Afternoon, 4th of Yaris, 2720.
All of Jean’s plans had led to this day, countless letters to the Dean and other key persons at the University, the occasional appearance with carefully applied makeup to appear wan and pale in the guise of his ‘sister’ in Brunnhold and the Stacks. All that and the hard work of his faithful valet and friend Cadoc Murphy amongst the University's staff and servants about his master's seriously ailing sister.
Finally the day was here, the last hurdle and arguably the hardest. Oddly the easy part was finding a corpse, a Cadoc had needed to pay a substantial bribe to an orderly in the medical school to provide a suitable substitute. Finding a member of the Everine who would not ask too many awkward questions however was harder, but finally he had done it.
Here he stood in the church, before the body would be transported to the De Silver crypt, where the bodies of his father and mother lay, surrounded by those who had known his sister. Most of them were from the University and a few from The Stacks. The fine dark wood coffin stood, already sealed, the reason given for this was that it had been Genevieve's last wish that people remembered her as she had been, not what her prolonged sickness had made her. The excuse was readily accepted, as far as Jean was aware at least.
Jean moved amongst the mourners, dressed in an immaculately tailored black frock coat, trousers with a waistcoat of deep purple brocade over a crisp white shirt and black silk cravat. He accepted the condolences and words of comfort, and if he seemed distant or troubled this was likely put down to the sober occasion. Though this was down to the whirl of worries and thoughts going around in his brain, the worry of the whole scheme being uncovered, the elation that it seemed to be working and soon he would be able to life his life fully, and finally the same terror that he would be exposed as a freak and reviled and mocked by all of society, made a pariah in his adopted country.
As Jean took up his proper place, the priest began the service, his voice high and clear, and as Jean listened he thought he could feel the dusty still eerily chill air of Ghost Town.
Finally the day was here, the last hurdle and arguably the hardest. Oddly the easy part was finding a corpse, a Cadoc had needed to pay a substantial bribe to an orderly in the medical school to provide a suitable substitute. Finding a member of the Everine who would not ask too many awkward questions however was harder, but finally he had done it.
Here he stood in the church, before the body would be transported to the De Silver crypt, where the bodies of his father and mother lay, surrounded by those who had known his sister. Most of them were from the University and a few from The Stacks. The fine dark wood coffin stood, already sealed, the reason given for this was that it had been Genevieve's last wish that people remembered her as she had been, not what her prolonged sickness had made her. The excuse was readily accepted, as far as Jean was aware at least.
Jean moved amongst the mourners, dressed in an immaculately tailored black frock coat, trousers with a waistcoat of deep purple brocade over a crisp white shirt and black silk cravat. He accepted the condolences and words of comfort, and if he seemed distant or troubled this was likely put down to the sober occasion. Though this was down to the whirl of worries and thoughts going around in his brain, the worry of the whole scheme being uncovered, the elation that it seemed to be working and soon he would be able to life his life fully, and finally the same terror that he would be exposed as a freak and reviled and mocked by all of society, made a pariah in his adopted country.
As Jean took up his proper place, the priest began the service, his voice high and clear, and as Jean listened he thought he could feel the dusty still eerily chill air of Ghost Town.
