A Steampunk Guide to Hunting Monsters 17 | страница 7

The
UNFATHOMABLE
Beast
From
FATHOMS
BELOW
M ONDAY , A UGUST THE T WENTY -T HIRD W EDNESDAY , A UGUST THE T WENTY -F IFTH
Our trip home has been most relaxing. J.W.
Wells and Co. hired an entirely new airship, and
for our peace of mind they manned it entirely
with humans! Th ank God!
We arrived in Venice, and, oh, I'm too tired
to describe all the sights I've seen. Venice is
strikingly beautiful, and it is pleasant to be
waited upon by actual people with actual human
faces. Th e Mayor is glad to be home—this is his
last stop, and he returns to his duties tomorrow.
He is not only the youngest man to ever hold
the title, he is probably also the handsomest
man to hold the title. I saw some portraits of
the others in the Mayoral hall.
A very rich and noble family, the Ladroncellos,
are throwing a costume ball! Th ey are local
Nobility—the equivalent rank, I believe, of one of
our earls. Th e Mayor has secured our entire Monster
Hunting party invitations! Isn't it exciting? I felt like an absolute princess at the ball! I
wore the most beautiful shimmering purple silk
gown with an ornately bejeweled stomacher! It
almost reminded me of the dress that Cyprien
had threatened to procure for me from the Genie
all those months ago!
Th e room was most splendidly adorned and
featured an enormous golden ring on display in
the center of the fl oor. All the guests wore the most
fabulous outfi ts, many with an oriental fl air since the
populace knew that the Mayor had just returned
from Asia. Th e Mayor himself was dressed as an
Indian Raja, and he looked quite dashing!
"Miss Dashwood!" he cried when he saw me.
"You look so beautiful! You are a morsel fi t for a
prince! And no doubt you’ll have one before the
night is out!"
I'm sure I did not know what he meant by
that, but I had little time to think about it, for
Percy arrived dressed in the most beautiful