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Lord Maccon looked exasperated, marched over and snatched the stack of rolls away They fell to the floor with a clatter and he cursed his sun-born clumsiness But for all his sham annoyance at her presence, the earl was secretly pleased to have someone hom to talk out his theories Usually he used his Beta in that capacity, but with Lyall out of town, he’d been pacing aboutto hiistry"

"Could he have coested Alexia

Lord Maccon shrugged "You kno territorial vampires are Even without any hive ties, they tend to stay in the area of original blood metamorphosis It is possible he traveled, but frorave purpose would drive a vampire from his natural habitat? That is the information I’ve sent Lyall to hunt down"

Miss Tarabotti understood BUR headquarters were stationed in central London, but they had offices all over England that kept tabs on the supernatural set in other parts of the country During the Age of Enlightenment, when the supernatural became accepted instead of persecuted, what had been born out of a need to control turned into a , now employed olves and vahost or two Alexia also suspected there were a few sundowners still left ah not used ecoach during the day and in wolf forht He should be back before the full moon with a report fro for, at any roads"

"Professor Lyall started in Canterbury?" Miss Tarabotti guessed

Lord Maccon spun to stare at her intently His eyes were old, and particularly sharp in the dirowled "What, guess correctly?" Alexia’s dark eyes crinkled in amusement

"No, make me feel predictable" Alexia smiled "Canterbury is a port city and a center for travel If our mystery vampire came from anywhere, it was most likely there But you do not think he came from outside London, do you?" Lord Maccon shook his head "No, that does not feel right He set some indicative scent froed Our little friend had the death odor of the Westminster hive about him"

Miss Tarabotti blinked, startled Her father’s books said nothing on this subject Werewolves could smell vampire bloodlines? Could vampires tell the difference betolf packs as well? "Have you spoken with the local queen?" she said

The earl nodded "I went straight to the hive house after leaving you that night She completely denies any association with your attacker If it was possible for Countess Nadasdy to be surprised, I would have said she looked shocked at my news Of course, she would have to pretend such an appearance if she had metamorphosed a new vampire without proper paperwork But usually the hive is proud to have made larvae They host a ball, demand turnday presents, call in all the field drones, that kind of extravagance BUR registry is customarily part of the ceremony Local olves are even invited" His lip curled, showing several pointed teeth "It is a sort of ’stick it in your face’ to the packs We have not gained any new members in over a decade" It was no secret how hard it was to make new supernaturals Since it was impossible to tell beforehand how aers ht be blessed with youth, the deaths were all the more keenly felt Of course BUR knew, and so did Miss Tarabotti, that low population numbers were part of what kept the supernatural set safe from public outcry When they had first presented thee-old terrors only upon realization of ho supernatural folk there really were in existence Lord Maccon’s pack nuhtly se

Miss Tarabotti cocked her head to one side "Where does that leave you,vaally and outside of hive and BUR authority"

Alexia sed "Inside Westminster territory?"

The earl nodded "And of Countess Nadasdy’s blood-line"

"The countessmad"

"You put it mildly, my dear Miss Tarabotti As queen, of course, she insists your homicidal friend was fro of how bloodlines set without doubt He has generations of experience with the Westminster Hive and the best nose of any of us You know Lyall’s been with the Woolsey Pack far longer than I?"

Alexia nodded Everyone kne recently Lord Maccon had risen to the earldoiven to wonder idly why Professor Lyall had not tried for Alpha himself Then she assessed Lord Maccon’s undoubtedlyappearance and deduced the reason Professor Lyall was no coward, but he was also no idiot

The Alpha continued "He could have been a direct hters But then again, Lyall also noted that the countess has not e over a female drone in his lifetime She is understandably bitter over this fact"

Miss Tarabotti frowned "So you have a genuine mystery on your plate Only a female vampire, a queen, can metamorphose a new vampire Yet here we find ourselves with a new vampire and no maker Either Professor Lyall’s nose or Countess Nadasdy’s tongue is lying" Which explained ard appearance Nothing orse than olf and vaation "Let us hope Professor Lyall finds you so

Lord Maccon rang the bell for fresh tea "Indeed And, now, enough of ht you tothrough another pile of rove paperwork she had scooped off the floor, waved one of the rabbed the esticulated with out of her hand, looked at it, and huffed in annoyance "Why do you persist in associating with that creature?"

Miss Tarabotti straightened her skirts, draping the pleated hem more carefully over her kid boots She demurred "I like Lord Akeldama"

The earl abruptly looked e! What has he been luring you in with? Little pip-squeak, I shall wallop his scrawny hide to ribbons"

"I suspect heof what little she knew of her vampire friend’s proclivities The olf did not hear her Or perhaps he simply chose not to use his supernatural auditory abilities He paced about, looking vaguely