Borne in Blood by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Page B

aspect of your behavior reflects upon me as your guardian. Never forget that.”
    “I won’t,” she promised, and looked toward the door where Werther was returning with a basket of bread, a bottle of pale-yellow wine, and a tulip-shaped glass along with a large covered platter of what smelled like fish. “I will never forget you, Uncle Wallache,” she vowed.
    Text of a letter from Klasse van der Boom, printer and publisher, Eclipse Press, in Amsterdam, to Saint-Germain Ragoczy, Comte Franciscus at Château Ragoczy near Lake Geneva, Yvoire, Switzerland; carried by private messenger.
    To the most excellent Comte Franciscus, the greetings of Klasse van der Boom in Amsterdam on this, the 21 st day of July, 1817:
    My very dear Comte,
    Herewith find my account of sales from January to the end of June. As you can see, sales are up and averaging eight percent per title, which is a most encouraging sign. I am hoping you will agree to another expansion of our publication list, and a larger initial printrun for the three titles I have indicated have enjoyed the greatest sales of the last year, for I believe we may rely upon those titles to continue to sell and to attract more readers to these books. I have broken down the reported sales by month, as much as that can be determined, and by country, so that you may better appreciate where the interests of our readers lie.
    I must also inform you that the new presses of your own design will be delivered next month, and I remind you that you have expressed the desire to be here to supervise their installation. This would please me not only for the opportunity it will provide for us to speak again, but to make certain that the presses are working to your specifications and satisfaction.
    The summer has been fairly cool thus far, and I would think you need not worry that you will encounter oppressive heat in your travels, but I urge you to discuss with your coachman the requirements you may have for travel in a day. This may be summer, and the days may be long, but it is also the time when footpads and highwaymen are most active. Be sure you do not find yourself on the road at sundown, or be prepared to fight all manner of thieves for your possessions. Since Napoleon is no longer a menace, many of his men, left portionless in the world, have taken to outlawry as a means of preserving body and soul. This, above the usual criminals who prey on travelers. I would not like to see your profits lost to paying your ransom.
    As soon as the time of your arrival is generally known, I will bespeak rooms for you at whichever hotel suits your purposes most completely. Your courier will also be received with hospitality, and I will take it upon myself to ensure his entertainment. You have only to inform me what concerts and balls you would like to attend and I will see you have the proper invitations. If there is any event you would like to sponsor, I will be honored to put it in motion, if you will let me know what you seek.
    Let me address one other point to you: Graf von Ravensberg has declared he will come to Amsterdam to review the pages of his book prior to publication, as he has been afforded the opportunity to do. If you have any desire to meet him, I will find out what his plans are in this regard, and make arrangements for such an engagement. If you would rather not meet this man, then tell me, and I will see that no such encounter occurs.

    Believe me to be ever at your service,
Klasse van der Boom
printer and publisher
Eclipse Press
Amsterdam
     

    enclosures: accounts as described above

6
     
    Ragoczy studied his coachman’s twisted leg in silence, not looking at the man’s contorted face as he inspected the damage done to his body; the heavy dust smirching his black swallow-tail coat and his superfine black unmentionables did not bother him, nor did the smear of blood on his discreetly ruffled white-silk shirt-cuff. Finally he rose from beside the cot on which Ulf Hochvall had been