Credits to SLOTHTATO for the cover thanks!
Lauren's pov
As the basket came to a rest I could see boxes in the room, in the dim light that streamed in through the windows. For a moment, I mused how this particular room almost always is a storage room. At least until 2016 when it became a laboratory.
Eager to get going, I grabbed my bags and hopped out of the basket. With a strange feeling, I then walked the basket retract back up the wormhole which soon after seemed to vanish. This was the farthest back I had ever gone. Previously, I only gone as far back as 1902.
I slung my bags over my shoulder and went to the rear door. This time, it looked rather new. I quietly unlocked the door and stepped out into Friday April 29th, 1869.
I promptly also stepped into mud as well. The alley behind the building, which was paved in later years was not in 1869. I had guessed it had rained during the night causing the dirt in the alley to turn into a very large mud puddle.
"Mud. How wonderful." I grumbled as I locked the door and headed out.
Coming around the alley, the first thing I spotted was a light horse drawn carriage, known as a dogcart. Its driver, who looked to be a laborer of some sort, paid me no attention as he urged his horses down the cobblestone street.
It was then I noticed the smell. Being 1869 and horses were the common form of transportation, I got a nice whiff of horse shit. First mud, now the wonderful aroma of horse shit.
Looking around I could see the street was pretty deserted, as it was just after 6 in the morning. Only now the city of London was waking up and going about its day. Having a very long way to go, I looked at the old buildings and started to walk.
Every other time, I came out here from Herford, I took the underground. Sadly that hadn't been built yet and I had to walk. I could catch a horse drawn cab, but wanted to save my money.
Besides the obvious differences in the fact that there were no cars or anything modern, one thing really stuck out. It was the people. As I walked, I started to see many laborers walking in crude clothes to their work. You could see that many of these people had had a hard life. I could see it etched in their faces and in their eyes. In my research I had seen pictures of men working long hours under the most miserable conditions. These were those men. Many of the older ones looked tired and worn out. I also noticed that people in 1869 London, often didn't smell all that great. Many smelled of sweat and misery.
They paid me little attention as I walked. With my clothes, I appeared to be just another out of work soldier. Only upon closer examination would once notice the long hair and soft feminine features. But not to tempt fate, I avoided looking anyone in the eye.
It was odd; I kept expecting to find myself walking off a film set to find lights and cameras just around a corner. But this was no film set. The horses, buggy's, wagons, cobble stone streets, workmen were all the real deal.
I even spotted a crudely dressed prostitute in a well-worn and torn red velvet dress. Her make-up was crudely done and she looked to be a solid veteran of the streets. She was leaning up against a building, waiting. It then occurred to me that Jack the ripper in about 19 short years would begin his reign of terror right in this neighbourhood.
Besides the workmen, I spotted many poor and destitute. I spotted a group of children dressed in rags, playing tag in an alley. They looked fifthly and their hair looked very unkempt. Not wanting to attract attention, I just averted my eyes and kept going. I also spotted more than one beggar.
I can see now why Charles Dickens wrote of the poor and the misery of the down and out. It was everywhere. Many would choose to ignore it, but he obviously didn't.
Being hungry after walking for an hour, I passed a number of food vendors at crude little stands. For 2 pence I bought an apple and a small loaf of bread. Someone had some sausages, but they looked rather nasty. Of course, being in Victorian England, I had to get acquainted with the completely insane money system they have.
They had 20 shillings to a pound, 12 pence to a shilling. There was a florin which was 2 shilling, a half crown which was 2 shilings and 6 pence, there was the farthing, the quarter farthing, the 3rd farthing, the half farthing, the half-penny, 3 pence, a groat or a Joey which was 4 pence, a bob and of course a guinea which was just over a pound. They had coins of all dominations and sizes not to mention there were slang words for nearly every coin they had. It gives me a fucking headache, just thinking about it.
I ate along the way and just blended in. Thankfully most everyone paid me no mind. One or two did give me strange looks as I was wearing a US Army coat, hat and boots.
About 2 hours into my walk, it started to rain. It's England, it has to rain. I think it's a law or something. I could have fallen for the girl with the blonde pixie cut hair and the huge breasts who bartends at the pub I hang out at. But noooo....I had to fall for a girl who lives in 1869. It's probably better anyway as the girl with the pixie cut seems to love very built and rather stupid men. But I am a bit biased, as I pretty much think all men are stupid.
I was about half way to my goal and thankfully the rain had paused for a time. I was in a working class section of London when I heard from behind me.
"Hey you're an American. I recognize that uniform."
Stopping I spun around to see a guy, with brown hair who looks to be around 20's, in crude dirty clothes coming up behind me. He studied me for a moment then his eyes suddenly went wide. "Hey....you're a girl."
I scowled at him and snorted sarcastically. "Aren't you a bright one."
He seemed put off for a moment, but smiled revealing very ugly looking teeth. I don't think he owns a toothbrush. "Hey...If you're new in town. I'd be happy to show you some sights...." At this point he put his hand on my thigh. "And after maybe you and I can go...."
He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as I promptly kicked him in the nuts. Judging by the rather shocked look on his face, he really wasn't expecting that. He stood there for a moment before grabbing his crotch. He then crumpled to the ground, with a loud groan.
A few other people who seemed to standing nearby looked at me, almost as shocked as he was. Apparently they had never seen a woman kick a man in the nuts before. At least on the street.
Smirking I leaned over and said. "Listen up, you lousy glock. It's not nice to touch a woman without permission. Especially one WHO DOESN'T LIKE TO BE TOUCHED. If you know whats good for you. You'll stay on the ground until I'm out of sight."
Playing the part, I tossed in a Victorian era slang word. In the 19th century, the word glock meant half-wit.
That done, I stood up and walked away. Though as I left, at least one woman gave me an approving nod. As I got further up the road, I turned to see the man get up and limp off in the opposite direction.
But again my luck changed and it began to rain again. This time it didn't stop. So I walked through the rain across London. Finally I reached the outskirts of London, I was now only a few miles from Herford. But by then, I was pretty much soaked to the bone and my legs and arms hurt like hell. I am carrying two bags after all.
As I approached Herford, I found it strange that half the town I was familiar with simply wasn't there. Where the movie theatre was, there was a field. Were block of apartments was, there was now a grove of trees.
But wearily I trudged on. From my research, I learned the Tavern/Inn that Camila's father ran was on the far edge of town, near the large park which still exists today. The Tavern itself was torn down sometime around 1917. Camila and her family lived in a decent sized house that sat next door. That house was torn down in 1956. The land he once owned is now all, rather dull looking houses.
Finally after 6 and a half hours of walking, I reached Herford. A chunk of the town was as I remembered it. I even passed the sight of the bakery which 145 years from now I'll live in. But now a stable sits in its place.
But at that point I went across the street to St. Michaels church. It looked very much the same, except for the grave yard around it looked much smaller. But what brought a smile to my weary face, was the fact there was no grave in the spot where Camila was buried in my time.
Continuing on, my legs, screamed in pain as I walked the last mile to the inn. But with each step, my heart beat faster as that meant I was getting closer to Camila. I would finally see her. That was pretty much the only thing that kept me going.
Finally I reached it. Standing in the still pouring rain, I found myself in front of a large two story wooden structure. A sign hung above the door.
"3 Bell's Inn."
Nearly exhausted and filled with anticipation I walked in the door. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the dim candle light, but I found myself in a large common room. There were a number of wooden tables and chairs, half of which were occupied by various people. To my right along the wall was a bar, with several casks on shelves behind it. To my left, through a doorway was a small dining room. Past that was a stairway going up to a balcony. I could see 4 doors up there, which were rooms at the inn.
Then I saw her.
She was standing the bar, chatting with some older man who was seated at a table. She had a smile on her face and seemed to be engrossed in a lively conversation. Camila was wearing nice but simple looking white dress and her hair was up.
At that moment, the fact that I was nearly exhausted, sore and soaking wet, didn't even remotely bothered me. I stood there paralyzed and awestruck by her beauty. The picture which I had, and I carried didn't even remotely do her justice. From the doorway she I could see the most beautiful brown eyes I'd ever seen. She had flawless cheekbones and a gorgeous face. Her smile was beyond my imagination.
After a moment she stopped talking with the man and looked directly at me. I literally thought my heart would explode. She then smiled and began to walk towards me. My Jaw opened wide and my mind suddenly stopped working.
"Hello sir and welcome to the 3 bells inn." She said in an English accented voice, which was like that of an angel.
"Ah...." That was all I was capable of that moment. There she was, my love my obsession, standing in front of me. Still I could not move or even think. Part of me wanted to declare my eternal love right then and there. Even if that was a good idea, which it wasn't, I could barely speak.
She tiled her head and looked me over with a concerned look. "My sir...you looked soaked to the bone and very tired. Well you've come to the right place."
"Ah....Mi...Miss....Miss.....I....I....I'm a girl....woman....I mean miss....female....I'm a girl." I sputtered out looking very much like a fool. Someday, I'll be able to form complete sentences again.
She took another look at me and tilted her head. "A girl indeed, your clothes were a bit deceiving. And an American on top of it. Judging by your accent."
I nodded.
"So....What brings you to Herford?"
My mind went wild. You...you..yes...you...my eternal love.. let me carry you up to the nearest bedroom so I can worship you. Then we can get married tomorrow, no...now. Have babies...lots of babies. Oh god...she's got me so screwed up, I'm already planning our family and I hate babies. All they do is poop and cry. I hope they all have her perfect eyes. I am so fangirling right now. It's embarrassing.
Instead I managed to mumble. "I'm...I'm trav...travelling . Seeing England." Yes. I travelled across 145 years of time, meet Camila and promptly fall apart.
Camila quickly nodded. "Well, Welcome to Herford. Have a seat and a pint if you like. We serve a limited dinner menu after 6 pm. Unfortunately we have no available rooms, but....."
"Job." I said, as my mind partially came back to life.
"What?" She said suddenly looking puzzled.
Realizing I was on the verge of blowing my one way in, I managed to piece myself together. "Well I'm travelling and need some funds. I'm looking for some work. I heard someone in the village say that one of your servant girls just left you're fathers employ. I'm a good hard worker. I can't say I'll stay forever, but this is a nice place and I could stay for a few months until you find a permanent replacement. You'll have to excuse my odd behaviour. I've been walking for hours in the rain and I'm cold, wet and tired."
From the look on Camila's face she seemed to understand. "Quite excusable. We get many tired travellers here." She then thought for a moment and looked even more confused. "You heard that Taylor left?"
I nodded. "I overheard someone in the village talking about it."
Camila scratched her head. "So strange, she told my father she was leaving less than hour ago."
Shit. Had I arrived a bit earlier I would have ended up asking for the job, before she quit. Thinking quickly, I responded. "Small towns. News and gossip does travel fast."
"You're quite right." Camila said with a smile as she extended her hand. "You'll have to talk to my father, but I think you'll do. I'm Camila Cabello. Please to meet you."
I quickly shook her hand but at that point, my mind went wild again. She's touching me....her skin is so soft and warm. I want to kiss it. If she touches me anymore, I think I'll just have an orgasm on the spot.
"Ah...I'm Lauren ....Lauren Jauregui. I'm from Miami, Florida."
Camila then pointed a door near the bar. "Well Lauren Jauregui of Miami, Florida, Come with me. My fathers in his office. I have the utmost confidence he will approve your employment."
I couldn't help but grin. "Perfect."
Well they finally meet and Lauren promptly goes to pieces. But she's been through a lot and it's understandable.
I hope you all enjoyed them meeting.