Page 14 of Fangs, Frost, and Folios
“There could be a journal with some… private information about a certain client of mine. Lord Mortimer absconded with it in some very English expedition over the Khyber Pass just prior to Partition. My client would dearly like his personal property back before human curators come in and start poking into it.”
“And I’m assuming your client is…?” Beatrice spread her arms.
“One of us?” René shrugged. “Mais bien sûr. Of course. Who of us has not been annoyed when some overcurious human makes off with our personal papers?”
It was a perfectly valid and reasonable explanation, and Beatrice didn’t believe a word of it. “We’re looking for something as well,” she said. “Lady Penelope was an old friend of Giovanni’s, and after she passed, she…”
René’s eyes danced. “But of course she left him a personal bequest of some kind. Who am I to question a gift from an old friend? It sounds like we are searching for quite different things, mon amis. Surely the library is big enough for three vampires?”
Giovanni backed away, and Beatrice rose to join him. They walked to the opposite side of the room and lowered their voices, switching to Latin, which René might speak but was far less likely to understand well.
“He could help us look,” Beatrice said.
“Do you trust him?”
“Of course not, but what he’s looking for actually sounds like a more legitimate claim than ours.” Beatrice had to smile. “In this case? Wearethe book thieves.”
“Retrieval specialists.” Giovanni cast an eye over his shoulder. “He’s not dangerous to either of us. He squeaked like a baby bird when I put a knife to his neck.”
“His elemental power is earth.” She looked around. “He can’t manipulate anything here.”
“And yet we both agree he’s lying?”
“I have zero doubt. About what?” Beatrice lifted a shoulder. “It could be anything. Hell, with René, he could be telling the truth and it only sounds like he’s lying, but with him it’s impossible to tell the difference.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right.” He glanced at the blond vampire one more time. “Do you think we should tell Ben and Tenzin?”
“And have Ben fly over here just to chop off something René might miss for a few decades?” She shook her head. “Why bother? I say we help him and he helps us. We’re looking for different things, and six eyes is better than four.”
“We find his journal and we hand it over, and if he finds our play—”
“I do love that you’re so proprietary about it already.”
“It is ours,” he said. “I’m sure Penny would want me to have it. We just haven’t found it yet. But if René finds ours, he’ll hand it over to us? Will he agree to that?”
“He might.” She looked at the dawdling vampire with his smug expression and foppish appearance. “If he doesn’t, it’s simple. We call Terry and have him kicked out of England again.”
“If Terry catches René in England, we might witness a Shakespearean tragedy right in front of us.”
Beatrice turned to René and started walking. “Monsieur du Pont, I think we might have a proposition for you.”
Giovanni left Beatrice and René searching the bookshelves in the library while he went to find a kitchen and some tea.
Great old houses tended to resemble a maze, and this one was no different. It was a Jacobean mansion built around a large central courtyard, rising four full stories to a dark slate roof. The formal rooms and family rooms were on the south side with large windows to capture the light. The library, servants’ quarters, and working rooms of the house were on the north side.
Giovanni had explored a billiard room, an old-fashioned smoking room, and a truly impressive armory before he managed to catch the scent of vinegar and lemon wax in the air. He followed his nose through the winding halls to the butler’s pantry, which in turn led to a large kitchen where a shadowed figure was sitting in the darkness, stirring a spoon in a teacup.
Nick Mortimer looked like a man in grief. There was sorrow in the angle of his forehead, and when he looked up at Giovanni, there were tears in the corners of his eyes.
He quickly sat up straight and cleared his throat. “Dr. Vecchio, pardon me. The staff has retired for the night, but I’m happy to make you a cup of tea if you are looking for one.”
“That would be wonderful.” Giovanni realized the meeting was fortuitous. “I am glad we met, Lord—”
“Oh please. Nick is as formal as I like in my home.”
“Of course, Nick. I wanted to let you know that because of the library’s size, we called in an additional associate to help us catalog. His name is René, and he’ll be assisting Beatrice and me during our work.”
The young man smiled. “The more the merrier, as Aunt Penny used to say.”
