Lady of Greystoke (Sequel to "At all costs")

The Big Decision

Alice woke up at 5:30 in the morning, long before the sun had risen to the sky. It was far too early for anyone to be up, but after 2 months she had gotten used to the un-earthly hours of her current life. She still often cried herself to sleep at night or had nightmares in her sleep where she dies in her bed in that same horrible attic, and never seeing her family again. She had that nightmare often and it terrified her. She quickly got dressed and hid the papers of her report of her time there under her mattress. She knew if anyone found them she would in big trouble, but luckily for her, the lord of the home rarely ever made his way up those stairs to the attic.

Within 10 minutes she was downstairs in the kitchen where she was expected. As each morning she hastily ate some stale bread as she went outside, picking up the eggs from the chickens, feeding the pigs and picking the ripe apples from the trees in the garden. By 8 in the morning she was hungry again and went back into the kitchen. She drank some water, and ate an apple which the master had refused the day before due to the color not being red enough.

'Good morning.' A slightly tanned woman named Bella, mumbled. Bella was from Spain and had come to England following a man she loved, but he had left for another woman. She had no money to return back home, she was caught stealing an apple from the master's property and was forced to work for him as punishment. She had been there for a year, and wouldn't be allowed to leave for another one.

'Morning.' Alice replied with a sigh. She took the eggs, toast, tea and other parts of the breakfast onto a tray. The master had concluded that only Alice would be allowed to bring him his breakfast in the morning, as the other servants were too loud for his taste, so early on in the day. And so she took the tray and carefully made her way up the stairs to his bedroom and knocked.

'Come in.' The man grumbled, and she quietly went into the room, setting the tray down at the small table by the window. He never said a word to her as she walked through the room and left again, but she could notice his eyes following her with every step. His gaze lingering on her chest and butt as she left the room again. As she closed the door behind her, she leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths, she had seen his face when he looked at her a few times, and the look in his eyes terrified her. It haunted her nightmares.

'Please, father, find me. Please, bring me home.'

'Lord Greystoke, you are not making any sense!' the police officer had been standing in the living room, listening to John's story for over 20 minutes, and by now had lost his patience.

'What sense is there to make?!' John yelled at the man. 'My daughter is missing, the most likely people responsible for the crime have been sighted by the house of a man who has been suspected of keeping slaves, which is against the law, and has been accused of abusing a 17 year old servant! I want there to be an investigation towards this man, and a search of his house to make sure my daughter isn't being kept there against her will!'

The officer sighed. 'I am very sorry, Mr. Clayton, but there is no proof of the man conducting a crime. We cannot search his house or investigate him.'

Anthony, sighed, expecting his father to start yelling again in rage, but instead John took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders.

'Very well, officer. I understand.' He extended his hand to the officer and bid him good day. 'George, would you mind showing or guest to the door?'

George nodded in reply and escorted the officer out of the house.

Anthony stood up and walked towards his father. 'Father, how can you just give up like that?'

'I'm not.' He turned to look at Anthony. 'I'm just giving up on the appropriate official ways of getting this done. If they won't help us find her, I'll do it myself...'

Tarzan is coming back soon guys, brace yourself