Chapter 1

Georgiana heard them enter her father's office. Like always, she took that as her cue to leave the house and wander over to her favourite haunt – one of the rare places where her father never bothered her, The Water Garden.

Opening the door of her bedroom slowly, she crept out quietly on her toes, gracefully touching the varnished wooden floor boards. On approaching the large and impressive office door, Georgiana noticed the door was ajar and could hear the men talking. "God, don't let them notice me", she thought as her manicured nails dug into the palm of her hands. She could see three male figures in the office, luckily two were sat in the chairs that were opposite the huge desk her father had imported from Italy, and therefore could not directly see her walking by. However, there was another male, a tall young man who was not much older than her, leaning against her father's floor-to-ceiling book case, who could see her if he were to turn his face slightly to the left. She held her breath.

"Hugo. I think we all know why I've decided to pay you a visit". Georgiana shuddered as she instantly recognised who that strong, Gotham-accented voice belonged to. None other than the devil himself; Carmine Falcone.

"And I thought it was because you were merely fond of me." Even though she couldn't quite see him, Georgiana could imagine his handsome face relaxing into a broad smile as he said this. Whenever she thought of her father, it always struck her as odd that someone who could be so attractive on the outside was so very, very unattractive on the inside. She saw right through him.

"Cut the shit Quinn. Have you got that contract we talked about or not?"

Georgiana had heard enough. They were discussing the lucrative state contract for the city trash collection, and her father had promised to throw it Falcone's way. Her father knew the right people to bribe.

As she started to move away, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up sharply. "What ?" she asked herself. "If you don't leave now Georgie, you know what'll happen". That thought made her shudder. Flashes of her father's belt came into her mind, and the stinging bitterness that followed. However, the threat of punishment did not stop her moving her head slowly to the right, and finding herself looking straight into a pair of black eyes.

They stared at each other for a matter of seconds, but it felt so much longer to her. She could feel her green eyes widen as the young man by the bookcase gave her a small smirk. Tearing herself from his intense gaze, she gently moved on past the office door, trying desperately not to make a sound, and made it to the staircase. Her heartbeat was thudding inside her chest, threatening to break the silence of the landing.

Looking back to her father's office to make sure nobody had followed her; Georgiana raced down the stairs and ran over the black and white marble tiled floor to the front door.

Once outside, she didn't stop running until she reached the Water Garden.

Instantly as she reached her haven, she breathed out slowly. The only small place of the 'illustrious' Quinn Corporation that Georgiana felt truly at home was stretched out beneath her.

When her Grandfather, Teddy Quinn had built Quinn Hall in the 1940s, he had meant it to dwarf Wayne Manor in every way. Not only were the turrets and wings of the hall even grander than the Wayne's home, but the gardens were unequalled. There were four main gardens that hugged each corner of the house – the Tulip Patch, Folly's Walk, the Rose Garden and of course her favourite, the Water Garden.

Georgiana lowered herself down by the edge of the Koi carp pond and peered over into the water, studying her reflection. "Yes, a true Irish princess, I suppose" she said frowning at herself as she took in her long red hair, pale porcelain skin and green eyes.

Turning to lie on her back, she then raised her left arm and without even looking, located a small leafy bush to her left with her fingers and pulled a book from it.

'Heart of Darkness; by Joseph Conrad' – definitely not a book her pathetic school would ever encourage her to read. No, sweet, 'proper' young ladies must only read stories like Little Women, stories that don't contain any...rawness.

"whatcha...eh.. reading there?"