One Glance

Chapter 20

"I raise up my voice-not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back." Malala Yousafzai

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Chapter Twenty

Luke sat opposite Mr George Lumley in one of the most clinical, melancholy rooms he had ever seen in his life.

The faded wallpaper was peeling at the edges, and was exposing rancid looking plaster. The furniture, what little of it there was, was tired and old. The chair on which Luke sat felt as though it might break at any moment.

The window was slightly ajar, and wafting in was one of the most rancid smells that Luke had ever come across. He felt the need to cover his mouth, though he thought it might be rude seeing as this was Mr Lumley's place of work.

The debtors' prison was a large, square brick building with an overall greyness about it. There were bars on the few windows and the faces that had been looking down from them were sallow and sad.

Mr Lumley leant back in his chair and squared his shoulders as he stared at Luke. Luke got the feeling that Mr Lumley enjoyed feeling superior. He supposed that presiding over a population of poor sods who could not pay their debts could indeed make a make an unimportant man feel good about himself.

"I am told you wish to talk to me about Julian Dawson. Is that correct, Captain Cassidy?" he asked haughtily.

Luke nodded. "Yes. He is my father-in-law."

Mr Lumley merely arched a brow. "What an unfortunate relation," he muttered under his breath as he flipped through the pages of the large ledger that sat in the centre of his desk. "Ah, here are Mr Dawson's records," he remarked, pointing out the information with his index finger.

"When was Mr Dawson imprisoned?" Luke asked calmly, out of curiosity.

"Eighteen months ago," replied Mr Lumley.

Luke had been away at sea at the time, but he wondered if Isabella or her sisters had known about this. Then, he supposed, Mrs Dawson had always been a proud woman. He doubted whether she would advertise the fact that her husband was in prison.

"Mr Dawson had defaulted on loans to half a dozen creditors," continued Mr Lumley. "What happens when one lives beyond one's means," he said condescendingly. "Mr Dawson owed upwards of five thousand pounds at the time of his incarceration. Mr Dawson does labouring work within the prison and his wife is currently making payments towards his release."

Luke nearly swallowed his tongue when he heard the amount. How on earth had they allowed themselves to get into so much debt! It was his understanding that upon marrying Annaliese, Matthew had cleared their debt up until that point. That meant that since the marriage, they had participated in some ridiculous spending.

But poverty seemed to humanise Mrs Dawson. It had changed her, and Luke wanted to repay her, and start afresh with his family. This was the right thing to do.

"What does his currently owe?" pressed Luke.

Mr Lumley looked over his ledger once again. "Four thousand, eight hundred and ninety pounds, and a penny," he read.

Luke sucked in a sharp breath as he pulled out his family's chequebook from the inside of his coat pocket. Matthew had been unsure of Luke's plan to begin with, but this was such an absurd amount of money.

The Dawsons' had now been bailed out of financial trouble twice now. Luke was certain there would not be a third time.

Luke quickly signed away a fortune and handed the cheque over to Mr Lumley. Luke then fished a penny out of his pocket and flicked it into Mr Lumley's lap. "Mr Dawson's release, if you please," he prompted.