little wall space was left was covered with photographs and other memorabilia from her father's life. Aelfraed had offered to remove them and place them in storage, but she had declined, preferring instead to leave it as a shrine to his memory.
Technically, it's my office now, but it'll be some years before I can truly claim it as my own.
She went up to the door of the room safe, turned the chair to face into the room, and locked the wheels. Aelfraed and Vlad stood in front of her.
"First things first. Don't inform Sir Edward of my disability yet."
"As the Privy Councilor who oversees Order operations, Madam, he needs to know."
"Eventually, yes, but not right away. We need these next few days. If we tell him now, he may inform the Council, and they may move against me before we can counter them. Even if he doesn't tell them, he has his hands full at the moment defending us. I won't add to his burden. Let's apply LeClerc's advice and just give it until Monday."
"Very well, Madam."
"Good. Now, what was found in my bedroom?"
Aelfraed flashed chagrined expression. "Dr. LeClerc and I examined the entire carpet in the children's bedroom; I even had some footmen move the bed. I am sorry to say we found nothing."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Nothing at all?"
"We did find a spot beside the bed that had been cleaned with bleach, but nothing else."
"Someone must have removed the evidence. Perhaps the autopsies will reveal something."
"I wouldn't count on it," Holt said as he walked into the room.
"Pray tell, why not?"
"The bodies have disappeared."
Her gut clenched, but she felt her temper flare. "What?!"
"I was with Doc LeClerc when he went to retrieve the first. We found the remains of your aunt and all the slain guards gone. These's no record of them being removed, but the compartments were empty. At the risk of sounding morbid, it's as if they just got up and walked out."
She couldn't contain herself any longer. "What a bloody cockup!"
"Madam, please!" Aelfraed said.
"Oh, shut it! There's no excuse for this. Where the bloody hell were the guards?"
"The morgue isn't normally guarded, since it's in the security block."
"And nobody saw a bloody thing."
"That is not impossible," Vlad said. "Had I wanted to steal a body, no one would see me, or remembered it."
"Besides," Holt continued, "we're still in the transition of replacing the security guards with paramilitary troops. Lt. Maudine has yet to reassign a full compliment to the house, and is reluctant to do so, feeling that would leave the compound understaffed. Depending upon when the thefts occurred, there may not have been anyone in the block to notice."
She made an effort to control herself. "All right, it couldn't be helped. In that case, all we have to go on is the information the nurse will give us. Aelfraed."
"Yes, Madam?"
"As soon as security finishes interrogating her, check out her statement. We have until Monday to get to the bottom of this, otherwise the Privy Council may take it out of our hands."
"Yes, Madam. Will that be all?"
"For now; thank you."
He nodded and turned to leave. Holt made to follow him out.
"Just a minute, Mr. Holt. Would you please stay?"
He and Aelfraed exchanged questioning looks, but he nodded and the butler left as he turned back to face her.
"Close the door, please." He did so then went to stand in front of her. Vlad drifted around behind her to make room.
"First, I want to express my gratitude towards your actions of the past few days, particularly your attempted rescue with Aelfraed and Mrs. Widget. I plan to have you Mentioned in Despatches, at least as soon as I've recovered."
He looked flabbergasted, but he managed a nod. "Thank you, Ma'am."
"You're welcome; you deserve it. Secondly, I believe we need to restructure the way the manor and estate are secured. I believe it is inefficient to have two separate contingents, the house guards and the estate paramilitary force; at the very least it allowed Mandy to usurp her own private army without the estate force even being aware. I realize that the replacement of the depleted house guard with estate troops is meant to be only temporary, but I believe it should be permanent."
"Yes, Ma'am, I agree."
"Good, because I'd like you to coordinate with Lt. Maudine to complete the transition as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once I'm on my feet again, no pun intended, I'll contact Sir Edward Penbryn about providing us with extra troops, so we're not shorthanded."
"Me?"
"Yes; why not? You've been part of the house contingent for four years now, even if Mandy kept you isolated from the rest of the guards. You know how it operated better than anyone except Aelfraed. I need you to get the transferred troops up to speed as quickly as possible."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Very good. Of course, once that's complete, I won't need you as a bodyguard anymore, so I've decided--"
"You needn't say anything more, Ma'am, I understand."
Caught off guard, she did a mental double take. "Oh? And pray tell, what do you understand?"
"That I have failed you, and you are having me reassigned."
Her mind skipped a track. Where did that come from? "Do not presume, Mr. Holt, I was thinking no such thing. I plan to put you in charge of the house contingent."
He looked startled, but when he recovered he gave her a grim look. "That would not be a good idea."
She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't understand."
"For one thing, I'm only a lance corporal, and only a decade older than yourself."
She felt her irritation flare. "Immaterial, considering your experience."
"With all due respect, no, it's not. Older, higher ranking non-commissioned officers will be reluctant to follow my orders. You can't have that kind of dissension in the ranks."
"I honestly doubt Lt. Maudine would assign anyone with a higher rank than you to the house, at least to start, and we can deal with the age issue."
"Perhaps, but I was a Royal Marine for only a year before I was transferred to the Order. Even most of the privates have more duty experience than I do."
"Not where it counts!"
"But that's where I failed."
Her temper flared. "Bloody hell! Talk sense, man!"
"First, by deserting you I made it possible for Miranda to capture you, which very nearly resulted in your being usurped."
"If you remember, I ordered you to go."
"And it was my duty to disobey that order since your life was jeopardy. Second, I allowed the nurse to pass unchallenged. Had it not been for the Vampire's intervention, you would be dead now."
"You had no reason to be suspicious of her."
"On the contrary, I should be suspicious of everyone, where your safety is concerned. At the very least I should have accompanied her so I could keep an eye on her."
"Hmph. I can't argue with that, but ultimately no harm was done, and you learned from your mistake. I think your self-recrimination is both undeserved and counter-productive."
"Perhaps, but you don't need me anymore regardless; you have him now."
"Vlad can be my new bodyguard, but he can't replace you where you'd do the most good."
"You could place him in charge of manor security."
"My talents would be wasted supervising infants and toddlers," Vlad rumbled.
"I've been doing some reading on you, and what I've learned tells me you were an excellent leader."
"Perhaps." He spoke in a mocking tone. "But that was many centuries ago, and much has changed since then."
"This is pointless," she said. "Mr. Holt, I don't have time to wet-nurse you through your feelings of guilt. I need you to do your job, and I expect you to comply. Am I clear?"
"I'm sorry, but in good conscience I cannot guarantee I can do that well enough anymore. Therefore, I request a transfer."
&
nbsp; She was so stunned she could almost have slipped out of the chair. "I beg your pardon?"
"I'll give you a formal request in writing this afternoon."
"I couldn't possibly process it before Monday."
"I ask that you expedite it. There's no sense in keeping me here longer than is necessary."
"No, you can't do this. I won't permit it."
"Please, Ma'am, don't make this difficult. I really believe it's for the best, and a good director should know when that's true."
She couldn't get her mind around it. But maybe he's right. "I don't know what to think. Very well, if that's what you wish, I'll approve it and put it through as soon as I have it in my hands. But it will still take a few days to work its way through the system. Until then, I would consider it a favor if you would work with Lt. Maudine like I asked."
"Certainly, Mum, I would be honoured."
She broke out in a huge grin. "Mum?"
He looked mortified. "I'm sorry, that just slipped out."
"No, I like it! And we can't let you leave without throwing you a party."
Now he looked horrified. "Is that really necessary?"
She flashed a lopsided smirk. "Think of it as one last ordeal."
He looked like he would throw up at any moment, but he nodded. "Very good, Mum. Will that be all?"
"Yes; dismissed."
He saluted and left.
Once he was gone, she fell into a pit of despondency. He had been her companion for so long, she couldn't imagine being without him.
How will I get along?
"Take me to my bedroom, please. I need to lie down."
"Yes, My Master." Vlad gripped the handles and wheeled her out of the office.
They took the service elevator up to the third story, passed through the solar into the west wing, then down the grand hall past the library. The south end of the wing contained the suite for the family matriarch; it had been her mother's while she lived. Next door stood the children's bedroom, which was currently her room. It was connected to a nanny's bedroom that in turn accessed a nursery for babies and toddlers. None of the rooms were very large, and Differel often wondered how her ancestors were able to raise large families without becoming overcrowded.
A guard armed with an assault rifle stood with his back to the library in the dead-end hall that provided access to all the rooms. He snapped to attention as Vlad wheeled her into the bedroom and closed the door. The south wall was also the exterior wall of the wing, and it was lined with windows. Under the easternmost sat a toy chest. She hadn't played with most of its contents in months, and she wondered if she ever would again. Against the eastern wall sat a study desk, next to the door that led into the boudoir of the matriarch suite. In the northern wall stood the door that opened onto the outside hall; beside it sat a chifforobe that contained her clothes, and on the other side lay a linen chest filled with sheets, blankets, towels, and such. Towards the west end stood a door that entered the nanny's room, while in the west wall was the door to her bathroom; had there been a nanny in residence, she would have had to share it with her. The east half of the room was dominated by a play table which she rarely used anymore, while the west half contained her canopy bed. On the north wall above the linen chest hung a flatscreen TV directly across from the bed, which was connected to a satellite dish on the roof.
Vlad rolled the wheelchair beside the bed, picked her up, and laid her on the mattress, helping her to get comfortable.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure, Master."
"I won't need you anymore for now, if you want to go rest."
"I can rest here, but rest assured, I will know if danger threatens."
"Very well, if you prefer."
He nodded, dissolved into shadow, and disappeared below the bed, but moments later a black cat with glowing red eyes jumped onto the end of the mattress.
"Vlad?"
"Yes, My Master." His deep, rumbling bass sounded very strange coming from a small feline form.
"I thought real Vampires couldn't change their shape."
"That is true, Master."
"Oh, so, this is more of your 'Dark Arts' knowledge?"
"Yes, Master. I can assume many shapes. I can become shadow, mist, or dust; I can take the form of a spider, a cat, an owl, a bat, a