Chapter 4
Darkness had taken over the faint light of the day; the dim moon showed Jack all he needed to reach the Brownlow residence. He knew exactly whereabouts in the 'posh street' (as he had named it years before anything had connected him to it) he was aiming for but was debating on what he should do when he got there. He couldn't exactly go knocking on the door could he! So the back door then? Maybe just start at the back of the house, the front was too risky when trying to sneak into a house.
Deciding what to do came easier than expected. There was only one window with a small light shining from it, Alice's room. The only person who should be awake in the house so the only person still having a light on in the room. Picking up a small pebble from the ground and threw it at the window. There wasn't long to regret his decision for the window was opened and a faint shadow appeared.
"Jack?" came the discreet whisper.
Relief swept over him, he had chosen the right window.
"Yeah, I didn't know where to go, so I hope this is alright." Jack replied trying to match her soft whisper but not wanting it to be too quiet that she wouldn't hear.
"This is perfect, go round to the front door and I'll let you in." Alice instructed, shutting the window again.
When the light faded from the window, Jack began to make his way to the front door, before Alice opened the door to nothing.
Finding his way in the dark was getting easier as his eyes adjusted to the limited light. The stone that he had almost fallen over getting round to the back in the first place he could now see it almost completely clearly. So finding the front door was easy.
They arrived at the door pretty much the same time. Although Jack arrived a few seconds before Alice had opened the door, making him wish he had taken just that extra bit longer to get there to save the awkward waiting.
When Alice opened the door silently and beckoned him in, he didn't hesitate and swiftly slipped through the gap. From the glow of light that the candle gave him he tried to see how this posh house looked on the interior. As far as he could see there was some fancy paintings on the walls and the ornate ornaments on the sideboards but other than that it was all in shadows.
Closing the door behind him, Alice clicked the latch into place, wincing at the loud sound it made. She would have to work out how to make it quieter if they were to make this a regular occurrence.
"Go on up." Alice hissed.
Jack looked towards were he assumed the stairs must be and then looked back.
"I would if I could see!" Jack hissed back.
Alice handed him the candle.
"Better now?"
"Much!" Jack agreed holding the candle in front of him, finally being able to see the location of the stairs.
Now bathed in darkness, Alice smiled, this was what she had missed; the banter, the jokes, the carefree attitude that they seemed to take on when together. Placing the key back on the designated hook Alice followed Jack up the stairs.
"Which one is your r…?" Jack began.
"Shh! The first one you come to." Alice cut him off talking in an even quieter whisper then they had been talking in before.
Jack opened the door to Alice's room silently, letting himself in he held the door for Alice.
Alice paused before she entered, listening to the silence for a moment convincing herself that they had disturbed anyone.
"Sorry, had to make sure no one heard us." Alice said when the door was firmly shut behind them and they could speak normally.
"So how's life at the den?" she asked perching on the edge of the bed.
Jack wavered, contemplated mentioning the 'Max' bloke and how he Charlie were now tied down to do his bidding thanks to Fagin but he stopped himself. It wasn't overly important and the last thing he wanted was for Alice to be worrying over him when he knew she was struggling with her own life, the new house, the new etiquette, the whole new lifestyle. No it would wait; he could handle it after all how bad could it be. Yes he didn't want to do it, yes he was angry at Fagin but he had managed every other obstacle in his way before so there was no reason that he shouldn't be able to contend with this one.
"As it always was! Fagin's the same old blundering idiot he normally is, Charlie's his usual slapdash self and the rest of the boys are as noisy as ever!" Jack ended up saying although his mind had come up with some more colourful words to describe Fagin.
Alice laughed remembering clearly everything he had mentioned. She realised how much she missed the noise, the house seemed almost silent to her and although she had complained of them begin too noisy she had to admit she'd rather that then silence.
"Of course, how silly, why would it ever change?" Alice joked, lying back on the bed with her arms behind her head.
Jack seized the moment, pinning Alice to the bed, straddling her and keeping her hands firmly in his.
"You are never silly!" he told her planting a kiss on her forehead. "It's probably something to do with your new pretty dress and yer fancy hairdo's gettin' to yer head!" Jack teased.
Alice pushed Jack so he was no longer in contact with the bed.
"You know darn well that don't affect me!"
Casting his eyes downwards, Jack wondered what precisely had caused her to become so jumpy at a simple joke.
Frowning Alice pondered what had made Jack suddenly go so quiet, as she realised that she had possibly made the comment a little too harsh, she smiled finding it cute that he could see through the tone of her voice.
"Aww has it really been so long that you don't know when I'm joking or not?" Alice asked slinking her arms around his neck.
"It's been too long." Jack agreed.
Alice hugged Jack pulling him closer. "I know."
Unseen by Alice Jack's eyes glistened with happiness, the worries and thoughts of the day wiped out by Alice's presence around him.
"Now," Alice said dragging Jack back to the bed by his left hand. "I want to hear everything that I've missed." She sat down pulling Jack to a seated position too. "Got anyone new?"
"Oh, yeah, few they're not quite experts yet but they're leaning pretty fast!" Jack said pleased to be talking about something that was familiar to them.
"Well with the two gonoph's teaching them they'll soon become pro's!" Alice chuckled.
"Well with us tied up with the Max's tricks they'll have to learn when we've got the time." Jack snapped his head up when he comprehended what he had said.
"Who's Max?" came the inevitable question.
Jack sighed, he'd have to tell her now.
"Max turned up at the den one day wanting to talk to Fagin, it turns out he was looking for recruits to go on raids, Fagin landed me and Charlie in it. Needless to say we're not very pleased with Faggie at this moment in time." Jack explained.
"Don't be too hard on Fagin, this bloke must have been demanding for him to let his two best boys be taken by someone else." Alice had always had a soft spot for Fagin, she appreciated what he did for the gang and although some of the things he did weren't always exactly with the right mind, he did have a caring soul beneath it all.
"That's what I'm worried about." Jack voiced his fear.
Squeazing his shoulders Alice tried to reassure him.
"You'll be fine, I know you will."
"If only it were that simple Alice!"
A frown crossed Alice's face, her head tilted in a quizzical way.
"He's dangerous Alice, I can sense it." Jack said, putting a wayward strand of her hair back in place.
"Then I guess you'll just have to promise to be careful!" Alice replied taking his hand and kissing it.
With that Jack thought it was best to leave the matter be. Falling into silence, Jack came to a loss of what to say.
Having enough of the sombre subject Alice changed the mood, stealing Jack's top hat from his head and waving it about.
"Oi! Give him back!" Jack exclaimed glad of the sudden release.
"him?" Alice echoed giving a look of surprise. Jack just glared following his beloved hat with his eyes.
"Ok, you can have 'him' back." Alice gave in throwing the hat up in the air.
"Catch!" she teased, very much amused at how he dived to catch the hat as it fell. His connection with his hat was a bond that no one would ever break. Pulling it on his head tightly, Jack returned to his original sitting position. He noticed that a pocket watch had fallen out of his pocket although the chain was still attached to him, picking it up to put it back he briefly checked the time: 1 o'clock.
"Gosh, I ought to be getting back. Fagin's probably mildly concerned by now but Charlie's probably worried sick!"
Alice giggled. "That sounds about right!" she stood up to see Jack out of the room.
Knowing he had to go, Jack stood up, every bone in his body wanting to stay.
She gave him one last hug before taking his hand and leading him down the stairs and out the house. Maintaining her smile as she closed the door behind Jack, for the first time in a long while she remembered what it felt like to have a no care in the world and to have complete contentment as she spent with the one person who truly made her happy. Hugging herself, Alice sensed a wash of joy rush through her as she ascended the stairs and back into her room.
Told you I was going to pick up the pace! Please review!