"Of course she does," the second man said. He was a darker-haired version of Etienne, though the two men appeared the same age. "Most people do."
"How negative?" The woman sounded wary.
"I believe the phrase she used was 'bloodsucking demons,'" Etienne said.
"Oh, dear." The woman sighed.
"And she thinks our faces contort like on Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
The dark-haired man grimaced. "Nasty show. Gave us all a bad name."
"You've seen it, Bastien?" Etienne sounded surprised.
"No, but I've heard of it. There are a couple of fans at the office. Have you seen it?"
"Yes. It's quite entertaining, really. And Buffy is an interesting little package."
"Can we get back to the subject at hand?" the woman asked--a bit archly. "Etienne, how are you going to explain?"
"I'll just tell her it was the only way to save her. Which it was. I couldn't let her die after she saved my life."
The woman harrumphed, then turned to Bastien. "Did you handle the hospital officials?"
"I didn't have to," the man announced. "We went unseen. We're just lucky they decided Pudge made off with her."
"What about the hospital paperwork on Etienne's corpse?"
"I took that before we left, while Etienne was turning the girl. All I had to do this morning was help the EMTs forget his name, and take the paperwork they had. Oh, and get the paperwork on Etienne's car from the police station."
"Is that all?" the woman asked.
Bastien shrugged at her amusement. "It could have been worse, Mother."
The woman made a face, then turned back to Etienne. "You really have to deal with this Pudge fellow."
"I know." The blond man sounded unhappy. "If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them."
The woman's expression relented somewhat. She patted his knee in a both soothing and affectionate gesture. "Well, I shall think about it. We all will. We'll come up with something."
"Yes," Bastien agreed. "And Lucern will get here later. Between the four of us, we should be able to figure out a solution."
"When is he coming?" Etienne asked.
"A little later. He's working on galleys for his latest masterpiece but promised to come after dinner."
"Which means about midnight," the woman grumped. "In the meantime, I think we should offer our guest a drink."
Rachel ducked quickly out of sight, but she caught a glimpse of the startled expression on Etienne's face as she did. Her heart thumped near her throat. None of them had looked her way, but somehow she must have given away her presence.
"She's been standing outside the door for several minutes," Rachel heard Bastien announce.
"No, she hasn't," Etienne replied.
He suddenly stepped out into the hall, surprising her. Rachel's first instinct was to run. Unfortunately, her body apparently didn't agree. It seemed to be frozen to the spot.
"You are up." He paused a foot away and stared at her.
Rachel stared back, a squeak slipping from her lips.