Laura: An Age Play Romance

by Wild, Lucy

  “No lock!” the gentleman said, looking around in disbelief. His eyes caught mine for a brief second and I found myself looking away from that intense gaze. “You girl,” he called to me.

  I pointed to myself, unable to believe someone would willingly address me.

  “Yes, you. Come here.”

  I stood up and walked over to him, my legs weak still from escaping the peeler. As I reached him I caught a better look at his face. He was not classically handsome, instead there was the suggestion of solid force to his features. His cheekbones looked as if they were made of granite, his beard black with flecks of grey like flint, everything about him was reminiscent of the most solid rock, such was the geology of the man. His eyes ran me up and down and I cowered before him, certain he was about to strike me, though he had no reason to do so.

  “How would you like to earn a guinea?” he asked.

  My eyes widened. The amount he mentioned was obscene, an impossible sum to even imagine.

  “Well come on, come on. Answer me.”

  “I would like that very much sir.”

  His expression lightened just a touch, his eyebrows raising and the stern flatness of his lips flickering upwards at the edges. “Good. Watch this doorway until I return. Do not let anyone in here and I will be back presently.”

  He turned back to the other fellow. “Come then, let’s get the paperwork sorted. I have much to do this afternoon.”

  They began to walk away and I almost remained silent, but the thought of such a sum leaving spoke for me. “Sir,” I called out.

  “What?” he replied, spinning round and glaring at me.

  “The guinea sir.”

  He laughed, a joyless bark that echoed between the buildings. “Of course. I hand it over now and I return to find the place rented out behind my back. You will not find Sir Walter Richards so easy to swindle. Do as I bid and you will paid upon my return.”

  I curtseyed to his back as he had already begun to walk away. I was not so optimistic as to consider myself lucky. I had little doubt that upon his return I would most likely receive nothing as receive enough funds to furnish myself with foodstuff. Yet something kept me in that doorway. It was not the hope of remuneration. It was something else. Despite not knowing the man, despite having spoken to him for but a few brief seconds, I found I did not want to disappoint the faith he had in me to carry out the duty he had asked of my person.

  I remained in place as the sun slowly sank behind the warehouses, leaving the tiny street in a deep gloom. As the light faded, so the few good citizens of this district seemed to fade too. From the cracks and woodwork came ne’er-do-wells of all shapes and sizes. I was passed by a number of ruffians who eyed me up closely as they passed. I felt tension rise within myself as yet more time passed and as the darkness enveloped the city footsteps approached from the end of the alleyway. Two pairs of feet, both heavy, both slow. They became heavier still as they grew nearer and I squinted in the darkness, making out the shades of two mountains of men, their faces flashing into view as they puffed on their pipes.

  “A nasty place to be alone in the dark,” the first said as he stopped before me. “Or perhaps you wish for some company to warm you this night?”

  As he spoke I smelt the reek of alcohol on his breath. He swayed on his feet as he put a hand out, running his fingers through my hair. “Excuse me good sir,” I replied, pushing his hand away. “I am in no desire for company of your kind.”

  “She prefers one with a bigger John Thomas,” said the second, slurring his speech as he attempted to put an arm around me. “Leave her to me Bill.”

  “Please leave me be,” I said, lifting his arm from my shoulder.

  “Playing hard to get,” said the first. “I like it. Gets me right hard when they plays hard to get.”

  “What’s in there?” the second man asked, pointing to the door behind me which was swinging open as I shuffled away from the pair of them. “You a look out for a cracksman?”

  “I have no idea what you ask of me. What is a cracksman?”

  “A burglar girl. You on the lookout for peelers for him? Who is it in there, Jack the Lad Jeffries, Big Tom, ‘Arry One eye?”

  “I am merely watching this place for a friend of mine. There are no goods in here to steal so I suggest you both head on your way.”

  “Maybe,” Bill said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, flakes of briar falling from his pipe to the ground below him. “Maybe there are some goods out here we want instead.”

  With his free hand he reached forward and squeezed my chest roughly. I pushed his hand immediately away with as much force as I could muster. Whilst my attention was upon him, his colleague in arms had got behind me and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me into the warehouse through the open door.

  “Unhand me!” I began but I barely had the ‘un’ out of my mouth when Bill blocked my lips with his fist, silencing me with a punch of such force I felt blood upon my tongue.

  I fought to free myself as the pair of them continued dragging me into the darkness. I attempted to scream but another blow hit me in the stomach, winding me and silencing me more effectively than a gag ever could.

  “Shouldn’t hang round places like this after dark,” the second man slurred.

  “I could not agree more,” said a voice in darkness, a voice that belonged to neither of my two attackers.

  Chapter 2

  There was a thud and Bill fell to the floor behind me, his breath a slow wheeze as his body remained still where it had fallen. “Who’s there?” the second man asked, letting go of me and jumping to his feet. “I’ll ‘av you for my starter before I ‘av ‘er as me main.”

  “Come, come,” the voice in the dark spoke again. “It’s bad manners to play with your food.”

  My attacker stepped past me with his arms outstretched in the stance of a pugilist. From my left I heard the sound of movement and then a crunch as something heavy landed on the boxing amateur’s head. The man slumped beside his colleague, the pair of them out cold.

  A hand reached down and took mine, helping me upright. “Are you all right my girl?” the voice asked, the owner still not visible in the gloom.

  “I will live,” I replied, wiping the blood from my lips with my hand. “Though I am glad you came when you did.”

  “You should be on your way,” the voice said. “This is a dangerous place it would seem.”

  “I cannot sir,” I replied.

  “Oh really. Why ever not?”

  “I promised someone I would watch over this place.”

  A joyless laugh echoed around me, a laugh I recognised. There was the flare of a Lucifer, yellow orange and burning my eyes with its brightness. The flame was held to a lantern which began to glow ever brighter. By the light I beheld my rescuer, the same gentleman who had bid me to watch over the doorway on his behalf. Sir Walter Richards.

  “You might have been killed by those two and yet still you would remain at my request. Why? Are you so desperate for money?”

  I did not answer, merely looking away as I felt my lip swell from the blow it had sustained. My stomach ached also, I felt certain a bruise of impressive size would form there by the morning.

  “Here,” Richards said, pressing a coin into my palm. “You have earned it by the deuce.”

  “I thank you,” I mumbled, not wanting to look at the coin, afraid it might only be a half penny.

  “You are injured,” he continued. “Come, I will have my man look at the wound for you.”

  “I am fine,” I replied, looking down at the two figures as they began to stir. “I will not trouble you any longer good sir.”

  “Nonsense,” he replied. “You received wounds carrying out a duty for me. It is only good manners to have you looked at. Of course, I would not dream of forcing you. If you prefer you can be on your merry way to wherever your abode lies.”

  I thought about the arch under the bridge where I had spent last night, listening to the boats on the riv
er as I shivered in the cold. I looked at him, there was something in his face that I could not pinpoint. He was not smiling, and yet he looked as if he were almost amused, as if he were playing some kind of game with me, one in which I was not aware of the rules.

  “What’s it to be?” he asked.

  “I will come with you.”

  “Excellent. Come, I have a carriage at the end of the alleyway. It was far too narrow to fit down here. One more reason why this is not the place for me.”

  “Sir?”

  “Never mind. I will explain later. For now, we will away.”

  “What about those two?”

  “I have just the thing.”

  He held up a padlock to the light of the lantern, holding it in his free hand as he led me back into the street. Once outside, he scraped the door closed, sliding the padlock through the rusting hasp and clicking it closed. “We will some a little sport with those fellows. If they can get out of that before the peelers come, then good luck to them both.”

  With another of those joyless laughs of his, he strode down the street towards the flickering gaslight which marked the edge of the main thoroughfare. As he turned the corner, he took hold of a pauper child walking past. “You boy. Want to earn a shilling?”

  “Do I?” the child replied, his eyes widening. “Prove you ‘av one.”

  “Find a peeler and send him to twelve down there. He’ll find two guests for the cells waiting inside.”

  “What about me shilling?”

  “I’m trusting you to do as I bid,” Richards said, pressing a coin into the boy’s hand.

  “Course I will sir,” the boy grinned. “I know the brazier where they keeps warm.”

  “Good lad,” Richards said, watching the boy run off.

  “You trust him but you do not trust me?” I asked, reaching his side.

  “Ah, but a guinea is a lot more than a shilling,” he replied, blowing a whistle with his fingers. From around the next corner, two enormous black horses appeared, pulling an impressive carriage behind them, lanterns at each corner. Even in the dim light they shone, I could tell these were expensive animals but they were noting compared to the cost of the wheeled conveyance behind them. “Sir Richards,” the driver said as he brought the horses to a stop beside us. “You appear to have picked up another one. I don’t know how you do it.”

  Richards laughed, this one with a touch more warmth. “She’s different,” he replied, opening the door and bidding me to enter before him. “Wounded in my service, not in my bed chamber. To Dishford’s house please Adam.”

  “As you say sir,” the driver replied, watching until we were both inside before setting the horses on their way.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as we bumped our way through the dark streets.

  “My physician resides a few minutes from here,” he replied, leaning back on his seat before taking out his pipe. “With luck he will still be up.”

  I watched as he tamped down the briar before lighting a Lucifer, sending plumes of smoke into the enclosed space of the carriage as he sucked on his pipe.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, taking the pipe from his mouth.

  “Jade Wood sir.”

  “Wood? Do you know the Lincoln Woods at all?”

  “I do not sir.”

  “Delightful place to hunt rabbit.” That barking laugh again.

  “You said the warehouse was not right for you,” I said, ignoring his jest. “Are you a businessman?”

  “Of sorts. I run a number of schools of a rather private nature and I am always on the look out for new locations. I had been informed that the warehouse I visited was perfect for my needs. At first, that did indeed appear to be the case.”

  “But it was not?”

  “The agent had lied on a number of points. I was told it was in a private yet safe area. He was clearly wrong on the second part, as I noted by the bloodstains during my tour. Your friends this evening merely confirmed my belief. I was told a carriage could fit down the street and ride straight inside. That was an all out falsehood. I could have coped with those flaws perhaps, in return for a discount on the sale price of course. But the fellow had no interest in haggling, even tried to tell me the lack of a banister upon the stairs was a deliberate feature. He was a scoundrel and I shall not deal with him again. However that does mean I have a number of students due to enrol in a week’s time and as yet I have no place for them to begin their studies.”

  “Do you teach them yourself sir?”

  “No, not for many years now. I have schools in London, Edinburgh and Newcastle. I think you would agree it would be somewhat difficult to be in all three places at once.”

  “Somewhat.”

  “I will simply have to keep looking. Although, that makes me think. Are you currently employed Jade?”

  “I am not sir.”

  “I could cover twice as much ground with some help. How would you like to scout some locations for me over the next few days? I would pay you of course.”

  I thought of the guinea in my pocket. “I would like that very much sir.”

  “Excellent! I have a number of places to investigate and I shall provide you with directions to each. You will report back to me with your findings.”

  “What am I looking for?”

  “Of course,” he sucked at his pipe for a moment, the glow illuminating his face momentarily. Outside the carriage I heard raucous voices singing a song rude enough to make my cheeks bloom in response.

  “One of my favourites,” Richards said. “Though I have not heard it sung in these parts for some years. Have you heard it before?”

  “No sir, and I have no desire to hear it again.”

  “Come girl, it is only talking of the way we all came into this world. Little Lana Matchgirl, found herself a catch girl. Opened her legs, struck her snatch, burnt her skirts in a singed dark patch.”

  “Please,” I snapped, holding out my hand. “No more.”

  Richards frowned in the gloom. “Well you are not as much fun as I had hoped.”

  “The locations for your school?” I said, changing the subject with some haste. “What are your requirements?”

  “Oh yes. Well the primary need is for privacy. This is paramount. The daughters of peers of the realm attend and confidence must be assured or my reputation becomes mud. I need somewhere with few windows, away from main thoroughfares.”

  “Anything else?”

  “A few other things. Inside must have space for sleeping, eating, and teaching. I have up to twenty girls per school although not all spaces are filled at all times. In addition, I employ tutors and a nurse. They must have their own rooms within the same building. Other than that, a reasonable price is always a pleasant bonus.”

  The carriage slowed to a halt, the horses breathing heavily outside. “We’re here sir,” Adam called out.

  “Wait here would you?” Richards replied as he opened the door, allowing me to step out first. “We should not be long.”

  “Ten to one he’s drunk as a judge,” Adam said as Richards opened a gate towards an imposing townhouse.

  “Your money’s as good as mine,” Richards said, turning and whispering to me. “He never drinks on a Monday.”

  “Why’s that?” I whispered back.

  “Too hungover from the weekend normally.”

  “And this is your physician?”

  “When I’m in the area, yes. I once saw him chop off three legs in quick succession without a pause.”

  “My goodness. That’s incredible.”

  “Not really. One of the legs belonged to the fellow holding the patient in place.” With that, he took hold of the knocker and rapped on the door three times. From within the house came a crashing sound.

  “Oh Jinx,” a voice called out. “You’ll be the death of me! Get out the way!”

  Richards knocked again, that flicker on a smile upon his lips as he did so.

  “Who the blazes is it? I can hear you out there
you know?”

  Richards knocked again.

  The voice grew nearer. “I swear if you knock once more I shall…”

  Richards knocked once more as the door swung open and an enormously round figure appeared, his face a mask of fury. “I shall…Richards!” His expression changed in an instant to a broad smile. “When did you get back?”

  “Just this morning. Good to see you Dishford. Cat still causing chaos then?”

  “I swear she exists just to trip me up. That’s all she ever seems to do. Come in, come in. And who is this?” He looked at me. “Oh my, that looks nasty. Did he do that to you?”

  “No sir,” I replied with some panic that my new employer might be taken for a beater of women.

  “He’s joking,” Richards said, ushering me into the house. “Take no notice of him.”

  “This way,” Dishford said. “Come through to my examination room.”

  He led the way into a spacious drawing room, gaslights set into the wall giving the space a yellow hue. I took a chair and he began to clean the blood from my face. “What happened?” he asked as he looked closely into my eyes.

  “I was assaulted by two ruffians,” I replied. “Sir Richards saved me.”

  “Did he indeed?”

  “It was nothing,” Richards said, sinking into an armchair beside the fireplace. “I merely did what anyone would.”

  “No teeth broken anyway,” Dishford said when he’d finished looking over my wound. “Did they hit you anywhere else?”

  “My stomach.”

  “In which case, would you mind lifting your dress so I can take a look?”

  I stiffened in my seat. “I would not feel comfortable doing such a thing.”

  “Oh come girl,” Richards said. “He is a medical professional. He must examine you.”

  Dishford took a step back from me, attempting a warm smile. “It will take but a moment I assure you.”

  Chapter 3

  “Very well,” I sighed, sensing defeat. “But could you leave please Sir Richards?”

  “Just as I am getting warm by the fire?” he replied. “I will do nothing of the kind.” His brow furrowed. “Might I point out that I have paid you quite handsomely for your toil and I will be paying for this treatment not to mention being your new employer. If you wish to throw all that away in a moment of rudeness, so be it. You can head back to the streets.”