“I need to speak to Etienne,” the person on the other side of the door said. “Let me in.”
“Addie?” Etienne exclaimed, nearly dropping his pince-nez.
The impromptu footman swung the door open.
“Addie, darling, what are you doing here?” Etienne stretched his hands out to her.
Addie beamed, throwing her arms around him. “Silly, you know I can always find you when I want you.” That was her newly discovered talent.
“Dangerous, that,” Dominic said dryly.
“You should be at home; dawn is not far off!” Etienne set her down. “You took a risk, darling!”
“I know, but I was careful. I have to tell you something important!” Addie said earnestly, clutching at his coat.
“What is it, dearest?”
“Did you know French vampires can be killed with baguettes?”
Etienne stared at her.
Addie continued. “The only problem is, the effort of driving baguettes into a heart is verypain-staking!”
Kendrick burst into laughter. Miraculously, so did Dominic.
Addie beamed.
Etienne slowly closed his eyes, looking like a man desperately clinging to the fringes of his sanity.
This only made Kendrick laugh harder.
“Did you get my joke?” Addie asked sweetly.
“Very clever, Addie, my love,” Etienne said in a choked voice. “Did you come up with it yourself?”
“Well, you’ve been teaching me French, and I often like to sit outside the French bakery shop around the corner before dawn because they begin baking the bread and it smells so wonderful, even though I can’t eat it, and listening to them speak is like practicing, which you said I need to do, and so when they were talking about the bread?—”
“I see.”
“It just came to me!” Addie said proudly.
Dominic had to brace his hands on his knees to stop chuckling.
Kendrick walked up and kissed Addie on the cheek. “What a marvelous end to a night, Addie. Masterful work.”You’ve made Dominic laugh. How long has it been since he’s done that?
Joseph emerged from the servants’ green door, wiping his hands on a cloth. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. “My liege, you have a caller at the tunnel entrance.”
“Practically inundated with visitors tonight.” Kendrick raised an eyebrow. “Who is it?”
Joseph half-smiled. “Miss Dryden.”
“Oh, you missed my joke,” Addie said.
Kendrick patted her shoulder. “I’m sure Joseph and Etienne would love for you to tell it again.” He excused himself and hurried down the servants’ passages to the cellar door. Down here, it smelled so much more salubrious already, though more work was necessary. Inside, the tunnel entrance had been unbolted and stood open.
“Miss Dryden?” Kendrick said, stepping through.
For a moment, the tunnel was empty of occupants. The next, Genevieve appeared in the shadows.
