Chapter 7

Magdaline was a brilliant star as a child, but unexpectedly her shine began to dim, and she grew into an unresponsive withdrawn girl. Rather than conversing with others in the room, she would focus on a crawling spider instead. Unable to uphold the social contract she soon fell into the hands of the Sisters of Penance, a harsh order of nuns who felt that every particle of attention should be focused upon venerating their Lord.

Magdaline was constantly monitored by a team of Sisters during every waking hour, and any time they felt her attention withdrawing from the world, (a sparse room with a gruesome icon it’s focus, ) they would strike her with a riding crop. While she wasn’t persuaded to love of their tortured God, there did occur a miracle of sorts.

Just like Pavlov’s poor unloved dogs, she was trained from withdrawing her attention from the world God created for her. However her acute focus remained, leaving her more aware than most and in ways different from nearly every one. I wondered if I would have, or had, started to draw within myself, and if Bull had used our game of ‘catch me unaware’ to pull me back. After all, she and I both shared a like awareness of hyper-detail. I felt even more attached to Magdaline than before. She was pretty pleased with me, too. I could tell.

She had learned to act the part well enough to be released back to society, although she dropped the pious part of the act just as soon as she had escaped the fanatical clutches of the Sisters of Penance. Her ‘Acting’ was actually great self-control driven by an iron will.

She was Amoral, not seeing how the fabric of society was held together by laws and manners and shared values and standards of behavior. With her permission, I tried the entrancer on her, telling her good behavior was important to me. She laughed and told me it wasn’t to her, but making me happy was, so she would try. It seems she was immune to the effects of the entrancer also. I wonder if I would care as much about good behavior and keeping my word if it had not been for Bull’s example and love.

We got married as soon as decorum permitted, as our time together was otherwise limited by social mores. She loved ‘The Duchess’ and I told her about the Remittance Annual explaining that logically it was too risky to steal anymore when we had everything we needed. She could see the point, she had only been stealing because although free, she was disowned and estranged from her family, and didn’t want to have to be a washer woman, let alone have to resort to the second oldest profession.

“stop that!” I demanded. “stop that!” she mocked.

She was an excellent mimic, able to parody anyone in voice, stride, and mannerisms. I approved, a fellow brat! That is partly how she was able to rob the Matrons of their necklaces. A small part. She could ingratiate herself into the company of any level of society, from highest to lowest, by assuming the postures and attitudes of the group wordlessly.

I had to be careful that she did not become bored in social settings, or she was likely to upset the apple-cart for her entertainment. She had a trick of projecting her voice, or a voice anyway, targeted at fragile accords causing arguments and spats and hard feelings. We tended not to attend boring functions, as they could become exciting ones in negative ways.

Magdaline was a source of scandalous gossip herself, as she was never shy about showing her affection for me, at times dragging me away from a soiree with no dissembling of her intentions. It was winked at the first year, in deference to young love, but she didn’t let our years together slow her practice one whit. I made certain never to complain by attitude or word.

As long as her mischief was light hearted and not dark, I let her have her amusements. She created the impression with fleeting glimpses in disguised posture of spirits, doppelgangers, monsters (I deemed that one too dark.) fairies and phantasms. She enhanced the experience with faint other-worldly sound effects. I considered it harmless stimulation of human wonder. Or harmless amusement of my darling wife!