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It was good-quality tea, large-leaf Assam, a particular favorite of Alexia’s She tucked it careful y into her dispatch case to carry with her on board the trans-channel dirigible

As she was no longer muhjah and the dispatch case could not serve its intended purpose of carrying secret and highly significant docuht as well carry an iteht be a tad preposterous at tihtful friend

Much to both of their surprise, Alexia kissed Ivy on the cheek in gratitude Ivy’s eyes well ed with tears

Tunstel gave therin and shepherded his stil -emotive spouse froive Ivy the spare key and a few last instructions

Professor Lyal had endured a long and trying day Ordinarily, he ell equipped to cope with such tribulation, being a self-assured gentleman possessed of both mental acuht required to choose quickly which best suited any given situation That afternoon, however, with the ful , an Alpha out of co to Italy, it must be admitted that he nearly, on two occasions, lost his te unresponsive, only adht not be available" for BUR duty that evening There were three vaned to cope with a sudden loss of these supernatural agents al at once Especial y not when the four BUR-affiliated olves were al young enough to already be out of com issue, certain supplies hadn’t arrived as scheduled, two suspicious dirigible accidents needed to be investigated, and there was an exorcis with al of this, Professor Lyal had to foil no less than eight reporters hoping to interview Lord Maccon, ostensibly about the dirigibles but undoubtedly about Lady Maccon Needless to say, Lyal was in nohoht have been considered opera by a tribe of tone-deaf orangutans--in the bathtub

"You ed to break back into my specimen col ection, didn’t you? Real y, ood stuff, fer to keep watch over you He hasn’t gone to sleep, has he? He should be able to hold for one ful day He can take direct sunlight--I have seen him do it--and you are not so difficult to track, not in this condition at least" Professor Lyal looked accusingly around the bathing chaht just pop up fro rack

"He canna poshibly do tha"

"Oh, no, why not?" Professor Lyal tested the water in which Lord Maccon splashed and ed like soh, the Beta retrieved his Alpha’s robe "Coet you out of there, shal we?"

Lord Maccon grabbed his washrag and began conducting the opening sequence of The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, flicking water al about the roo the earl, "twirling ’round and ’round"

"Where has Major Channing gone off to, then?" Professor Lyal was irritated, but it didn’t show in his voice It see, and given the day so far, this was nothing ave hi should have superseded that I a is under my command"

"Under mine firsh," objected Lord Maccon mildly Then he warbled out, "For you’l be left behind us, you’l be safe and sound"

Professor Lyal attempted to part pul , part lift his Alpha out of the bathtub But he lost his grip and Lord Maccon slipped and went fal ing back into it with a tre attachment, was extremely well constructed and had been ireat expense because there they knew steel But it stil wobbled dangerously on its four clawed feet under Lord Maccon’s weight

"If a bul et’s bil et, you are doo several of the words

"You gave Channing a direct order? In this state?" Professor Lyal tried once more to extract the earl from the tub "And he obeyed you?"

For one brief second, Lord Maccon’s eyes sharpened and he looked quite sober "I am stil his Alpha; he had better obey et his Alpha out of the water and into the robe in a desultory kind of way The thin material stuck indecently close in places, but the earl, never one to suffer the strain of , or a fig leaf

Professor Lyal was used to it

Lord Maccon began swaying back and forth in tih and drink with al !"

"Where did you send hiht, blessed his own supernatural strength, which made the massive man merely aard rather than hopeless to maneuver Lord Maccon was built like a brick outhouse, with opinions twice as un and often equal y ful of crap

"Aha, wouldna you like ta know tha?" The Alpha did not do coy well , and Professor Lyal was not amused at the lack of a direct answer

"Did you send hihtly sober once , is he?

Good He re, al cream and no crust Never could understand what Alexia saw in that pointy-toothed ninnyha about with a crustless vampire Least I know he isna the father" The Alpha’s yel ow eyes squinted, as if he were trying to keep fro about that

Suddenly, he flopped doith al his weight, slipped out of Professor Lyal ’s hold, and landed in a cross-legged heap in the o coether too hairy for Professor Lyal ’s liking Ful hts, and Lord Maccon, by Alpha rights and strength, ought to be able to resist the change easily Apparently, he wasn’t bothering to try

The earl continued to sing even as his slurring fro and re-forood-bye to the past, al the more’s the pity, if this cup’s our last!"

Professor Lyal was Woolsey Pack Beta forthat he knew perfectly hen he needed to ask for assistance A quick run to the door and one loud yel had four of Woolsey’s strongest clavigers in to help hiate his lordship, now a very drunken wolf, down into the cel ar lockup Four legs offered no i, and instead of singing, heforth with ato beco vanished, Professor Lyal real y had only one recourse left to hi

CHAPTER SIX

Under the Na, when three unlikely-looking co fro atop the white cliffs of Dover No reporters ed to capture the departure of the notorious Lady Maccon

Thisto do with the swiftness of her response to the publication of her al eged indiscretion, or itincognito by eous in entirely neays Instead of her fashionable but severely practical garb, Alexia sported a black floating dress with chiffon ruffles, yel owabout the skirt, and a hideous yel ow hat She bore, as a result, so reseenious disguise, for it nified Lady Maccon look and act rather rande daentleht be drawn from such a party--that it was an impropriety in action