I still couldn't help but smile when I passed by Dylan in the hallways, but once I saw Vaughn my face turned into a scowl. Now they also had Hughes enter occasionally in the office, but the worst was that they wanted be to pretend to be the real Blanche, so Hughes treated me with respect, bowing and always calling me "Miss Blanche".

One night after dinner I decided to take my plan into action. I asked for wine with my food, then without cease I drank three cups until I stood up clumsily when dinner ended.

"Let's play a game tonight!" I said, words only slightly slurred.

"A game?" Calvin was frowning in worry, and Dylan just sent me a glare.

"Let's play in the parlor, you'll play with me, right, Ruby?"

Ruby hid a smile then nodded. "Sure."

"Then I'll play too," Calvin said quickly. "Should I get cards or chess?"

"Nooo," I groaned. "We're playing my game. Irene, Gwendoline, and Julie are joining, right? Dylan, you too! Of course, Vaughn, Scarlett, Claribel, and Hughes should join."

"Me?" Scarlett said with a face that showed disgust until Hughes smiled and nodded politely. Vaughn and Dylan whispered until they nodded.

"Let's play," Vaughn agreed after a soft roll of eyes.

"I'll sit this one out," Claribel said softly, standing up. "I'll be heading to bed."

"We need paper and pen!" I turned wobbly, then Irene ran and caught me.

"Julie, get enough paper for everyone, and pen," she ordered. "Let me escort you downstairs, and please watch your step, Miss Blanche."

As we headed towards the stairs I felt her heavy and tight grip, practically carrying me down the stairs.

Truth was I didn't get drunk at all, or even tipsy. It was an act I used to get away from unwanted customers, often pretending to hurry to the bathroom to vomit.

As I stepped down the stairs I thought of how I'd organize it. After all, Scarlett was joining, I didn't need her but what did I expect? Hughes was joining, and any female would join because he was a honeytrap. Calvin would follow Ruby, and I did ask her last night to play with me tomorrow so she agreed. But my plan was still usable with her.

We sat on the couches, next to me Dylan on one side and Ruby on the other.

"Pray tell, what's the game?" Vaughn asked. The parlor room was really big but the couches and chairs were thankfully enough, the maids sitting on the chairs as Calvin sat with Vaughn, a strange combination as Calvin turned physically away to not face him. Scarlett sat with Hughes and couldn't stop flirting.

"The game," I chirped as though I were excited, "is to write the name of a famous person, a place as in a country or state, and lastly an item in this room. Once you finish please pass it to the person on your right without letting them see it. The goal is for someone to guess all three right first!"

"So the item—" Vaughn tried to cut in to no avail.

"Anyways, write a description of the person so we can answer questions. Everyone gets one question and we have to be fast, no more than thirty seconds per person."

"What?" Calvin said, obviously not a competitive one as everyone had gotten to write.

Dylan's paper would go to me, Ruby's would go to Calvin, Calvin to Vaughn, Vaughn to Hughes, Hughes to Scarlett, the three maids, then Dylan. I wasn't going to let anyone win have time to feign their handwriting either.

"I'm done! I forgot to mentioned, winner can also ask anyone any question they want!" I folded my paper and slid it to Ruby, handwriting practiced to be like the letters as Blanche.

People in pursuit finally began to rush, no time given to think about masking their handwriting. Without any more delay each one of us saw who had what people, place, and items were. Vaughn, who gave his to Hughes, said Napoleon, Ireland, and chandelier. Not exactly hard to guess—but the rest were. Hughes's to Scarlett said, Oscar Wilde, Palace of Versailles, and record player. Scarlett's to Irene's said Queen Victoria, Statue of Liberty, and pen.

As we began we played heartily, allowing Ruby a question first, as she held it to her chest. I gave her Marie Antoinette, Transylvania, and my dress as the item. I'm sure she wouldn't get it, although she learned her person was a female, from Europe, and deceased. Next was me.

"Is my famous person female?" I asked.

"No," everyone replied. Interesting, so Dylan chose a man? Which famous men would be admire? King Henry VII? Thomas Jefferson? Henry Ford?

Dylan was next. "Is mine a man?"

"Yes," we said.

"Is he alive?"

"Yes."

"Is he European?"

"Yes."

We were dumbfounded again at how fast he was narrowing it down.

"Is he a politician or from a royal family?"

"No!" We finally cheered a little.

Julie had written Salvador Dali. Her handwriting was atrocious but underneath the name she had written, "painter, Spanish, alive, known for abstract art". Julie got Gwendoline's Abraham Lincoln and failed at the first question, asking if it was a woman.

Scarlett failed to guess Irene's person, Pocahontas. I didn't think she'd get it soon, in fact. Next was Hughes, who couldn't guess his famous person was female.

Vaughn cockily guessed his and narrowed it down to a deceased European man.

We went back and forth quickly and Marie Antoinette was guessed by Ruby first, surprisingly, as she asked if she was French and we said yes. Next was Dali, then Napoleon. I guessed mine last, when everyone had moved on to objects.

Dylan had put Monet. I analyzed handwriting as my eyes flickered. The "a" had a tail that curved as someone who naturally wrote in cursive. The "G" was unique, but unfortunately few "g"s were visible. Lastly I tried to find the most remarkable—"I"s that had a slight zigzag.

Versailles and Transylvania were first, and then it moved on to objects as I failed to choose whatever place Dylan gave me. It wasn't western nor Eastern, but I saw the slight hesitation before I answered India correctly.

Down to the items I saw longer sentences. The game ended with Hughes, Ruby, and Gwendoline winning first.

"Phew! Haven't used my brain like that in a while!" Scarlett laughed, moving closer to Hughes.

"Why, I can't agree more," he said. Scarlett didn't catch the meaning and laughed happily.

"Mine are awful!" Vaughn said, glaring at Calvin who avoided eye contact. "Why was my person Emily Dickinson? I hardly know of her books—poetry, whatever she writes. It's simply not fair to say The South Pole—"

"Now, I had hard choices, too," Dylan said, brooding over his paper from Julie. He didn't complain much but she had written museum, which took too long for Dylan to guess. Most of us had put countries or even landmarks but something so vague was obviously hard.

"Hughes, you can ask anything to anyone!" I said with a grin. Would he ask me for my life details to ensure I was actually Blanche? Would he ask his master some forbidden question? Would he embarrass Scarlett in front of everyone?

I waited eagerly as his eyes darted around then he chose Calvin.

"Calvin, your birthday is coming up, what present would you like?"

Calvin was flustered and laugh it off. "Anything really. Maybe a good fountain pen. My last one broke."

We all laughed, our drinks done and some faces flushed from the excitement, mainly Hughes, who was very good at reading people to guess his person. Scarlett's face was flushed too, but for a whole other reason, judging from her drunken giggles.

Calvin was initially stressed as it took him time to formulate questions and surprisingly, Ruby took the lead and enjoyed it, and whispered to me.

"This was so fun. I had never tried such a game."

"We should have game nights more," Calvin said, always quick to reply for Ruby's sake. How he heard was a mystery.

"Yes, we should, and all of us," Scarlett said, putting her hand on Hughes as she crawled out her words. Although he didn't reply she still giggled for some reason.

"Except Claribel," Ruby whispered, eyes on the piece of paper in front of her. I pretended I hadn't heard.

Finally the party dispensed, the maids and one butler staying behind to clean the whiskey cups and ice bucket, but I grabbed the pieces of paper roughly, as though I would toss it.

"Let me help, Dylan, get the pens," I said, noting a certain figure lingering.

"Sure." He came over and picked up two pens before Hughes stopped him.

"Master Dylan, Miss Blanche, feel free to rest after today. Master Dylan, see her to her room, will you? Irene will be there in a minute. Now, goodnight to you both." Hughes had picked up all the remaining pens as he spoke and gestured for my papers but I pretended to be drunk and ran after Dylan with the papers, holding it to my chest.

"What's the matter with you today?" Dylan whispered as we went to the staircase, still hearing the cups clink as the maids put them on trays. Even Hughes's orders to the maids were audible so I waited until we both went upstairs to reply.

"I'm going to compare handwriting with Blanche, or even Auguste's."

"Why?"

"What if Blanche was entirely made up? Letter exchanged with say, one of the maids? Or Hughes? Or even a son, Vaughn?" I sounded foolish saying it.

"Vaughn wouldn't do that," Dylan said, but his voice was not as firm as he wanted it to sound.

"Vaughn has complete control over Hughes, even the maids, and you too, Dylan. Why don't you admit it?"

We were walking down the hallway to his study and I peered around to know the maids weren't coming the stairs after us. The carpeted flooring made their steps so soft, yet my room and other places creaked under my feet.

"Let go in," Dylan said as he opened the door and turned on the lights. We rushed in like two mischievous children before we finally shut the door. I spread out each and every paper, straightening the folds as he took Blanche's letters out.

"The diaries, too, Auguste's handwriting." I lowered my voice. "You should leave. I need to stay up late tonight."

"I'll help—"

"Dylan," I said, voice softer, "I don't want any suspicion. Hughes will be waiting for you." And I didn't want Hughes to know Dylan had a strange relationship with me.

Dylan frowned, face solemn like when I first met him. Then he receded.

"Fine, I'll go to bed. But I'll be changing and coming here after 1am, so don't worry, you won't be alone."

It was sweet of him, but every smile that came on my face would be extinguished by the thought of the things I was hiding from him.

Dylan left quietly, and in the study, I felt cold as I read Auguste's diary. Even in death, I was chained down by this man.