The Penrove ball had descended upon Denise. Her newly acquired body was being pampered by a number of maids in her room. She was dressed as was required of the Duchess of the Northern Gates during winter...in an unnecessary amount of white. Her dress hugged her body, show casing her curves and the shoulder of the dress was a pristine white wolf fur. It hang low, showing her shoulders and her slim neck that was bedazzled by a very elegant diamond studded necklace. She looked like a fairy that had simply transcended onto the human race. She had no shame.

Once again, the maids admired their work after she was declared a completed master piece.

A knock on the door signaled her departure. The General was waiting for her. She slipped on her dainty white heels and made her way out of the room. The surrounding guards were astonished by her beauty as she passed by them. They tried to keep it professional, however, no man was immune to Colette's beauty. It was an asset.

She stood at the top of the stairs, a doll made of diamonds. She descended slowly to the enamored gazes of the guards and Hank. The General stood there, staring. His face, unchanged.

"Husband" she greeted with a small bow.

She looked up into his beautiful eyes and gorgeous face. She blushed...slightly. He was a feast for the eyes,wine for the soul and some poetic muse for other body parts.

"Wife" he said coming closer, "You look beautiful"

A compliment. Denise was shocked, maybe because the compliment was meant for Colette and her stunning looks or it was the fact that the compliment was made by a man described as 'the war lover of Verradus and the power hungry noble of limitless talent'.

Denise took his hand and he escorted her to the bottom of the castle and out to a carriage to the Underground Town.

The carriage ride was silent until...

"I have business to take care of, so I trust you'll cater for yourself. Hank will be your guard"he announced.

The General sounded different, maybe even mature.

"A man had the courage to interfere with my gates." he added.

The reason sounded less likely to be fathomable to any reasonable creature. But she wanted to know about his 'gates.' Very little was known of the Northern Gates.

"Gates? My lord?" she asked .

"Yes. He dared to open the Northern Gates to let his barbaric wife and child through."

"This man...He has a barbarian wife and child?"she continued.

Swain nodded, "He was sent there as an ambassador to one of the tribes. The chief's daughter fell in love with him, they got well...intimate and now he's a wanted man in a country riddled with monsters and barbarians."

"It sounds tragic, Swain."

Was she daft?

The Duke stared at her,she stared at him. It was what could be considered a step in a somewhat troublesome direction. She sighed,quite loudly and continued.

"If that was the case in our situation I would be devastated." she pretended to look out the window.

Silence.

"My lord"

"Yes wife" he said with a smile. He was enjoying their games, immensely.

"I would like to meet the man while you interrogate him on his trespassing on Viler property."

"Why?" he was a complicated man and a child at times.

"I think this may be an opportunity for us."

It had been a few days ago when Stuart, her old partner in crime and fellow theoretical conspiracy writer of a certain scientific article named The Theorized Mines of the Northern Gates and Their Inventions, informed her that rumors had spread of the Duke's temperament and current state of the Northern Gates. It was said that the workers of the General Viler were mistreated, overworked, under compensated and they worked 365 days a year, including winter. It had deterred every man, woman or child from stepping foot into the duchy.

She was at a loss. They needed workers to convince the Merchants Guild to form a partnered investment with them, how else were they going to mine the oddly shaped ore?

Denise was, to be put in easier terms, stuck, that was until the General, her husband and part time sadist, shared a story regarding a tribe. They had people. They could offer the tribe, something they needed. The man that was to be convicted at the party was sent there for a reason. She would find out what it was and exploit it, shamelessly.

Verradus is no country led by fools.

The Penroves were rather thick with how they layered their apparent 'joy' at meeting the Lady of the Northern Gates. They oohed and aahed at her every breath. They spoke volumes of her beauty and whisked her away at every corner to 'personally' introduce her to every wealthy noble from the Northern Gates. The Penroves and their friends, spoke highly of their leader, the General Swain and her husband, about how he changed the North and their lives. Her husband was a lucky man, they drawled over and over.

That is until, she was led to meet another guest, a man. Lady Penrove, excused herself momentarily, while Denise was left with the guest.

"Duchess"the handsome man said with a deep alluring voice.

"And you are?" she asked

The man stopped in his tracks staring at her,confusion flickered on his face for a moment but it disappeared when he smiled.

"My name is Lord Richard Gallagher" he continued.

"Ah, the genius behind Gallagher industries"she was truly interested. The man was known as a renowned genius and the first in a century. He revolutionized the toilet!

"It is a pleasure that you know of me" he said

"Yes, who doesn't? You revolutionized ancient Verradus farming methods in the South and now food is produced at thrice its speed. Is that why you're here Lord Gallagher? To revolutionize the Northern Gates?"

She really wanted to know. She was so curious and so excited. A real self-made genius and inventor within her grasp, she'd...ah, she remembered. Swain would never allow it, unless Lord Gallagher became a monk...

"My lady," he removed a small letter from his sleeve and with a cheeky smile slipped it into her hands with a wink and left.

When did he have time to write a revolutionary measure? She was looking at him the whole time! Mushrooms or Potatoes? She was excited. She excused herself to the powder room and opened the letter with glee, only to find words she never expected to see in a ball room filled with snobbish nobles and her murderous husband.

My Dearest Onion Blossom,

How I have missed you my love...