Short Story- The Fortunate Part 1

London, 1888

“Have you heard about what has been happening?” a woman asked the others around her. She stood in a group of women that surrounded a watering hole.

“How can any of us not know what’s happened, it’s in all the papers and everyone is talking about it.” Other said as she attempted to brush her hair with the small, black comb that she had. Her hair was matted worse then normal but she tried her best without hurting her head. She had always been slightly tender headed, even as a girl.

“The last one that the police found was ghastly! I’m honestly afraid to go out at night anymore.” A tall blond woman expressed before splashing water onto her dirty face in an attempt to look a bit cleaner then she actually was. She was the youngest out of the bunch of them and in turn she was the more naïve one. Her was name was Caroline and she was born and raised in London. Her father had worked the coal mines that were on the outside of the city but he had been tragically killed in an accident that took not only his life but the lives of four other men as well. While her mother tried to cope with the loss of her husband she simply couldn’t. When she wasn’t able to continue with her motherly duties as well as bring home something to put food on the table she finally snapped and was taken to the Hillcrest mental asylum, leaving young Caroline all alone in a harsh world.

Times were so difficult and she felt so lost. She didn’t have any family that she could turn to or any friends that she could stay with so she did the only thing she could do, after getting the idea from a woman that she overheard, she moved to the streets and became a prostitute. It wasn’t something that she wanted to do, no one wanted to do it.

“Well I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news my dear but going out at night is a huge part of the job.” And older woman said with a chuckle.

Caroline hated the way some of the women took the situation so lightly. She was truly terrified but she had no other choice, she was going to have to suck it up and deal with it. As she walked away from the group of women she made a promise to herself that she was going to watch her surroundings and if someone approached her that she didn’t get a good feeling about the guy then she wasn’t going to go with him, no matter how much he was going to pay her.

As night fell over the great city of London, the women who weren’t working the streets went inside to make dinner for their children while the men filled the pubs. Caroline stood next to a building, leaning against it with her hands behind her back, watched all the hustling and bustling that was going on in the streets. Across the street she saw a friend, Mary, working her magic on a nice looking gentleman. He was a tall, clean cut looking young man. He didn’t look too much older then Caroline herself, maybe this was his first time?

While she was starring at the transaction that was going on across the street, her thoughts were interrupted by a horse and a carriage trotting by. Business wasn’t normally good so early in the evening so Caroline wasn’t disappointed when no one was approaching her. The real money came later on after night had fully fallen and the corners of the allies weren’t just dark, they were completely black so that they couldn’t see the faces of the women who weren’t their wives.

Timed passed by slowly in the daylight but once the sun had fully set, the gas lights had come on and the pubs began to over flow with laughter of people; that was when the time began to speed by faster then a train racing down the tracks. As Caroline watched the passing people she was unaware of a man who had stopped next to her. She startled as she turned to face a tall, dark figure. The man didn’t move but Caroline took a step back and apologized for being so rude. He advised her not to worry about anything and asked her to take a walk with him and of course she agreed. He wrapped her arm around his and they walked east, leaving the busy population behind.

“So what can I do for you this evening sir?” Caroline asked as she walked at slow pace with her gentlemen friend.

“Honestly I just wanted to talk.” He told her.

“Oh well…” she started but he interrupted her.

“I will pay you lass.”

Without saying another word, she just smiled at him, they walked on. They started talking and made conversation out of topics that Caroline hadn’t talked about since she was in school. Despite how she looked on the outside, she was actually very well educated. Her parents were poor as church mice but her mother’s parents, who were angry because their daughter had married below her status, had taken pity on Caroline and had arranged for her to complete her schooling. They had put the money into an account just before their deaths. After her father’s death, rather then using the money for her schooling, Caroline’s mother used it all for survival. Once that was gone was when her mother had gone completely mad.

They talked of history, literature and anything else that happened to pop into their minds. If it wasn’t for the icy chill that had settled In Caroline’s bones, they may not have realized the time. Her night of work was almost over and she hadn’t made any money. How was she going to feed herself the next night? She wrapped her tattered shawl around her tighter as she stopped. The man stopped as well, looking down at her.

“Well good sir, I must head in now.” She said with a sweet tone in her voice. He took her hands in his and let out a deep breath.

“My apologies my lady for I have you out all night. Please allow me to pay you for your time.” He asked, practically begging to let her do so.

“Oh no, no I couldn’t. This was the…best night I’ve had in a very long time.” She admitted.

“Well I’m glad that I was able to show you a good time. Will you at least allow me to buy something to eat tomorrow? You must admit that I owe you something after all if it was not for me then you would have made something tonight.’ He told her and she nodded her head with agreement.’ Good then it’s settled. I will meet you on the same street corner as I did tonight at the same time and we will dine together at a place of my choosing. I know the perfect place and I know that you will love it.” He smiled. That was the only part of his face that she had seen all night was his beautiful smile. For someone who was so fearful of the man that they have been calling the Ripper, you would think that she would want to know who she had just spent so much time with and she did.

“Excuse me sir, I have been with you for a good portion of the night but I don’t know what you look like, other then your shining smile. May I see your face?” she asked kindly.

“Tomorrow, promise.” The man said before kissing Caroline’s right hand, then left her on the side of the street watching the sun begin to rise to a new day.

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