be gay, do crime

“Are you sure about this?” 

The rain battered down around them, turning the ground to mud and making Elizabeth shiver violently.

“Well, no, but what other choice do we have?”

Elizabeth sighed at Catherine’s response, but knew she was right. This was truly a last resort. Catherine continued to dig as Elizabeth stood miserably in the rain – a lookout.

“You need to hurry up, what if someone comes?”

Catherine stood, leaning on her shovel.

“It’s the middle of the night and pouring with rain, who is out besides us and other desperate people?”

Elizabeth shrugged as Catherine went back to digging. She wanted to help, but Catherine had insisted on doing it herself. Elizabeth wished they didn’t have to do this, but they had no other options. A month ago, they’d been caught kissing in her family’s parlour.

“I don’t want to see you back here again. Ever!”

Elizabeth held back the tears as she and Catherine were unceremoniously thrown out of her family’s estate. She’d never seen her father look at someone with so much hatred before. She turned to Catherine, who looked as though she’d seen a ghost.

“Elizabeth. He’s going to tell my family.”

Elizabeth felt suddenly unsure. While her family were in fairly good standing, Catherine’s had a lot more wealth, and she had a much better chance of coming away from this unscathed than Elizabeth would. Her thoughts must have been written all over her face.

“I won’t renounce you. They’ll ask me to, but I won’t. We need to leave. Now.”

Elizabeth nodded and grabbed Catherine by the hand, entwining their fingers. They nodded to each other and took off into the night.

They had discovered after only a few days that Elizabeth’s father had the police out looking for them, so they’d had to lay low on the other side of the city. They tried all they could to make money – they’d both sold whatever jewellery they’d been wearing when they’d escaped and both had traded their expensive dresses for several, more ordinary clothes. But, they needed more money to get out of Edinburgh and so they had turned to this.

Another pause in the digging.

“What time did Knox say he was expecting us?”

“4am, before most people are starting their day.”

Catherine nodded before going back to digging as she spoke.

“Good, that gives us plenty of time to get there.”

Elizabeth was still anxious the plan would fail.

“Are you sure it’ll be enough?”

Catherine smiled, indulging her worry.

“It’ll be enough. William said they got almost £8 for one, and it’ll be more if we get exactly what Knox wants.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, that was quite the payment for what they were doing.

“And what does Knox want this time?”

Catherine pulled herself out the hole she’d been digging.

“Exactly what we’re giving him.”

Elizabeth laughed; maybe they’d be okay after all.

Now, help me with the body and we’ll be halfway to Glasgow by tomorrow evening.”

Elizabeth pulled Catherine in for a kiss before jumping down into the grave to remove the corpse lying in it.