The letter came to him slightly damp from the downpour outside, but thanks to the expensive materials it was not ruined as paper would have been. Being sent letters was not something so very uncommon, but the richer clients were often the most clandestine, so such blatant expense turned heads and made the servant’s noses twitch.<br/><br/>It was a mute battle, between the whores keeping their patrons safe from exposure and the forces outside the House luring the servants into becoming spies. Atti’s fear that Ellen letter might be read or even stolen were not unfounded.<br/><br/>Clumsily he opened the letter, wincing as the small cuts on his fingertips reminded him of the previous night’s work. He read her message, then at once set pen to paper.<br/><br/><em>Beloved E,<br/><br/>Your words reach off the page, though my mind and caress my soul, soothing aches in it I had not known were there. Could I keep your letters without fear, I would. Unfortunatly, I cannot offer you similar comfort in this correspondence.  <br/><br/>Your dream will not come to pass. There is a way to guarantee it will not, foul though you may find it. <br/><br/>Seduce a man of your family. The more powerful, the more senior, the better. If he shares a few of my attributes, it will help pass our child off as his. Blackmail him, when the time comes. Be ruthless, be cruel, be the beautiful queen you were when you came to me that first night. You say I have your heart – so I will keep it safe while you are heartless.<br/><br/>It is the only way I can see this play out with you still in the comfort you have been reared to depend on. I cannot hope to offer you its equal for many years, and I am no fool. If you have an opportunity to marry within your station, take it. I will love you and our child just as much. Just as gladly. <br/><br/>Do not trust good will or charity. They are frail things. <br/><br/>The world is a thousand times more cruel than you know. One must be equally savage to survive. If you do not think any will take you to bed, we have a powder that can be mixed into wine. It will make the drinker insatiable. I will enclose a vial. Use it wisely.<br/><br/>I cannot bare to write any more, now.<br/><br/>I love you, I love you. I am sorry.<br/>Louis X</em><br/><br/>He crushed the pen is his hand, making ink fall onto the page like grey blood, then stood up so swiftly his chair toppled over. His first struck the wall once, twice, three times before he could calm the broiling emotion his note had stirred in him.<br/>