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"I will help," said Miss Tarabotti brightly
"Oh, you will, will you? I knew you were going to take every opportunity to interfere with my work, insufferable wo well enough now She glanced about: everyone seemed to be suitably busy, so she slid in close to him and nibbled delicately at one side of his neck
Lord Maccon juray frock coat The hehtly
"Stop that!"
"I a into his ear "You should put ood use Otherwise, I will have to coroaned "Fine, right You can help with the paperwork"
She sat back "Was that so hard?"
He raised both eyebrows and shifted his protective hand so she could partly see the result of her teasing
Miss Tarabotti cleared her throat "Was that so difficult?" She rephrased her question
"I suspect you are ingly
Miss Tarabotti had a brief horrific flashback to the state of his office last she had visited "I a to runmost put-upon
After that, cleanup proceeded with re to understand how Lord Akeldaly efficacious They ed to be everywhere at once She wondered howfop, apparently too silly or too drunk, watching everything
By the tihost--arrived, everything was basically in order The prehly, vampire statements taken, prisoners and olves secured, and soed to find Lord Maccon a pair of ill-fitting knickerbockers Above and beyond the call of duty, Biffy, utilizing a few stray metal coils from one of Dr Neebs’s machines, had twisted Miss Tarabotti’s hair into a beautiful rendition of the latest updo out of Paris
Lord Akelda, with the eyes of a proud parent, his boys work, said approvingly to Biffy, "Lovely job, my dear" Then to Alexia, "Do you see, et yourself a nice French maid"
Mr Sieents Miss Tarabotti had to speakhier around
"Justiceto work for BUR and support the system, you must do so all the time, not simply when you find it convenient"
Eyes riveted on the line of congealed blood across the lower part of her neck, he wheedled, "Just a short visit, enough for a ave hients and a co notations and passing things to the earl to sign At first they had been entirely shocked to find him in human form, but the sheer mountain of cleanup to be done at the Hypocras Club rateful than surprised to have him available and competent
Miss Tarabotti tried to be helpful, but her eyes were becoainst Lord Maccon’s broad side Eventually, the earl shifted his operation to the entry room of the club and sat them both down on the red couch there Someone made tea Lord Akeldama enthroned hinity, Miss Tarabotti soon found herself curled up on the couch, head pillowed on Lord Maccon’s hard thigh, snoring softly
The earl, issuing orders and signing forms, stroked her hair with one hand, in defiance of Biffy’s protestations that this wouldof brass octopuses, slept through the reht She did not awaken upon the arrival or the departure of the potentate and his argurowls of annoyance at the politician’s obtuseness only seemed to lull her further into dreaainst Dr Caedes over the disposition of the Hypocras Club’s gadgetry and research notes She slept through Lord Akelda, the sunrise, the release of the olves--now back in human form--and Lord Maccon’s explanation of events to his pack
She even slept through the earl gently transferring her into Professor Lyall’s ar press, her head, and thus identity, covered by one of Lord Akeldama’s ever-present lace handkerchiefs
She did not, however, sleep through her mother’s shrieks upon her arrival back at the Loontwill town house Mrs Loontaiting up for them in the front parlor And she was not pleased
"Where have you been all night, young lady?" said her mother in the sepulchral tones of the deeply put-upon
Felicity and Evylin appeared in the doorway of the parlor, wearing nightdresses and draped in heavy pelisses and shocked expressions Upon noticing Professor Lyall, they squeaked in alarm and dashed back up to their rooms to dress as quickly as possible, horrified that decoru downstairs
Miss Tarabotti blinked at her mother sleepily "Uh" She could not think I was off ot abducted by scientists, attacked by a olf, and then spent the re hands with a naked peer of the realain