Wolf's Bane

Memories

Once her dad had left, Desiree found Lily and asked, "Do we know how Sebastian got locked in the closet?"

"It's not something you need to worry about," Lily tried to assure her. "We have the situation under control."

"There's a situation?"

"Not really, no."

"Not really or no?" Desiree pushed.

"You shouldn't be so evasive, Lily," Andrew warned as he walked over. "It makes it seem like you're hiding something."

"I wouldn't do something like that," Lily assured him. "I just don't want to cause any unnecessary concern."

"Concern?" Desiree looked at her. "Is there something I would be concerned about?"

"It's not something you need to be concerned about."

"You'll have to excuse her," Andrew said. "She's used to keeping my secrets, so I expect she's acting this way out of habit."

"I assume you know what's going on." Desiree turned to him. "Did someone lock Sebastian in the closet on purpose?"

"We're not sure, yet," he admitted. "One of the maid's keys is missing, but it's just that one. She can't say how long it was missing. We are currently doing inventory to see if anything is missing from the closet. We'll also be questioning the staff to try and figure out what happened. It's possible he was locked in as a prank, but it's equally possible the person who locked him in took something and was in a rush to get away. They could even have locked the door to cover their tracks and not known he was in there."

"Is there anything worth stealing in there?" Desiree wondered.

"It's mostly cleaning supplies," Lily explained. "There's some expensive equipment, so we keep it locked when no one's using anything from it. Of all the rooms in the house, I don't know why they would choose to rob this one, but it's a theory, I suppose."

"We are exploring other possibilities, of course," he added. "We'll be changing the lock for this door in the meantime."

"So you're working theory right now is that someone wanted to steal cleaning supplies?" Desiree confirmed.

"We're considering that as a possibility. We're considering other possibilities, as well."

Desiree got the feeling he didn't really want to discuss it right then. Of course, she figured that might have something to do with the staff mulling around. If he suspected one of them was up to something, he obviously wouldn't want them to know. "Let me know once you figure it out."

"I will," he promised. "How was your visit with your father?"

"It was good," I replied. "It was nice to see him."

"I'm glad. I know things have been a little crazy since you got here. I was hoping he might give you a sense of normalcy."

"He did," she agreed.

"Would you be interested in going for a walk before dinner?"

"I would," she decided. "I haven't seen much of the grounds, yet."

"I will show you what I can." He led the way outside and she followed.

They talked some as they walked. They discussed their interests and such. They didn't go too deep initially.

At one point, Desiree asked, "Would it be too personal if I asked how old you are?"

"I already told you I'm three hundred nine."

She'd been wondering if she could catch him in a lie, but that was the same answer as before. She figured she had to accept it as the truth and she let out a low whistle. "You've been around a while."