
They chatted briefly, standing on the side of the road.
"And who might this young lady be?" he asked with faux enthusiasm, glancing at the baby. Dressed up in her pink silk dress and her bonnet, the little girl looked at him solemnly with her big emerald eyes.
"This is Johanna" Lucy introduced her daughter.
"She's beautiful, Mrs. Barker. Just like her mother" he complimented her.
His calm, typically polite expression could not betray the fire inside him. He was undressing her with his eyes, smothering his burning desire to touch her, to feel her bare flesh under his fingers. It was like some sort of witchcraft, he thought - he simply couldn't take his eyes off her.
It wasn't ever too difficult for him to ensure a woman's company. Power is a great tool for seduction, and he knew just how to use it effectively. Ladies were more often than not charmed by his masculine figure and his deep, rich voice, but it was his power that lured them into his arms. He was a judge. In his hands, he held life and death. He could send a man to his salvation or to his damnation. And, most of the time, he preferred the second option. He had a reputation for it. But the woman's soul is an abyss, and hardly was Judge Turpin's bed ever empty of pretty women who wanted to get their own taste of that merciless servant of the law.
Sebastian Turpin was a man who got what he wanted, when he wanted it. And, at that moment, he decided he wanted Lucy Barker. He wouldn't stop until he got her. She had now revealed to him that she was married and living in Fleet Street with her husband and their baby. Of course there was a husband. It happened often, but it was never much of a problem. With the help of Michael Bamford, his loyal and devoted beadle, he usually managed to overcome that slight inconvenience.
"Husbands come and go" he thought. "One day he's here, the next day he's gone."
As Lucy was now walking further away on the way to her house, he lustfully observed her silhouette. His eyes glared, much like the eyes of a predator ready to hunt down its prey.
"I will have you" he muttered to himself.