Who: The Allens, Lydia and Georgie (NPCs) What: An opportunity Where: Miss Lydia's When: 20 March 1889 (slight backdate) Ratings/warnings: PG, mentions of sexytimes
When Lydia met Gabriel and Leah at the door, her normally prim appearance was decidedly ruffled. Her hair looked as if it were on the edge of coming utterly unpinned, her cheeks were flushed, and her expression fierce.
“I was hoping you’d come quickly,” she said, a sharp edge to her voice, and led them to her office, her petite frame stiff and vibrating with energy. Gabriel nearly asked her what the request was about in the hall, but she shot him such a look when he tried that he promptly gave up and followed behind, raising his eyebrows in Leah’s direction.
What they saw when they arrived in the office was explanation plenty.
A red-faced man sat hogtied to the office chair, his eyes rolling as they entered the room, his mouth gagged, the sweat standing out on his forehead as Georgie trained a gun on him.
She waved cheerfully as they walked in, and Lydia shut the door behind them, sighing in relief.
“This gentleman,” Lydia said, icily, “tried to convert Georgie into helping him blackmail you two.”
The man made muffled sounds of protest, straining in his chair.
Georgie shrugged. “Didn’t work, though,” she added with a grin. “He swears up an’ down that he’s just the hired help, there’s another bloke leadin’ the charge.” She shrugged. “That’s as far as we got so far, but it’s a start, hey?”
Leah's eyes narrowed as she took in the man. “He's been here before hasn't he? I recognize that face.” The name escaped her at the moment but she remembered him. A low level bureaucrat in one of ministries if she was right, to afford Miss Lydia’s he had to be spending more of his pay than was wise on the company of the Academy’s lovely ‘musicians’.
“Who’s the ringleader, worm?” she got right up in his face. “If you're worried about being shot, I promise that gun is the least dangerous thing in the room.” It took effort but she restrained herself from going into more detail or giving him a ‘taste’ of what she meant.
Nobody threatened her family like that and got away with it.
The man grunted, and rolled his eyes, and Lydia twisted his ear, making him cry out, tears in his eyes, although the sound was muffled by the cotton stuffed into his mouth.
“I will take off your gag, and you will answer the lady,” Lydia said, her own voice low and chill. “If you scream,” she added, sharply, “you do realise that no-one here will come by to see what the matter is, so there’s no bloody point.”
He nodded, the tears and snot running freely now, mixing with the sweat on his reddened cheeks.
Gabriel hung back, giving the ladies some space to work, figuring he’d intercede if their methods proved ineffective, but as Lydia spoke, he looked closely at the man, attempting to pick up what small hints he could as to his station, and why he might be wrapped up in this scheme.
The man gasped as Lydia removed the gag.
“I swear,” he panted, “I swear, I was helping my boss, he said it’d be my job if I didn’t, it wasn’t my idea, I swear to Jesus.”
“What’s his name?” Leah demanded, having backed off only slightly to let Lydia remove the gag. “What does he know? Is he another client?”
“Frederick Lawson,” he said, his eyes rolling. “Frederick Lawson, Magistrate, oh, Jesus,” he moaned. “Just… just let me go, and I swear…”
Lydia nodded tightly as she replaced the gag. “Aye, he’s a client.”
Georgie looked over at Leah. “He’s the one who’s tall, with the whiskers, you had ‘im?”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “He doesn’t seem the type who’s hard up for money,” he said, drily.
Lydia looked over at him, and he shrugged. “I’ve never done anything compromising with him, or any of his family, as far as I know.”
“I have.” Leah replied, looking over at Georgie. “Actually we both have now that you mention it. ‘Freddie’? Liked having both of us with him at the same time? He’s certainly a randy bugger,” A glance over at her father, “and no, he’s not hard up for money if he can afford that.”
She shook her head, puzzled. “I’ve always gone by Vickie here though, and been careful about how I come and go.” And these days she had Lady Una’s glamour to disguise her appearance. The only time she’d used her real name had been with Georgie, and the other girl made it clear by her actions what side she was on. Even now she wasn’t using her true name, just in case their worm of a captive escaped.
Gabriel frowned. “It could be he saw you out at a party somewhere with me, or in the society papers, and connected the dots. Still, it’s hardly an action one would expect of a Magistrate, especially one who has his own predilections.”
Lydia raised an eyebrow, and Gabriel nodded.
The gag was removed once more.
“I swear,” the man blubbered, “I don’t know why, only that he said once that he wanted you over a barrel right and proper, that’s what he said, get you twisting, bleed you dry so you couldn’t afford any more, and then you’d be right where he wanted. I would’ve lost my position if I hadn’t done what he asked,” he added, pleading. “Without references, I would’ve been ruined, I swear…”
The gag was replaced.
“Whinger, ent he,” Georgie said, her voice flat and dry. “Got to say, ain’t too terrible fond of Freddie at the moment either.”
“Rather.” Leah agreed in a similar tone. She eyed the miserable excuse for a man and wondered if anyone would miss him if he disappeared. He seemed a pathetic creature, which was probably how he'd been ‘coerced’ into getting more information.
“Even still, it'd be his word against ours.” And they wouldn't be able to respond with evidence he was a patron without admitting he was right. “What could he possibly want with us after bleeding us dry?”
Gabriel’s frown deepened. “I have my suspicions,” he said, quietly. “Perhaps he meant to put us in a similar position, where we were to gather information with the purpose of blackmailing our clientele. This sort of thing does tend to feed itself if not put in check. But a Magistrate… a Magistrate without money troubles…” he shook his head. “It speaks to corruption, but it is damnably odd. Pardon.”
Georgie rolled her eyes. “Damn straight,” she replied with a grin.
Lydia shook her head. “Regardless of his motives, he’s a well-placed man, which will make him decidedly more difficult to sort.” The man in the chair writhed at that, and made a sound of distress, and Lydia twisted his ear again by way of answer. She looked over at the Allens, her expression resolute. “What would you like to do? Whatever it is, you know I’ll provide you whatever assistance I can.”
“He's still a man, and we know his weakness.” Leah looked between the three of them. Worse come to worst she'd simply make sure he had a heart attack the next time he visited the Academy. She knew Lydia would back her up if her father objected. Killing wasn't something she wanted to do casually, but the temptation to keep going when feeding until there was nothing left was always there in the back of her mind. Perhaps it was time to give in to the impulse.
“I think we need to find his ‘evidence’ and destroy it, as quickly as possible. Before this one,” she cuffed their prisoner upside the head on the opposite side from Lydia “Can go squealing back to his master. If we're going to let him live of course.”
She ignored the terrified squeal that came from the worm in question.
Gabriel nodded, and paused in thought. “Mrs Adams might be able to lend a hand,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “She knows,” he added, quietly, “and her skills might be of substantial use.”
Leah considered the suggestion and nodded in agreement. “I could see that, if she's available. Do we have time to wait?”
Gabriel frowned. “I don’t know if we do, and would rather not sit on this too long, especially if his associate will be missed. Right now, he doesn’t know that we know who he is, and that’s an advantage I don’t want to lose.” He looked over at the man twisting in the chair. “The sooner this entire business is dealt with, the better -- and finding and destroying any evidence is the least step we can take.”