These Violent Delights

Juliette prepares for the French masquerade ball by donning a stylish American-style dress and hiding several weapons in her outfit. She and her father both decide not to wear masks. At the ball, Juliette notices that the foreigners present seem indifferent to the madness spreading across the city; they are more concerned with displaying their opulence. Lord Cai talks with the Consul-General of the French Concession, pledging to protect the French if there is a peasant revolt. Juliette objects to the Consul-General’s condescension towards the Chinese, saying, “However flawed we are, however much we fight each other, this country is still not for people like you to dictate” (166). He abruptly cuts off the conversation. Lord Cai admonishes his daughter for speaking so bluntly.

Paul Dexter tries to flirt with Juliette, but she rebuffs his advances again. He mentions that he has started working for a mysterious person called the Larkspur, who Juliette realizes is the same person as the lā-gespu. Juliette asks Paul for more information about the Larkspur, who he claims has a vaccine for the madness, but he does not seem to know much more. Roma interrupts their conversation to ask Juliette to dance. He is wearing a mask, but Juliette immediately recognizes him. She dances with him but threatens to kill him. He responds that she “wouldn’t dare” because she would not risk looking violent in front of the foreigners. He tells her that his father wants the two gangs to work together to determine the cause of the madness and fight it. She rejects his proposal, but he continues to press her.

Tyler recognizes Roma and pulls a gun on him. Lord Cai tells him to put away his weapon, but he refuses. Then Benedikt and Marshall, who have also surreptitiously entered the ball, train their weapons on Tyler. Juliette yells at them to stop, fearing there will be a massacre. Then a woman starts screaming because she has the madness. People start contracting the madness, including Juliette’s favorite uncle, Mr. Li. She tries to save him, but Roma stops her. He explains that the madness spreads via insects “like lice through your hair” (179), pointing out that Juliette will endanger herself by trying to save him. The remaining guests at the ball flee. Juliette agrees to a meeting between the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers.

Juliette convinces her family to meet with the White Flowers to save the city from the madness. Before the meeting, Alisa Montagov eavesdrops on Juliette’s uncle, Mr. Lang. She hopes to find out if there is discord in the Cai family, but she just hears an argument between Mr. Lang and his mother. She is leaving an alleyway when she sees someone dying from the madness and tries to help him. The insects causing the madness leap onto her, infecting her without her knowing.

Alisa arrives late to the meeting between the two families, which takes place in a warehouse in a neutral zone of the city. Feeling the effects of the madness, Alisa starts to scratch her scalp and pull out her hair.

In attendance are leaders from the two gangs’ inner circles, including Lord and Lady Cai, Juliette, Kathleen, Rosalind, and Tyler from the Scarlet Gang, and Lord Montagov, Roma, Dimitri, Benedikt, and Marshall from the White Flowers. Lord Montagov speaks first, asking the Cais to cooperate, but Lord Cai claims that they only agreed to a meeting, not to any further cooperation. Tyler confronts the White Flowers, causing Benedikt to point his gun at Tyler. Tyler then also pulls out his revolver. He shoots but does not hit Benedikt. Lord Montagov declares the meeting to be a failure, but before he can finish speaking, Alisa makes a strange sound and scratches at her throat.

Roma prevents his sister from tearing out her own throat, restraining her. Benedikt tells Roma that they should take Alisa to Lourens so he can experiment on her, but he refuses, not trusting Lourens to keep her safe. Marshall chokes Alisa until she passes out. Then Roma takes her to the hospital. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Gang members exit the warehouse as quickly as possible.

At the hospital, the doctors take Alisa behind closed doors. Lord Montagov confronts Roma for making a scene, and Roma accuses him of fearing the madness so much that he does not want to be near his own daughter. Roma hears Alisa screaming and runs to the emergency room. The doctors keep her from hurting herself and inject her with medication to make her sleep. They explain to Roma that they need to keep her unconscious until they determine how to treat her.

Still preoccupied with Alisa’s hospitalization, Roma joins Benedikt and Marshall at an underground fighting ring run by the Montagovs. They discuss the possibility of finding the vaccine for the madness rumored to already be in circulation. Dimitri competes and wins against multiple contestants. When he recognizes one of his competitors as an American who does business with the Scarlet Gang, he pulls a gun on him. The American protests that he is not part of the Scarlet Gang, so Roma directs him to leave, but Dimitri shoots him. Angry that Dimitri disobeyed him in front of the White Flowers, Roma fights him, but Dimitri cheats, holding a blade between his fingers. Nevertheless, Roma still manages to beat him. Benedikt and Marshall resume their conversation about the madness, urging Roma to ask Juliette for information. Sick with dread, Roma vomits into a bucket, but he agrees to talk to Juliette again.