I hugged Gordon, a gesture made more palatable by my little victory with the contracts. Then I scooted out the door, right behind Roux.
Just when I thought we were home free, Gordon called out sharply.
“Wait!”
I gulped and turned slowly, bracing myself for an onslaught of magic. Would Gordon probe my mind as he had before? Would he try to wipe my memory, as Grepper had done to his Hot Young Thing?
“Yes?” My voice wavered.
Gordon’s eyes pierced mine. Then he cleared his throat and murmured, “Just a moment.”
When he disappeared into the study, Roux squeezed my hand and whispered, “If he tries something, run for the stairs.”
God, I hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.
Gordon returned, carefully rolling my father’s painting. He slid it carefully into the storage tube, then handed it to me.
“You take it. My gift to you and your sister. I love you all, you know. Your whole family.”
He said it so gruffly, so genuinely, that a corner of my heart melted. No matter how I searched for a hint of a lie, I couldn’t find one. Just sincere, bottomless sorrow.
Which made me more conflicted than ever. What did it all mean?
I found myself hugging him again. “Thank you, Gordon. For everything.”
Then I peeled away and walked out the door, waving goodbye.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
GENEVIÈVE
We arrived back home late. Extra-late, in fact, since Roux and I had stopped for dinner before making the final leg of the journey to the château.
How did it go?Mina had texted me earlier to ask.
Surprisingly well. Details tomorrow,I’d promised.
The hair on the back of my neck stood when we drove past the turnoff to Claudette’s home and the police station in Auberre.
Roux took a hand off the steering wheel to squeeze mine.
I closed my eyes, going from melancholy to grateful. We’d been through so much together, and he’d always stuck by my side.
He did the same when we made the turn for home, near the spot where we’d been attacked, and again when we passed the chapel. I pulled his hand to my lips for a quick kiss, then released it to let him park.
He turned off the engine, but I didn’t move. I just sat, gazing at the château. Only a few weeks ago, I’d arrived here, clueless and reeling from another bad breakup. Now, that felt like a lifetime ago. I felt wiser. Tougher. Even more loved — not just by family members, but by a special someone.
Averyspecial someone with stripes and a tail. I grinned at the wall before me.
“Everything okay?” Roux asked softly.
I smiled at him. “Sorry. All good.”
We exited the car and ascended the stairs to the massive front doors. I looked up, thinking of all the different times and circumstances I’d faced those doors, from skipping through as a child, to greeting guests at one of my grandmother’s huge parties, to entering, crying, after my father’s funeral, and more recently, my grandmother’s. But the good times outweighed the bad, such as the wedding we’d recently “staged” for Mina and Marius.
So much had changed over the years, but the sense of connection was stronger than ever. To my past, and to all the people we’d welcomed here over the years. And a profound sense of connection to the man I entered with now.
I gripped Roux’s hand and stepped through the doors.
