: : Her parents, although billionaires, were ultra-superstitious and
: : were active in the American Psychic movement. While still a
: : baby; Marguerite was blamed by a gypsy for the tragic February
: : 19th, 1884 tornado outbreak that killed 800 people from Canada
: : to the Gulf Coast.
: : Her grandfather whisked her away to his plantation in the Boer Republic of Orange Free State in what is now South Africa. This was to save Marguerite's life.
: : She was taught to shoot revolver, rifle, and automatic. Her skill
: : with firearms was such that she killed thirty Xhosa raiders in one battle alone. On another occasion, she personally executed
: : an Arab slave raiding band's ENTIRE royal family as an example to those who raided the black Zulu Tribesmen; who were her loyal
: : friends and frequent hunting companions.
: : A private tutor was her schooling. In 1896, a U.S. law court declared her natural parents to be criminally insane and ordered that Marguerite alone be given her parents' vast fortune. Her parents died in a private mental facility in 1907.
: : Marguerite proved to be a whiz at financial stocks. She also
: : set up free modern medical clinics for the local poor of all races-as well as giving Mausers and auto-pistols to the poor
: : locals so that they could better defend themselves against outlaws of all kinds.
: : Amidst this happy life came the Boer War of 1899-1902. Marguerite
: : had just married a local Afrikaner, Willem DeBoer, when a band of renegade English settlers attacked her grandfather's plantation.
: : Her husband and family were slaughtered and the plantation was torched. Bad mistake. Her wealth was intact. With it, her vengeance against the British Empire was wrought. Her activities
: : here included the dynamiting of a troop train that killed 1200
: : British regulars of the elite "Black Watch" unit.
: : Marguerite even put a contract out on Queen Victoria's life. Only
: : her 1901 death prevented Her Majesy's assassination.
: : In 1902, the Boers surrendered. Marguerite simply shot a British messenger and stole his motorcycle and rode it to German Southwest Africa; where she allied herself with General Lettow Von Vorbeck.
: : Her plan was simple: A superwar with Germany and the United States vs. the Allies. To that end she played a double role: using her vast fortune; she establihed free medical clinics all over the British, Russian, Japanese, and French Empires. She also monitored, with Hans Dressler posing as her husband, the colonial
: : military activities of these empires and reported them to German Intelligence.
: : But the Kaiser's stupidity caused war to erupt prematurely in 1914. Marguerite was an adept spy and terrorist... However, the Easter Uprising of 1916 in Ireland back-fired badly. Hans Dressler
: : escaped by hopping a frieghter to then neutral Spain where he caught a train to Switzerland and then back to Germany. He transferred to the German Flying Corps where he served as a fighter pilot until the war ended. He then joined a secret German faction in the Azores dedicated to a new Reich.
: : Marguerite, meanwhile, moved to the neutral America. When the U.S.
: : entered WWI; she raised money for the war effort and won much praise for fighting for veterans' medical benefits.
: : Marguerite paid off the British with $500 million to avoid prosecution for her various misdeeds. The cash-strapped U.K. accepted.
: : On December 5th, 1918, Marguerite was granted a full pardon.
: : To rebuild her fortune-still very vast-Marguerite joined the Challenger-Summerlee expidition to find a "Lost World"...
: : Well, what do you think?
: :
: :
: Very good story!
: :
G3A3: Nice detail, but several things bother me. Boers and Zulus really didn't get along. They were enemies of the blood. I can't see Marguerite getting within a country mile of one. It is difficult for me to believe that the baby daughter of a fabulously rich family would have anything to fear from a gypsy and the 1800's version of the "Psychic Friends Network." I certainly can't see her having to flee for her life.

According to your outline, Marguerite's parents go over the deep end when she is 13, yet she gets full control of the family fortune. No. No. No. She would most certainly have been assigned a guardian at that age and she would not be able to gain control of the money until she had come of age. Dad, mom, or both must have had something on the ball to amass a fortune before going over the edge as well. Howard Hughs types I suppose.You do realize, of course, what is likely to happen to Marguerite if both her parents end up gathering spiders and rats with Renfield in Carfax Abby don't you? Do you think that one day Snowy is going to be seeing her on visiting days only?

Essentially, you have Marguerite inheriting and controling a fortune, destroying Arab slavers ( sure they would have messed with the Zulu in the late 1800's? ) and other warrior nations, fighting a war with the British, doubling dad's fortune, getting married and loosing a family, getting a very good education from A tutor, and establishing an international medical - spy network between the ages of 13 and 35. 22 years all told. Quite a feat, especially when one remembers that most of these objectives were accomplished before the age of 18 when Marguerite had reached a point where she could seriously endanger the life of the queen of England right smack in the middle of the world's greatest empire. I'd say Marguerite could give Alexander a run for his money.

And, of course, we have no idea from this what she did at Jutland. And it was what she did at Jutland that got the German's upset with her.

The Third Reich was born with Adolph in the 1930's when Marguerite was in her 50's. About the time Hitler's forces were over running Europe and the death camps were in full swing, she was almost 60.

I don't doubt that she is running from assassins and that she is in her late 20's or very early 30's.

Steve Faust