Some of the information in this story is historically accurate, but most of it I took and warped to my own needs.
In the autumn of 1709, Mary, Duchess of Cornwall, inherited a beautiful mirror from her late father, the Grand Duke of Saxony. It had been in her family for over 100 years, a gift from the famous craftsman John DeIver. It was an exquisite piece of art, crafted of beautifully carved mahogany, with a glass made from a rare crystal from somewhere in Africa. When the Duchess first saw the mirror, she marveled at its sheer beauty, and asked the servant who delivered it where it had come from, for she surely would have remembered seeing such a masterpiece in the estate. The man explained where it had come from, and started to tell the Duchess about it’s shady history when she silenced him, not wishing to hear any idle gossip not pertaining to life in the noble courts. Feeling rather ecstatic about her newest acquisition, she promptly ordered for it to be taken to her parlor.
Several weeks later, Mary’s husband, the Duke of Cornwall, and a prominent member in the House of Lords, was appointed Lord High Admiral, following the death of Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Anne, Queen of England, Scotland, Ireland and France. The Duchess was naturally shocked by this most fortuitous of surprises, as her husband’s appointment meant that she was now privy to the highest secrets in the land. In a frenzy, she started organizing a large ball to celebrate.
In October of 1709, messages were sent to all the great lords and ladies across Great Britain, inviting them to come to a grand ball at the estate of the new Lord High Admiral and his lovely wife. The estate was turned, virtually overnight, into the epitome of extravagance. The walls were adorned with priceless paintings, and the halls were filled with magnificent statues and exquisitely wrought suits of armor from the late renaissance. The pair spared no expense in making sure their home befitted owners of their stature. The lady had a stunning gown tailored specially for the event, and the Admiral had a uniform custom made. Everything was ready, and soon the couple would make their grand entrance into life in the royal court.
On the first night of November, the servants were decked out in their finest wear, and prepared to welcome their esteemed guests. As the hour of the ball grew nearer, the Duchess grew ever more excited. She sat in front of the DeIver mirror while a maid worked on combing out her long hair. Suddenly the Duchess startled, and frightened the poor maid. Thinking she had seen a man in the room behind her, she quickly jumped up and scoured the far side of the room. Seeing nothing, she rationalized that it was nothing but her nerves getting the better of her. The maid finished putting up her hair, and the Duchess slowly rose to go enter the ball. Before she reached the main ballroom, however, she reached up to adjust her necklace, and realized her precious pearls were not around her neck. The maid offered to go back and get them, but the Duchess refused and headed off by herself.
An hour later, the Duchess had still not returned from getting her pearls, and the maid was panicking. She had searched the parlor room several times, but couldn't find the Duchess. She alerted the Admiral, who promptly ordered a search to be carried out by every servant in the estate. They searched for several hours, but found no trace of her. The Admiral, fearing the worst, spent the next several weeks scouring the countryside, searching for any possible clue as to her whereabouts. Not finding anything, he returned the estate, and spent the day weeping in his wife’s parlor, the last place where she had been seen. He soon fell asleep, but was aroused by a familiar scent. When he sat up, it was not his wife that greeted him, but a strange hooded man staring at him, beckoning him, from within the mirror…
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