Jinxed

P R O L O G U E

October 31st, 1822

It was black as night by the time Henry Wright, a local servant boy, decided to tread the long and treacherous walk home. His mother, the head housekeeper at the Devereux Manor, was furious when she had found out that her nine year old son had snuck back into the Mansion to watch the ornate guests arrive to the yearly Devereux Masquerade Ball.

Momma had made herself explicitly clear that he should have went straight home while the light was still out.

Which he started too...but then decided to hide in the stables while everyone in the Manor was fussing around and putting the final touches on things.

The only reason he himself had snuck back in was to watch Lord Devereux finally work up the courage to propose to Lady Arseneau, a pretty woman that had just arrived from France a week earlier.

Henry's heart started to race as he remembered the excitement of sneaking back into the Manor.

 

He dodged each and every one of his fellow servants, people he's known since he was a baby and who he considered his family, were getting into position as Lord Devereux's guests started trickling in from the massive grand entrance way.

Henry was always excited when Lord Devereux threw such a lavish festivities, not just because it meant that he could eat his weight in leftover pastries the next day, but also because it meant that he could watch the usually uneventful and dreary Manor transform into something grand and magical right in front of his very eyes.

The melancholy feeling that has resided over the Manor ever since Lord Devereux's parents and siblings died a few years ago, gets temporary revitalized.

To Henry, on days like this, it almost felt like the old days were the Manor was full of laughter, joy, and rambunctiousness.

The drapes, which were a dusty and drab olive green color with silver trimming, were replaced with a deep crimson red color that was trimmed with gold and matched the freshly coated paint of the walls.

The windows were cleaned and the trims dusted and the Ballroom floor sparkled in a way Henry's never seen it do before.

The chandeliers were somehow brighter than they seemed before and even the horses, who were normally calm and fairly easy to handle were naughty and uproarious.

The whole room was brimming with an excitement that was definitely not here before today.

Henry was securely hidden in his secret alcove by the library when more and more guest started trickling in.

He was in awe at the lavish gowns rich in color that complemented the Manor's opulent walls and the ornate masks each guest wore.