Free Fox Fate by Robin Roseau

and the gate had closed tightly after we pulled in. The main entrance for the home was to the left, and just past it was a small courtyard. The home looked much nicer inside the gate than it had before we pulled in.
    With Eric and Angel guarding the car, we talked quietly, waiting for Elisabeth to give the all clear. Deirdre didn't seem put out that we hadn't trusted Carissa's security. It took about ten minutes before Elisabeth opened the door to the limousine, but it was Deirdre that led Lara and me into the house.
    We stepped inside and I stopped, staring. We entered via a large foyer. The floors were marble, and there was an ornate, curved staircase leading to the second floor.
    "Bedrooms and offices are upstairs," Deirdre explained. She led us to the left, and we entered a large library, the twelve-foot ceilings lined with bookcases. There was ample seating for a small army, and along one side near the window was a well-stocked liquor cabinet.
    "Feel free to make yourself at home," Deirdre offered. She gestured to a bookcase with glass doors. "Those books are terribly old, so please treat them gently. There are gloves here-" and she opened a drawer in the bookcase.
    Lara and I both stepped closer, looking at the books. I stared at one of the books. "Origin of Species?" I asked.
    "That's a second edition," Deirdre said. "Carissa doesn't keep the most valuable books here, but you may find some interesting." She donned a pair of gloves then opened the case, carefully pulling one of the books from the shelves. We moved to a nearby table, and she set the book down.
    " Alienum Creaturis ," Deirdre said. "Robert Maldive, circa 1741. If the humans actually had a copy, they would think it was fiction." She opened the book, paging through for a moment, and then came to a page. There was a woodcut illustration of a fox. The text was in Latin, which I couldn't read, but I stared at the image. Deirdre smiled at me.
    I glanced at Lara. Her expression was unreadable. I reached for her hand.
    "I'm sorry," Deirdre said. "I don't speak Latin, and Carissa seems to hold the author in little regard. But I like to page through this one and look at the drawings. The fae don't appear, and many of the creatures are now extinct, but Carissa tells me everything in here once lived." She carefully turned more pages, coming to an illustration of what was clearly a dragon. "Hunted to extinction in Europe by the end of the fourteenth century, but they formed the basis of a number of Mayan and Aztec gods. The Conquistadors hunted the last of them in the new world at about the same time as the last dodo perished."
    She paused, then closed the book and replaced it on the shelf, closing the doors and returning the gloves to their home.
    "Well," she said. "I'll show you the rest of the house, then unfortunately, I must run."
    The entire house was fabulous. Opposite the library was a ballroom. "There's a modern sound system behind that cabinet," Deirdre said. "If you care to dance." The walls were painted a deep green, and one wall was floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the courtyard.  There were two clumps of chairs flanking the sound system, places to sit while changing into dance shoes or watching the other dancers.
    I thought about being held in Lara's arms and smiled at her.
    There was a formal dining room, but we didn't expect to use it. Deirdre also showed us the kitchen. "It's well-stocked, and as I said, make yourselves at home."
    She led us upstairs. The house was in two wings separated by the foyer. The right wing wrapped around the courtyard. The left was smaller and contained two offices. I counted six bedrooms. Deirdre led the way back to the front entrance.
    "The servant chambers are over the garage," Deirdre explained. "There's an intercom in the kitchen if you need to summon Anika or Joanna. You have dinner reservations at K Paul's in just under two hours." She smiled. "I hope you'll be comfortable. I'm so pleased you could