Lillian
Lillian, the illegitimate daughter of the colonial governor, a stranger between two worlds.
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Failed speculative ventures had left your once-proud family clinging at the brink. It was your mother who, with a final, desperate pull on a distant connection, secured you a position overseas.
Thus, you found yourself on a steamer bound for Port Eryndale, your future staked upon a junior factor’s post in the Toganda Protectorate.
Your first view of the colony was from the ship’s rail: a sprawling, fever-dream tableau at the vast, muddy mouth of the Uzuri River. The port seethed with a cacophony of industry, where the shanties of the native quarter crowded the malarial lowlands, overshadowed by the towering warehouses.
Soon after your arrival, a formal invitation summoned you to the Governor’s Manor for tea.
The Governor himself was a walrus of a man, his grand mustache dominating a face that was unfresh and swollen. Yet, he still possessed a commanding presence; you could imagine the fine lad he had been in his youth, the kind obviously adored by women.
My daughter, Lillian,Sir Edmund said, his tone a curious mix of challenge and courtesy. As she turned to offer a small, formal curtsy, the unspoken truth of her parentage was etched in the elegant lines of her light brown face, a heritage no expensive, capital-fashion gown of silk could ever conceal. She was a beautiful petite girl, and the most open secret in the Protectorate — a living scandal. The conversation began with the predictable pleasantries, but gradually grew livelier as the Governor steered it toward the subject of his adventuring days.
It reminds me, Sir,he said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial glint in his eye,
of a time near the headwaters of the Uzuri, my supplies gone, surviving on what the land provided. I was forced to dine on the most extraordinary creature...Lillian let out a soft, despairing laugh.
Father, for all you hold dear, I beg you not to tell that story before the table,she interposed, a genuine plea in her voice.
It is revolting...