Hi again, everyone. Thanks for the reviews to the first chapter! I've decided to keep going with this one for a few more chapters. They're likely to be short, but they'll be updated regularly for the next week or so. Anticipate 2-3 more chapters. Thanks to everyone who has and continues to R&R. 3
Knock, knock, knock.
Nell Lovett stood at the door in the frosty night air, hugging herself inside layers of aging furs to keep warm. The note she kept tucked in her pocket had begged her to come quickly, though she didn't know what for. The door swung open and immediately she was wrapped in two fragile arms.
"Nell, I'm sorry for calling you out so late. I just don't know who else to turn to." The woman dissolved into sobs. Nell wrapped her arms around the poor woman, trying to sooth her.
"Hush, Lucy. Don't fret about the time. Let's go inside or we'll catch our deaths." she said, nudging her old friend through the open doorway.
"Better death than this shame. Oh, Nell, what am I going to do!" Lucy cried, burying her face in her hands.
"Let's go inside, Lucy. No need to make a scene out in the open for everyone to hear."
With that, she led the crying woman into the house and shut the door.
The pair sat quietly in the parlor. Nell had wrapped her friend in a quilt to keep out the cold, as she was wearing little more than a thin nightdress, and settled her into a chair. She herself had cast off her furs and drawn a chair close to the fire. Lucy's infant daughter, Johanna, was asleep in a basket by the iron bellied stove.
"Benjamin has been arrested." Lucy said quietly, staring down into her teacup.
"Whatever for?" Nell asked, shocked.
"Burglary. Lord Turpin says he stole something very valuable to him. And no one would question a man so respected, especially now that he's a court judge. They took him right out of the marketplace for everyone to see. I have never been so shamed." She put a hand to her forehead and choked on a sob.
"His trial is in the morning and we've no money for a lawyer. I fear the worst for him, Nellie."
"Surely they won't condemn a man without just cause?"
"Are you suggesting he's guilty?" Lucy demanded a little too loudly, causing the infant to stir and cry. Lucy rose from her chair and picked the child up to rock.
"No, no! Of course not, Lucy." Nell said, rising from her chair. "He'd never steal, least of all from a judge. They can't punish an innocent man."
Lucy shook her head as if she disagreed and fought back another wave of tears. Nell crossed the room and enveloped Lucy in her arms, Johanna between them. Lucy nestled her head in her neck, her unruly golden hair pressed up into her nose so that Nell could smell the soft scent of rose soap.
"It will be all right," she said, even though she knew it was wrong.
"Oh Nell, stay with us. At least until Benjamin is freed. I can't bear to be alone with only Johanna. I need help." She looked at her then, tears marking tracks down her face, and Nell couldn't refuse her.
"I'll stay here, at least until this matter is all sorted out."