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she wasnt a compact package of curves but what she lacked in inches from the ground she more than made up in sheer sparkling gusto she strode over to beatrice not wobbling once the ends of her curled bob rested on the high points of her cheeks and looked dyed a stark shade of red that matched her painted lips which were curved with the patient smile of someone used to dazzling people beatrice indeed dazzled in spite of herself her cousin was more than beautiful she was alchemical it seemed impossible nature alone was responsible for so many assests in a single girl hero held her cigarette to her lips between two leather gloved fingersthen whistled the smoke out in a pinpoint stream her eyes drifted to the lodge house there's rather birdish woman who keeps pulling back the curtain to watch us thats the gatekeper she lves there with her husband you came by yourself? hero flashed a grin revealing a gap tooth and winked sure did papa wanted to come but he was feeling under the weather so its up to me she glanced at beatrice's trunk and the weathered suitcase top please tell me that monstrisity is stuffed with your collection of dancing dresses all of beatrice's clothes dress included were in the suitcase the only fabric in the truvk was padding for her humanskull reoles and glass encased dead frg it will be heavy she said grimly well were what weve got so well amke do toss your suitcase in and well haul this sucker in the back beatrice put her suitcase in the front seat hero removed her mauve jacket pulled her driving gloves tighter on her hands and waited until beatrice came around the other side beatrice unbuttoned her dress shirt at the wrists and pushed her sleeves up she eyed her cousins cream skin and tried not to doubt if hero had lifted anything in her life on count of three hero asked one beatrice said tow three they heaved the trunk up together and suffled to t he car what in the world hero gasped is in here they got runk onto the backseat with some finagling and unladylike grnting and beatrice wiped her forearm over her temple a lot of books she said and a chemistry set tools a medical kit thats nearly forty years old but itwas the only theyd sell to me are you going to be a doctor? heros asked it casually doubting off her hands and walking back to the drivers door beatrice tensed but didnt paused yes welll what do you think? who knows thats a handy set of skills to have in our neck of woods hero bounced into the drivers seat beatrice followed suit climbing into the passenger seat next to her suitcase the way an oridnary person would do you need anything else? beatrice looked up toward the main estate no then lets blouse a second later the engine rumbled to life and hero adjusted her glasses over her nose were going to have a grand time she said loudly over the screech of gears as she shifted and im pleased as punch youre going to be here for my birthday in a few weeks wuth that hero spun them around trires spitting out gravel and roared down the road beatrice let go of her grip to the side of the door hero watched the hat spiral away her eyes off the road for a solid four seconds beatrice counted and shouted over the wind good riddance right feels good ifbeatrice had heros hair maybe there seemed to be a certain standard f glamor that no strand dared disobey beatrice's curls followed no such master and in a few mor miles would look like an electricuted tumbleweed however it feel good not hte wind specifically but rather not caring how messy her hair turned after a while he shifted in her seat and came up on her knees to reach the tunk in the back hero obligingly slowed down until beatrice found a pair of goggles hardly the fashionable driving glasses hero wore they were in fact the sort of bulky after meant to guard againstacidic chemicals