Chapter 0
Introduction
London, England, in the 1780’s
Twelve-year-old Nathaniel Archer watched as the small, dirty, perhaps once blonde, street urchin moved stealthily forward. While the barrow man’s attention was focused on a customer she struck quickly and made a hasty retreat. He thought she was a bit younger than him and likely homeless as well as hungry too. He had seen her before near the markets. He remembered her cheeky grin and her apparent determination to survive in one of the world’s cruellest cities for the down-and-out. In spite of the desperately hard life that she seemed to lead there was something special and appealing about her.
He thought she would make a good friend and he certainly needed a friend, someone he could trust and depend on when the going got tough, which was pretty much every minute of the day and night. He had thought that Rufus was his friend but Rufus was a treacherous, low life thug who fancied himself as a master of organised crime. Rufus had a network of lifters, hawkers, talent scouts and brutal enforcers to do his dirty work for him. He promised Nathaniel riches and a life style beyond his wildest dreams but instead Nathaniel’s efforts for the master thug were rewarded only with starvation, beatings and sodomy.
From a position almost behind the barrow he watched her pounce on some apples. With a large rosy red one in each hand she melted just as quickly back into the crowd. But the sharp-eyed trader saw her and gave chase. While the barrow man was pre-occupied with the chase, Nathaniel pounced on the barrow, helped himself and shouted at the barrow man to bring him rushing back, while the girl made her escape. He ran for his life in the opposite direction and soon outran the older man. Later he saw the girl hiding in a dismal garbage-strewn alley on the other side of the block.
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This is an extract from my introduction.
What did you think of it?
Introduction
London, England, in the 1780’s
Twelve-year-old Nathaniel Archer watched as the small, dirty, perhaps once blonde, street urchin moved stealthily forward. While the barrow man’s attention was focused on a customer she struck quickly and made a hasty retreat. He thought she was a bit younger than him and likely homeless as well as hungry too. He had seen her before near the markets. He remembered her cheeky grin and her apparent determination to survive in one of the world’s cruellest cities for the down-and-out. In spite of the desperately hard life that she seemed to lead there was something special and appealing about her.
He thought she would make a good friend and he certainly needed a friend, someone he could trust and depend on when the going got tough, which was pretty much every minute of the day and night. He had thought that Rufus was his friend but Rufus was a treacherous, low life thug who fancied himself as a master of organised crime. Rufus had a network of lifters, hawkers, talent scouts and brutal enforcers to do his dirty work for him. He promised Nathaniel riches and a life style beyond his wildest dreams but instead Nathaniel’s efforts for the master thug were rewarded only with starvation, beatings and sodomy.
From a position almost behind the barrow he watched her pounce on some apples. With a large rosy red one in each hand she melted just as quickly back into the crowd. But the sharp-eyed trader saw her and gave chase. While the barrow man was pre-occupied with the chase, Nathaniel pounced on the barrow, helped himself and shouted at the barrow man to bring him rushing back, while the girl made her escape. He ran for his life in the opposite direction and soon outran the older man. Later he saw the girl hiding in a dismal garbage-strewn alley on the other side of the block.
----------------------------------------------
This is an extract from my introduction.
What did you think of it?