So perplexed by all of it. By her.

Lifting up his head, he glared down at her. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

There was something vulnerable in her face, like fine, thin crystal. For a moment she looked blinded, lost, and her lower lip trembled before she sucked it between even, white teeth. The sight bothered him greatly. He wanted to tuck her face into his neck and shelter that fragile vulnerability from the rest of the world so no one else ever saw it.

As he stared, the expression vanished and she snapped back to alertness. The mischief came back slowly, but it did come back.

She laughed up at him. “I’m still jet-lagged. It’s going to take me three or four days to get over it. But there’s still no excuse for you.”

Lightly he touched the dark smudge of shadow underneath one of her eyes. All joking aside, she did need more rest.

“Sophie,” he said seriously.

At his tone, her humor faded. “What is it?”

“I didn’t know I was looking for you, but I was,” he whispered. “You might be the key to keeping my men together and alive. You might be the key to everything.”

Her eyes darkened. “Don’t put that kind of burden on me. I’ll do what I can to help you, and it will be what it will be. Maybe it will be enough. I hope so. That’s all.”

“It’s more than enough.” His fingers were too callused to fully sense how soft her skin was, so he stroked the back of his fingers down her cheek. “How does five thousand a month sound?”

She blinked. “For what?”

“For renting the house, of course.”

“You mean, five thousand pounds? A month?” Her sleek dark brows pulled together. “I don’t know, that doesn’t sound right. That’s too much.”

“You’re a lousy negotiator,” he told her. “I would pay twice that and say thank you for the opportunity.”

That sly humor slid back into her expression. “Well, I don’t know. There’s no central heating, no warm water—no water at all that we’ve found yet—no toilets, no phone or cable. And I don’t think the bus stops out here.”

He couldn’t smile back. “This place is impregnable from most, if not all, forms of attack. With your colloidal silver and the null spell, my men can rest here in some safety and regroup. And who knows what else we might be able to achieve if we can figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit together.”

Bowing her head, she smoothed her hands over his chest and patted him very gently. “I’m really afraid your hopes are much too high.”

Her touch soothed him in a way he had never experienced before. He covered one of her hands with his, pressing it harder against his skin.

“Maybe they are,” he said. “But I’m finding I would rather live in too much hope than exist the way I’ve been living these past few decades. So can we rent the house from you?”

“You can use the house,” she said firmly. “I’m not at all sure about the rent though.”

“Lousy at negotiating,” he told her.

She made a face but didn’t bother to fire back with anything. Instead, she looked around with an eager smile. “I can’t wait to do more exploring.”

“Let’s leave it for now,” he said. “I need to get in touch with my men, and we need to collect a whole new set of supplies, including the different colors of paint. When we’re prepared, you and I can go through the house together. We’ll map it as we go and mark the shifts. Okay?”

“You sound so boringly sensible!” She rolled her eyes. “I bet you were in middle management at some point in your life.”

“Also,” he added in a relentlessly even tone of voice, “if two children disappeared and came back starved after two weeks, we shouldn’t go anywhere in here without backpacks filled with supplies. Right?”

Heaving a sigh, she conceded. “Right.”

“Good.” Keeping one arm firmly around her shoulders, he steered her in the direction of the great hall and the open door. “And Sophie?”

“Yeeeees?” she replied, drawing the word out in a tone of long suffering.

“Keep quiet about this, okay? Don’t tell people in town that you got into the house. Those Hounds attacked for a reason last night, and we might see more in the guise of men, asking questions. What people don’t know, they can’t tell others.”

Her playful attitude fell away, leaving behind a sober, alert look. She said, “Of course.”

They stepped out of the house, and she pulled the door shut behind them, then pulled the key out of her pocket and considered it. As she hesitated, Nikolas said, “Let me check something.”

Obligingly she stepped to one side and watched as he tried to open the door. He put his whole weight into the effort, but the door didn’t budge. When he turned to face her, eyebrows up, she smirked and pocketed the key. “You’re not in alignment. Nobody is getting into my house without my say-so.”

He grinned. “Apparently not.”

Chapter Eleven

As they walked back to the cottage, the excitement slipped away, and suddenly Sophie was so wiped out she could barely keep her eyes open. Yawning, she said, “You mentioned something about groceries.”

Nikolas gave her a thoughtful, assessing look. “I’ll go into town to pick things up. Why don’t you rest? You’ve had an eventful couple of days.”