He and I, A Jack the Ripper story

It's a Lifestyle

The European world is a great one at that, when it's inhabitants stop trying to conquer the world and each other the continent goes through some of its best periods and ages. The British Empire, England to be more specific, certainly lucked out with its ongoing royal family, especially it's females. Elizabeth started an alliance in religion and brought forth the amazing artwork of William Shakespeare, Victoria brought peace and power to her country in both its economy and navy. As fashion and fortune became a trend and lifestyle in the Victorian Era of England so did the underground work of her majesty's most trusted.  Oh, who cares about that cults, and assassins will always be around to make the news, it's simply pointless for one to go off on such a topic.

Well then, it's a lucky good thing there's also a lower class to every society. Store owners, pub owners, bank assists, and mothers a bunch of average people who spend their days working hard and nights getting drunk and lucky. People lived on the pavement and paid taxes until they were poor but, c'est la vie, that's life is it not? But then, there are the lowest of the low, prostitutes and experience workers. Giving those who payed something that they probably struggled to get back at home, or at all, of course that's the only reason this kind of work actually made money, if others were troubled. Frowned upon but, still heavily used.

"No.. no. You've got it all wrong." The older woman stated as she looked down a Marisol and started to string up her corset, "What were you even trying to do with the lace, you know it's nearly impossible to put these things on backwards.. That's why I told you to wait.." Her voice trailed on in a lecture as Marisol puffed her cheeks and slowly blew out of her mouth, she knew of the women's tendency to pull it too tight and she was waiting for the point where she wouldn't be able to breath easily,

"Karla.." Marisol began in attempt to hush her complaining, her hands wrapped around a bedpost as she looked at the covers on the bed and the small boy who was laying in them, a rather tattered book in his hands,

"Okay, I've finished.. It's not too tight right?"

Oh yeah, it was way too tight, "Nope, just right as usual.." Marisol said smiling, as she started to tie the under skirt around her waist, the older woman was only older by five years at most and she was also a single mother, much to her disliking, though she did love her son. "I still can't believe you taught Matthew to read.." She said in a polite tone as she took a few deep breaths while sorting threw her cloth,

"I didn't teach that boy.." Karla said simply wrapping a tan skirt around her waist, "He learned from some man in the street, that's where he got the book too, Marisol don't cha know I don't know how to read?" The two girls laughed as the finished assembling their dresses, this was trivial to them, how well they looked, they knew that with enough cheep booze and soft touches they would look more beautiful than the Queen herself in the eyes of those they were trying to impress. Certainly this was the most enjoyable part of their day, sitting indoors and doing their hair and gossiping, sooner or later Catherine would come around and the day would grow colder. The silent sound of Matthew shuffling around in the single bed and turning the pages of his book, he never once spoke to any of the girls or people for that matter in the house when he wasn't alone with his mother. You'd only know the sound of his voice if you bothered to sit close enough to listen to him mumble the words in his book, whether he understood what they meant or not wasn't important.

"You just let your son wander about in the streets?" Catherine once asked when Karla explained where Matthew learned to read and write letters,

"There's no harm in it, no ones gonna steal a poor boy, they're worth nothing in paper dollars or coins. Besides, he's learning a lot more than I could ever teach him." Was her response as she looked at her son from the large and cracked mirror the three were sat in front of. Sitting up and smoothing down the red fabric and floral pattern that littered around her dress, Marisol smiled, it was a Thursday and the start to some of the easiest nights of her week, she grabbed the parts of her hair that didn't flow down her tan face and pinned it up, sticking flowers along the vanity into it. She was the youngest of the bunch and typically left the bars and dives earliest, Catherine often left last which was partially the reason she always showed up an hour or so before the day grew dark.