A more proper introduction
thotht...@nc.rr.com
Stealth
Good: Charisma, Courage, Education, Gambling
Great: Connections, Exchequer, Fencing, Social Graces
Exceptional: Comeliness
---
1870
My dearest Michiko,
It was with great joy that I received the news of your return to
England! Of course, I would be delighted to write a note recommending
one Junpei Akihiko to Oxford. Good luck in your effort, Michiko. I do
think it an utter shame that you have to disguise yourself as a man
just to receive the education your brilliance deserves. As for your
request that I recount the story of my life since we parted ways? How
can I resist an opportunity to expound upon my virtues and
adventures?!?
Of course, you know how it begins. As a reward for service to the
Empire, my father was elevated to the peerage and named the Right
Honourable Viscount, Stratford de Redcliffe. I was born the last child
to my father and his second wife, Eliza Charlotte Alexander.
Unfortunately, I was the only male offspring to survive my father.
I do get ahead of myself, though, don't I?
I attended the best of primary schools and received a classical
education. In addition to being able to speak Niponese, as you taught
me, I also learned Latin and French. Of course, I had no desire to
become a scholar. By that point, the truth be told, I had little idea
what I desired from life. Perhaps that explains why, at the tender age
of sixteen, I purchased a commission in the 11th (Prince Albert's Own)
Hussairs. Fortunately, I was bright enough to only pay for a
lieutenantship! I turned out the military life was not for me. The
only aspect I truly enjoyed was learning the art of the sword. It
turned out that I was quite adept as a fencer.
I can almost hear you groaning. "Christian-kun," you are saying,
"forget this boring grocery list of your life and give me the true and
interesting details!"
I am, as ever, your humble servant, dearest one.
I daresay I have always been quite attractive to members of the
fairer sex. Perhaps this is why, when I was merely fourteen years of
age, a pretty maid took it upon herself to seduce me. I cannot I was
an unwilling participant. Indeed, I was most enthusiastic and remain a
great believer of the curative properties of a good tumble to this
very day!
To continue my story, though. After four years I left the military. I
came out of the experience a great swordsman but without further clue
as to my goals in life. Thus, when an old school chum of mine, Robert
Fleming, suggested I accompany him to exotic Monte Carlo I accepted on
the spot. By God, if I could not have purpose, at least I could have
entertainment!
During the trip, Robert was stung in the face several times after
running afoul of a wasp nest. As he recouperated in our shared hotel
room, Robert shared the real purpose of the trip. Imagine my surprise
when I learned that jolly old Robert was, in face, an agent in Her
Majesty's Secret Service! His mission was to track down and capture a
notorous smuggler. Obviously, he could not do so now! I had little
choice as a loyal citizen of the Empire but to step up and take
Robert's place. In short order, I had seduced the smuggler's mistress,
in the name of Queen and country, of course, and used her to capture
the smuggler. I must say, I quite enjoyed the whole affair. I
determined that I was meant to live life as an adventure! With this
truth in heart, I began my travels.
I spent the summer in Gibraltar. I hadn't intended on such a lengthy
respite there but I met a lovely young woman named Anne King of
Lovelace. I suspect you have knowledge of her mother, the celebrated
Ada, lady of Lovelace. Our romance was both delightful and torrid. It
was also doomed from the very start. Eventually, my wanderlust drew me
northward while her love of horses led her south to Arabia.
In the next few years, my life became filled with both travel and
adventure! I served as a bodyguard at the Geneva Convention, I helped
discover a lost and frozen Viking ship, and of course, I romanced my
fair share of beautiful women.
Of course, as they say, all good things must end. Or, at the very
least, be interupted. Word reached my ears that my father had passed
away. I returned home immediately. This was not, I am sad to say, the
first funeral for a close relative I attended. Both my elder brothers
had died in the past. The eldest due to illness and the second eldest
while serving in India.
I wish I could say I was closer to my father but the truth is I saw
little of him. His work as a diplomat took him across the world and
kept him from his family. Still, he was my father, and the loss struck
me most profoundly. I resolved to receive my new title with grace and
dignity. I tried to make a go of it. Truly, I did. For the next year I
managed the fortune and estate that was, along with my Viscounty, my
inheritance.
Unfortunately, things did not quite work out as I had hoped. In the
cold of December I took comfort in the arms of a most beautiful woman.
As you might imagine, her husband, a rather wealthy businessman,
discovered the affair. Instead of confronting me, however, this man
chose to be a bully. When I saw the bruises upon my lover's body, I
knew what happened in an instant. Being a lady of honor, she attempted
to convince me that she simply tumbled down a flight of stairs. Of
course, I knew better!
I challenged the cad to a duel and thrashed him soundly!!! The lady's
honor had been upheld and attention had been properly brought to his
brutish nature. My mother, at this point, suggested I take up my
travels once more. She worried that this man, who possessed some small
measure of political clout, would seek revenge. Thus, the next day, I
boarded a clipper ship for America.
I must say, I enjoyed the colonies a great deal! It's people were raw
and honest and, at the same time, I was pleased to discover that the
British are not the most repressed people on the globe!
During my tour of America, I met red Indians, the quite clever P.T.
Barnum, and was once more called to serve Her Majesty. The colony of
Canada was about to achieve some measure of Empire-sanctioned
independence. For various reasons, a group of dasterdly villains known
as the World Crime League sought to disrupt the process by
assassinating John A. McDonald, the new country's first Prime
Minister.
Her Majesty's Secret Service requested I work with the clever
Phillias Fogg to prevent this crime from occuring. Needless to say, we
succeeded. Just as importantly, Mister Fogg and I developed a bond of
friendship. When he left the Americas for London, I traveled with him.
At Mister Fogg's request, I joined the Reform Club. It would be good,
Phillias confided, to have another member with a modicum of common
sense, even if I had rather romantic notions about life.
While home, this time, I had a brief yet enjoyable liason with a
young, Russian adventuress named Anastasiya. While we enjoyed each
other's company we were more compatible as friends than as lovers. We
parted ways and I resumed my travels.
A quick trip around the continent later, I found myself on the
Emerald Isle and courting a Miss Mary Ward. Oh, Michiko! She was quite
the dream. Brilliant and beautiful, with a flair for science and a
strong character. For the first time in my life, I felt true love
blossom in my heart!
Michiko, I am sorry. I cannot write much more of my dear Mary. On the
thirty-first of August, on a bright, late summer's day, Mary fell
beneath the carriage of an auto her brothers had constructed. She died
of a broken neck almost instantly, I am told.
And, so, I wait in Paris. Shortly after I post this note to you, I
will board a train bound for the Ottoman Empire. Perhaps a new setting
will sooth this sickened heart of mine.
Your Humble Servant and Friend,
Viscount Christian de Redcliffe
Templetroll
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