Catching Mr Ripper

September 9th Morning

Elizabeth woke up with a sigh and brushed her nose against Edmund's chest before settling her head back to where it once was. Her eyes blinked against the light of the new day that had begun to seep through the thin curtains. Then her gaze moved to the door of her bedroom, but instead of landing on her door her gaze landed on an all too familiar person. She shot bolt upright in bed, pulling the bedsheet over her chest protecting herself from her father's eyes.
"I'm sure it's nothing your friend here hasn't seen before" Her father glared "Wake him up" he commanded.
"Eddie. Wake up" Elizabeth shook him awake.
"Good morning to you too" he groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes "Eager are we?" He smirked.
"You always appeared to be a respectable young man. How wrong I was"
"Mr Vance. Sir. I..." Edmund froze in shock.
"I take it this is not your first rendezvous with my daughter?"
"Father. Stop this please" Elizabeth groaned.
"I knew allowing you to study bodies and allowing you to live alone was a huge mistake on my part. I should've ordered one of your brothers to watch over you"
"That's ridiculous! I'm a grown woman-"
"Who acts like a child throwing a fit! I never should've left you alone especially not with this boy" he grumbled in anger.
"He's a man" Elizabeth bit back sternly in response.
"Get dressed now and leave before I make you. Stay away from my daughter if you know what's good for you" Zebulon hesitated by the door before leaving them both to change.
"Great. Now he really hates you" Elizabeth sighed, grabbing her clothes off the floor and dumping them onto the bed.
"He hated me anyway. This just proves his point" Edmund grumbled picking his clothes up off the floor and pulling them on. His gaze fell upon Elizabeth and her naked form, she froze and met his gaze.
"What? Did you not get a good enough look last night?" She said annoyed.
"You might want to make sure your well covered today, or else someone might see evidence of our debauchery" he smirked at her body.
"I told you no marks" she glared at him and her body before pulling on her underwear.
"I couldn't help myself" he smirked following her behind the screen in the corner of her room.
"You better get dressed or else my father will force you out into the street in the nude" she smirked shoving past him.
"You would love the scandal" he smirked coming to stand behind her, gripping her hips.
"I would love if my father hadn't caught us" she sighed, leaning back into his touch.
"One of you better be coming out of there soon" Her father bellowed.
"God" Elizabeth cursed, moving away from Edmund's touch.
Elizabeth and Edmund dressed quickly and made their way downstairs. Edmund made sure to stay behind Elizabeth, fearing her father's wrath and the consequences of his actions.
"I want him gone this instant and any of your staff that knew about this" he motioned between the two of them.
"No one knew. I sent the staff to bed when I saw Edmund coming up the path" Elizabeth told him.
"Good, at least you saved yourself from scandal"
"When sinning I don't often leave witnesses" she glared back.
"You, go. I don't want to see you anywhere near my daughter again. I already told you once that you cannot have her, this time I will make sure of it" Zebulon grunted.
"Yes sir" Edmund made a move towards the door but Elizabeth grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks "Lizzie. Your father's right. We can't do this ever again" Edmund frowned, placing a comforting hand on her cheek.
"I refuse to believe that" She said sternly.
"You need to" Edmund said dropping his hand from her face "Good day to you both" Edmund muttered, taking Elizabeth's hand, placing a soft kiss to it before finally leaving her home.

When Elizabeth finally marched into work she was followed closely behind by a male version of herself.
"Good morning. What have you found out?" She asked, ignoring the man behind her.
"Who's your friend?" John asked, looking the mysterious man up and down.
"It's my brother, Zebulon Baird Jr. Apparently, I need a nanny" she grumbled.
"No. You need someone looking out for you" her brother shot back.
"Why don't you ask father why I act this way?" she shot back.
"You're blaming father for the way you act-"
"No. I blame him for how angry I am at the world that is run and owned by men" the anger began to build up inside of her.
"You're nothing but a child. Your nieces have better etiquette than you" he grumbled. Edmund could see the anger getting ready to bubble over.
"Elizabeth don't" he tried, placing a comforting hand on her arm.
"Father broke off a perfectly good engagement because the man was of a working class. I loved him and in every way that matters I cannot have him. Don't pretend to know what is going on. You're a man, you could have any woman you want and every woman desires to have you because of your status. The only time a man looks at me he is examining if I shall be easily tamed and if my hips are wide enough to carry him an heir, which is obviously male" she gritted out.
"The only skill you have sister, other than that of not being able to keep your mouth shut is being able to carry a child" he shot back. Elizabeth stepped towards her brother in anger but Edmunds hands on her waist stopped her in her path, the anger from her face fading as she looked at him.
"Lizzie, calm yourself" Edmund told her gently.
"It's you. I should've known" he chuckled "When father said he had caught you with someone you work with I wasn't expecting Edmund here. To have a broken engagement is one think but to also take her to bed. You must be a brave man in deed" Her brother smirked.
"Before both of you think of fighting a duel at dawn for my honour can we please find this murderer before he hurts someone else?" Elizabeth sighed her hands going to her hips.
"You're lucky that father isn't making the two of you march down the aisle" He grumbled.
"Father wouldn't let me be so happy" Elizabeth shot back, silencing her brother.

Elizabeth sat in George Warren's office, both of them with a glass of scotch. Over the past four years that she had spent as the London Coroner she had gotten to know George very well and his wife accepted her as the daughter they never had.
"He took you to bed?" she rolled her eyes.
"Its not as torrid as it sounds"
"Isn't it?"
"I wanted him to and it's not like he hasn't before" she shrugged.
"Inspector Reid took your virtue? He doesn't look like the type that has it in him"
"He didn't so much as take it as I gave it to him, happily"
"I don't understand you rich people, no offence"
"None taken" she smiled at his candour that always seemed to come out in their conversations.
"If you loved him and he loved you and his father was making good money, why couldn't he marry you?"
"Because my father decides who is right for me and part of what is right for me is apparently a man who has a large fortune" she sighed.
"What I wouldn't give for five minutes alone with your old man" she laughed slightly.
"If only you were my father, then this all could've been resolved years ago" she sighed as he nodded.
"I'm sorry Elizabeth"
"It's me who is really sorry" she frowned deeply.

Edmund and the other officers were looking through the evidence from their latest crime scene although, some were trying harder than others.
"You really took someone like her to bed?" Frederick laughed as Edmund rolled his eyes.
"He is right. How did you do it? Most women like that you need a fortune and a manor home just to lay your eyes on them, but to bed one of them" Walter laughed.
"Yeah what was it like? I'd bet good money that she-"
"Enough" Edmund bit, silencing the room "You shouldn't speak about a woman like that" the door to the commissioner's office opened and he and Elizabeth cautiously entered the room.
"Everything alright here Inspector Reid?" he asked, looking between all the men in the room.
"Perfectly, Sir" he nodded, keeping his eyes everywhere but on Elizabeth.
"I'd better be going. If I'm not home on time my brother will be reporting me to my father" Elizabeth's voice seemed to break some of the tension in the room.
"Good night, Elizabeth. Take care in getting home" he smiled.
"Of course" she nodded before she headed towards the exit "Good night gentlemen" they all watched her leave before George fixed his stern look upon them.
"Discussing Miss Vance were we?" he bit "If I hear a single word said against her you'll-" he pointed towards the three men from Scotland yard "-be going back to Scotland yard. Is that understood?" the three men nodded silently "Good" he bit back.