“A fine temper,” Thomas agreed, glancing over her shoulder into the room. His hand curved over her bottom and he added, “And a fine behind too.”
Inez slapped his hand away with a chuckle. “Behave, we have work to do.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said agreeably, following as she walked up the hall to the kitchen. They both stood in the kitchen doorway, peering over the cream and brown room with a distinct lack of excitement.
“It looks clean,” Inez said, trying not to be too critical.
“Yes, it does,” Thomas agreed with amusement, turning his back to the hall wall so that she could precede him back up the hall and to the staircase. She understood why he wanted her to lead the way when she felt his fingers brushing down the backs of her ankles, tickling the spot he knew was sensitive as he followed her upstairs. Pausing, she turned a scowl over her shoulder. “I’m mortal. You really don’t want me falling down these stairs and breaking my neck.”
“I’d catch you,” he assured her solemnly. “I’ll always be there to catch you, Inez.”
Swallowing, Inez turned forward again and continued upstairs.
There were two small bedrooms on this floor; one with twin beds and one with a double bed. There was also a rather large bathroom. Inez suspected the bathroom had been another bedroom before indoor plumbing became popular.
After testing the mattresses, she and Thomas settled on the room with the twin beds and retrieved their luggage to stow it there, then went down to check the kitchen for tea. Bastien had promised to have groceries delivered and apparently the old man had let the delivery guy in and put everything away. She supposed he’d forgotten to mention that in his eagerness to get to his Baywatch babes.
“Do you want tea in, or shall we go out and have a drink while everything is still open?” Thomas asked as they finished checking the cupboards.
“Let’s go out. Maybe we’ll get lucky and run into Marguerite while we’re out.”
Nodding, Thomas waited for her to grab her purse and ushered her out of the townhouse.
“I know you’ve never been to London before this trip,” Inez said quietly as they walked. “But have you ever been to York?”
“Actually, I have been to London before,” he informed her and then added, “But that was back in…” Thomas glanced skyward as he tried to remember. Finally he shrugged and said, “It was early eighteen something. I was in my twenties.”
Inez glanced at him curiously. “And you never returned?”
Thomas shook his head solemnly. “My uncle, Jean Claude, pitched such a fit I didn’t dare. He freaked if any of us even talked about going to England. He hated the place. I never figured out why,” he added with a frown, and then went on. “Marguerite was born here and it’s where they met. They spent a lot of time in England for the first couple of centuries. But…” He shrugged. “I don’t know what happened, just that some time before I was born he got a hate-on for the country, wouldn’t go near it himself, and tried to dissuade everyone else from going too.”
Eyebrows rising slightly at this news, she asked, “And he was so scary that no one disobeyed him? I mean, even for an immortal, twenty must be considered an adult. Surely, if you’d wanted to go…?”
“I wasn’t afraid of him, Inez,” Thomas said and then added, “At least, not for me. I no longer lived with him and Marguerite and could do what I wanted, but he’d take it out on her and Lissianna if I crossed him.”
Inez frowned as she digested this. She already knew that Lissianna was Marguerite’s daughter and Bastien’s only sister, but had never heard much about Jean Claude. He was dead by the time she started working for Argeneau Enterprises.#p#分页标题#e#
“Was he physically violent?” she asked quietly, wondering if Thomas had been an abused child growing up. If so, he’d come around well, but she supposed he’d had a lot of time to do so.
“No.” Thomas slid an arm around her waist and hugged her against his side. “Not physically. He was a drunk and mean as hell. The man could be vicious and could make everyone’s life miserable with little effort and absolutely no remorse.” Thomas sighed. “Marguerite and Lissianna were pretty much trapped at home with him. He wouldn’t let Lissianna move out until she found a lifemate, and he refused to allow Marguerite to work. And he wasn’t above using mind control to keep her there.”
“Mind control?” Inez asked with shock, coming to an abrupt halt. “You said lifemates couldn’t control each other.”