𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚
Pernicious: highly or destructive: DEADLY, WICKED
having a harmful effect, especially gradually or subtly.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐈. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬
"Master, Mr Enfield is waiting for you downstairs!" I heard a maid enter the room, her apron adorned with dust, to tell me to go downstairs. From what I remember, Mr Enfield is a distant relative of Mr. Utterson's, the witness of the first crime Hyde committed in the book.
"Of course. While I chit-chat with him, please take care of this poor young lad." I instructed, my tone a blend of urgency and concern, while still trying to use Victorian slang not to seem suspicious. The maid nodded, her gaze flickering between me and the injured boy. "Get him cleaned up and see that the doctor tends to his wound. I'll be downstairs with Mr. Enfield."
With a brisk nod, the maid did her duties, staying by the young boy's side.
Descending the grand staircase, my footsteps resonated in the hollow hall, where the polished wood floors reflected the warm glow of gas lamps. Waiting in the dimly lit parlour was Mr Enfield, a distinguished figure whose countenance exuded wealth and intrigue. His deep/light (h/c) hair was nicely done, as a true gentleman.
"Utterson, my good fellow," Mr Enfield greeted me with a genial smile, though a furrow on his brow hinted at an undercurrent of concern. "What's occurred? I heard a gunshot."
"Well, one of the butlers accidentally shot a boy who somehow ended up inside my residence. Luckily, the boy is alive, but we do need to call the doctors." Seeing Mr Enfield's (s/c) face turn from curious to utterly shocked, I sighed in distraught.
"Oh, great heavens! That sounds terrible! Is he catawamptiously chewed up?" He asked. I tried my best to not seem confused, as I just nodded. I think he only meant if the boy was badly harmed.
"To my fear, yes. I told the maids to come get the local doctors for help." I frowned in pity. Enfield nodded in understanding. "If I may ask, why did you come here this late in the evening?"
Enfield smiled melancholically at me. "I originally came so that we can have an evening chit-chat while we walk through London like we usually do on Sundays. The streets won't be too crowded at a time like this, and since tomorrow I'm going to Greenwich, we won't have time for our expected Sunday walks. That's the reason I stopped by."
I nodded at him, smiling slightly. "It would be a pleasure for us to take a stroll, but we need to return before the church's bells ring at midnight. Do you think we'd have enough time to talk?"
"Of course. I don't plan to keep you for so long, especially for the young wounded one. Let's walk down the main road!" Enfield suggested. I nodded.
Mr Enfield and I stepped out into the gaslit streets of Victorian London, our breath visible in the chilly night air. The cobbled pathways echoed with the distant sounds of carriages and the muted footsteps of passersby. The city, shrouded in a curtain of mist, seemed to hold its secrets as we embarked on a stroll to discuss various subjects.
The gas lamps flickered as we traversed the winding alleys, their feeble glow casting long shadows against the brick facades of buildings. Mr. Enfield, his top hat pulled low against the cold, spoke with a measured tone, his words weaving a tapestry of reflection on the wounded boy.
"I still wonder how the poor child entered your house. He might be a juvenile delinquent, or he was sent here by somebody" he remarked.
I nodded in agreement, the weight of the situation settling on my shoulders. "He was most likely sent by somebody to steal my valuables. No child could hold that much foulness in them."
"I agree. Would you like to have a cup of char later this eveni-" Before Enfield could continue his question, we heard a scream in the distance. The sound of a child's screech. Oh god, could this be the scene where Hyde trampled the little girl in the first chapter?
I immediately took Enfield, and without even thinking, we began running towards the source of the scream. The secluded area where the sound came from was currently populated by two people: A little girl, no older than 8, dressed in her nightgown, who was currently on the cold cobblestone floor, lamenting cries of pain, as she couldn't even get up and next to her was a man, of short stature, no taller than 160 cm, dressed in a fancy coat, his dishevelled black curls seen underneath the tophat he was wearing.
"Be quiet! You're drawing too much attention!" The man whisper-yelled as he was trying to get away, by trying to walk towards the direction where I and Enfield came from, before stopping once he saw us. "Oh great, I can't escape now. What do you want?"
"Hey! What have you done to this little girl?" Enfield asked in a polite yet angry tone, his concern for the young child laced in his voice. Now that the man was looking at us, I could see his features better. His eyes were dark, yet his iris was small. His snow-white face wasn't exactly that ugly, but it wasn't that handsome either. From what I could notice, he looked around my and Enfield's age, around his early to mid-20s, but even if he looked youthful, his uncanniness was still visible. He didn't look human, but at the same time he did, which added to his eeriness.
The man looked down at the ground and tried speed-walking away, bumping into me before I took him by his wrist. He didn't even turn back to look at me. "We saw everything. Don't you dare try thinking of running away!" I muttered as more people started coming into the hidden alley to see the commotion that was going on.
"Mabel, my darling daughter! What has that man done to you?!" I heard in the back where the girl was crying in pain the voice of a man. It must be her father.
"It hurts, papa!" The little girl cried in pain.
"This man trampled this young girl mercilessly! Look at her wounds!" Enfield shouted to the father of the little girl and the people who were surrounding us. I kept ahold of the man who trampled the girl, who I assume is Mr Hyde. He didn't even try to run away anymore, he was just looking at the ground and mumbling incoherent words under his breath.
"That devil..." "Look at his face, it's horrifying!" "Let's take him to the police and have him hanged!" I heard the pedestrians murmuring among each other. Oddly enough, the man stopped mumbling.
The man slowly turned his head towards me and to the people who were helping aid the small child. He looked me dead in the eyes, wrath visible in his gaze. It was as if I did something to him to get that horrifying look. I didn't release him from my hold, quite the contrary, as I was squeezing his hand so that he wouldn't run away.
"Don't even think about lying to defend yourself." I simply said in a passive-aggressive tone. "If you put a foot wrong, you'll be in dire trouble."
After warning him, he gave me a malicious grin, his sharp teeth visible. He reminded me awfully a lot of a vampire in movies: sharp teeth, significantly white skin, and those uncanny valley expressions of malice. "It might be possible to make some money from this incident. Tell me how much you want"
"Pardon?" I asked. Everyone else stopped in their tracks as they looked at him. The man tried to loosen my grip, but I wouldn't budge.
"I said how much money do you want?" he repeated himself, giving me a smile only a madman would have.
"How much money do I want? Sir, I don't need to be bought-" "You need to pay £100 for this girl's medical expenses, and we'll keep quiet." Enfield cut me off with this offer.
The man whose hand I was holding began mumbling once again "Excuse Me?" Enfield asked once more.
"Do you have any cash?" I asked, currently more worried about the girl's health than about the situation itself.
"I don't have any money with me now, but I should have some at home. Come with me if you don't trust me and think that I'm only trying to escape." The man said, a mocking smile on his face.
"Alright then. " I responded, easing my grip from his arm. Some of us followed him closely, as he led us towards a door, not too far away from the scene.
"Wait a tad bit as I'll get the money." He said, entering the door. We all waited worriedly for him, worried that he was only trying to escape. Truth be told, he did come out, with the matter of ten pounds in gold and a cheque. "Ha! You must've been worried I would escape that easily! But fear not, for I am just a gentleman. Now take the gold and cheque to the bank to receive your payment." He brushed us off and tried to go away once more.
Once we saw the cheque, we saw the signature of Dr Jekyll, which confirmed that this man was indeed Mr Hyde. Enfield took the cheque out of my hand and walked towards Hyde, catching his arm. "Wait! Can you guarantee that this cheque is indeed yours? This signature can't be yours."
Mr Hyde looked at us with a mocking smug, not saying a word. He began staring at me, deeply into my soul. It was honestly freaking me out.
"Why aren't you saying anything, if you're concerned? You just entered someone's basement in the middle of the night and came back with a cheque of £100, with somebody else's name signed. Does that make any sense to you? You are very suspicious. What's your last name?" Enfield asked.
Hyde didn't look pleased that his "staring contest" that he had with me had to come to an abrupt end. "So noisy...Mr Hyde. Edward Hyde."
"Mr Hyde... That cheque can't be possibly yours. Did you steal it? Did you forget your signature? Tell us the truth!" Enfield continued.
"Don't worry. I'll be with you until the bank opens in the morning. And I'll exchange the cheque for cash. Do we have a promise?" Hyde smiled, extending his hand so that Enfield could shake it.
"If the cheque is fake...You'll pay with artifice." Enfield said, shaking the man's hand. Once they were done with the handshake, Enfield walked up to me. "Utterson, please go back home. I promise that I'll take matters into my own hands. Please go take care of the poor lad that's been injured. We wouldn't want more children to be hurt, now would we?"
I nodded my head. I began walking away, the people now looking at me as I walked away. I turned back to wave back at Enfield, but then I saw Hyde, with a malicious smile, waving at me.
