<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/19/Cordialinvitation.jpg)</div><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Cooper found it extremely easy to slip out of the kitchen and upstairs, after all the staff were certainly busy and somewhat preoccupied with the dinner and all that would transpire afterwards. At least two of the young women had arranged to meet a foot man of a guest on their next day off.<br/><br/>Obviously Cooper had more than a few tricks up his sleeves to avoid detection… after all he had seen a good deal of action during his time with the Major.<br/><br/>As the man found a place to wait, he began to feel an oppression in the air, there was an uneasy darkness in the house, now being alone Cooper could sense it more. There was a chill in this house and the flickering gas lights created unusual shadows, shadows that almost seemed to reach out to him. Something was not right here; there was something dark in this house. Perhaps it was just the silly gossip and tales of the maids…perhaps it was something more.<br/><br/>For now though Cooper stood alone and indeed he felt very alone and perhaps even vulnerable, he could here the dinner conversation….but could he hear another voice…a more distant one…<br/>