Mary of Bingham
Author's Note: During the early part of the period, there was no real
enforcement agency until 1829 when Metropolitan Police was founded. Before that
period, only the knights or the Lords commanded law and order. This is a tale
before then when the King had to intervene with personal aides assigned to do
such tasks.
This is one tale of that aide who happened to be a lady named Mary of Bingham.
She is a 'detective' and a vixen too...
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I had to be
careful as there are men around the place. If I am seen by any, they would send
word back to my household and I would be given a beating by the mistress for
being away without her permission. She may not have to know it like it's her
hour of sleep now and this task calls for discretion on my end. I hold the
little wrapping close to my heart as I run down the path to the pre-agreed meeting
place.
"Alas, I
would be late." I pushed my legs to walked briskly as I held my head down
from the stares of any who may have laid their eyes on me. Its dangerous times
which we live in now as orders ruled by the elites and rich while we the poor ones
are subject to their chaos. Many had died in the last plaque but I survived as
I was smart to avoid the sick and kept locked in the manor lest I be exposed to
the sickness that prevails outside. I cried my sins to the Fathers' and plead
for my redemption of the sin, but my life meant more to me than it would ever
be now. It's not often that you get a beau to love you for not your flesh but
also your soul, and it's he whom I run to seek now. The little wrapping I carry
with me would be his tool to free me of my misery and also his to be restored
to his previous standing among the elites. He needs it to clear his name and
his family crest be erected back on its pedestal in the great hall of the manor.
It's the tunnel
under the bridge, I am seeking, and what awaits there would be my purpose of such
a risky journey. I hurried to the side of the bridge and slide down the
thickets on the slope. It may dirty my dress but it does not stop me from my
quest. I am down on the small stream that runs beneath it.
"Mary, bless
be there for you are here. I was afraid you be forgotten and I was to
leave." It's my friend and lover in this crime, Bruce of Lockshire. He is
dressed in his uniform of the Royal Musketeer but due to his current standing,
he is a junior officer in the ranks. Brian was relieved of his inheritance as
he is the bastard son of a rich Lord but his mother is of the wrong descent...
His mother's country is now technically at war with England, making his life
all the more difficult. So he was stripped of his rank and demoted to the
lowest junior one. His only way to reclaim his rank and title was to prove his
link to the father who was the Lord. But the old man has died and now the
estate is under the rightful heir, Charles of Lockshire. It has been a bitter
fight for the two as they journey to Court and demand justice be carried out.
I ran into his
arms and he held me tight, while our lips were sealed in tight with the surge
of passion that thrill down our spine. At that moment, all of my concerns slipped
away as I returned his passionate kisses on mine. He trails his kisses to my
left cheeks and down my neck to nibble at my shoulder... His tiny bites on my
shoulder caused me to move my upper body to his caress as he trails his lips below
my jaw.
"Brian, we
must stop....." but my words meant nothing to my heart as I longed for him
to continue on his minstrel on my sensitive spots below my neck. His hands were
not as rigid in their movements they tried to lower my bodice to maul my body
further on. But my senses came to mind and I pushed him apart. "Brian,
time is of importance. Here is what you needed. Do good with it and you may
claim me for yours. I must go as she may be awake soon."
"I am so
sorry, Mary. My love for you has blinded me from the task on hand. I give you
my solemn promise that upon the deliverance of these documents, I would be at
your aside and claimed you for mine. Not in flesh but also love as my
wife." He was ever sweet in his choice of words but I know the throes of
passion have to end for now. "I would be back as soon as I can."
I watched as the
passionate man ran up the slope and mount his horse. He was riding in his stead
while I adjust my clothes to look prim and proper. Then I took my path back to
the Manor and the dreaded life within its walls. But this time I came home not
to a dreadful life but a more torturous one indeed.
"Mary of
Bingham. I brought you here to live a life better than your previous ones, with
food and shelter to provide on a needful and daily basis. The same needs which
I gave you also saved you from the disease that ravages your family members.
And this I am shown by your return of my hospitality; a treacherous steal of
some of my personal effects and passing it to my half brother, Brian. You are a
young fool to allow him to liberty of you to do such foul acts. Tell me, do I
speak the truth, Mary Of Bingham. And how may I tell the King of your
treachery." The man who retorted me is Charles, the current rightful owner
of this manor and estate. He is also the half-brother of Brian whom he had
acquired the other's share of the inheritance by acts of stealth and cheats.
I am who he said;
a lady of a fine home raising until the plague claimed everyone leaving me an
orphan. But his take on my inheritance was partially true. The family I was
with is a fine home of a Lord that was close to the King. Upon my loss, I was
to stay with the household of the King. As I have displayed my uncanny
abilities in resolving many cases that confused the Kings' advisers, the King
has given me this unique task to resolve. The King admires the family and does
not want the public bad of him when he is judged on it. So he asked me to
determine the truth of the matter. For me to perform the task, I was given refuge
here in the manor as an orphan in need of love and family. But in my refuge, I
discovered more than the truth through my investigation as I find myself in
love with the persons involved in the case. A sin which I have confessed at the
booth every Sunday.
"Yes, what
you said is correct. I did relieve you of the documents to pass to your half-brother,
but it's not what you may think. Brian is on the verge of taking over your
estate with the emergence of the new will which you were not privy to. And my
in-depth investigation for the last year as the King's Special Investigator of
the Court, I have performed treachery in this case. If you must know why I
would explain. I have failed to rebuke Brian's claim as there was none to
disqualify the will. He is well defended by his birth mother who was your
father's lover before. It's not a hidden but a known fact among the peers.
Nevertheless, Brian needed that document which is in your care to consolidate
his position, and I handed him that. A document you hold which tells of your father's
association to the French lady. That
document boosts his chance to be declared equal heir as his birth mother. But I
have also a signed confession from the treacherous Baron Helmut which implicates
your family in trying to overthrow the King. " I gazed into the man's eyes
to see if he does understand me. He did not.
"A letter
which would implicate me too; I am also his son. So by default, both Brian and I
are traitors. We would both be hanged in the Tower of London." My master
now pleads for his innocence.
"Yes, you
impudent fool." I am annoyed at the poor reasoning thoughts of this man.
"That document I gave him would be his final seal on this estate."
The lord, Charles
of Lockshire who was enraged now by my action. "You were supposed to stop
this action as the Investigator. How can you let a job like this goes to waste
after all the long planning we did."
"So my love,
you still take me for a fool in this matter. I am not as you can see but a meticulous
person of fine details. The King has been advised by another letter that you
were not privy to the matter unlike your brother and his devious mother. They
have been manipulating your father without your knowledge. That cleared your
name, and upon the death of both your parent, you are the rightful inheritor of
the estate."
"A vixen
indeed but I am glad you are mine. I could never have planned such a wide range
of events and yet you did it yourself. I salute you as my wife, Mary of
Bingham." He is now relieved and laughs his heart out.
"A skill
which I hoped would be inherited by our future children. Maybe a fine detective
could be born by then. Do you agree with me, Charles Holmes of Lockshire?"
"With you as
my wife, all I need to understand are the elementary parts. Mary of Bingham."
The couple tossed a drink to the unwary lone rider who carried his death
warrant in the little wrapping.
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