Truly as different as night and day, where Desiree’s complexion was powdery white, the woman now intruding on Ruby and Bennett had skin the hue of milk chocolate, and her eyes were two shades darker. The emerald silk of her dome-shaped skirt was generous, its breadth helped along by the crinoline underneath, while the bodice needed a bit more fabric, in Ruby's opinion. Like Desiree, it seemed this woman wanted to make sure all in the room knew she had breasts, and she was one good sneeze away from exposing them to all who cared to look. Her coal-black hair had been straightened, allowing for long ringlets of curls to hang around her head, and to offset her dark skin, her glittery eyeshadow was shamrock green, and her lipstick was the shade of Superman’s cape. The garishness also extended to the woman’s choice of jewelry. The bulky centerpiece of her necklace was a gaudy combination of emeralds and diamonds, and three strands of pearls helped it dangle low on her chest, almost as low as her ear lobes for the matching earrings were quite weighty, it seemed. Ruby hid her shiver.

“Eliza,” Bennett said, giving the woman an indifferent once-over. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to slither over. Gobble up any rats on the way?”

“The last rat I met was you, and I do believe I ate you several times. Never heard a complaint either.”

“Your ability in that department was never in dispute. It was your inability to stop yourself from slaughtering people I had an issue with…amongst other things.”

“They had what I wanted.”

“Like the jewels draped around your neck?”

“There you go again, being all righteous,” Eliza said, admiring the gargantuan diamond ring she’d recently acquired. “What’s the point of being immortal if you can’t take what you want when you want it? Once a mortal ceases to breathe, they can’t really miss anything, now can they?”

“It always amazes me how easily you forgot you were once one of them.”

“I was never one of them. I worked for them. I served them meals. I cleaned their clothes, and I scrubbed their floors. The way I see it, turnabout is fair play.”

“There is nothing fair about what you do, Eliza. The family you worked for were kind, not cruel.”

“And they’ve been dead for over a century,” Eliza said, examining her manicure. “Pity smartphones weren’t invented yet. I would have so loved to record their screams and play them back now and then.”

“You are one sick bitch,” Bennett said, the muscles in her neck straining against her skin.

“Speaking of bitches, I see you lifted your leg on yours.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”