/authors/john-sanders/Recent content in John Sanders on Gromet's Plaza ArchiveHugoen-usFri, 20 Dec 2002 00:00:00 +0000/stories/2002/12/20/adventures-of-maria/Fri, 20 Dec 2002 00:00:00 +0000/stories/2002/12/20/adventures-of-maria/<p>Copyright 1996 John Sanders.May be freely distributed by cybernetic media, provided no fee is charged or profit gained. Hard copies are expressly forbidden without prior consent of the author. May not be published or distributed otherwise without permission.</p> <p><strong>Part One: The Dinner Party - Preparation.</strong></p> <p>It was the festive season, parties, dinners and dances were the main occupation of the evening. Invitations for the company of the vivacious Maria came from everywhere. In fact it was rather boring attending the regular hunt balls, the ladies&rsquo; nights and the other expensive charitable do&rsquo;s. The strangely embossed envelope that arrived in the morning post immediately attracted Maria&rsquo;s attention. Her eyes settled on a black envelope, written in a strong, bold script. The contrast of the black paper against the silver pen was striking to the eye. This was something to be savoured. Quickly, Maria opened the other envelopes. They were the usual rash of cards from people almost forgotten, interspersed by the odd bill from Harrods and Fortnum and Masons.</p>