The Street Rat and the Lord

Chapter 1

It was evening in London as Lord Evenworth's family sat down to dinner, their footmen began bringing in their meal of roast duckling and baked squash. The family had just begun eating when a fierce pounding was heard. The butler, who was expecting a post boy, went to the door as he usually did only to have a knife inserted cleanly between his ribs. After emitting only a short gurgle the butler collapsed and the black cloaked man stepped into the house. The butler, as it happened, was to remain in the door way until early the next morning as one of the maids came through to dust.

It was almost 2 weeks later that the esteemed members of Sir Robert Peels police force stopped coming to Lord Evenworth's Manor. The man was exhausted from the constant questioning and could not figure out why this man had been so important. He was just a butler for god sakes! Tired as ever Lord Evenworth got out of his bed and rang for his valet so he could go down to breakfast in a presentable manner.

Meanwhile a young lad of seventeen was roaming the markets of London looking for someone whose pockets were open just a bit too much. Lightly was a pickpocket by profession, he had been since he was put on the streets. He nor anyone he new could figure out his Christian name, he had asked everyone he found for years in his fruitless quest to find his parents. However after almost 3 years on the streets he gave up and decided to live the life he had been given. "Too easy", he muttered to himself as he snagged a snobby aristocrats wallet. The next overhang he found he ducked under to see what he had. The wallet contained an astounding Guinea and 3 half crowns. Quite a hall for the first few hours of the day. It occurred to him that with this money and the money form the previous day (2 florins and a sixpence) he could buy himself a decent meal and a new set of shoes which he desperately needed. The Boots would cost about 10 bob and a sixpence still leaving him enough money for a nice meal and possibly a bed without fleas for a night or two. Lightly snickered to himself as he walked out of the alley to see if he could score anything else.