The manpoofedout of sight, and Leo ambled back inside to grab more tonic and start making breakfast.
“Good morning,” he called.
Betrys looked adorably flustered, and his heart did a flip-flop, sort of like a landed trout.The thought made him smile.The more he learned of Betrys, the more he overcame his lingering dislike of her actions.
“I’ll make breakfast.What would you like?”
“I’m hungry,” she announced, her tone loaded with surprise.“I don’t have a chance to break my fast at the mansion.Iseult keeps me busy.”
“Caspar tells me I have some sort of parasite, which is why my scar is giving me so much trouble.Do you know if this has happened before?”
“You think this came from Iseult?”Betrys slid off the sleep-bed, glanced around for a robe.“Let me see.”
Leo stood still while she ran gentle fingers over the scar.
She glanced up at him.“Does it hurt if I push on it?”
Leo sucked in a harsh gasp and stepped from her reach.
Betrys frowned.“I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to hurt you.The area looks swollen.”
Leo opened the cold-box and grabbed a vial.He removed the stopper and knocked back the liquid inside.“This tonic seems to relieve the pain, and the swelling subsides, for a while at least.”
“Can I touch you again?I’ll try not to hurt you.I promise.”
Leo dipped his head in assent and steeled himself for Betrys’s caress.
“Something is moving under there.”
“Great,” Leo said.“Caspar, is there something I can take to kill it?”
Caspar materialized beside Betrys, and Leo saw her start at the suddenness of the man’s appearance.“If the parasite was in your digestive tract, I could help, but since it seems to be embedded in your flesh, someone will have to cut it out.”He waved a hand and a display of knives—both plain and ceremonial appeared on the wall.“Take one of those.They should do the job.”
“Iseult did this to me.”Leo ignored Caspar’s suggestion.
Betrys took an involuntary step back, regret and guilt chasing across her features.“It’s never happened before.I don’t know what to tell you.Everyone else died.”
“Maybe Scarlett will turn up something in her research,” Leo said.“I talked to Saber.Iseult has made enquiries about booking in at the resort.”
“But she seldom leaves the mansion.I think she’s attended two parties since I started working for her.She hired me because she doesn’t leave Spiderus Mansion.Her men never leave either.”
“From what Saber told me, it sounds as if she wants to bring six of her men too.”
“That’s out of character,” Betrys said.“I wonder if she’s tried to contact me.”
“Saber never mentioned anything.”
“She would’ve called my personal com-circle.It’s in my room at the resort.”
“Will she hurt Ricci if she can’t contact you?”
“I don’t know.”
Leo pulled out his communicator and called Saber.
“Bro, it’s me again.You need to go to Betrys’s room and check her com-circle.We need to know if Iseult has tried to contact her.”
“I’ll get back to you,” Saber said.
