Rooms

[Mina is abed, though she isn't asleep when the cries are raised. It is early evening yet, and the opulent home that abuts Sir Malcolm's great house is the location of a anticipated soiree for the evening, but the women of the Murray house lack the reputation for cards to have been sent.

Outside the adjacent home, the lights are lit, carriages file bright and shined, and dresses twinkle with jewels that would not withstand the inspection of daylight.

An orchestra plays, and a scream rends the air.

A woman, dark hair and pale, dressed in vibrant burgundy, is dead, you see. She's found in the courtyard, beyond the carriages and the din, but no one knows her name, and she has no driver that claims her. There is a dance card upon her wrist, but no names etched for the waltzes. She is nearing thirty, no great beauty, but striking. She carries tarot cards in a velvet pouch.

Women avert their eyes, and yet they peer through their fingers. Men sweep forward with cloaks, and they look too long upon the body before draping it in silken black. Someone faints, someone cries, and women cling to men in a fashion too lengthy for daylight propriety. Slowly, the officers arrive and begin questioning the gawking guests.

All and all, this ball is a grand success.]

Who: Vanessa Ives, Mina Murray, Dracula
What: Discovering a body.
Where: The house next door to the Murray's.
When: Immediately following the discovery of the body.
Warnings/Rating: None.

( Vanessa did not fear the dead.  )