This one took longer than the others. I had been pretty busy lately.
*Grumble.* Well, got any suggestions? My dear readers? I'm sort of running
out of ideas here. Not now, but soon.
"Gertrude Blackcastle, daughter of Count William Blackcastle of Russia. Born April 21, 1911, Moscow, Ru. In custody of brother: Duncan Blackcastle, resided in Yorkshire, until guardian's death, July 1918, with wife: _____, sons: Scott, Simon, Patrick, Philip, and George Blackcastle. Reason of death(s): shipping accident. Transferred to the custody of the court, October 1918, attends Gillette Boarding School for Girls (Austria) till today. Approximate sum of inheritance: 50 million pounds, with titles of countess (Ru) and ladyship (British)."
A photograph of this scrawny homeless girl in front of me was pasted onto the file. She was wearing a satin white dress and curled hair with wide ribbons, at no more than the age of thirteen. She was the heiress to one of the most influential and richest men of Imperial Russia, and she had been on the streets of London, begging, stealing, and cheating for at least the past months. (Ahem, I judged from the condition of her hands, feet, and clothes) Amazing.
"William Blackcastle," I whispered, "wasn't he Alinere's brother?" Now the family resemblance issue was solved.
"So, you found me out, what are you going to do with me?" she drew her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs close. "Return me to school? To Austria? You have no right. I don't belong there." She hugged herself closer and pressed her right cheek on her right knee, eyeing me.
I flipped to the second page and scanned the rest, these were nothing but ordinary social outings and school records. I pushed it away and turned to Mycroft, "who exactly is she?" I knew that a regular "daughter of the wealthy elite" could not travel across five countries and know how to survive on the streets of London.
"Mary, this is one of the rarest occasions that I will say this: 'I don't know.' However, I suspect that she has some relation with the Trinity Order," he cleared his throat, which was a bad sign.
The Trinty Order was the oldest and most discreet political society in Europe. Its beginning could be traced back to before William the Conqueror, and its height of power was during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in which the monarchy was the absolute rule on the Continent. Their motto was "The kings ruled, and we ruled the kings." Nevertheless, their power was lost as monarchy struggled in the last century, until a few decades ago, it had officially perished. I had learned all of these from Nathan, whose mother belonged to the central family of this order. Nevertheless, it was once the most powerful force in Europe. Its power was still to be stood in awe of and even feared. These few families controlled the social, political, and economic spheres of the world like a game of dice. It was amazing that their power could actually die out.
Finn gave a bitter laugh, "The Trinity Order? The Trinity Order is dead." She looked away, then she turned back to us, "I am here because I need to find someone, someone of my family, someone close to me."
My heart softened at the look of her face. At the same time, something clicked in my brain. Her brother's family was dead. Austria. and the name "Finn." Nathan.
"Gertrude Blackcastle, daughter of Count William Blackcastle of Russia. Born April 21, 1911, Moscow, Ru. In custody of brother: Duncan Blackcastle, resided in Yorkshire, until guardian's death, July 1918, with wife: _____, sons: Scott, Simon, Patrick, Philip, and George Blackcastle. Reason of death(s): shipping accident. Transferred to the custody of the court, October 1918, attends Gillette Boarding School for Girls (Austria) till today. Approximate sum of inheritance: 50 million pounds, with titles of countess (Ru) and ladyship (British)."
A photograph of this scrawny homeless girl in front of me was pasted onto the file. She was wearing a satin white dress and curled hair with wide ribbons, at no more than the age of thirteen. She was the heiress to one of the most influential and richest men of Imperial Russia, and she had been on the streets of London, begging, stealing, and cheating for at least the past months. (Ahem, I judged from the condition of her hands, feet, and clothes) Amazing.
"William Blackcastle," I whispered, "wasn't he Alinere's brother?" Now the family resemblance issue was solved.
"So, you found me out, what are you going to do with me?" she drew her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs close. "Return me to school? To Austria? You have no right. I don't belong there." She hugged herself closer and pressed her right cheek on her right knee, eyeing me.
I flipped to the second page and scanned the rest, these were nothing but ordinary social outings and school records. I pushed it away and turned to Mycroft, "who exactly is she?" I knew that a regular "daughter of the wealthy elite" could not travel across five countries and know how to survive on the streets of London.
"Mary, this is one of the rarest occasions that I will say this: 'I don't know.' However, I suspect that she has some relation with the Trinity Order," he cleared his throat, which was a bad sign.
The Trinty Order was the oldest and most discreet political society in Europe. Its beginning could be traced back to before William the Conqueror, and its height of power was during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in which the monarchy was the absolute rule on the Continent. Their motto was "The kings ruled, and we ruled the kings." Nevertheless, their power was lost as monarchy struggled in the last century, until a few decades ago, it had officially perished. I had learned all of these from Nathan, whose mother belonged to the central family of this order. Nevertheless, it was once the most powerful force in Europe. Its power was still to be stood in awe of and even feared. These few families controlled the social, political, and economic spheres of the world like a game of dice. It was amazing that their power could actually die out.
Finn gave a bitter laugh, "The Trinity Order? The Trinity Order is dead." She looked away, then she turned back to us, "I am here because I need to find someone, someone of my family, someone close to me."
My heart softened at the look of her face. At the same time, something clicked in my brain. Her brother's family was dead. Austria. and the name "Finn." Nathan.