The year is 1879. When thirteen-year-old Ruth Merritt Holbrook emerges from her family's burning estate, bloody and charred, but entirely numb--She makes headlines. Reporters believe she is deranged. They accuse her of having set the fire. All the h...
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Daughter of Gressil,
I write regarding your refusal to meet with me last night. Although Leviathan claims you were ill, I believe that to be a miserable excuse. You seemed quite well during your performance from last night. I enjoyed the production greatly and only wished to congratulate you myself. Pity you were so very sick.
Luckily, your friend Viviane was willing to speak to me in your stead. She was quite helpful. She mentioned that you had spent yesterday with Mr. Desmott in Hyde Park. I wonder what it is you must have spoken of?
I look forward to hearing a full recount of your day with him. It was splendid weather for a constitutional, was it not?
As for your friend, we had rather the time together. I enjoyed her company and even considered keeping her for further use—in the end, I believed her better dead than alive. She was entirely too impressionable. It took very little prodding from me, and even less from the furies, to convince her to end her own life. I had considered making her drown herself in the tub or slit her own pretty throat, but I thought gas was quite romantic. I hear it is a slow death. I suppose I am practicing for when I finally lose my patience and kill you. How shall it be?
I think I will strangle you with a string of beads, or slit your throat with one of the pretty bejeweled letter openers you keep with you.
Nevertheless, slow or otherwise, Miss Harding ended her own life quite effortlessly on my part. It was spot really, like exercising a muscle I had forgotten I had. She was caught up in me—they almost always are. Being charming is quite a chore, is it not? I suppose it is a burden I alone must endure.
I shall drop all pretenses with you, daughter of Gressil? Clearly you know something of Leviathan that makes you worry for his safety, else you would have returned to me with clear report. As you did not, I can comfortably say that he has defected from the cause. His interest in Miss Holbrook is inappropriate at best and dangerous at worst.
I had hoped to have more time to understand her, but as Leviathan seems to have taken to her, I shall have to cease my testing and end her. If she is what I believe her to be, tests shall not matter. I assure you, your demise soon follows hers.
I urge you to contact me at your earliest convenience. I am quite a spontaneous man and it would be best not to keep me waiting any longer than you already have. I find that I do the most wicked things when I am bored. I would hate to lose interest while awaiting your report and accidentally kill another one of your friends—or perhaps even yourself.
Best regards,
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