His Lordship Possessed

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His Lordship Possessed Page 17

by Lynn Vieh


  hellchild: a child believed to be demon-possessed and therefore impervious to magic

  Herself: slang term for the queen of England

  hidey-holes: small, concealed places in houses for people to hide in or use to spy on someone

  Hill, the: an area of Rumsen where most of the wealthy and titled reside

  H.M.: abbreviation for Her Majesty

  hothead: woman with red hair

  illuminator: a device that works like a primitive film projector

  Independence: freedom from English rule

  johnnies: men who hire prostitutes

  keroseel: a combination of seal, whale, or fish oil and kerosene

  keyfob: a chain-and-loop key ring, carried by men

  keylace: a ribbon key ring, worn around a woman’s wrist

  kipbag: mesh tote

  kneecappers: criminal enforcers who use clubs to shatter the knees of their victims

  knickers: underwear

  lampflies: fireflies

  lass: girl (affectionate, proper)

  lav: lavatory

  loo: toilet

  loomgel: a girl or woman who works in a menial position at a textile factory

  loomworks: textile factory

  loon: a mentally disturbed person

  loon herder: an orderly at an asylum

  loonhouse: asylum for the mentally disturbed

  Lost Timers: brigades of English and Italian soldiers who became lost in the Bréchéliant forest and were there possessed by Aramanthan spirits

  lungfever: slang for influenza

  mage: magic practitioner

  magis, magistrate: judge

  maiden night: the first time a virginal woman has sex with her husband; term often used for betting purposes by men who want to break an engagement

  mariners: sailors

  matchit: a disposable, one-use lighter

  mate: friend

  mech: a mechanic; anything mechanical

  mechworks: mechanical rooms

  mercantile: a shop selling some variety of merchandise

  Middleway: industrial Torian city located on the Great Lakes; also called Middy

  mixpot: mixing bowl

  mole: city underground worker

  nappy: diaper, women’s panties

  navyman: a current or former member of H.M.’s naval forces

  necktwister: assassin

  negli: negligee

  netherside: the spirit world, invisible to ordinary mortals; the source of magic power

  new industry: the beginning of the industrial age in Toriana

  New Parliament: governing body of Torian officials who petition the Crown and enforce the Queen’s legislation; the Torian version of Congress

  nightstone: a semiprecious mineral used to contain the spirits of long-dead mages and Aramanthan wizards

  Nihon: Japan, Japanese

  nits: head lice

  nobber: private security guard hired by Hill residents to patrol their streets and keep out any undesirables

  Norders: people from the North of England

  nozzer: nose; a face mask used with a portable oxygen tank

  nudie: a flesh-colored garment worn to give the illusion of nudity under a semitransparent gown or overgarment

  Occupancy, the: a period of thirty years after the Rebellion failed during which Toriana was occupied by English troops and governed by martial law

  on the stroll: working on the streets (said of prostitutes)

  pain powder: a mild opiate or analgesic

  partymage: a magic practitioner who uses his power to entertain

  pasturelands: farm lands

  penders: suspenders

  physick: doctor

  piesafe: kitchen cabinet where food is stored

  piper: plumber

  pong: stink

  portents: predictions or signs of future events

  portints: portraits made from ambrotype photographs that are hand-painted to colorize

  posh, posher: wealthy aristocrat

  poxbox: diseased prostitute

  prayerhouse: the Fleers’ religious gathering places

  privy: restroom

  prodder: iron fireplace poker

  prommy: the promenade in the city’s central park used by horseback riders and carris

  pyre: crematorium

  queensland, the: England

  Queen’s Voice, The: the Crown’s official newspaper

  questioning: police interrogation at New Scotland Yard

  rasher: strip of bacon

  red joy, ruddy joy: opium

  redcoats: English militia

  redstone: brick

  reticule: purse

  rondella: an automated carousel-type apparatus

  rounder: a rubber carri tire

  rub: massage

  Rumsen: major city on the west coast of Toriana, roughly equivalent to San Francisco in the United States

  satchel: tote bag carried by women

  scrabbler: a person who makes a living by scavenging

  scram: salvage

  seeing: an act by a fortune-teller of predicting a client’s future

  seeking: an act by a fortune-teller of finding someone or something

  Settle: Seattle

  shaman: a native Torian holy man

  shopkeep: shop proprietor

  short sheet: a hastily printed, illegal daily list of horse races and other events for the purpose of placing bets

  silverblack: chemicals used to etch photographed images on ambrotype plates

  skip: boat

  Skirmish, the: a recent, brief naval conflict between England and Spain

  slaterow: a row house with slate shingles

  snuff: kill

  snuffballs: hollow glass spheres filled with magically enhanced poisons like bloodbane that kill on contact, used like grenades

  snuffmages: mage assassins who generally work in teams of two

  Son, the: Jesus Christ

  soother: chamomile herbal infusion, usually added to tea, to relax, relieve stress, and help with insomnia

  Southern Church: a Baptist version of Church of England, begun in the southern provinces of Toriana, tolerated by traditionalists

  sparkglass: a substance made of various minerals such as mica, galena, and silica that have been ground to a fine dust and mixed with exterior paint in order to create sparkle

  spellcraft: the methods and materials used by magic practitioners to cast spells

  squawks: slur for native Torian females

  stones: testicles

  streaky: a carri’s copper sideboards from which the black paint is wearing off or has been stripped off to simulate wear

  strumpet: prostitute

  sweet Mary: Mary, mother of Jesus

  sweets: candy

  switch: wig

  Talia, Talian: The Torian universe’s version of Italy, Italians

  tealass: a girl or woman who sells hot tea and cakes in a café or from a street cart

  teller: fortune-teller

  tenner: ten-pound note

  Tillers: a secret society comprising important political, business, and social figures

  timepiece: watch

  tinnery: a factory where fresh fish and other perishables are processed and canned in tin containers

  tint: a paper-copy image printed from an ambrotype glass plate; makeup used to redden cheeks and lips

  tinter: device used to imprint images on ambrotype glass plates

  tintest: a professional ambrotype plate developer and tint maker

  to let: available for rent

  tonners: members of high society

  Toriana: short name for Provincial Union of Victoriana, the alternate-history name for the United States

  tosser: a drunk

  trade: business

  trolling: looking for work

  trunch: a wooden baton carried by beaters

  tubes: a system of pneumatic pipes that deliver goods and food across the
city

  tunneler: an underground city worker who polices the subsurface tunnels and keeps the city’s tube in operation

  understair: belowground level of building; cellar or basement

  unjammer: a mechanical snakelike device used to unblock tubes

  uptoppers: above street level

  vicar: priest of the Torianglican Church

  waders: thigh-high protective rubber boots

  waister: a wide cummerbund-type belt made of fabric that females wear around their waists to cover the joining of skirts and bodices

  warders: magic practitioners who create protective charms and spells to protect people, possessions, and property

  wardling: an object used as a protective charm

  warren: a tunneler’s assigned work area

  watershed: raincoat

  Welshires: people from Wales

  whitecart: horse-drawn conveyance used to transport the wounded to hospital or the mentally disturbed to asylum

  wichcart: a street cart that sells sandwiches

  willowbark: herbal remedy for headaches and hangovers (equivalent to aspirin)

  winge: slang for an older, grouchy person

  Yard, the: short name for New Scotland Yard

  zoopraxiscope: a device that uses images on glass disks as the first form of stop-motion projection

  Connect with the author

  Since 2000, Lynn Viehl has published fifty novels in nine genres, including her New York Times bestselling Darkyn series, the StarDoc science fiction series (as S. L. Viehl), and the Tales from Grace Chapel Inn series (as Rebecca Kelly). Ranked as one of the top-one-hundred female, top-fifty book, and top-ten science fiction author bloggers on the Internet, Ms. Viehl hosts Paperback Writer, a popular industry weblog she has updated daily since 2004 with free market info, working advice, and online resources for all writers.

  VISIT HER ONLINE

  At her blog, Paperback Writer: http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/

  At the Disenchanted & Co. blog: http://toriana.blogspot.com/

  Where it all began—

  get Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship’s Curse by Lynn Viehl today!

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  Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship’s Curse

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  Also by Lynn Viehl

  Disenchanted & Co., Part 1: Her Ladyship’s Curse

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Pocket Star Books eBook.

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  Pocket Star Books

  A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 by Sheila Kelly

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Pocket Star Books ebook edition October 2013

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  Designed by Akasha Archer

  Cover illustration by Gordon Crabb

  ISBN 978-1-4767-2234-4

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  GLOSSARY

  CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR

 

 

 


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