“And what are your plans, Henrik?” Mina asked, picking her words carefully.
He barely looked up from the newspaper. “Time will tell.”
The thing was, she couldn’t evict him. Henrik had rented the caretaker’s cottage on the edge of the château grounds — a place that had been sold decades earlier and was now in the hands of an absentee landlord. It had been empty for years, but Henrik seemed comfortable enough there to stay for a while. Not an idea any of us relished, even if he had saved our asses in Switzerland by alerting us to the vampires’ arrival.
“And your plans, Roux?” Mina asked in a more encouraging tone.
I looked at Gen, who blushed.
Stay. The longer, the better,she whispered into my mind.
“Better watch out,” Bene warned. “When a cat settles in, it’s hard to get rid of him.”
“Who says I want to get rid of him?” Gen retorted. “Or, wait. Are you talking about yourself?”
Bene wagged a finger at her. “Oh, I see through you, lady. You’re just after my coffee machine.”
I sipped from my mug, then nodded. So did Marius.
Bene snorted. “You know you’ll miss me when I’m gone.”
“We’ll try to,” Marius muttered.
Mina kept her eyes on me, reminding me of her question.
“Um, I’d like to stay a while,” I said as evenly as I could.
Forever,I added, saving that part for Gen’s mind only.
She flashed me a radiant smile, and Mina grinned knowingly.
“So thisisa long-term thing,” she observed.
“Of course it is,” Bene filled in. “I could see it coming from miles away. But I see advantages in this for all of us.”
“Advantages?” I growled.
Bene nodded cheerily. “Like you relaxing a little, champ. Maybe even letting the rest of us sleep in occasionally.” Helaughed at Gen’s expression. “If he does, you get full credit. If he doesn’t, we’ll blame it on him.”
“How is everything always my fault?” I protested.
Bene smirked. “Because you’re in charge, buddy. But not for long, so enjoy it while you can.”
Gen’s eyes sparkled. “You want to tell them, or should I?”
“Tell us what?” Mina asked.
Everyone looked over.
I finished my toast, drawing out the suspense.
“Tell us what?” Bene insisted.
I flicked the crumbs from my fingers and took another sip of coffee.
“He’s torturing us on purpose,” Bene muttered.
“Payback for all the bad jokes,” Marius commented.
