Chapter 1

 

'You cannot force me to stay here with you!' I finally allowed myself to voice my panic and anger as the tall, well-dressed gentleman that I had regrettably crossed paths with for the first time within the last hour closed the door to his large study room, leaving us all alone to talk.

'You're right, I cannot hold you here. Ultimately it is your decision what you choose to do from here on in, but I have given you your options, so tell me then how you wish to proceed?' I heard his deep, confident voice as he sat down behind his desk and faced me full on, I tried to hold my nerve and stop myself blushing as I felt his dark greyish eyes observing me so causally from head to toe.

'Options?!' I snorted. 'You haven't given me any options, you have all but threatened to get me hanged if I don't cooperate with you. You...you controlling swine!' I lashed out, feeling too desperate and tired now to care about his response. When he did not arise to my bait, I became quiet once more.'

'Have you finished with your temper tantrum?'

'How dare you!' I clenched my fists in frustration, 'Don't treat me as if I am some naive and disobedient girl. I am a grown woman of two and twenty years, I'll have you know!'

'It is no point you using your age to protest about your treatment at my hands today, for if you had acted like a responsible adult and a decent citizen of London in the first place we would not be exchanging words at this very moment in time.' I listened to him, holding my tongue whilst hating his smug, self-assured manner.

'On the contrary, I would say on a whole I have been extremely patient and I know many who may even say I have been most kind to you, or were you rather expecting some type of indifference from me after you tried and but failed woefully to steal my pocket watch and purse?'

'Sir, I've told you before several times, but you don't want to listen, it was a misunderstanding. I was not stealing from you.... you dropped your watch and purse on the ground by accident, I was going to give it back to you, I swear it but...' I battled hard to convince him, not giving up hope just yet that he might relent and let me go.

'Enough!' I watched as the grey-eyed gentleman got up from his seat. I could tell that my words had had an opposite effect on him, on hearing him raise his voice in anger at me. My attempts to persuade him that we had met under a big misunderstanding I knew now were a complete none starter; he did not believe a single word I said on the matter.

'I do not expect anyone living and working under my roof to tell me falsehoods, have you got that? Now I have given you a chance to redeem yourself, to make amends for your bad deed and even earn some honest coin at the same time. Take this as an opportunity to turn your wretched life around.' He walked around the other side of his desk so he was only a few steps in front of me and I could see into the dark depths of his intense looking eyes as he looked down on me, but I refused to be intimated and scared off by him.

'You know nothing about my life to call it wretched, or me for that matter, and I don't need your help or arrogant pity. I mean, who do you think you are trying to cast judgement and punishment over me ... Lord Justice or something?!' I spat out with disgust.

'Actually to you I am exactly that....I will be your master until I say otherwise.'

'Never, I will never take any orders from you.' How I itched to slap him across his face hard.

'Well if that is your decision, then I will accompany you to the police station and let them know just what an expert pick pocket you are, and your fate will be left in their hands instead.'

'You wouldn't, please stop!' I called out to him with urgency before he had reached the door that lead out of his study. Frightening visions of an overcrowded and gloomy jailhouse sent shivers down my spine. In the end, any previous behaviour that I had displayed was just a load of hot air. I was not brave enough to pay the price of my actions with such a depressing fate. 'I am sorry....'

'Sorry for what?' He spoke calmly without any trace of emotion as he turned round to face me once again.