One Penny Surprise (Saved By Desire 1)

“Your friend here has a penny, use that,” Luke snapped.

In a manner that was as casual as he could make it, he tucked his hands into his pockets and in doing so drew the sides of his jacket back, brazenly displaying the golden prize attached to his chest. Although his stance was seemingly relaxed and casual, deep inside he was a seething mass of tension that was mentally running through everything he needed to do once the urchins made a move. He didn’t have to wait long. One of the older boys clearly decided that the prize on Luke’s chest was too good to resist because he suddenly dodged around Luke. He appeared on the pavement directly in front of him, effectively blocking Luke’s path with his thin frame. His actions left Luke with no choice but to try to side-step around him. As he did he bumped into the young girl who had crept up to his side without him having heard her. Instinctively, he glanced down. Before he could say anything, he felt a faint tug on his waistcoat and sensed the telltale flurry of movement. That was it. He didn’t hear anything, just felt that betraying tug that warned him his fob watch had been lifted.

“’Ere get off me,” the young girl screamed at the same time that the boy in front of Luke began to gurgle.

Luke looked down at the boy whose shirt was now clenched firmly in his fist and smiled into his face as Marcus hauled the girl onto the pathway beside them.

“Taking something that’s not yours, are you?” he growled as he lifted the boys hand that was still clutching the fob-watch chain. He turned to look at the chain that dangled from the grubby fingers and sighed deeply.

“Get off me. You can’t do this,” the boy protested. He wriggled and squirmed as he tried to kick Luke hard on the shins but was no match for Luke’s towering strength. Rather than gaining his freedom he merely found himself lifted higher off the ground until he began to grow fearful of how high off the ground he was.

“Call off your friends or I swear I shall have you in front of the magistrate before you can blink.” He glanced over the boy’s shoulder and watched the barrow man realise some of his fruit had been lifted. The accusatory gaze he landed on the urchins warned Luke that he had a few minutes alone before the trader would come looking for compensation in one form or another. The last thing he needed right now was a distraction of any kind and motioned to Barnaby to deal with the man before they were interrupted.

“Drop it.” He snarled, but yanked his chain out of the young boy’s hands before the youngster could release it.

“Ready?” Marcus asked as he hauled the young girl around to stand beside them.

“What? ‘Ere put me down. I ain’t ready for nothin’,” the boy protested, and redoubled his efforts to secure his release.

“Oh, yes, I think we are ready,” Luke declared casually as he eyed the young boy dangling from his hand. Now that he had seen him up close, he suspected that the lad was more likely to be fourteen or fifteen. In spite of his age, there was wisdom in his eyes that

bespoke of someone who had seen the hardships life could offer, and didn’t expect them to get any better.

“Get off me. I’ll scream I will,” the boy protested.

“Please do. I will make it known to everyone that you have just stolen my pocket watch,” Luke reasoned. “Now, who do you think they are going to believe? A small, grotty thief who has been caught red-handed with something he couldn’t possibly afford to purchase himself, and the barrow man’s apples stuffed in his pockets, or me, a dapper gentleman walking down the street minding his own business? Now, let me think. If I take you to the magistrate you would get lashings and at least twelve months in prison. It is more than enough for someone like you to learn the folly of your crimes, or maybe not.”

The boy’s eyes flashed defiantly but his struggles eventually slowed to a stop and he slumped somewhat dejectedly in his hand.

“Take me to the magistrate then, but let her go. She ain’t done nothin’ to you,” the boy bargained. He nodded toward the young girl Marcus held.

Luke was already shaking his head. “Oh, I think she is your accomplice. Now, I may be wrong, but seeing as I was the one who saw you in the park accosting that woman the other day with at least four of your friends, I think it is safe to say that you are not working by yourself. However, you two will be sufficient for our purposes.”

While the boy and girl looked warily at each other, neither of them spoke.

Both Marcus and Luke braced themselves when a group of at least six other urchins suddenly raced into the end of the street. They slammed to a stop as soon as they realised the predicament their friends were in and looked at each other doubtfully.

Sensing trouble was brewing, and their captive’s help had just arrived, Luke and Marcus wasted no time ushering the children aboard the carriage Barnaby drew to a stop beside them.

Once inside, Luke slammed the door closed but kept one leg across the door while they rode through the streets to a considerably quieter area.

The carriage the Star Elite had chosen was about as nondescript as any they could find and was identical to hundreds currently used by people from all walks of life. Even the horse they had chosen had been selected for having no distinguishing features like odd socks, patches, or anything. That gave them the ability to melt into the traffic, and they stood a better chance of getting lost amongst the crowd. It worked too. The carriage now wove in and out of the traffic with such speed that the pedestrians giving chase couldn’t keep up. Within minutes, they had disappeared to the leafy suburbs without issue.

“Where are we?” The boy demanded once the carriage had rumbled to a stop. When neither Luke nor Marcus told him, he tried unsuccessfully to peer out of the blacked-out windows before he slumped back against the seat with an audible huff.

Rather than answer, Luke dug around under the seat and removed the basket that had been placed there earlier. He heard the young girl gasp when he lifted the lid to reveal an array of food that would whet the appetite of even the most distinguished aristocrat.

“Want some?” he asked blithely. Before either child could refuse he threw a small pie toward the young lad and then tossed another to the girl. He had barely sat back before both children were stuffing their faces avariciously. With his cheeks full, the boy eyed the basket on the floor hungrily. Without even giving Luke or Marcus a second look, he immediately snatched at the bread lying on the top of the pile, and stuffed as much as he could into his mouth before he tore the rest in half and rammed it into his pockets. He had barely swallowed the bread before he began to bite hungrily into the meat pie at the same time that he began to put fruit into his other pocket.

“Let us go,” he mumbled, oblivious to the fact that he was spitting food everywhere. He hunkered protectively over his food as he spoke as if to warn the men that if they carried him out of there they would have to let him take the food with him. Neither man had any intention of taking the children anywhere though. They would discuss just how disturbed they were by the actions of the clearly starved children once they were alone. Right now they needed answers, and these children were able to provide them, Luke was sure of it. If they needed to ease their hunger to become more malleable then the relatively small price of the food was worth it.

“You have tried to steal from me,” Luke murmured as he watched more and more food disappear with astonishing speed. “Why should I let you go?”

“More importantly than that,” Marcus reasoned slyly. “I want to know why we should feed you. You are tucking into food you haven’t paid for.” He watched both children pause momentarily before they shared a worried look. The boy swallowed his mouthful of food and looked warily at Luke.

“I ain’t stolen it. You gave it to us,” he challenged. He looked down at the pie in his hand as though it was a snake about to strike him, then shrugged and bit into it again. It was clear he was going to consume it all to hide the evidence so to speak.

Luke merely nodded thoughtfully. “Looks like you needed it too,” he drawled with a sigh. While the girl was no less ferocious with her attitude toward the food, she was at least looking at them warily rather than being completely focused on the food like the boy was.