Assignment 7

1 or 2 paragraphs of the opening, what would show on page one of a paperback novel.  No more than 250 words of text.  

        Celice Kyrié neé Whitebond vowed to the gentleman looking down his crooked nose at her, "You may have tricked my father into having our marraige performed by proxy so I wouldn't get a chance to refuse after seeing your form but I will never consummate it."
        Hiram Kyrié was not at all handsome, unlike the exquisitely beautiful Celice. True he was tall and dark, turned out immaculately in his expensive clothes and fastidiously groomed hair. That same hair, however, had the unfortunate tendency to look the exact color of a week dead raven's wing and his eyes could only be compared in hue to the mud left upon the bottom of a pigs' sty. The rest of his visage, in all charity, could only be said to be free of any signs of dissipation.
        Celice knew herself to be the fairest flower of Regency England, with long blond curls the color of newly minted gold and blue eyes the exact shade of the sky on the perfect midsummer evening. Right now, there was a pout on her lush lips which was very unbecoming, unlike her usually vacuous smile.
        "Your father had the temerity to promise me a lady. On top of it he had promised me a lady of breeding and intelligence. I see none of these in front of me." Hiram scowled at her. "However, what is done is done. You will come to my bed, whether freely or not. I'll not have it said I am a fool."

Beginning -- the protag meets the antag and DOES SOMETHING: Celice vows to never consummate her arrainged marraige to Hiram

Celice refuses to be seen with Hiram and goes out for an evening at the opera with an old friend of the family who has in mind to rape her. Posing as a servant, Hiram 'accidentally' drops a large bucket of ice down the attacker's pants before he gets to far with Celice.

Celice pleads a headache and sneaks out to visit with a girlfriend. Hiram tracks her down before she signs away her mother's estate without even looking at the contract and drags her home.

Celice, looking as pretty and demure as usual, is accused by young buck of being a whore when she refuses him at a garden party. Hiram defends her honor neatly in a duel to first blood.

1/4 point -- Antag strikes back: Hiram has had it and confines her to the house till she gets a clue.

Hiram sets watchers on Celice, all of whom are either bound to him by gratitude for his overlooking their physical limitations or are relatives.

Celice hears someone (Hiram) singing beautifully outside her window at night. She looks out but can only see a dark figure in the shadows. When she calls out to him after a particularly lovely song the figure scurries away.

The next night, the figure returns, but this time calls out to her by name. They talk through the open window about the philosophy of the Ancient Greeks.

The night after that, the person recites a particularly lovely and actually quite lewd love poem as he prepares to leave. Celice invites him up, promising to leave the room dark, knowing anyone working here is someone she would not want to see.

1/2 point Antag WINS, (but not decisively): Celice discovers the joy of fornication with the shadowy figure (Hiram).

After their 'interlude', ahem, Celice is overcome with remorse. Now she will never be able to get an annulment from the courts, as she is no longer a virgin.

Celice tells the unknown person to never come back and she never wants to hear his voice again.

Celice tries to get Hiram to talk with her about music, philosophy or anything intelligent but he fobs her off with talking about the latest fasions he saw in Paris the last time he was there, or how so-and-so has the most beautiful young wife, with blond hair, more golden than hers and eyes far more the blue of the summer sky.

Celice is frustrated beyond words. Hiram won't even sit next to her when she tries to get him talking.

3/4 point -- Protag voluntarily faces inner demons and strikes back (or launches plan to strike back) decisively at the Antag: Celice confronts Hiram, telling him to leave her alone in the house as she wants someone she can talk to.

Celice is walking in the gardens and hears a man playing the lute and singing behind a screen of trees. It is the same person (Hiram) who she had been talking with. She asks him to stop before he runs away and promises not to get any closer if he will continue to play.

Celice mentions her plans of planting roses in the far garden and Hiram (hidden) tells her the soil there is too alkaline to grow good roses and they debate the merits of various lines of such flowers and what should be planted there.

Celice talks about how her mother is failing and needs medical care only Doctor Grimm can give her. Hiram (hidden) convinces her Grimm is a quack and tells her about Doctor Ramian, who is actually quite good, convincing her to send her mother to Ramian and her mother recovers.

Celice makes a deal with Hiram (still hidden) if she promises to remain blindfolded, he will come to her in her bedroom. He agrees, warily. After another romp in the bedroom ...

End: -- Protag resolves internal conflict, which frees him/her to ACT to resolve the external conflict: Celice takes off the blindfold not caring what her lover looks like ...

Wrap: as soon as she is sure her lover has fallen asleep, finding out her lover is really Hiram. She gasps, awakening him and he tries to flee. She stops him and tells him she loves him, no matter what he looks like. He looks at her wonderingly, but goes into her arms graciously.