Between Two Worlds
Disclaimer: I do not own the Alice books or films. This fanfiction is entirely for fun and no money is being made.
Chapter 1: A Teatime Conference
It was a clear summer day, the sun already dipping towards the horizon in the late afternoon when a horse drawn coach was driven into what had once been the Ascot estate. It halted before the front steps of the manor house and a girl alighted. She closed the coach door and rapped on it sharply with her hand and it quickly moved away, leaving her standing alone.
The young woman looked to be in her late twenties, a slender pretty girl with golden hair twisted into an elegant coif, impeccably dressed in the latest fashion. Her pale blue bustled day dress and white jacket were exquisitely tailored, displaying to enticing effect the curves of her well-corseted figure. White leather gloves and a rather severe boater style hat with a blue ribbon around the brim completed the ensemble. Standing there in the afternoon sunlight, she seemed the very embodiment of Victorian respectability and propriety.
Any such impression would have been shattered a moment later when the girl hiked her skirts up to her knees and dashed up the steps three at a time, white petticoats flying and displaying flashes of her stocking clad ankles. Meanwhile the doors of the manor house had opened and a footman in black and gold livery and a butler in a sombre dark suit had emerged. They stood motionless by the open doors, waiting as the girl mounted the steps towards them and showing no concern at all at her rather shocking behaviour. They were accustomed to their young mistress's eccentricities.
"Good afternoon Harry, Mister Parsons," the girl said a little breathlessly as she reached them.
"Good afternoon, Miss Alice." The butler responded gravely while the young footman stammered a response that was mostly unintelligible.
"Is my mother about?" Alice Kingsleigh asked, removing her hat and gloves and handing them to the footman.
"In the drawing room, Miss Alice," Parsons told her. "She sent for tea just a little while ago."
"Good, I need to speak to her at once," Alice replied. Taking off her jacket she passed that over to the footman as well. "Could you see to it we're not disturbed please, Mister Parsons? We have some important business to discuss."
"Of course, Miss Alice."
Giving the elderly man an appreciative smile, Alice entered the house and walked at a brisk pace towards the drawing room.
An observer following Alice Kingsleigh would have thought everything about the house typical of the Victorian upper classes until actually entering the drawing room itself. Then you could have been forgiven for thinking you had entered a different world, one that was more than a little schizophrenic.
The plush carpet, heavy drapes and overstuffed furnishings were not at all unusual but the many exotic items displayed in the room gave it a very different ambience. There were vases and pieces of sculpture from China, India and Siam. A spear and shield hanging on the wall and a number of ebony carvings were evidently African tribal artefacts. Crossed over the fireplace were two Japanese samurai swords. All these were mementos of Alice's various travels abroad.
Most of those travels had been alone but on a couple of her later voyages she had been accompanied by the woman who now occupied the sofa, decorously drinking from a teacup.
Helen Kingsleigh was a still attractive woman in late middle age. She was wearing a demure green day dress, her only slightly greying hair set into an elegant chignon. She gestured for her daughter to take the chair facing her across the low tea table in front of the sofa.
"Tea, Alice?" Helen inquired as her daughter elegantly seated herself, after carefully adjusting her bustle.
"Tea will do for now," Alice agreed. "But after you hear what I have to say we might both feel the need for something stronger!"
"Oh dear!" Helen sighed as she poured her daughter a cup. "I take it the police were not helpful?"
"Not helpful, no," Alice admitted as she took a sip of tea. "But they were certainly informative. As we suspected the Crawford brothers are already well known to them. In fact they have a list of suspected crimes as long as your arm, including several murders."
"Then why aren't they in prison?" Helen Kingsleigh demanded indignantly.
"Mainly because it's almost impossible to get legal evidence against them," Alice explained. "Most of their victims and any witnesses to their criminal activities are too terrified to actually give evidence. They know that if they do not only they but their families as well may be targeted. The Crawford brothers have a reputation of being both ruthless and vindictive"
"And the letters they've sent us?" The older woman asked. "Surely demanding money with threats is evidence of extortion?"
Alice shrugged. "According to the police not strong enough evidence. They weren't handwritten after all, just cut and pasted from newspaper print and there was no signature. A clever lawyer could just claim it was a hoax or an attempt to fake evidence against them. The police actually gave me the impression that a local jury would be too frightened to convict anyway, no matter what the evidence."
"It sounds as if the police are rather reluctant to take any action against them," Helen said thoughtfully.
"I think you're right," Alice said with a nod. "I suggested we could set a trap for them, that we could pretend to pay and then the police could catch anyone attempting to retrieve the money. But they offered all sorts of flimsy excuses to dismiss the idea. I suspect the local police are either afraid their own families will be targeted if they interfere or they're being bribed by the Crawford brothers to turn a blind eye."
After Alice had said that a heavy silence fell that lasted for nearly a minute.
"So we are on our own!" The older woman said at last.
"I'm afraid so!" Alice agreed. "Mother, if you think we should pay…"
"No!" Helen Kingsleigh sat up even straighter, a determined look on her face. "Alice, you know as well as I do that if we give in once it will just be the first of a never ending series of demands. The two of us have spent the last four years building Kingsleigh and Kingsleigh Trading into one of the most profitable companies in England. I will not have all that destroyed by a gang of East End cutthroats!"
Alice nodded in agreement. Her mother's decision was what she had expected and matched her own feelings, but she had felt it important to give her mother the chance to decide that herself.
However Alice privately vowed that she would keep a close eye on her mother. She had the greatest respect for the older woman's courage and determination but the fact remained that Helen Kingsleigh , unlike Alice herself, had no combat training or experience. Alice had rebuilt her relationship with her mother over the last few years and they were now closer than they had ever been before. She would not risk losing her.
"Do you think we should cancel the soiree tonight?" Helen asked.
"No, I don't think so," Alice said slowly. "There will be too many important people here tonight, peers and government ministers and such. It's not the Crawford brothers' way to draw attention to themselves like that. They'll try to get at the two of us individually. Do you still have that revolver I got you?"
Helen nodded. Opening her reticule she drew out the tiny gun that her daughter had given her.
"What about yours?"
Alice grinned at her mother. "I don't normally use a reticule so I found another place to keep it!"
Reaching down, Alice lifted up her skirts and petticoats, revealing her stocking clad legs. Stuck into one of her pale blue garters was a revolver the exact duplicate of her mother's.
"A garter can be useful for more than just holding up your stockings!"
"So I see!" Helen Kingsleigh said with amusement. "Well I suppose we should both start getting ready."
Alice sighed, letting her skirts fall back down around her legs. "I suppose so, but I still haven't decided what to wear."
"Wear your new evening gown of course. We bought it for tonight after all."
"I'm still not sure I should have let you persuade me to buy it," Alice admitted hesitantly. "I've never really been one for wearing red."
"Darling, that gown suits you admirably!"
"All right!" Alice agreed with another sigh. "As usual these days I will follow your advice on sartorial matters."
The older woman took another sip of tea before replying.
"Well it's about time!"
Alice threw back her head and laughed.