Duncan laughed. “Don't worry, Cynthia. There will be no mayhem. At least not in your presence."
"Good to know. Okay. I'll put it on my calendar then."
"I look forward to seeing you."
"Mmmhmm. Wait,” Cyn said. “Is Mirabelle in any danger until then? I mean, is Jabril likely to try and snatch her back?"
"It would be foolish on his part, but he might be desperate enough to try, yes. Mirabelle's fortune is considerable and Jabril has treated it as his own for many years now. She will be much safer once she is within the estate, whether with Alexandra or here at the main house. You will be bringing her by tonight?"
"We'd planned to do some shopping first. Your note said midnight."
"I'll send someone over to accompany you, then. Perhaps Mirabelle would enjoy meeting Elke. I don't believe Jabril has a single female among his minions."
"You really think there's any danger?"
"No. Not this soon, but why take the chance?"
"Okay. Elke it is. Should we pick her up?"
"No, she'll be at your door within the hour. Wait for her, Cynthia."
"Like I wouldn't."
He was still laughing when he hung up. Cyn smiled. She liked Duncan. Too bad his boss was such a bastard.
A whole week, she thought. She would have preferred to have everything settled sooner than that, but maybe it was better this way. Mirabelle could recover a little from her traumatic break with Jabril, plus she'd have time to find something beautiful to wear on the big day—nothing like a gorgeous outfit to make a person feel good about herself.
Cyn entered the date on her computer calendar, and then wrote it in big red letters on a sticky note for her refrigerator door.
She quickly scanned the rest of her e-mails, dashing off quick responses to two inquiries from potential new clients—vampires both of them. She attached a list of her standard fees and terms, and then switched over to Google and typed in the search she was really interested in.
As she paged through the results, she stroked the side of her neck, once again retracing the path Raphael's mouth had taken in her dream. The search finally produced the image she was looking for, and she studied it carefully before printing off a couple of pages. The Internet was a wonderful thing. As she waited on the printer, a loud growl from the vicinity of her stomach reminded her she hadn't eaten in awhile—sandwiches with Luci. Delicious, but long ago.
Grabbing up the pages as they came out of the printer, she picked up her now empty coffee cup and clambered back downstairs. After a quick perusal of the offerings in her freezer, she decided to reward herself with a muffin. And not just any muffin, but a giant pouf of calories and sugar specifically designed to fatten Cyn up and help her get a husband. They were the creation of her housekeeper Anna, who was distressed by Cyn's continued singlehood and determined to do something about it. Cyn didn't exactly endorse the woman's marital crusade, but she was happy to eat the muffins ... sparingly. She'd never had one tested, but there was little doubt in her mind that each of the golden treasures was packed with tasty calories. She popped one in the microwave and flipped open her cell phone to call Lonnie.
"Cyn!” he answered. “This is a surprise. Did you get the blood I sent over?"
"Yeah, thanks, Lonnie, listen—"
"You saw my note about making sure she drinks all of it?"
"Note?"
"I left a note in the cooler. Make sure Mirabelle drinks both pints; she won't want to, you'll have to push her, and she can do one now and one later if it's too much all at once."
"Um, yuck, but okay. I've got a question for you."
"Shoot."
"You guys were talking yesterday about Mirabelle drinking from a bag, rather than from the vein. That's what you said, “from the vein."
"Yeah.” Lonnie dragged the word out as if wondering where she was going with it.
"Right, so, do you ever drink from an artery? You know like the ones in the neck that—"
"Yeah, Cyn,” he interrupted. “I know what an artery is. The answer's no."
"No? Like in never?"