To my beloved enchantress, may the millipede’s multitudes guide your spells ever forward. Forever yours, Stanton.

A beautiful and bizarre gift, Annalise dropped the brooch into the box containing all the other Stanton Edwards, Esq. gifts. The millipede was so lifelike. Knowing Stanton, it was quite possible the creature lived inside the brooch, preserved in stasis by a paralytic gold filigree. Her skin positively crawled at the thought.

“Miss, there be a box out front. From Mr. Ramsey. The footmen are scared to bring it, after what happened with the last one.” Marie bobbed a half-courtesy, her overbite more pronounced than usual. Nerves, the poor girl. Then again, the footmen were not the ones who ended up suspended in amber for two days following Tobias’ last gift. “What should we be doing with it?”

“Fetch Jeremy. Have two of the footmen, Thomas and John perhaps, they are sturdy enough fellows, move the box around to the servant’s entrance.”

“Yes miss.” Her brother would know what to do. Why Jeremy almost reached sixth level at the university; only Papa’s illness prevented him from becoming a full-fledged master. He could handle whatever madness Tobias Ramsey conceived of. That was Annalise’s fondest hope, at any rate.

She went upstairs and changed into her gardening dress and workday half boots. There was no sense in ruining good clothing. At least Stanton limited himself to small objects, however alive or enchanted. Tobias could forever be counted on for the grand gesture. Pity that grand and large were intertwined in his mind. “Master Jeremy is out back waiting for you miss. He says to be hurrying, if you please.”

Annalise snorted. She very much doubted Jeremy was half so polite. Yet servant girls were women still – blind to their lover’s faults.

She had barely set foot outside when Jeremy plowed into her with all the finesse of a country debutante. He kissed her on the cheek in greeting. “There you are dear sister. I started without you. Nothing in the box is explosive, not magically. And it is much too light to have chemical explosives. Without knowing anything more, I think it is safe enough to open. Do tell mother I am eating dinner at the club tonight.” Before she could open her mouth in reply, he had dashed back into the house. The club indeed. As if she were unaware of the opera dancer.

“Are we to open it miss?” Marie’s voice shook with trepidation. That show of fear perversely eased Annalise. No true Blotgeld would shrink in the face of danger, especially not in front of a maid.

“Yes Marie. Thomas, John, if you would.”

With only a minor stutter step, the footmen managed to get the box, slightly larger than person sized, unwrapped. Annalise found herself rethinking her stance on bravery. For standing in front of her, six feet tall and nearly three-hundred pounds, was a Varyncian millipede. Their bite was painful, but not harmful. It was the legs one had to take care with. They could rip a grown man to shreds in minutes.

And here they had one, in the middle of Chatham Square. A very alive, and by the looks of it very angry, Varyncian millipede. Her suitors were becoming progressively unhinged.


"June 18 – Legs"