Harris stormed out of Mrs Wells' office and out of the inn. On his way out he had surreptitiously searched for Vivian but she was nowhere in sight. He wasn't perturbed but rather motivated on his quest to have her. Besides no matter where she hid he would find her.
He got on his carriage and rode home. 'So much for having a relaxing time before seeing to the duties of a baron.'
Unlike most men of his age and status, he was unmarried. He preferred having fun with young vibrant maidens to being tied down by the responsibilities of married life.
But now the girl Vivian had caught his attention he might consider making her his bride. She was certainly pretty to look at –as pure as an untouched lotus flower. An angel like her deserved a man of his calibre.
She would be foolish to refuse him, as she had previously done. After all most ladies dreamed of getting married and living the life of an elite. He was certain she was no different.
The coachman arrived at his manor and respectfully held open the door for him to alight. On hearing the noise made by the hooves of the horses, the servants came out to dutifully welcome him as he had been away on a business trip.
He waved them off and returned to his study. A grim expression on his hardened face.
"Thomas!" He called for his right-hand man and assistant. His job was not always an easy one but luckily he had Thomas to see to his needs.
"Welcome back Master Harris." Thomas bowed, his face devoid of emotion though he was surprised to see his master return earlier than stipulated.
"I need you to capture someone for me." Harris snarled, a vengeful look in his eyes. "A girl that goes by the name Vivian. You shall find her in Caroline's inn. Bring her to me but be discreet. I do not care if you use the harshest of methods."
"A girl?" Thomas only wonder what she had done to enrage him. He was usually gracious in his treatment of the young maidens.
"Did you not get me the first time or do I need to repeat myself?"
"No master. I'll see to it that you have her." He quietly exited the study.
As Harris' assistant he was particularly skilled in such matters being the executor of all of his dirty deeds. Getting the girl would be no hassle.
He mounted his horse and rode to town. There wasn't much information about the girl as he thought there would be. She seemed to be new as none of his sources had heard about her.
There was only one place to find out more about her – Caroline's inn.
Caroline's inn was a joint for the wealthy and common folk alike. The inn at the outskirts of Myre was a vintage spot for hosting travellers and men who wanted discretion in their affairs. No one was sure what the inn truly was – a hotel, brothel, tavern or pub. It seemed to serve all four purposes. Despite the mostly bad reputation that hung around it. They still managed to attract some decent customers that paid a lot of coins.
He kept his horse at the stable and walked into the bustling inn. The inn's shabby exterior was a wide contrast to the interior. Though modest in appearance the furniture were made from high-quality materials showing that Caroline was a lady of prestige and ran a tight ship.
****
Vivian was the first to notice the strange man walk in from her way down the stairs. Though he had on simple clothes the aura around him was dangerous and put her immediately on alert. He scanned through the faces in the inn as if searching for someone. She wasn't sure if he found the person or not as his facial expression remained the same.
He sat laxly on one of the seats and crossing one of his feet above the other. He seemed in no hurry to order but cautiously followed every movement with his eyes.
She had seen strange customers in the inn but this man's presence smelt of nothing but trouble. Vivian averted her gaze from him and made her descent down the stairs hoping the man would exit the inn as swiftly as he had arrived.
Hours had gone by and the sun was soon to set but the strange man remained in the inn not moving from his seat. Susan had also taken notice of him and stared at him with weary eyes. Up till that point he hadn't done anything wrong or made a move on anyone. He just sat there observing all that went on like someone on a mission.
Vivian wished he would just leave but it wasn't proper for her to usher him out since he hadn't constituted a nuisance to the people in the inn. Luckily they were locking up soon so he would have to depart unless he booked a room.
In need of fresh air she stepped out to the back of the inn and a little into the forest. Her first day working there had only produced minimal results. At most, it was a waste of time. Susan didn't seem like anything spectacular, if she was to guess Olive held the answers.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the crunching of feet some meters behind her. Though it was subtle she could still hear it.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to be face to face with the strange man from the inn.
"We meet at last Vivian." He gazed at her with sharp blue eyes.
Vivian stared back in shock, wondering why he knew her name. The man used to situations like this moved forward and in the split of a second he was behind Vivian, the tip of his blade against her neck while another hand held her securely in place.
"Now if you would be good and come with me to my Master's manor. I give you my word you will not be harmed." He was so close she could feel his warm breath on her neck.
"And who might that master be?" She queried, curious as to why he would have any interest in her.
"Why not come with me and find out?"
Vivian scoffed. 'As If I would be so foolish to do that.'
With no time for delay, she brought her elbow to the man's ribs. Using all of her might she hit at it in quick successions that didn't give the man much time to react.
Thomas let go of her staggered back holding the side of his ribs. He hadn't expected her to be so strong.
Vivian tried to flee but he swiftly blocked her path. A menacing look in his eyes
"It seems you'll rather I use force on you." He brandished the dagger in his hand in an effort to intimidate her.
"Force? Do not make me laugh." Vivian retrieved a blade from the back of her dress and stood in a defensive position. She stared at him with furious eyes as if daring him to do his worse.
He could see why Harris wanted her, she was no ordinary lady. A slight smile could be seen on his lips as, he charged forward.
'This should be easy.' he thought gripping his blade tightly by the hilt as he launched at her. Moving slightly to the right, Vivian blocked the attack as she thrust her dagger towards his causing his hand to move back a bit.
He kept attacking from different sides while Vivian was on defence blocking his attack with her dagger. He charged in aiming for the torso, moving slightly backwards, with the blade in her left hand she blocked it. Moving swiftly, he aimed at different spots, mostly the vitals. Neck, head, and torso, but each time she would move and block them.
This went on with him being the aggressor and her constantly defending. It was getting really frustrating for Vivian. She then charged in this time and he did the same. As he neared, she struck at his blade, pushing it off to the side. Still, he held it firmly. Vivian then struck at his neck with no intention of killing him, but just to get close enough to end it.
Just in time though, Thomas had hit her arm with his right elbow, making her miss and he jumped back.
"I see you have some strength." Thomas commented with an even larger smile as they both had their eyes locked on each other. "How about we make this a bit more exciting." He pulled out another blade from his side.
"Now this doesn't seem fair." She sighed now he had two blades. "Still, I won't lose!" She spun her blade a bit and held it firmly.
Thomas went on the attack again. He sprung forward spinning his body, both blades went towards Vivian, the left one already close to her head and the blade on the right hand followed closely.
Moving her right leg behind, she crouched a bit and placed her blade slightly above her head blocking the first strike. Quickly, she placed her right hand underneath her dress and pulled out another dagger immediately striking at Thomas with the second dagger.
"I see you came prepared." He said and then pushed forward causing Vivian to skid across the ground slowly as she tried to put up a bit of resistance.
Lifting his hands slightly, he struck down on her blades. The force behind the strike was quite strong causing her to fall back a bit, losing her balance. Quickly, he made for another attack aimed at her head again.
'This strike should do. I have to end this.' He thought realizing he had wasted a lot of time. Harris is not someone he would want to keep waiting.
Just as fast as he attacked, Vivian was able to move out of the way. He kept striking at her, each hit felt stronger and was faster as Vivian countered each strike with one of hers. Sounds of the blades clanging against each other were heard as they kept attacking, countering and blocking. Vivian's wrists were getting a bit sore.
'Could it be he was holding back?' she thought as every move he made was more fine-tuned. She was finding it hard to keep up. 'I can't let him win.' She gritted her teeth and jumped back avoiding another attack.
Her breathing was now unsteady.
"You look tired. Let's just end this shall we ?" A smirk appeared on his face as he spoke. This had only made Vivian furious. She would never go to that man.
Thomas had been the aggressor for most of the fight. But this time, Vivian herself charged forward. Swinging her blades from both sides and Thomas had switched to being defensive. Dodging a blow to the head he had moved back. Vivian had followed immediately, charging with her right blade to his side.
Moving his blade he was able to block it. Her blade slid against his as she moved past him and turned quickly. He had also turned around striking with his blade. Aiming at his wrist, with her blade held in her right hand, she knocked it off his hand and with her other blade she did the same to his other blade.
Moving fast, she hit him hard in the gut. He held onto her arm but let go quickly as he saw a blade coming straight at him with her free hand. He jumped back, Vivian delivered a powerful kick that sent him a few feet away. He then fell on one knee. Looking forward he saw Vivian already upon him and before he could react, he felt the tip of the blade on his neck.