As the hour came now upon midnight, as Duchess Cressida Courtlandt stood alone on the nearly deserted London street, she could not quite compel herself to enter - to carry on towards the couturier's penthouse suite and some horrible temptation, some horrible ruin worse than anything Bedlam has to offer. \————- The Courtier is a super short story (AKA short read) of about 5,000 words. It is intended as a supplement to Miael: Lovers by Grea Alexander and a preview of the new series The Phoenix and the Seraph (also by Grea Alexander) that will be released over the course of the next couple of years...or so.