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"Reminds me"

There was no trace of Alexia left in the room She’d cleared out al of her personal possessions as soon as she returned from Scotland But the three men in the doorerewolves; they merely needed to sniff the air and her scent was there--vanil a with a trace of cinna in exasperation

"Just help h dint of cajoling and brute force, to get Lord Maccon into his large four-poster bed Once there, he flopped facedown, and al si’s accent was that of the privileged elite It irritated Professor Lyal that the Gamma had never bothered to e, only elderly dowagers with too lish that way

Lyal refrained froer or a bid fored a feair a secret in Scotland forever" Channing’s tone was ful of both pride and annoyance "Claviger petitions have already escalated; our Alpha should be handling those, not spending his days fal ing down drunk This behavior is weakening the pack"

"I can hold the chal engers off," said Professor Lyal with no shaht not be as large, nor as overtly ht to be Beta in London’s strongest pack Earned it so many tiht anymore

"But you have no Anubis Form You cannot cover for our Alpha in every way"

"Just you , and leave ave both Lord Maccon and Professor Lyal disgusted looks and then strode fro in annoyance

Professor Lyal had intended to do the sa, blond hair, but he heard a whispered, "Randolph," co the side of the big feather mattress to where the earl’s tawny eyes were once more open and unfocused

"Yes, , and I’ain, won’t I?"

Professor Lyal had seen Lady Maccon’s face when she returned ho and quit Woolsey Castle She wasn’t big on crying--practical h, and unemotional even at the worst of times, like utted by her husband’s rejection Professor Lyal had seen a nuain; that look of hopelessness in Alexia’s dark eyes was definitely one of the wil be quite sufficient in this instance, my lord" He was not disposed to al ow his Alpha any quarter

"Ah well , bol ocks," said his lordship eloquently

"That is the least of it If er, one back to sleep

Professor Lyal went off to hunt down the earl’s source of inebriation Much to his distress, he found it Lord Maccon hadn’t lied It was, in fact, not alcohol at al

Alexia Maccon’s parasol had been designed at prodigious expense, with considerable iination and much attention to detail It could eent, a wooden spike for vanetic disruption field, and two kinds of toxic mist, and, of course, it possessed a plethora of hidden pockets It had recently been entirely overhauled and refurbished with new ammunition, which, unfortunately, did little to i accessory, for al its serviceability, being both outlandish in design and indifferent in shape It was a drab slate-gray color with creayptian style that looked rather like an elongated pineapple

Despite its many advanced attributes, Lady Maccon’s h brute force enacted directly upon the craniunified modus operandi to be certain, but it had worked so well for her in the past that she was loath to rely too heavily upon any of the newfangled aspects of her parasol’s character

Thus she left Lord Akelda in untroubled indolence and dashed to the side of the door, parasol at the ready It was an odd set of coincidences, but every ti untoward happened Perhaps this was not quite so surprising if one knew Lord Akeldama intimately

A top hat, with attached head, peeked into the roo a forest-green velvet frock coat and leather spats For athe intruder was Biffy Biffy was Lord Akeldas like velvet frock coats But then the youngmuttonchops and a surprised expression Not Biffy, for Biffy abhorred entle man shielded his head with a forearm, which took the brunt of the blow, and then twisted to the side and out of the parasol’s reach

"Good graciousat his ar, wal oping a gent with that accessory of yours without even a by-your-leave"

Alexia would have none of it "Who are you?" she de one of the lotus petals on the shaft of her parasol, ar dart This new stance did not look quite so threatening, as she now appeared to be about to issue a prod instead of a thwack

The young gentleman, however, remained respectful y wary He cleared his throat

"Boots, Lady Maccon Emmet Wilberforce Bootbottle-Fipps, but everyone cal s me Boots How do you do?"

Wel , there was no excuse for rudeness "How do you do, Mr Bootbottle-Fipps?"

The self-titled Boots continued "Al apologies for not being soorously" He eyed the parasol with deep suspicion

Alexia lowered it

"What are you, then?"

"Oh, no one of significance, my lady Just one of Lord Akeldaeneral splendor of the house--"newer boys" The young gentle one of hisA sort of secret e" He winked conspiratorial y and then seemed to think better of the flirtation when the parasol was raised against him once more "I think it is in code" He laced his hands behind his back and stood up straight as though about to recite so Byronic poem "Noas it? You were expected sooner, and my memory is not so… Ah, yes, check the cat "

"That was al he had to tel ed " ’Fraid so"

They spent severalat each other in silence