Another chapter so soon in celebration of me finally ordering the series off the internet! I have been borrowing up until now but at two pound a book, why not?

Thanks for all the ideas you have given me I am keeping this plot the same but..it was only going to be 7 chapters but I might add another plot twist and extend it. That or a sequel. What do you think? Anyway, back to the opium den…

Oh and just a note. I forget you dont know me on here so arent used to the way I write...remember, I'm english please? So spelling may be odd to you who are american. Also I often type so fast I miss keys...that is all x

"Why are you doing this to yourselves?" Cain yelled and glared at the addicts clustering at the end of the room. "Why would you choose to sit here wasting your lives in some fantasy world when you could be out with the people you love? The people that love you?" he stopped and his hands balled into fists. "You don't know what you've got until you've lost it." He whispered and turned to leave

For a moment, it looked as though everything was going to be okay, that Cain would leave unharmed and the addicts would probably put his speech down to a bad trip. Just as he reached the door, Cain felt a hand land heavily on his shoulder. He spun around to come face to face with a tall man, almost taller than Riff. He was heavyset and unshaven and worse, didn't show any sign of being intoxicated. Behind him stood two other men who were basically shorter versions of their leaders.

"Got a problem, sir?" the man asked. His voice was low and threatening. "You sound like an aristocrat. Only disowned nobles come here, and you look fine to me. What right do you have to come in here and insult my customers?"

"More morals than you." He shot back and stared unflinching into the manager's eyes. "You don't scare me."

"I don't care." The man sneered. "You being scared or not doesn't effect how easily I could put a whole in your head." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Get out if you don't want to pay."

Cain gave a short bark of laughter. "You know, they always say it's the aristocracy that are obsessed with money, but right now I couldn't care less. Right now, the only thing I can think about is-"

"A girlfriend?" The man laughed. "We don't-"

He stopped speaking when the barrel of Cain's gun was shoved into his chest.

"One more word." He whispered. "One more, and you'll pay for that."

Around the room, the addicts began to creep slowly forward. Not because they cared about the manager, of course they didn't but because if he died they might never be able to get their next fix.

"You're wrong, my boy." The man smiled as several addicts closed in on Cain and pressed various implements against him. "You're going to pay for this rude behaviour."

"Oh, I am, am I?" Cain said and then spun put of the reach of all of them. He then turned and kicked over one of the opium loaded tables. "Then I might as well pay for this!" He said with almost manic happiness. "And this perhaps?" He grabbed a knife off of one of the addicts and ripped into a sofa. "And maybe-"

"Enough!" One of the manager's minions rushed forward with the intention of stopping Cain but was rewarded by a bullet to the leg. He fell to the floor with a shriek.

The circle of addicts stopped creeping forward ad froze, the few of them that still had some sense scuttled away.

"Will I pay for that, too?" Cain asked, holding the gun pointed downwards. It was striking him that this was senseless and stupid, even for him. He had lost his grasp on sense.

"Damn right you will." The manager hissed, sneer finally gone. "Twice over."

"Right." Cain turned his back on the mess and walked out, trying not to think about what he had just done. He tried to assure himself that nothing would come of this but had the horrible sneak feeling that he had placed himself in danger, and Mary too.

Putting the thought to the back of his mind, he went back to searching the streets for more hospitals.

"What?" Riff asked incredulously. His mind was a whirl of panic. Had he said something? Did Grainham know? How could she possibly know?

"Don't be scared." Caroline said gently, squeezing his hand. "Please. I'm not going to betray you to anyone. I just…my darling, how have you been so strong?"

Riff shook his head, not wanting to think about it. "Caroline, how do you know? And what do you know exactly?"

"I can…well, I can't read minds." She said simply. "Not in the way you would think of it. I can just see what a person is thinking at the moment I try, and I get all the feelings and words linked to it."

"What did you see?" Riff whispered, afraid of the answer.

"When I leant towards you, you thought about how it was similar to when you kissed him." She said quietly, not out of awkwardness but because she didn't want anyone to hear. "All I could see was you're reflection in his eyes as you pulled away from him, and that you felt you're life was over."

Riff flinched a little. "It is." He sighed. "He might not hate me, but he can't be happy with me. How can I possibly protect him the way I should when I want him so much?"

Caroline shook her head. "Riffriff, you just don't understand at all. That, I can tell. I can't tell you how you feel, at least not yet. Your mind is like a tangled web. But what I can tell you is that you read him all wrong."

"What do you mean?" Riff asked, barely daring to breathe.

"He wasn't angry. Someone's eyes will always betray them. All I could see in his eyes was love."

Riff was silent for a few moments and was grateful that Caroline never mentioned the fact that he was crying. He pictured her as a tiny golden sparrow, landing on his shoulder and watching everything he did, or at least at that moment. She was right, he didn't understand how he felt and so wasn't even ready to assume how Cain felt. What he needed now was…

"I can help you, you know." Caroline said gently. Her dark eyes were shining. "Riffriff, I'm being discharged tomorrow. I'm going home, at last. I know this is below your talent and that you would rather be back with your master, but I have no servants now. I think it would be good for us both if you came to stay with me for a while."

Riff smiled. "I was thinking something along the same lines. But…Caroline, what I did is important. Whether I understand it or not, it could end up with me being killed, and Cain too."

"I'd never betray you." She said slowly. "I've been betrayed by everyone in my life. I could never do that to someone with as kind a heart as you. And besides, Riffirff, love is love, no matter who it is bestowed upon."

Riff frowned. "You really think so?"

"Yes. Even if you don't."

Riff flinched and looked at the floor. She was right. In a way, he wasn't allowing himself to believe it was love. Lust was something caused by demons that could be stamped out. Love…was something else entirely. But suddenly all he wanted was to hear Cain say that he loved him. That longing was enough to make him want to at least try to understand what was going on in his head.

"I think I might come to stay with you." He said and smiled. "If it's alright."

Caroline grinned and released his hand at last. "There's nothing I'd want more. I can't have happiness now, not through love. I want to make sure that you don't end up the same way."

"Tomorrow then." Riff said slowly. He kept something inside his head; tomorrow he would be putting himself into a position incredibly hard to trace. Half of him thought this was an excellent idea. The other half was screaming at him to go back to the Hargreaves estate.

He listened to the first half and tried to get on with his work without thinking of himself as a traitor.

"Big brother?"

Mary took the stuffed animal from Cain hesitantly, not liking the blank look in his eyes. It was well past her bedtime, but the maids had let her stay up with them until Cain returned home. She had been allowed to bake biscuits and was now covered in flour. Cain didn't say a word about any of this misbehaviour.

"What happened today?" She asked, tugging at his sleeve with one small hand.

"Nothing." He replied blankly. "I didn't find anything. I didn't see anything. We're getting nowhere."

Mary frowned. "Are you okay, brother?"

Cain shrugged and practically threw himself onto a couch. Mary jumped up beside him. "I'm alright." He said at length. "I just wish...I wish I knew that he was okay."

"You don't think someone's hurt Riff, do you?" Mary asked, suddenly scared. Cain instantly shook his head.

"Of course not, Mary. I just don't know where he is. It' frustrating."

Mary nodded and then smiled. "Oh! I had a thought while you were out today. If Riff isn't in one of the main hospitals, or the smaller ones, he must be in a specialised one, right?"

"Yes." Cain replied. "But I don't know where any are and couldn't find them."

"Well, I got the servants to help me and my tutor too. We drew up a list of the four specialist hospitals near here. What do you think?"

Mary handed Cain a sheet of paper and he suddenly came to life. Now he had an idea of what to do, he felt more motivated.

"A children's hospital? I doubt Riff would work there, it would upset even him. Old people too, he's so strangely sentimental like that. But…these two. The Catholic hospital and its sister for disabilities…maybe one of those."

Cain made as though to get up so Mary grabbed onto his arm, sending the toy tumbling to the floor. "Not tonight. You need to sleep."

"I suppose." Cain gave in and sat back down. "I'll go tomorrow. Thank you Mary, you're wonderful."

He kissed her lightly on the forehead and shortly after, fell asleep where he sat. Instead of waking him, Mary curled up herself and gathered up the toy from the floor. She buried her face in the fur and shut her eyes, praying that her brother would find Riff tomorrow.

She had questioned her tutor earlier, since she had been told Riff was ill and no harm could come of it. The woman had told Mary that a man would break a promise for two reasons only; personal gain, or matters of the heart which he would claim were matters of the ego. Mary knew Riff would never betray her brother for personal gain and what had he to gain by leaving? But matters of the heart? What had that got to do with Cain?

After a lot of circular thoughts, she fell into an uneasy sleep. Elsewhere in the city, Riff was just closing his eyes and his dreams were full of sorrow.

Please drop me a line my darlings. It makes this so worth while. xxx