He chuckled. The French had slipped out, as it had a habit of doing when his mind was preoccupied, and her response had been dry. “Au revoir.”
“À bientôt, mon amour.”
See you soon, yes. Maybe.And still she called him ‘my love’. Did she love him? Truly?
Did it matter?
He vaulted the fence because it was faster, and let himself in through the front door. The house was quiet.
He linked with Noah.“All okay?”
“All fine. Cally is still up. She’s been in her room with Eve since you left. How was Roberto?”
“Still obnoxious.”Antoine took the stairs.“I need you to reach out to all our thrallsand pull them back to here.” He switched tospeaking as soon as Noah was in range. It felt more personal; less like he was controlling a thrall, more like talking to a friend.
“All of them?” Noah sat on his chair outside Cally’s room, where he’d spent so many hours over the past weeks.
“Every single one.”
“Sure.” Noah gave him a puzzled look. “When?”
“Now, if you don’t mind.”
“Uh, right.” He rose, fishing his phone from his pocket as he walked down the hall, and Antoine knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Cally called from the other side.
She lay on the bed in jeans and a half-rumpled blouse with bare feet, Eve in the chair nearby, both of them with the Order’s books open before them. “Working late,” he said. “Have you found anything useful?”
“That depends on how good your Gaeilge is,” Eve replied, not bothering to look up as she turned a page.
Antoine hesitated. “Non-existent, I’m afraid.”
“That’s okay.” Cally smiled as she rose to come to him. “Google Translate is doing most of the heavy lifting.”
He pulled her into his arms; she pressed herself against him. If there was resentment from their earlier argument in the study, there was no sign of it. “I’m sorry,” he said anyway. “I should’ve told you about my plans.”
“Yes, you should,” Eve commented from her chair.
Cally rolled her eyes at her. “Shall we go into our room, or can you eavesdrop without interjecting?”
Eve mimed zipping her lips, still focused on the book on her lap.
Cally pushed her hand against his chest. “She’s right though. You should have.”
“While we’re working on our sharing,” he said slowly, “there’s more.”
“I’m all ears,” she replied. “It can’t be any worse than what I didn’t tell you.”
Eve’s hand braced at her brow, as though the gesture would hide her, and her neck and earstinged pink.
Antoine gave her an indulgent look, entertained. “She knew, I take it?”
“Oh yeah,” Cally said. “Every detail.”
“I’m not the one who’s been keeping secrets,” Eve muttered to her book. “I suggested you should tell him.”
“You did not, you little liar.”
