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‘Invitations?’ Irene said

‘Notes offering to horsewhip hters’

Irene sed nervously Was it a joke? Should she so much as touch the crab pâté puffs? ‘Soht call that a threat, sir’

‘A threat?’ He looked at her, genuine puzzlement in his eyes ‘Why on earth would you think that?’

She couldn’t quite bring herself to look hi If that was an exa to push it any further ‘They must be people of very limited scope, sir Clearly’

He patted her shoulder fondly His gloves hite kid, soft against her skin, and she could feel the heat of his flesh through theht show its fin, than a deliberate attelamour and seduce her, but she could feel it all the sa her with narrowed eyes, as sharp as a snake She shook her headhi on the other side of the room to a hunched ht eye

The rooh to hold about a hundred and fifty people coes and waiters circulating silently I decoration, with Liechtenstein banners positioned above A string quartet in the corner picked through soht and unobtrusive The whole room had an unwholesome feel to it, a hothouse sort of closeness and oppression, even though the temperature was perfectly nor secrets, so that affected their every word and action

Even ht with ain ‘I’ll be back,’ he said so away’

Between one blink and the next, he was gone

Irene put her glass down before she was tempted to drink even or, or whoever had killed the vampire and taken the book And if this ball was as packed with key society suspects as she expected, here would be the perfect place to gather information

Several conversations and about fifteen minutes later, she’d reached the Yoruban Asohed ot him to visit ‘So, you see,’ she lied with the utures in the literary world I was going to interview Lord Wyndhaic death’ She let her voice trail away artistically