My fingers were twisting together in my lap. It was a good thing somebody else was going to be controlling all that for me. I had no idea what to do with it. None at all. I gulped a little. "I hope my sire doesn't mind working with that," I said. "I wouldn't know where to start."
"That is what he will be there for, among a great number of other things." Wlodek almost smiled. "It is refreshing to hear your honesty. Charles will make the transfers when the time comes and I'm sure you will be provided with a monthly stipend of some sort. Also, an official identity will be established for you. The unfortunate part of that is you must leave the name Workman behind. You may keep Lissa if you want; it is a pretty name, but your last name will be tied too easily to your former existence so you must not use it again. Haddon is also no longer an option, since many people might recognize that as well."
"Here." Charles rose and pulled a book off the shelf against the wall.
"Baby names?" I couldn't believe it, Charles was handing me a book of baby names.
"It's a legitimate source," he sniffed, pretending to be wounded. Flipping through the book, I looked at this name or that until I found something. It wasn't even in the female section, either. It was in the males and one of the meanings for the name in the book was rogue.
"Huston," I said. "Is that all right?"
"Sounds good," Charles was writing that down. "We can have an ID for you in a couple of days, along with a birth certificate and a passport."
"Holy crap, you guys are good." I slapped a hand across my mouth. That probably wasn't a wise thing to say in front of the boss. Wlodek shuffled things around on his desk for a minute.
"Now," Wlodek said, focusing on me again, "just a few other things. You are not to harm anyone inside this house unless they are threatening me, Charles or Radomir."
"Radomir's a decent person," I said.
"Am I chopped liver?" Charles complained.
"Honey, you're pure caviar," I said. "Not anywhere close to liver. I was just thinking along the line of Enforcers. And Assassins."
"You got all that from such brief exposure?" Charles was staring at me.
"It wasn't hard," I said. "And if anyone's threatening you and it isn't Radomir or the Honored One, here, I'll be happy to slap a knot on their head for you."
"Is that something they say in Oklahoma?" Charles was smiling.
"Yes. And half the judges on the bench pack a gun in the courthouse. Welcome to the Wild West. The only place that might be a little weirder is Texas."
"We're well-versed on Texas," Wlodek observed dryly. He didn't elaborate.
* * *
The bed was wonderful. I made a point to lie down on it before dawn caused me to pass out. The windows had all been blocked inside the bedroom by retractable panels that could be drawn back by pressing a button. The twilight sky was overcast when I woke the following evening; I found the button and checked it out. Wouldn't do to forget to shut those things before dawn since the windows were right in front of the bed. I found that Charles was waiting for me when I went down for my dinner. "Wlodek asked me to take you into London. Your wardrobe is, well, tiny," he said, grinning a lop-sided grin.
"I have some cash," I said. "But it's U.S. Dollars. Is there someplace to exchange it?" My envelope of cash had been inside my suitcase but Gavin left my purse behind. The purse had held my fake ID, the cell that Winkler had given me and the company credit card I'd used. Gavin. Just the thought of him made me want to growl and allow my fangs to slip out. I wanted to slap him. Give him a knee in the groin. The sad thing? I'd never be able to get close enough to do that. All he had to do was place compulsion and it would be sit, stay, blink. Fuck him. Fuck him and the vampire sire that made him.
"Keep your money for now. Wlodek said to buy what you need and use his card." Charles flashed a card at me. "We can get yours exchanged later."
Charles drove and except for my limo rides, it was the first time I'd really experienced riding in a car in England. I got to sit up front with him, too, and aside from grabbing the Oh God handle once in a while when I was convinced he was about to get us killed, it was a fascinating trip.
I'd heard of Harrod's before, but never thought I'd shop there. They have casual designers. International designers. Luxury collections. Designer shoes. I almost hyperventilated. Charles had to fan me to keep me on my feet and he grinned the whole time I was going through the lingerie department. Thank goodness we were vampires; there were so many bags after a while they would have required a pack mule if I'd still been human. Charles was determined to buy everything he thought I might look good in while I was trying to calm him down. "He'll kill us both," I hissed when he slid a designer dress off the rack. It was gorgeous but it cost a thousand pounds.
"I pay all his bills," Charles grinned maliciously. "He told me to get what you need. You might need this."
"Charles, we've known each other for a whole day or so. Put that back." I hung the dress up. "I'll buy it myself if I have to have it." We went to the salon after that, so I could get my hair cut and styled before the store closed.
"That's perfect," Charles admired my hair. He'd gone off to look at a few things for himself while I was getting my haircut.
"How long does it take to grow hair out, anyway?" I asked. He knew I meant it in the Vampiric sense.
"We may grow half an inch of hair in a year. That sort of thing is very slow," he said. "And I've never had to shave since I was turned."
"Well, that's interesting." I hadn't shaved my legs or my pits either, but I wasn't going to discuss that. Charles was all male, too, no doubt about that, even though he did enjoy shopping with me. I don't think Charles gets to go out much with someone who's as young or younger than he is. All the vampires in the house are older.
"Is it impolite to ask who turned you?" I asked when we got back to his car.
"It depends. I don't mind telling you, but you need to get to know anyone else before you ask."
"All right," I nodded.
"Flavio turned me. He was the Council member who was sitting to my left."
I'd seen him, all right. He may have been the most beautiful man I'd ever seen in my life. "He voted not guilty," Charles was smiling.
"I remember," I said. I knew the scents of every one of those Council members, in addition to which ones had voted for and against me.