barefootgirl69
Wild Little Cupcake
- Joined
- May 14, 2015
- Posts
- 67,682
Bristol, England – Autumn 1831
Raymond Massey closed the ledger and placed his quill beside it on his desk. Things were going well, but he knew that they might not always be this way. One error, one small problem with a cargo, could turn his entire world upside down and he could end up losing everything. He didn’t care so much for himself, he had started with nothing many years ago, long before he had met Suzanne. Now, he had to think of their daughter. He needed to give her a home, something stable, especially since the death of her mother.
Suzanne had been a loving wife and mother and was adored by them in return, even through the illness that tore through her body and left her lifeless in the early morning hours. Their small daughter had been inconsolable, but as the years had passed, she had begun to blossom again. Raymond couldn’t let anything else happen to her, and that is what fueled his decision.
Several weeks ago, a young privateer had come into the office and they had struck a deal whereby Raymond would sell his cargo whenever he was in Bristol, keeping the items far from the eyes of customs officers and, thereby, untaxed. For his part, he would keep ten percent of the profit. Carefully considering the offer, he accepted. Over the years, though, he had incrementally begun selling the contraband at a higher price, pocketing a piece of the price before taking his share. It meant that he would be keeping a different set of books from the ones the privateer would see, but it would be easy to pass through the watchful eye of the captain, and no one would be the wiser.
Seven Year’s Later
Traffic had slowed in Governor’s Square as the afternoon waned into the early evening hours. The Custom’s Office and many other offices and shops had closed by the time Raymond Massey had turned the placard announcing they, too, were closed. He had just stepped outside and turned to lock the door when he felt the presence of someone behind him and, turning, he saw the young captain that he had been doing business with for many a year.
Slowly, Raymond opened the door and held it for the captain to enter before he locked it behind them and went to find a lamp. His heart was pounding as it did each time the captain came to see him while in Bristol, his mind racing and wondering if this might be the time when he was found to be a thief.
*****
The darkness had closed in and enveloped them just like a fog on a winter’s night. It was late and lamps had already been lit to give a soft glow throughout the room where Charlotte sat listening closely to her father tell her of the visit he had from the captain with whom he had been doing business with for years.
Her hands were folded in her lap to keep them from shaking but, other than that, you would not have noticed the turmoil that was raging in her mind as she sought to understand this wild tail. Surely, Father was mistaken.
Charlotte sat on the settee with her mouth working as if to speak, though not a sound crossed her lips. Her father stood across the room near the window that looked out onto Market Street where they had lived since she was a baby. She was stunned by what her father had just told her, to say the least. This wasn’t something she had ever considered before. Her father – a thief. Fencing stolen goods for a privateer. Not just fencing them, but cheating the captain, as well. The man she loved and admired - a thief, a cheat, and a liar. And now he had been caught.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, you must believe me. When he first came to me, I refused. Shortly thereafter, he returned with an offer that I couldn’t turn aside. You mother was ill. I needed the money. You were so young.” He took another drink of brandy from the snifter in his hand. “Eventually, I became greedy. I admit it. There was so much coming in, surely he wouldn’t notice a few things missing. Or so I thought.”
Raymond turned to look at his daughter. She was a beautiful young woman now, twenty years old. He could see the shock on her face, the tears that filled her blue eyes and threatened to tumble down her cheeks. She looked just as her mother did when he had met her. What would Suzanne say if she were still here, to find out what a scoundrel her husband had become? He could say he had only done it to provide for young Charlotte, but he knew that he had liked the idea of working with Captain Pierce.
Striding across the room, he stood before his only child and looked at her with sorrow etched on his brow. “He has said that he wants recompense for all the money that I have stolen from him or he will have me thrown into Newgate Prison to await the next session, and then to be hanged! I don’t know what to do, Charlotte. I don’t have the money to pay him back.”
Charlotte closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try to clear her mind. She needed to think, but there were still so many unanswered questions. “Do you know exactly how much is owed? Did he give you a period of time to gather the money together?”
What did you do with the money, she wanted to ask, but there was no sense in knowing. What could she do to change things? Would it really help to know?
Raymond Massey closed the ledger and placed his quill beside it on his desk. Things were going well, but he knew that they might not always be this way. One error, one small problem with a cargo, could turn his entire world upside down and he could end up losing everything. He didn’t care so much for himself, he had started with nothing many years ago, long before he had met Suzanne. Now, he had to think of their daughter. He needed to give her a home, something stable, especially since the death of her mother.
Suzanne had been a loving wife and mother and was adored by them in return, even through the illness that tore through her body and left her lifeless in the early morning hours. Their small daughter had been inconsolable, but as the years had passed, she had begun to blossom again. Raymond couldn’t let anything else happen to her, and that is what fueled his decision.
Several weeks ago, a young privateer had come into the office and they had struck a deal whereby Raymond would sell his cargo whenever he was in Bristol, keeping the items far from the eyes of customs officers and, thereby, untaxed. For his part, he would keep ten percent of the profit. Carefully considering the offer, he accepted. Over the years, though, he had incrementally begun selling the contraband at a higher price, pocketing a piece of the price before taking his share. It meant that he would be keeping a different set of books from the ones the privateer would see, but it would be easy to pass through the watchful eye of the captain, and no one would be the wiser.
Seven Year’s Later
Traffic had slowed in Governor’s Square as the afternoon waned into the early evening hours. The Custom’s Office and many other offices and shops had closed by the time Raymond Massey had turned the placard announcing they, too, were closed. He had just stepped outside and turned to lock the door when he felt the presence of someone behind him and, turning, he saw the young captain that he had been doing business with for many a year.
Slowly, Raymond opened the door and held it for the captain to enter before he locked it behind them and went to find a lamp. His heart was pounding as it did each time the captain came to see him while in Bristol, his mind racing and wondering if this might be the time when he was found to be a thief.
*****
The darkness had closed in and enveloped them just like a fog on a winter’s night. It was late and lamps had already been lit to give a soft glow throughout the room where Charlotte sat listening closely to her father tell her of the visit he had from the captain with whom he had been doing business with for years.
Her hands were folded in her lap to keep them from shaking but, other than that, you would not have noticed the turmoil that was raging in her mind as she sought to understand this wild tail. Surely, Father was mistaken.
Charlotte sat on the settee with her mouth working as if to speak, though not a sound crossed her lips. Her father stood across the room near the window that looked out onto Market Street where they had lived since she was a baby. She was stunned by what her father had just told her, to say the least. This wasn’t something she had ever considered before. Her father – a thief. Fencing stolen goods for a privateer. Not just fencing them, but cheating the captain, as well. The man she loved and admired - a thief, a cheat, and a liar. And now he had been caught.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, you must believe me. When he first came to me, I refused. Shortly thereafter, he returned with an offer that I couldn’t turn aside. You mother was ill. I needed the money. You were so young.” He took another drink of brandy from the snifter in his hand. “Eventually, I became greedy. I admit it. There was so much coming in, surely he wouldn’t notice a few things missing. Or so I thought.”
Raymond turned to look at his daughter. She was a beautiful young woman now, twenty years old. He could see the shock on her face, the tears that filled her blue eyes and threatened to tumble down her cheeks. She looked just as her mother did when he had met her. What would Suzanne say if she were still here, to find out what a scoundrel her husband had become? He could say he had only done it to provide for young Charlotte, but he knew that he had liked the idea of working with Captain Pierce.
Striding across the room, he stood before his only child and looked at her with sorrow etched on his brow. “He has said that he wants recompense for all the money that I have stolen from him or he will have me thrown into Newgate Prison to await the next session, and then to be hanged! I don’t know what to do, Charlotte. I don’t have the money to pay him back.”
Charlotte closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try to clear her mind. She needed to think, but there were still so many unanswered questions. “Do you know exactly how much is owed? Did he give you a period of time to gather the money together?”
What did you do with the money, she wanted to ask, but there was no sense in knowing. What could she do to change things? Would it really help to know?
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