My Beautiful Mind

3.

Clink, clink, clink.

Teacups rattle daintily as the women in the room sip their tea and chatter amongst themselves about the corsets and shoes that are currently in fashion in London. Heavens above, it is much too difficult to conceal my disgust at such talk. I uncomfortably fidget in a velvet cushioned chaise and freeze when the disruptive clanging of weapons beneath my heavy skirts drowns out all of the other noise. The women pause what they are doing and look around questionably. I swear mentally and I try to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Curse the infernal contraption that is this dress.

The half-hearted investigation comes to a close when the oak doors of the parlour open to reveal Victoria Baldwin, the lady of the manor. The women squeal in excitement, their hungry eyes devouring the sight of such finery, and surround the regal-looking woman. They compliment her silk fuschia dress, lace ivory gloves, and pale pink slippers. I sigh in relief and sag into the pillows, watching the scene unfold from afar. It was challenging enough to gain entrance into the well guarded manor disguised as the daughter of Lord Baldwin's closest business associate; it would be much more of a task to explain why an undercover assassin was sipping tea with a bunch of high status socialites.

I cannot botch this up. They are counting on me.

When the ladies finally allow Lady Baldwin to walk into the parlour and settle themselves back into their seats, Lady Baldwin turns her beaming gaze to me. "Miss Cordelia?" she asks in a high-pitched nasally voice that almost makes me cringe. I gracefully rise from my seat to greet her. I offer my hand for a simple handshake, but she leans in to soundly kiss both of my cheeks. I flinch at the physical contact, but she does not appear to notice in her elation to see me. "I believe you are here to see my husband. The maid by the door will take you to his study," Lady Baldwin says joyfully. I force the edges of my lips up into a makeshift smile and head towards the exit. "You are most certainly going to detest me in a few minutes, my lady," I murmur so lowly that no one could hear.

The maid by the door obediently leads me down a corridor whose wallpaper-adorned walls are covered in family portraits and other decorative, expensive paraphernalia. As we walk down the gilded hall, each step towards the study feels like I am dragging behind a two tonne weight. I remember that the two tonne weight is in fact my dress and my unhappiness at my current predicament exponentially worsens. The boys got a big laugh when it was announced that I would be the one to pose as an insider.

All right Cordelia, go in, kill the bastard, and get the bloody hell out of there. Seems simple enough does it not?

In no time, we stop at a set of doors at the very end of the corridor. "I shall wait here until you are finished, miss, and I shall escort you back to the drawing room. Lady Carmichael is to play the harpsichord in a few minutes," the maid says excitedly clapping her hands in the hopes I will share the same sentiment. I blink at her and notice her face fall every second I do not return her sentiments. "...Excellent," I drawl sarcastically, finally able to lose the guise, "but I am afraid I will not need an escort back." My fingers twirl expertly the hilt of my khukuri that I had taken out from under my dress on the way to the study.

The poor maid's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets when she catches sight of the glint of the steel blade. "I sincerely apologise, but you are an obstruction. You must understand, do you not?" Before she can scream for help, I slit her throat with an elegant flick of my wrist. Before her dead body falls to the floor with a loud thud, I catch it and hurriedly shove the body into a nearby broom closet in the hopes that her blood will not stain my dress. But I speak much too soon. The crimson liquid is splattered all over the cornflower blue bodice. I curse and approach the doors. There is not much I can do about it now. Soon it will be off once Baldwin is dealt with accordingly.