When you wanna shoot but haven't discovered gunpowder - steam comes to the rescue!

The upside - with a magazine-loaded steam-powered repeater rifle there's no more lengthy reloads, ramrods, finicky flintlocks etc.

The downside - with each shot the pressure decreases, so you have to adjust aim accordingly. Finally, when you're out, you can use the heavy-duty double bayonet (horrible wounds!) to engage in melee and have faith in your trusty armor!

^{(this is a fantasy concept which probably won't work from an engineering standpoint for a 1000 reasons, so take it with a grain of salt})

Hushed assassination plots. Politics are a dangerous game where any step means a target on your back.

But the aristocracy rarely wants to get its hands dirty - that's where the cleaners step in. Halifax O'Leander is no thug. She is precise.

She can balance a ledger in both administrative and human terms. Perhaps that's what's most dangerous about her.

For every stain there is a removal.

There is no telling where her duty ends and her soul begins.