secret location. The last line of the letter read: Be sure to
wear everything you find within this box.
I undid the package's bindings and stared in
wonder at the contents inside. The
first, a long black gown with elegant stones sewn into the neckline. The fabric felt luxurious on my hands as I
removed it to inspect it. Someone had
even gotten the size correct, as it appeared the perfect length and width for
my figure.
Even more mysterious, beneath the gown was a
black mask made of the same fabric and a small golden pendent of a raven.
Now, I realize how foolish this must
sound. Anyone wishing ill upon me could
simply have whisked me away in the night, but I admit, I was intrigued by the
mysteriousness of it all. I tend to live
such a boring life at the estate that the promise of this new adventure
thrilled me incalculably.
My husband, as you have already deduced, is
the Count of Corvus. Perhaps you are
aware also that he has been travelling to the Orient this past year. What you cannot know, what no one knows, is
that I have not received any letters from him as of six months ago. For all I know, his ship has crashed off the
coast of Beijing, or he has run off with one of the native girls and does not
intend to ever return to Britain.
On the night in question, I paced around my
house, unable to decide whether or not to go. Even as I bathed and prepared myself, I was still not yet convinced that
when the carriage arrived, I would get into it. I slid the dress over my bare skin and it felt simply amazing to
wear. There were ruffled bindings over
the shoulders, leaving my arms and upper chest exposed. The wide skirt was light enough that it
bounced when I walked.
I fixed the golden raven to my upper left
shoulder strap so that its beak turned up toward me. It had two small, finely-cut rubies for
eyes.
At nine o'clock, hooves clicked in the
distance, coming closer. Soon I could
hear the carriage's wheels turning along the paved stones of our road. When I opened the front door to peer outside
and saw the wagon, with its darkly dressed driver and two enormous horses, I quickly
fixed the mask around my face and ran into the street.
Oh, that I had resisted.
The carriage driver did not even look at me,
let alone speak. Before I was even
through the rear door, he snapped the reins we took off. There were three others seated in the
carriage on the seat opposite mine, all of them masked, the same as I.
An older gentleman, with fine grey hair and
a dark suit. Beside him, a Rubenesque woman
wearing what appeared to be a Roman toga. Her body spilled out of the loosely fitting robes, nearly revealing her
massive breasts with every bounce of the carriage. On the opposite side of the man, a more
curious figure. At first I thought it
was a young man, much too young to be involved in such illicit things. As I watched, however, I realized it was actually
a slender woman dressed as a man, with short blonde hair worn slicked back,
like a pixie from a children's storybook.
The robed woman smiled lasciviously at me
and said, "I see you are the raven."
Each of them wore pendants as well, the same
as mine, but of different animals. Her's
was a snake. The man's, a rat. The younger woman bore the sigil of a
sparrow.
"Where are we going?" I said. "Have you any idea?"
"None at all," the man said with a
laugh. He removed a small black case
from the seat and unlatched it. Plain
leather, it looked like a doctor's kit, but inside was no ordinary
medicine. He removed a large bottle with
glistening green liquid and said, "Will you join us in courting the green
fairy?"
"What is it?" I said.
The man smiled as he handed the woman a
glass and asked her to hold it. He laid
a slotted spoon over the glass and placed a sugar cube on it. He then uncorked the bottle and slowly poured
its contents over the
wear everything you find within this box.
I undid the package's bindings and stared in
wonder at the contents inside. The
first, a long black gown with elegant stones sewn into the neckline. The fabric felt luxurious on my hands as I
removed it to inspect it. Someone had
even gotten the size correct, as it appeared the perfect length and width for
my figure.
Even more mysterious, beneath the gown was a
black mask made of the same fabric and a small golden pendent of a raven.
Now, I realize how foolish this must
sound. Anyone wishing ill upon me could
simply have whisked me away in the night, but I admit, I was intrigued by the
mysteriousness of it all. I tend to live
such a boring life at the estate that the promise of this new adventure
thrilled me incalculably.
My husband, as you have already deduced, is
the Count of Corvus. Perhaps you are
aware also that he has been travelling to the Orient this past year. What you cannot know, what no one knows, is
that I have not received any letters from him as of six months ago. For all I know, his ship has crashed off the
coast of Beijing, or he has run off with one of the native girls and does not
intend to ever return to Britain.
On the night in question, I paced around my
house, unable to decide whether or not to go. Even as I bathed and prepared myself, I was still not yet convinced that
when the carriage arrived, I would get into it. I slid the dress over my bare skin and it felt simply amazing to
wear. There were ruffled bindings over
the shoulders, leaving my arms and upper chest exposed. The wide skirt was light enough that it
bounced when I walked.
I fixed the golden raven to my upper left
shoulder strap so that its beak turned up toward me. It had two small, finely-cut rubies for
eyes.
At nine o'clock, hooves clicked in the
distance, coming closer. Soon I could
hear the carriage's wheels turning along the paved stones of our road. When I opened the front door to peer outside
and saw the wagon, with its darkly dressed driver and two enormous horses, I quickly
fixed the mask around my face and ran into the street.
Oh, that I had resisted.
The carriage driver did not even look at me,
let alone speak. Before I was even
through the rear door, he snapped the reins we took off. There were three others seated in the
carriage on the seat opposite mine, all of them masked, the same as I.
An older gentleman, with fine grey hair and
a dark suit. Beside him, a Rubenesque woman
wearing what appeared to be a Roman toga. Her body spilled out of the loosely fitting robes, nearly revealing her
massive breasts with every bounce of the carriage. On the opposite side of the man, a more
curious figure. At first I thought it
was a young man, much too young to be involved in such illicit things. As I watched, however, I realized it was actually
a slender woman dressed as a man, with short blonde hair worn slicked back,
like a pixie from a children's storybook.
The robed woman smiled lasciviously at me
and said, "I see you are the raven."
Each of them wore pendants as well, the same
as mine, but of different animals. Her's
was a snake. The man's, a rat. The younger woman bore the sigil of a
sparrow.
"Where are we going?" I said. "Have you any idea?"
"None at all," the man said with a
laugh. He removed a small black case
from the seat and unlatched it. Plain
leather, it looked like a doctor's kit, but inside was no ordinary
medicine. He removed a large bottle with
glistening green liquid and said, "Will you join us in courting the green
fairy?"
"What is it?" I said.
The man smiled as he handed the woman a
glass and asked her to hold it. He laid
a slotted spoon over the glass and placed a sugar cube on it. He then uncorked the bottle and slowly poured
its contents over the
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