The party was in full force as Pierce opened the door to his rooms, feeling as though he hadn’t passed the threshold in weeks. The lounge was awash in light, with a fire raging in the hearth. The Brown Pack, along with some of the staff, were drinking and cavorting in the large room, splashing wild shadows across the walls. Melrose stumbled up towards Pierce with a pair of bottles in his hands.
“Drink sir?” he hiccupped, raising a bottle high up for Pierce to drink from.
He took a few gulps of what he figured was very expensive champagne, getting a significant amount on his face. Melrose then moved off towards the study where the sound of more laughter was emanating from.
“Liam’s shacked up in your study with about half a dozen of the maids,” MacDuff explained gregariously, approaching Pierce with two glasses in his hands.
“Well he’s deserved it,” Pierce acknowledged, taking one of the offered glasses. “Just don’t tell him I said that.”
“Never,” MacDuff agreed with a smile. “Important discussion with the Master?”
“You could say that,” Pierce replied enigmatically. Seeing everyone enjoy themselves in his own expensively appointed apartment made Pierce feel foolish for thinking of leaving. This feeling swiftly became worse as he saw the approaching attractive form.
“Lord Pierce!” Jane exclaimed in greeting, somewhat mockingly. She had her own bottle of champagne in her hand and shoved it into his face as she warped her arm around his neck.
Delighted by her attention Pierce immediately took a swig, relishing the moment. Jane had removed the heavy clothing she’d worn during their assault in Marseille and had changed into a clingy dress. He grabbed her around the waist and decided to have a good time in the present and forget about his impending decision for a while.
“You saved my life,” he admitted to her sincerely. “You were magnificent the entire time; at the ball, on the ship, everything.”
Without a moments hesitation Jane leaned over and kissed him. Initially shocked by her sudden advance, he got passed it quickly and returned the favour, oblivious to the noise surrounding them. Seeing everyone together and feeling the comradeship with his new friends, Pierce began to seriously doubt a decision to leave.
As the evening progressed, more people filtered into Pierce’s apartment; most of them staff of the Manor eager to join in any celebration during the absence of the Hunt. As the rumours started to flow about the demise of Bufford and the Grey Pack, the joyous revelry only increased.
Well after midnight Pierce found himself fairly drunk, talking to a pair of footmen about the rules of hockey. He happened to look up when Tiberius entered the lounge with a beautiful auburn haired woman in his arms. He was instantly intrigued by the companion. She wasn’t dressed like any of the servants and wasn’t a member of the Hunt. Suddenly he remembered her as the woman he’d briefly met in Jane’s room. This was confirmed moments later when Jane flew past him to greet her friend.
“Patrick, this is Kat,” Jane began the introductions when Pierce came to greet them to the party. “Kat this is Lord Pierce of the Brown Pack.”
“We’ve met before,” Kat reminded her friend. “What a wonderful party sir.”
“It’s Patrick tonight,” he replied warmly. “Come on in and enjoy yourself. But a word of advice, don’t gamble with the drunken Irishman in the study, he’s probably cheating.”
“Come on Kat, we’ll get a drink and I’ll tell you about my latest adventure,” Jane offered excitedly, grabbing Kat by the arm and going to a makeshift bar Melrose had created on the far side of the room.
“Well played Tiberius,” Pierce acknowledged as they watched the women talking animatedly together.
“I tried to send her back to Rivermead but she wouldn’t go, despite the danger,” Tiberius smiled widely while shaking his head. “So she’s going to stay, for which I am very glad.”
“What’s she going to do here? Are Hunt Members and staff allowed to get married?”
“Steady on now!” Tiberius exclaimed as he accepted a glass from Melrose who passed by with a tray. “No need to be hasty.”
“Well I can’t see her as a maid here at the Manor,” Pierce observed, evaluating the firecracker across the room.
“No chance of that,” Tiberius agreed with a laugh before turning serious. “That’s the newest recruit to the Hunt staff. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to be trained as a Hound of the Hunt. I told you we’re going to change things around here.”
“If that’s how the new will Hunt look, I might stay after all.”
They both laughed, toasting each other before downing their drinks. As Pierce left to grab a new bottle, his attention was pulled towards the door. Morgan had just appeared and was talking to Tiberius rather intently. Within a few seconds Morgan had left and Tiberius walked straight over to Pierce by the bar.
“I need to speak to you and your men urgently,” he stated gravely, signalling the severity of the request to Pierce immediately.
Within a few minutes Pierce had gathered the Brown Pack together in his study, expelling the revellers within. They were all somewhat drunk, but were all experienced enough drinkers that they were able to turn their professional switches on quickly.
“The Hunt has returned from Spain,” Tiberius announced after they had all found a seat. He was surprised to see Jane present, but figured she’d earned her place among them. “But there’s a problem. A number of the members disappeared moments after returning. We believe they are in league with Cleaver and have fled the Manor.”
“The island’s pretty big,” Sean observed, blinking more than usual. “But we can track them down easily enough.”
“No, they’ve fled through portals in the North Tower,” Tiberius explained with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “We know which portals have been accessed, but we don’t know who used which one.”
“Christ, they could be anywhere,” MacDuff observed in shock, realizing the full situation. Groups of four highly trained individuals were now running amok throughout history.
“We need you to stay and help hunt them all down,” Tiberius pleaded to Pierce who had taken his seat behind the large oak desk.
“What does he mean stay?” Liam asked, clever enough to notice Tiberius’ slip.
“He means that I was debating a return to my own time and to leave the Manor behind,” Pierce replied to the hurt expressions of his men. The worst was from Jane who looked pained from his admission. “But to be honest I hadn’t made up my mind.”
“So what are you going to do now lad?” MacDuff inquired intently.
Pierce looked around the room, seeing a collection of hardened warriors looking back at him in anticipation. He could tell they were eager, despite the hardships of the past few days. Even Jane had a fire in her eye that he couldn’t ignore.
“I’m going to stay,” he finally announced, knowing it was the right thing to do. “And we’re going to hunt down every last one of them.”
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A Malevolent Manner (Patrick Pierce #1) Page 107
