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"Can I come and join you as well?" She sidled up to Alexia and winked at her

"Genevieve, you don’t knohen to give up, do you?"

Conall wore a very as I could build without supernatural or govern thought You may visit us, Genevieve, but that is all"

"Spoilsport"

"Shall we?" suggested Conall, gesturing at the exit

The four of them filed out of the now-abandoned hive house Alexia paused to turn and look at it thoughtfully They ht make use of it as well After all, Alexandria was a port city If they were going to i like a tradeswoman"

"No," said Prudence

Conall stepped out into the street Alexia considered reave up In Alexandria, they were bound to be a spectacle whatever they did

She shifted her daughter to her other hip The baby’s eyes were half closed and she was nodding off, the victi, then, Prudence, my dear"

"No," muttered Prudence softly

Madaht be saying no because she doesn’t like her name? She never says no when you use an endearment"

Alexia stopped, floored by the idea "Do you think? Is that true, le?" She used Lord Akeldama’s favorite moniker for Prudence

"Yes," said Prudence

"Prudence?"

"No!" said Prudence

"Goodness, Genevieve, youWhat should we call her, do you think?"

"Well, she has an excessive number of names Why not wait until she’s a little older? She can choose for herself Can’t you, sweetheart?"

"Yes!" said Prudence, orically

"There, you see? Takes after her mother already"

"What could you mean by that?" queried Alexia archly

"Likes her oay, doesn’t she?" suggested the Frenchwo about," replied Lady Maccon with a great deal of dignity With which she took off at a brisk pace, keeping an eye to her husband’s rather distinguished backside as it wandered down the street under the waning Egyptian moon

CHAPTER TWENTY

In Which Ti than the first, Lord and Lady Maccon, their daughter, the Tunstells and their twins, the acting troupe, one nursemaid, five vampires, and seven drones arrived at the port of Southampton on a blustery day in late April of 1876 Such a crowd had mostly taken over the ship and proceeded, in remarkably fine fettle after such an extensive journey, to take over the train to London

London was ill prepared for such an invasion It was also not quite the same London as when they had departed

Lord Maccon, for one, returned to his pack to find that his previous Beta had erated to Scotland for an unspecified indenture and that a young dandy of an Alpha waited tentatively in his place

Biffy handed him a letter from Professor Lyall, tears in his eyes Alexia, unabashed, read it over her husband’s ar ay would beBiffy to the best of h, as you may now already have sht, perhaps, youhient upon such a tiypt and a well-earned retire that, Alexia asked, "How did he know your plans? You didn’t discuss it with him ahead of time, did you?"

"No, but that’s Randolph for you"

They continued with the letter

"Our Biffy is part of thistimes require a London dandy for a London Pack Try not, ht of your own abilities as Alpha He will never be that kind of wolf I believe he is what our pack will need in the future, regardless"

Alexia looked up at Biffy The young olf see a more intense eht have predicted What had happened while they were in Egypt?

"Biffy," asked Alexia, because she had no subtlety, "did sonificant occur between you and Lyall while ere away?"

Biffy hung his head "He promised he would come back to me eventually When ere all ready Ten, twenty years, he said Not so long for an i old "But it feels like a very long ti love

Biffy nodded sadly

The earl, sensitive to his pack s, drew Alexia’s attention back to Lyall’s letter before she could continue interrogating the young dandy

The letter continued

"Don’t tell Biffy yet He isn’t ready to know his future Not the one that I envision for him But he is ready to learn how to lead a pack, and you, , I remain faithfully your friend, Professor Randolph Lyall"