As you walk through the door you were told to, what was inside wasn't exactly what you expected. So enraptured, you didn't even notice the door closing behind you. The place was the size of a ballroom, and actually, it really did have a dance floor right in the middle. Everywhere you looked, it was as though someone took all the fancy furniture from every er...
"Even Mickey enjoys the opera, don't ya, boy?" Mickey's father asked. "Of course, pa." He replied and then chomped on a forkful of mashed potatoes. Mickey Jenkins did enjoy the opera, but what he looked forward to the most was the formality of the affair. Wearing a tuxedo made him feel mature, a younger version of his dashing father. But the most important...
Author's note: As with all chapter stories, it will help you to follow this if you read the previous chapters, though it might work as a standalone. My thanks to my muse, without whom this wouldn't have been written; to raconteuse for her most competent editing, and to my readers for their continuing support, and encouraging posts and emails. I hope you al...
As he entered the emigration tent on Long Wharf on the waterfront in Saint John, Canada, Freddie was in time to observe what must be the tail end of a particularly loud argument between Maria and Ralph Tinsley, two of the diners that he regularly served at the late seating in the main dining room of the Quincy Queen. There was a broad circle of empty space a...
****AUTHOR'S NOTE**** this chapter mainly explains about the Guild of Hedonists, the token system and lays the foundations for the rest of the story. If you want to get off quickly this chapter will not be the best for that purpose but hopefully you will want to read it anyway to continue Suzy's story - there is some hot action towards the end though. Than...
Dedicated to and Inspired by Marigold The Beginning Anne had contacted me about taking care of my home in the Marylebone neighborhood of London. I'd posted the opening on Craigslist and was promptly swamped with email resumes and text messages. Anne stood out from the crowd when she took the time to find my address and have a courier drop off an envelope f...
INTRODUCTION In our day and age of easy labels and quick stereotyping, we tend to imagine the Victorian era in England as something of a conservative and reserved time. It is an old observation that every generation thinks it invented sex, but no people in history are seen as having been quite so sexless as the Victorians, and especially the refined society...
There is a small store, an unremarkable door under a forest green awning with one front window. An arch of foot-high gold Victorian-era letters spelling out "Ann Tique's Shoppe" adorn the front window, and are again repeated in one-inch letters on the glass of the door. As for the items displayed in the window, that changes over time. Some of them...
Lady Rotherham, first name Alice, was considered by many around her to be the model girl. Along with having an immaculate appearance, she was intelligent and pleasant to talk to. Her parents had never minded what she got up to, as long as she wasn't causing any trouble. This often meant that no matter what she did, as long as her parents didn't catch her, sh...
Tina was doing her thing when I got back to the office. She had sent off email enquiries to all the relevant authorities and was now sitting at her desk perusing the land registry plan and comparing it with a large scale map she had brought up on the computer. "You know there's a house on this property, don't you?" "I wouldn't say a house; I thought it was...