It's not like he didn't have any warning--the same thing happened every year. He hasn't been around much for the preparations, though, this year. He's out most nights with his friends among the gentry and most days with his friends in the slums. With Kevin, mostly, but he's surprised to find that he's got friends there, too. Real friends, not just ( Read more... )

The journey back to the city feels a hundred times longer than it should--Mike feels jittery and a little sick. His mother smiles indulgently, tells him, "You'll see Miss Swift at dinner tomorrow evening, no matter what time we get in tonight. Calm down, Michael."

Of course, half the problem is they are getting in late, just as Kevin would be ( Read more... )

Taylor Swift is a very sheltered little girl.

Mike watched her greet her aunties from the relative seclusion of a shaded nook.  Despite the growing warmth of early summer, Taylor was wearing a high dress and gloves, a swatch of bright silk wrapped firmly around her throat.

Mike had had suspicions as to why Taylor had agreed so readily to their fake ( Read more... )

Mike woke to the news.  He knew something was going on the second he stepped out of his room.  The servants stopped talking, and the maid bobbed a nervous curtsey, eyes averted.

"Rosa-" he began.

The poor woman looked terrified.  "Your father asked to see you as soon as you woke, sir," she babbled and fled.

Mike felt a knot form in the pit of his ( Read more... )