Ann Bailey
Ann Eleanor Bailey
London, after all, does not care one whit who you were. Or who you are. Or who you will become. Frankly, she barely cares for herself, and certainly cannot be bothered with your tawdry backstage changes of costume and comedies of mistaken identity.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Great War was good for some of us. I'd say I was going to hell for thinking so, but the devil's already got me for other reasons. Might as well be honest. Shall I list the bounties that slice of damnation on earth brought to me chronologically or in order of importance?
First, I escaped Halfway and all the eyes in it by volunteering as a nurse. Just shy of 200 souls - fewer with the young men gone - all judging mine. I cannot blame them. Satan planted his seed in my bosom some time before my memories begin. But their suspicion was a weight I was tired of bearing. And eventually they would have taken more drastic steps than sidelong glances and vicious whispers.
Next, I suppose, my brother died. The shop was to be his, just as Dad's affection always had been. With his blood feeding the currents of the Somme along with a million others, all of that transferred to me. I returned to London to learn the book trade. I would not have gotten far beyond typist, trying to avoid the grasping, pinching hands of Mr. Nibley-White. But the war gave me a third gift.
The decimation of the cohort of young men who would have been entering the trade meant that I could pick up their jobs, one by one.
Finally, my brother's death was also my father's, though it took somewhat longer. It is possible that I should not have shared the details of John's end. They tormented father. His heart grew weak. One day, he did not wake up. In his will, the loving daughter who cared for him in his grieving, all sins forgiven, received all.
Tis a shame that self-respecting traders would not work with a woman. But we make do with what we have.
Gender Identity
female
Accomplishments & Achievements
Despite the challenges involved, she has kept C.W. Bailey and Son running in the black.
Failures & Embarrassments
I swear to the Almighty who made me and turned His back on me, I'll not give in to the Devil's temptations again, though it be the death of me.
Mental Trauma
Claustrophobia
Intellectual Characteristics
Practical, Devious
Morality & Philosophy
Deeply religious. However, already believing herself the property of Satan means that she is interested in the role of the devil more than the redemption of the wicked.
Year of Birth
1896
38 Years old
Children
Eyes
blue-grey
Hair
frizzy, ash blond
Height
5'6"
Weight
always 10 lbs less than the scale says
Ruled Locations
Information Without Enlightenment
March 23, 1934
As is his wont, Mr. Hughes arrived late in the afternoon, looking as scurrilous as ever. How he manages to woo high-end clients remains beyond my ken. And yet he had gotten Mr. Johnstone Dives to buy him a steak lunch while securing our services in the search for a book: Caedis Urbi Verae Claves.
This tome interested Mr. Dives for his usual reasons. I've no truck with demons and necropolises and such nonsense. It interested me because Mr. Drummell appeared to already have a line on it, and undermining Evelyn Hathaway is, God forgive me, one of my favorite pastimes. (::scribbled in the margin:: Should have mentioned that to Father O'Malley. Must remember next week.)
So, we possessed the name of a Mr. Drummell's buyer, but not the identity of the individual in possession of the book.
(In Progress)
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