Ah, your first ball! For years you have dreamed of this night, begging dear Mama to let you put up your hair and lower the hem of your skirts. And now, here it is, your 17th birthday and your coming-out party. What beau might you meet? Who will steal away your heart? Will you be forced to spurn your father's massive fortune, in order to marry against his wishes, to elope with your true love, whoever he may turn out to be?

Ballroom
You are in the crowded ballroom of your parent's London house.
The dance floor, twirling and swirling with finely dressed maidens and stalwart men, lies to the north. Near a grandfather clock to the south, French windows lead to a cool balcony overlooking the formal gardens.
The butler stands nearby.
The grandfather clock chimes the quarter hour.

>DANCE
But you haven't been asked!
The butler clears his throat, "Miss Sophie?" He holds out a screw of paper. "A gentleman asked me to deliver this."

>ASK BUTLER ABOUT PAPER
"A gentleman handed it to me, Miss. Dressed all in black, he was, and quite handsome, too."

>TAKE PAPER
Taken.
The butler bows and moves away.

>READ PAPER
On the paper is written, in an educated hand:
"The first moment I saw you, I knew I had met my destiny. Your violet eyes, misty with youth and beauty, your fair skin, your golden tresses - all these I knew I could not live without.

I love you fair Sophia, I must be with you. Meet me on the balcony as the clock strikes midnight.

With undying love."

>LOOK AT CLOCK
The clock shows 24 minutes after 11:00.

>LOOK
Ballroom
You are in the crowded ballroom of your parent's London house.
The dance floor, twirling and swirling with finely dressed maidens and stalwart men, lies to the north. Near a grandfather clock to the south, French windows lead to a cool balcony overlooking the formal gardens.

>GO SOUTH
As you turn to go, a young man sidles next to you, shyly. "Miss S-sophia, um, would you, um, care to dance? W-with me, that is?"

The clock chimes the half hour.

>LOOK AT YOUNG MAN
Although he looks rather uncomfortable in his rich velvets, the young man has large brown eyes framed with a mop of curly yellow hair.

"Um, Miss Sophia?" he asks again, painfully shy.

>YES
An amazed smile of relief opens his face as he leads you onto the floor. Together you dance a quadrille. You discover that, despite his shyness, he is a masterful dancer. He tells you his name is George.

>LOOK AT CLOOK
[I don't know the word "clook."]

>OOPS CLOCK
The clock shows 12 minutes to midnight.

George leads you to the side of the dance floor. "Would you care for a c-cup of lemonade?"

>GEORGE, YES
He smiles, amazed again, and rushes off.

>LOOK AT ME
You look marvelous in a pink watered-silk gown. The thick strand of pearls around your neck sets off your creamy skin.

>S
Balcony
You stand on the balcony overlooking the formal gardens, south. The scent of roses wafts up toward the full moon high above. Music floats through the french windows from the ballroom to the north.
There are no other people here.

>WAIT
Time passes...

In the ballroom, the clock chimes midnight.

Suddenly, the moonlight is blocked by a tall broad-shouldered form. "Ah, Mistress Sophia. I expected you to answer my note."

>KISS MAN
You close your eyes and pucker up. Instead of the fiery touch of his lips pressing against yours, a rough sack is cast over your head. You open your eyes to total darkness.

"Pretty you are, my dear" comes the man's chuckle. "But prettier still is the dowry that will be mine when we are wed."

>SCREAM
Your scream is muffled by the sack, but you hope someone may hear you. The wind is driven out of you as you are dropped several feet - presumably from the balcony to the garden below. Moments later, you are slung over a shoulder, carried through bushes, and thrown onto some cushions. You hear a "giddyap!" and the crack of a whip. The carriage you have been put into moves forward.

>LOOK
Carriage, in the sack
Dimly, through the rough weave of the sack, you can see that you are in a cushioned, empty carriage. Moonlight streams in one partly closed window.

>INVENTORY
You are carrying a screw of paper and your reticule (hanging from your wrist). Inside the reticule are a small needle, a small pair of scissors, a loop of elastic, a ball of beeswax, and one length of pink silk thread. Your mother always says to carry a repair kit in case you tear your ballgown.

You bounce around on the floor of the carriage.

>TAKE THE SHEARS.CUT THE SACK
Taken.

The tiny shears slowly cut a long rip in the sack.

>GET OUT OF SACK
You slip out of the sack.

Countryside flies past the partly open window.

>L
Carriage
You are in a small, cushioned carriage. There is a door to the east.

>OPEN DOOR
But the carriage is moving so fast! You would fall to your death!

Just then, the carriage lurches to a halt. Someone climbs from the driver's seat above you.

>AGAIN
You open the door. Through it you can see a dark ruin of a house, one light burning at the door.

Someone is walking towards the door to the carriage.

>EAST
You dash out of the carriage, into the darkness near the house.

Wild Garden
You stand panting in a clearing of a garden gone wild, behind a dark ruin of a house. One light shines from the doorway south of you.
There is a lessening of the bushes to the north, away from the house and your pursuer.
A carriage is stopped here, the horses stamping in the night.

The man calls out, "Stop! Come back" and starts in your direction.

>RUN NORTH
In the Bushes
You stand at a dead end in the undergrowth, surrounded on all sides by bushes.
Through the leaves you can see the villain, silhouetted in the light from the house. He is moving toward you, blocking escape.

>I
You are carrying a screw of paper and your reticule (hanging from your wrist). Inside the reticule are a small needle, a small pair of scissors, a loop of elastic, a ball of beeswax, and one length of pink silk thread.
The villain is moving closer, blocking escape.

>PUT THE BALL OF BEESWAX IN THE LOOP OF ELASTIC
Done.

>SLING BALL AT VILLAIN
You aim the makeshift sling at the silhouetted figure, pull taut, and let fly the ball of beeswax. "Yowch! Damnation!" he cries, clapping a hand to his face and staggering off.

The sound of clattering hooves fills the garden.

>S
Wild Garden
A carriage is stopped here, the horses stamping in the night.

A saddled gray mare stands nearby, well lathered.

You run straight into the arms of...George! "M-miss Sophie! Are you all right?" he cries.

>ASK GEORGE ABOUT ABDUCTOR
George explains, "I heard you scream on the balcony and racedout to see you being carried off. I made chase, fearing that I would arrive too late."
"But you are too late," comes a gruff voice rom behind you.
You whirl around to face your abductor. George stiffens and moves you aside. "I'll handle this," he says, drawing his sword.
The fight is over shortly, as George proves he is as masterful a swordsman as he is a dancer. He does not kill the villain, since that coward turns and flees, realizing who is the master.
George turns to you.

>KISS GEORGE
George takes you into his arms and kisses you. You soon discern that he is as masterful a kisser as he is a swordsman and a dancer...
Presently, George lifts you onto the back of his horse and together you ride back to your parents' house, and the ball.