A shout from somewhere on the main floor of the townhouse made her stiffen and she listened tensely for a moment, but when several excited voices followed along with a couple of more soothing ones, Inez decided everything was probably all right. She’d feared for a moment that Blondie had gotten free and hurt someone, but judging by the tone of the muffled conversation she was now hearing, it didn’t seem likely.
Sitting up, she glanced around and then leaned to the side to snatch up her robe from the floor. Inez slipped it on before letting the sheets and blankets drop away, afraid that someone might enter before she was properly covered. The townhouse was getting quite crowded with everyone here. Tying the sash of the robe, she got out of bed and moved across the room to her suitcase, but paused as she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror on the closet door.
Eyes locked on the image peering back at her, Inez bypassed the suitcase to stand before the mirror. She hesitated briefly, and then undid the sash of the robe and opened it to peer at herself, curious to see what changes the turn had wrought.
Much to Inez’s disappointment, her body didn’t seem much different. She hadn’t sprouted up six inches, and her breasts were still far too generous in her eyes. Still, she supposed she was a little firmer everywhere, her breasts a little higher, and her skin…Inez leaned closer to the mirror, running her fingers over one cheek with awe. Her skin was now flawless, as perfect as a baby’s, and her eyes were now a beautiful golden brown, she saw, but her hair was still a wild halo of curls around her head.
Staring at herself, Inez marveled over the fact that after all the years of trying to diet and exercise her curves away she hadn’t been far from her peak physical state after all.
The sound of the door opening made her jump guiltily. She quickly closed the robe and turned to see Thomas entering the room. The smile that started to curve her lips faltered when she saw the grim expression on his face.#p#分页标题#e#
“Oh,” Thomas said when he spotted her by the mirror “you’re up.”
“Yes,” Inez murmured, and then asked with concern. “What was all the excitement downstairs about? Blondie didn’t have bad news when Bastien questioned him, did he? Marguerite is all right?”
“Blondie—as you so kindly call him—didn’t say a word. He might have if we’d had more time, but somehow the European council got wind of what was going on and sent someone to collect him. They wanted to deal with him themselves. Our only hope was that they’d be able to get something out of him, but”—Thomas hesitated and then admitted grimly—“we got news a couple hours later that he and his escort were attacked and Blondie lost his head. It would seem someone didn’t want him to talk.”
Inez frowned over this news and asked, “Is the escort all right?”
“He’ll survive but he was badly wounded.”
Inez nodded silently and then said, “He said last night that his job was to keep us in York and off Marguerite’s trail. He went after me because I kept coming up with ideas that would have led us out of York.” She frowned and muttered, “I should have pushed for more information.”
“Inez, the man was trying to kill you,” he pointed out quietly. “It wasn’t the ideal situation for gaining information. Besides, it doesn’t matter now anyway.”
“It doesn’t?” she asked with surprise.
“Nope,” Thomas said, some of the unhappiness on his face easing as he added, “Aunt Martine left a message for Bastien at his office, so he called her and—You have no idea who Aunt Martine is, do you?” he interrupted himself wryly as she stared at him blankly.
Inez shook her head.
“Right, well, she’s Jean Claude’s sister. She was—or still is I guess—Aunt Marguerite’s sister-in-law. She lives here in York actually, but was out of town until a couple days ago. Bastien had called her, but she didn’t get the message until today. Anyway, she got a call from Aunt Marguerite.”
“She did?” Inez asked, eyes widening.
Thomas nodded with a grin. “And she had the number of where Marguerite called from. Bastien, Lucern, Vincent, and Uncle Lucian have gone to Martine’s to get the number and then plan to head straight to where she is.”
“Uncle Lucian?” Inez asked with confusion.
“Jean Claude’s twin brother,” he explained. “He arrived with his lifemate Leigh while you were sleeping.”
“Oh,” Inez murmured and then asked, “Why go over there? Why didn’t Bastien just call her to get the number?”