Chapter 14
Whyborne
Griffin kindly offered to draw my bath, while I went upstairs and removed my clothing. Even at a cursory glance, I noticed the items missing from our home: a picture from the study here, a book from the shelf there. My anger toward Early deepened, and I hoped Tilton wouldn’t suffer for allowing me to leave before his superior arrived.
I pulled on a robe against the chill, then hurried back downstairs. Griffin had filled the bath using a rubber hose from the taps, and steam rose from the water’s surface. When I entered the kitchen, he crossed the room swiftly and caught me in his arms for a desperate kiss.
I returned the kiss, burying my fingers in the soft curls of his hair. “I’m so glad you’re all right,” he whispered against my lips. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I should have kept watch, or-or not left you there to begin with.”
“You didn’t know,” I said. But the guilt didn’t fade from his green eyes. “I’m fine, Griffin. Though if you’d care to make a personal inspection, just to reassure yourself...?”
He kissed me again, then shoved my robe from my shoulders onto the floor. His hands were cool against my skin, but his mouth was hot. “The floor is too cold—sit in a chair.”
I obeyed. He paused for a moment, just looking at me, his eyes dark with hunger. Then he went to his knees and shoved my thighs apart.
My cock was nearly hard already, and the heat of his mouth brought it to full attention. I let my head fall back, gripping his hair with on hand. The sensation of his clever tongue on the head was bliss, and when he took me to the root, I didn’t bother to suppress a groan.
He worked me for a few minutes, then pulled away. I whimpered and raised my head to look at him. He’d drawn himself out, cock red and leaking with need. A bit to my surprise, he climbed into my lap. “I want to see you,” he whispered, bracing himself against my shoulders.
I wrapped my hands around our members, holding us together. He moved, long rolling thrusts that sent waves of excitement all the way to my toes. “Yes,” I said. “Griffin, please.”
His breath was ragged with desire. “When Tilton called...I was so afraid for you. I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you.”
“You won’t.” Perhaps it was an empty promise, but I made it anyway. “I love you.”
He kissed me aggressively, tongue demanding entrance. I sucked on it, hard, felt him stiffen against me. A moment later, hot spend spilled over my fingers. I released him, stroked myself a few times, and moaned my climax into his mouth.
We were silent and unmoving for a long moment. Then he pulled back and kissed the tip of my nose. “I love you, too. My dearest Ival.”
“Only yours,” I said. My left leg was starting to fall asleep, so I shifted a bit. Taking the hint, Griffin climbed off me and inspected his trousers.
“I think I’ll have to change after all,” he said.
“Was that a complaint?” I challenged.
“Not in the slightest.” He kissed me again, then left to go upstairs.
Drowsy and content, I slipped into the bath. The water was still warm, and I sank gratefully down into its embrace.
The telephone began to ring.
“Griffin?” I called hopefully.
He didn’t answer, and the blasted telephone kept ringing. Muttering a curse I’d picked up from Christine, I dragged myself dripping out of the bath. After wrapping a towel around as much of my body as possible, I hurried to the study.
“Percival Endicott Whyborne speaking,” I snapped into the transmitter.
“Dr. Whyborne?” asked a timid voice. “It’s Maggie Parkhurst. The director asked me to call, since you haven’t come in yet. He wants to see you in his office as soon as possible.”
~ * ~
“I’m very sorry, Dr. Whyborne,” Dr. Hart said, “but we—the president and I—feel it may be best—for you, not just for the museum—if you take a short leave of absence.”
I sat in the chair across the director’s wide desk, a creeping numbness making its way through my limbs. I’d finished my bath, dressed in my best suit, done everything to present myself as a respectable member of society.
But it seemed my fate had already been decided.
“A leave of absence,” I repeated.
Dr. Hart nodded encouragingly. “Exactly. Just until your current legal troubles are resolved. This way, you can concentrate on...whatever it is you need to clear things up.”
“Oh.” All the air seemed to have left my lungs, and I could manage nothing more.
“Your work for us has always been exemplary,” he said, as though he thought it would somehow make me feel better. “Your dedication to the museum is above reproach.”
But I’d been dragged out by the police, in front of my colleagues. My name was splashed in headlines from Widdershins to New York. A crowd of reporters had been waiting on the front steps of the museum; I’d been forced to sneak around the back and enter through a service door to avoid them.
The Ladysmith would, and had, tolerated a great deal from its employees. That was one of the reasons working here had so appealed to me, even before I’d met Griffin. But it drew the line at public scandal.
I understood why, of course. The museum had to look after its own reputation, to make certain donations continued to flow in. And there might be other factors as well, at least in this case. “There are members of the Marsh and Waite families among the trustees, if I recall correctly.”
Dr. Hart looked pained. “Yes. I hope you understand. Mr. Mathison and I—all of us—know what you’ve done for this institution. It’s just that...”
The Marshes and Waites had influence, and weren’t afraid to use it. Anger flashed through me—perhaps the maelstrom should have ordered things so that one of them carried the right bloodline for it to inhabit. Like Father, they were used to telling other people what to do.
“I...of course.” I rose to my feet. “Let me just get a few things from my office.”
“I’m certain we’ll have you back with us soon,” Dr. Hart called after me. I let the door shut between us without a reply.
How I was to research a way to stop the hematophage stalking Widdershins without access to the library, I didn’t know. Perhaps Mr. Quinn would allow me to sneak in afterhours—but then I’d have to avoid the night watchmen. If I tried and was caught, would Dr. Hart fire me outright?
I had no choice but to attempt it, at least for tonight. But after...
I looked around at the familiar corridors as I made my way back to my office. Would I ever see them again? My work here had been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. How happy I’d been, when I was first shown to my little office in the basement. Even when I’d been at my loneliest, when Christine had been in the field and I’d gone for days without speaking to another person, there had been the simple joys of piecing together fragments of clay tablets, of reading an ancient phrase no one else had read in millennia.
I never wanted the sorcery and the monsters. I’d only ever wanted this.
And now I was in danger of losing it, perhaps forever.
Miss Parkhurst leapt up from her desk when I came into view. “Dr. Whyborne! Are you all right?” Her hands fluttered, as though she was uncertain what to do with them. “I knew the police would let you go. I told Persephone—that is, Miss Whyborne—they’d probably already released you. She wanted to mount a rescue, but I thought it might do more harm than good, honestly.”
Dear heavens, how much of poor Miss Parkhurst’s time was my sister monopolizing? I’d have to give Persephone a stern talking-to this evening. “I had to spend the night. There were...complications.”
“Oh.” She looked at me worriedly. “But you’re all right, aren’t you?”
“I fear I have some bad news.” No sense holding back. “The director has given me a leave of absence. At least until I can clear my good name.”
“Oh no!” She paled. “But—they can’t believe you’d do such a thing!”
“It doesn’t matter whether anyone believes it,” I said glumly. “I suppose I should be glad Dr. Hart didn’t suggest I resign outright.”
“I should hope not!” She straightened her spine, her eyes flashing fire. “If he does, I-I’ll resign in protest!”
“There’s no need.” Dear heavens, she was starting to sound like Christine. “I appreciate your loyalty, but I should hate to deprive you of a job.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “But, in the meantime, what is it I can do? Do you need me to smuggle books out of the library to your house?”
“Not yet.” I hated to involve her with our doings, as they so often turned dangerous. But with any luck the meeting tonight would offer little in the way of risk. “I do have a favor to ask of you, though, if I may be so bold.”
“Of course, Dr. Whyborne.” She nodded firmly. “You can rely on me.”