Chapter 43: The Toxic Warmth
The greasy fire in the center of the drawing room sputtered with a wet, angry hiss as the thick layers of industrial varnish fought against the embers beneath them. Dense ribbons of soot rose steadily from the charred mahogany, twisting into dark spirals that flattened against the ornamental plaster moldings thirty feet above the floor. Without an open chimney flue to draw the exhaust outside, the toxic vapor gathered in a broad, expanding bank near the ceiling, blotting out the crystal facets of the dead chandelier before beginning its slow, suffocating descent toward the floor.
The smell inside the room changed rapidly, turning from the initial scent of charred wood into a sharp, synthetic stench that clawed at the lining of the throat.
Genevieve sat curle
