Editing Endings and Beginnings

<span style="color:#8B0000">'''''In which we wrap up the current campaign.'''''</span> <br> <br>


Josephine and her party return from Wales and life settles down for the next several months. Ezekiel and Katherine are wrapped up in new parenthood. Billy and Svetlana explore their relationship. Christopher and Rebecca discreetly court. Alexi and Evie cement their marriage while maintaining the public fiction that they are still only courting. Alexi buys a small house (it has only 18 bedrooms) in London and installs Evie as a guest in it. She learns the ropes of managing a household while she's there. Billy and Pop maintain their criminal enterprises in the East End. <br><br>

Ezekiel and Katherine throw a dinner party when they finally return to London in November and invite all their close friends, new and old. Christopher, Josephine, Evie, Rebecca, Flora, Bertie, Dionysius and Prissy, Alexi and his Hussars Ilga and Svetlana attend. Katherine has to be coaxed to leave her precious babies to join the party, but joins it she does. Thanks to the many personal relationships present at the table, the conversation gets a little heated over some sensitive topics, one of which is what should be done about Rebecca's black rune. It is also becoming evident that the rune has cast an influence upon Rebecca, one that blocks her natural sensate abilities. Such a pass cannot be allowed to continue, surely. A seance is decided upon to call forth the deceased mage Throckmorton--perhaps he can reveal what the rune's true nature is and what can be done about it. <br><br>

While preparations for the seance is being made, Dionysius draws Evie and Josephine aside and proposes they do something about the current Duke of Leeds so Evie can claim the title uncontested. Dionysius has the paperwork already laid in to prove she is the female in line to inherit, living in exile in Switzerland. There need only be a vacancy for the position to allow her to step up and claim it. But how? The plan is to pull a second-story job on the Duke's London residence and find sufficient evidence to blackmail the man into giving up the title. Since he has an unsavory reputation in certain circles, evidence should not be hard to find. A message is sent to Billy and Pop to meet Evie on the way to Leeds' residence and she and Josephine take the carriage Dionysius has arranged to pick them up. <br><br>

Meanwhile, Katherine and Ezekiel's babies are put in the protective care of Dionysius and Prissy in the upstairs nursery (complete with salt to ward off bad magic) as the seance takes place downstairs in the dining room. Throckmorton is summoned quite handily by means of a glass of liquor with the rune inside. He confirms that the rune is indeed blocking Rebecca's sensate abilities and that it and the Atlantian manuscripts have been hiding their true nature from her. Before he can say much more, however, the seance cirle is broken, allowing the rune to bring forth a demon from another dimension. Throckmorton is killed by it--no mean feat, since Throckmorton is already dead. Ezekiel draws his sword to kill the demon and Christopher does the same. It's a furious battle on top of the dining room table. Sword blows are struck and demon strikes borne. Katherine runs upstairs to check on the safety of her babies and finds them well protected, then runs down again to heal her friends. Flora has been affected by the interrupted circle and Katherine ministers to her first. The emotional backlash of guilt from the rune hits Rebecca hard, turning her suicidal with remorse and driving her to throw herself on the combatants' swords. <br><br>

Ezekiel pulls his sword thrust at the last possible second and his sword tip coming to rest on her throat without harm but Christopher's sword pinks her side. Not to be thwarted in her goal, Rebecca tries to impale herself on the swords again. Alexi throws his arms around her and drags her bodily off the table and putting his bare hands upon her skin, kisses her for all he's worth, drawing her away from the malevolent rune's control using every scrap of sensate ability he has. The guilt spell draws them both in and the two Eldren start drowning in it. The others' attempts to separate the two meet with failure.<br><br>

Josephine and Evie pick up Billy and the women change into men's clothing on the ride over to the Duke of Leeds. Properly attired, they stage a breakdown near the Duke's front gates. Billy and Pop accost the guards at the gate to create a diversion while Josephine and Evie sneak over the manor's wall and make their way to the main house. It doesn't take long before the guards are out for the count and Billy and Pop join Evie and Josephine on the roof of the service wing of the main house. A tower rises six stories between them and the public wing and the party climbs for the fifth floor where lights are burning. They split up to look through a window each and each finds something different. <br><br>

Pop spies a dog girl tied to a bed, naked and abused and whimpering. Billy finds a torture room complete with a wicked-looking chair--blessedly empty--through his window. Evie discovers a weasel girl bathing in a tub, her back covered in livid welts and cuts. Josephine's window reveals the Duke, a portly gentleman, and a Scots orc making ready to 'break' the dog girl in the torture room.<br><br>

Pop climbs in and whispers to the girl he's going to get her away from the Duke. Evie does the same with the weasel girl in turn. Billy breaks into the torture room. Josephine waits for her moment to move. When Billy is heard moving around in the room next door, the Duke announces the victim is being made ready and the orc is ordered to go in. The orc enters alone and once the door is closed, Billy comes out of hiding and lays him low with a vicious blow with his crowbar. Pop and Evie hear the noise and start getting the victimized beast girls out the windows to the roof below. The Duke and his guest go into the torture room to investigate and Josephine follows stealthily behind them. She draws her gun and pistol whips the Duke from behind. Billy knocks the guest out cold. The Duke staggers and brings forth a spell to clothe him in fire. Billy grabs him in a sleeper hold anyway and simply soaks the damage until the Duke goes down. Luckily for Billy, the Duke falls before the flames can do much damage and the spell flickers out. A brief debate ensues: what to do with the Duke? <br><br>

Josephine knows his reputation and is all for killing him. An idea is quickly reached. Using her knowledge of crime scenes, Josephine stages a double murder between the Duke and his guest by putting her gun in the guest's hand and shooting the Duke with it. Then she and Billy climb down to join Evie and Pop, and all make a clean getaway. The victims of the Duke meet with the police called to the scene and give them their statements. <br><br>

Josephine goes straight to the Colonel at the Club to give her report. The Colonel uses his connections to conduct a smear campaign on the Duke in the papers the very next morning, using the two most recent victims as proof. Dionysius delivers two tickets to Evie in the morning. One ticket to take her across the Channel to France and another ticket back to England--first class--to stage her arrival as her alternate identity as Lara, exiled heir of Leeds. <br><br>

Her arrival and claim falls under scrutiny but her forged papers and her human illusion charm stand up to inspection. Though another heir is reputed to be alive in New Zealand as a sheep farmer, Evie pretty much has the title wrapped up. A party is arranged to celebrate her assumption of the title and everyone who is anyone is invited. During the dance, Alexi makes his appearance and together with Evie stages sweeping the new Duchess off her feet. A declaration of undying love follows hard on the heels of the dance, as is Alexi's intention to marry her, making her Princess. <br><br>

Of course, given Evie is a Duchess, she needs permission from the Queen to  marry in accorance with the Royal Marriage Act. Evie would need powerful people to intercede on her behalf if she is to marry someone of Alexi's title and nationality. Again, Evie weathers scrutiny, this time by none other than the Prime Minister Disraeli himself. Is she prepared to have her foreign husband take her place in the House of Lords? The Crimean War against Russia is barely concluded. Is she aware that marrying a Russian would not be looked upon lightly?  Bertie saves the day by mentioning that Queen Victoria's very own daughter has married the Heir to the Russian throne. Surely it would not be so unusual for an English Duchess to marry a Russian Prince? <br><br>

Disraeli has to admit that this is true. He agrees to put in a word with the Queen and the word comes back: permission is given. <br><br>

At this point, it's all over but for the planning and the packing and the travel to St. Petersburg to be presented to Alexi's Grandmama. Rebecca is convinced to come along, rather forcefully, by Christopher. Evie is given a crash course in the Russian language along with customs of the Russian Court. Katherine and Ezekiel make arrangements to take their babies with them, once Katherine is convinced the cold would not hurt them. Bertie and Flora accompany them. Billy, Pop, and Josephine also make their plans to go. There is no way they will allow Evie to face Russia without them at her side. Josephine is also going with an eye to see what clandestine gains she can make.<br><br>

Alexi transports the entire party with him in grand style on his massive yacht. The several days' journey passes by pleasantly, if somewhat eventfully for some, and everyone arrives in one piece in St. Petersburg. Alexi goes forthwith to his Grandmama and presents his intended bride. Grandmama is a shrewd woman and questions Alexi and Evie about their attachment. She softens her stance once she has the measure of their relationship and judges it good: Alexi will need a firm hand to guide him and Evie's hand is already in place and growing skilled by the minute. Also, Evie has voiced no objection to giving Grandmama great-grandchildren. Katherine and Ezekiel's babies further soften the Kalashikov matriarch when introductions are made around. Everyone is introduced and Alexi fully outs Joesphine to Grandmama as a spy. Since Alexi did so in Russian, only he and Grandmama catch it completely, though Josephine has also been studying Russian for the trip and catches enough. She manages to keep a straight face, despite. After some further getting to-know-you talk, Grandmama announces the visit closed and everyone breaks for their assigned accommodations. <br><br>

Evie's presentation to the Empress's Court takes up everyone's attention for the next couple of days. The day finally arrives and the womenfolk of the party manage to attend. The venue is the Palace. The food is a cream tea. The language is Russian and French. The Empress is by turns bored and animated. Evie negotiates the topics of conversation and the Empress's scrutiny with skill and grace. By the end of the session, Evie is welcomed into the fold and her wedding to Alexi is approved. The rest of the tea is devoted to the assignment of bridesmaids amongst the Royal Family and the bride's friends. <br><br>

The wedding takes place on Christmas Day by the Gregorian calendar. The couple are wed amongst billowing clouds of incense, the sonorous notes of the Russian choir, and as many people as can be shoehorned into the cathedral as possible. At the end of the ceremony, Christopher barely waits until the newlyweds are driving away in ther carriage before he goes on bended knee on the cathedral steps to present Rebecca with an engagement ring. Deeply mortified at the impropriety of his upstaging the wedding, Rebecca nevertheless accepts his proposal. <br><br>

Several more days are spent as guests before everyone save Evie and Alexi turn back for England. Once safely ensconced at home, Ezekiel is sending his babies upstairs to bed. "God bless you," he says as the three-month old babies are carried up. And then Baby Rachel turns to her father and says quite clearly to him, "He already has."<br><br>

And thus ends this chapter in the campaign. More may follow as fate and the story permits.
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