Catching Mr Ripper

September 16th Morning

Elizabeth was awoken by Mary as she pulled open the curtains, letting the sunlight in.
"I can prepare a getaway carriage" Mary suggested. Elizabeth sat up in her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"Is my dress prepared?" Elizabeth asked, looking at Mary when she asked but quickly avoided her gaze after.
"Yes miss" she nodded.
"I have a wedding to attend, bring me my breakfast Mary" Elizabeth ordered and Mary scurried off, closing the door behind her. Elizabeth lay on her side and pulled her quilt up to her chin, wanting to hide away from the world. She pulled the quilt over her head, squeezing her eyes shut, hoping to disappear into a world much unlike the one she currently lives in. When she opened her eyes once again finding herself in the same bed, in the same place, in the same life, she knew what she had to do. She knew she had to get up and walk down the aisle, even if it meant leaving everything, and everyone she cared about behind.

Edmund lay in his bed, he knew that Elizabeth was getting married today. He also knew that he could stop it. But with each passing second that he sat there, he couldn't bring himself to move. The reasons, not to go after her began piling up and the weight of what would happen if he went to her, felt like it was squeezing his chest, stopping him from catching his breath. Edmund opened his bedside table, retrieving the pocket watch that Elizabeth had given him all those years ago.
The inscription read: My dearest Eddie. May we always be as happy as we are now. All my love. Always. Lizzie.
He had read the inscription that many times he could recite it by now. He loved her. Of course he did. She was different, in a way that he found exciting and in everyway that mattered he was hers. Edmund threw the watch back into the draw, slamming it shut, he sat up in bed, his feet swinging over the side. He buried his face in his hands, sighing deeply out if anger, he ran a hand threw his tousled hair, throwing himself onto his back.
"Why did I have to love you" he sighed to himself.
Edmund pulled himself up from bed, dressed himself and headed to church. He sat in one of the back pews, he wanted to keep his head down and just think. He wanted to think about everything and anything. He wanted to know what to do about Elizabeth. His Elizabeth. He wanted to know how he could have someone he wasn't allowed to have.
"Detective Reid" The commissioner smiled at him "What are you doing here?" He took a seat next to Edmund.
"I came here to think. Being in church always helps me think"
"You want answers about a certain lady coroner" he smiled
"How did you guess?" He smiled
"It's a look in your eye. The kind you can only have for the woman you love" the commissioner looked over at his wife for sat a pews ahead.
"She's not the woman I love- she's not- we can't be. She's marrying someone else, someone who's right for her, someone who can take care of her"
"Nonsense man. She isn't married yet. You have time. Go. Stop sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself when you could go to her"
"There is nothing more that I want than to be with her. But I can't. Her father was right she needs someone who can give her the life she deserves" he sighed deeply.
"Don't you think that she deserves love too? Give it a think" The commissioner rose from his seat, patting Edmund on the shoulder before joining his wife. Edmund could see the love that the two of them held for one another and he knew that he and Elizabeth would never stop loving eachother, but, he knew that he could never give her the life that she deserved.

September 16th Mid-day
Edmund looked up at the church in front of him. He had seen Elizabeth walk up the steps. She looked a vision in her white dress, he noticed how she had paused for a moment before making her way inside. Was she waiting for him? The doors were shut behind her, Edmund still didn't know if he was going to go in or let her get married. He was scared of loving her. He was terrified of the pull that she had on him, every little thing about her drove him crazy. As he stood there looking up at the church, the bells began ringing loudly. Once again, he had missed his chance and, with that, he left, not looking back as the church doors opened once again.