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"What, and spoil the surprise?" I smiled as Connell opened the door "Where would be the fun in that?"

The Walshes’ forbidding old butler came directly to answer the door, doubtless astonished by the prospect of anyone calling at such an unseee to see Lord Walsh," I told the old winge before he could open his ent business"

The butler reared back, the skin surrounding his nose drawing up as he ignored , milord"

Dredmore brushed past him "He will see me now"

"It’s a terribly private faed butler as I followed suit "We’ll wait for him in his study"

It took Lord Walsh less than three minutes to stalk into the roo yolk on his chin and he still wore hisjacket and what looked like fur-lined bed slippers "Lucien Good God,of this?"

"Your wife ca, Lord Walsh" I waited for him to lower himself to notice me "She believes your deceased first wife has cast a spell on her But as it turns out, you’re the one who has been bespelled"

The first tinge of purple bloomed in his florid cheeks "How dare you--"

"With very little trepidation, actually" I closed the distance between us and lifted ize in advance for roin with as much force as I could muster, and stepped back as he shrieked and dropped to the carpet He didn’t vo to be difficult Lucien, please hold his head for a moment"

Dredmore came up from behind and clapped his hands over Walsh’s ears

"Thank you" I grabbed the ers into his ed "Watch your boots" I sidestepped the spew of Walsh’s breakfast, waiting until he coughed out a glea a kerchief to pick it up, I wrapped it carefully before passing it to Dredmore "Don’t s this"

"I’ve no desire to" He pocketed the bundle

Lord Walsh finished vo shortly thereafter and, once Lucien had helped hiies "I say Terribly sorry Must have eaten so that was" He trailed off as he looked at both of us with visible bewilderment "Do I know you?"

"Dad? What the devil?" A bleary-eyed Montrose burst into the roo a little as he rushed to his father’s side

"You can co outside the door "This concerns you as well"

The ties of her lace fichu while she surveyed the messy scene "It see "You should perhaps leave so that wewith Lord Walsh anyet the spirit stone you shoved down his throat out of his belly"

"He will suffer soaps in his memory," Dredmore added, "but they should not be permanent"

As Miranda shrank back, I eyed the mess on the floor "You’ll probably want to have the carpet cleaned right away When egg yolk dries it’s as hard to coot to the door before Miranda and closed it "Thank you, Lucien"

He leaned back against the door "My pleasure, Char to stand behind a wingbacked chair "Monty, call for the nobbers Hurry"

"Drede, Monty I wouldn’t twitch an eyelash" I went to Miranda, and dragged her over to face the still-wheezing Nolan Walsh "It’s time to tell your father exactly what you and your husband have been up to"

"My husband is dead," she protested, at the sahter is a "

"On the contrary, her husband is still alive and hiding so to be a Lost Tiaped at me "My dear Lestin died in battle"

"Your husband faked his death to get out of the roundwork for the Reaper invasion" I nodded at Nolan Walsh "While he didn’t have any powers for Zarath to use, I iine your father’s wealth, power, and influence proved quite useful, once the Aramanthan took control of his mind and body"

Lord Walsh looked horrified "Miranda, what have you done?"