Pauper Princess

Chapter Three

The carriage ride was near silent on my part. The man who introduced himself to me as Lord Baldwin tried his best to converse with me- he spoke of the weather, of books, of his home that he was taking me to.

I did my best to keep my responses vague but polite.

Yes, Sir, the weather is lovely. No, Sir, I have never read The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes. No, Sir, I know nothing of Shakespeare.

"I had always hoped to adopt," Lord Baldwin informed me suddenly. His words startled me a bit- we had been trapped in a long, silent break in the conversation. "I, myself, was adopted, you know. By my Mother's brother. He had only daughters, and needed an heir to his estate. It did me a world of good, and I have always hoped to do some good to another child who needs it. I truly do believe that God sent you to me."

Shifting uneasily, I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. "Yes, Sir."

"And such good timing," He went on, seeming to almost be speaking to himself as he looked out the carriage window. "You see, my two sons are away at school most often. They will leave in just a few weeks time, when the school reopens for the year. When that occurs, the house goes quiet. My daughter, Elizabeth, is in need of a companion. You shall fill this role. In return, you will receive schooling, food, board, clothing, and the discipline that you desperately need to one day become a good wife and functional member of society."

Without thinking, I turned to stare at him. "A companion?"

He nodded. "Yes. A schoolmate in lessons. A playmate in games. A roommate within the nursery. A friend and sister, for all intents and purposes."

"What if I do not want to?"

"Children do not get to make such decisions. Much less children who pick pockets. I can assure you, that reformatory school would not be the prefferable option."

He said the words so kindly, and with such little judgement, that it was hard to see them for what they were. A trap. A prison of their own making.

Noticing the look on my face, Lord Baldwin leaned forward to look at me with a smile. "Truly, this is a wonderful opportunity. A God-given one. I want to adopt, Elizabeth needs a companion, and you desperately need some guidance and discipline. You will have a governess, private tutors, toys, dresses, books, all at your disposal. I just put out call for a new governess a few weeks ago for Elizabeth- my daughter was getting a bit out of hand with her behaviors, so we needed an authority figure who will be more stern, come down harder. That is what you need, as well. That is what I will give you."

Lord Baldwin looked irritatingly proud of what he seemed to view as his God-appointed intervention on my behalf. I stayed quiet, trying to plot my escape. Had he not been sitting between myself and the door, I would have tried to jump from the moving carriage, despite the steady trot that the horses were carrying us at.

After several hours- a few of which Mr. Baldwin read a book aloud to me, evidently thinking it would amuse me- we began to pass areas I knew. The pickle barrel. The factory that had offered me the job of selling firewood. John's usual begging corner- to my dismay, he was not there as we passed by, and Lord Baldwin was quick to grip my waist and sit me back down when he noticed me standing on the seat to better see out the window.

But then we began to make our way up the hill that led to the richer part of London- the big houses on the outskirts of the city, that I tried to avoid. The Jollocks up here would call for the Peelers if you even looked at them the wrong way.

Their mansions were all huge, of course. But the one the carriage pulled into seemed as if it could rival the Queen's Palace itself- the gate was staffed by uniformed men who held it open for the carriage as we passed by, and the long pathway past the frontyard seemed to stretch on and on.