They said she was evil.  They said that she’d go and burn in hell for what she done to them kids.  All I can say is that when I saw her laid out on the slab in front of me, all cold and lifeless, I thought she the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.  When old Barleykins left the room, I told her so as well, told her that I would have given anything to meet her, to look into her eyes and tell her that she was the only girl for me and that we should be together forever.

I spent the night in The Two Brewers and had spent up all my spare ready for the week.  I thought that I could forget the sadness that had come upon me; forget the woman of my dreams, as she was already dead.  Little did I know that back there in the infirmary we had made a bond me and her, and it was a bond that would take me to places I never thought existed - dark places. 

Back at my lodgings, is when she first showed herself. As I drifted off to sleep, that’s when I heard her voice, it was soft and soothing and I knew, who it was.  She was stood at the end of my bed.

“Want to be with me, do you?” she asked and I felt like just reaching out and touching her.  “I can make that happen, my lover.  I can make it so that we’ll never be parted.  You just needs to do me some work, my good man.”  I couldn’t speak, I was enchanted, I looked at her face and took in her beauty, then nodded to show that I was game.

The next night, I set about our dark business.  “Start slow,” she had told me, “build up a reputation.  You need to work at this if you want to find me at the end.”  Just after midnight, I found myself outside George Yard Buildings where I waited just behind the archway in the dark. “Be patient,” her voice whispered in my ear, “You just be patient, my man, and you will get your rewards.”

I heard the drunken footsteps approaching, I felt my hackles raise and I gripped my blade so hard my knuckles cracked.  The first blow was the hardest and my, did she squeal, but only for a moment, because my gander was up and I felt the blood rushing through me as I tore at her.  All the time I did it, I heard my darling’s voice calling me on, telling me to rip her, telling me to do my work.  I left our first at the bottom of the stairway and made my way back to Wentworth Street.  Lucky for me I weren’t seen, because I was covered in claret and shaking with the excitement of it all.  I got to my room and shut the door behind me, breathing hard.  My love was stood there waiting, “Grand work, lad,” she said, “very good for a first go, but you got to get better if we’re to be joined.”

A couple of weeks later I played my games again down Buck’s Row.  I enjoyed that job, took my time and used one of Mr Barleykins sharp knives from the infirmary.  All the time she whispered to me, telling how with each splendid slice I would get nearer to her.

I worked hard for her and kept my day job going, I even helped Barleykins when some of the ladies was brought in.  I had a smile when that happened and I could hear a little laugh from my girl, not loud enough to be heard by anyone but me.   

It all finished just three months after it had started, our work, I had really got a taste for it, becoming a real master at cutting, taking bits out when I wanted to and making a pretty mess for me and the dear old boss to go through the next day.

When the last one came, she told me to make it my best and give a good account of myself, I did the works as well as I could.  “You’re done now, my man,” she whispered as I left the whore.  “You’ve earned my companionship, just as I promised.”  So I walked to the river and threw in my bag of tools, keeping one back for the last job.  I watched the black drops fall into the water below.  As my strength left and I dropped, it was like falling into her arms, the water was cold but I was warm, in the embrace of my love.

Set to be together.

Made for each other.

Made for Hell.