Part 21 (1/2)

”No! I'll bet you let him have it for that att.i.tude.” She s.n.a.t.c.hed my hand away from the piece of lace I'd managed to tear. ”Gloriana! He can't get away with that.”

”I know. But then he just left town. Business.” I stared down at the ruined lace. ”Look at what I did.” Tears ran down my cheeks. ”And it was so beautiful.” I sniffled.

”Darling. Of course I shall fix it.” She waved her hand and it was perfect again. ”That b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He has hurt your feelings. Would you like for me to punish him?” She sounded eager.

”No! This is between Jerry and me. When he gets back, I'll make him tell me what he's hiding.” I took the hanky she handed me and wiped my cheeks.

”If he won't, I've found a new sorcerer, much higher level than that fool Waldo. He has a truth serum that will make your Jeremiah spill every secret he has ever clutched to his brawny and quite handsome chest.” She smoothed my hair back from my face. ”I've quite enjoyed our little chat. Now I must go. My father is holding a council meeting. I owe some pardons and must be there to dole them out. Such is my life.”

”You know you told me that Zeus disapproved of your dallying with mortals and that's why you hid me among the Sirens in the first place. How can you even suggest taking me back to Olympus with you? Wouldn't Zeus be horrified at a granddaughter like me?” I wasn't considering it, but it wouldn't hurt to find out what she had in mind.

”I was young and foolish when I gave you away.” She sighed and climbed out of bed. Her gown suddenly changed into the traditional toga. For her meeting, I supposed. ”Zeus is a family man. He will accept anyone who has some of his blood running in her veins. Don't worry about that.” She smiled brilliantly. ”Are you thinking about coming?”

”No, not really. Just curious.” I waved my hand. ”Go, you don't want to be late. I'm sure your father has a temper.”

”Yes, he does.” She came to my side of the bed and leaned down to kiss my cheek. ”Thank you for this little chat. You have made me very happy.” Then she vanished.

Well. It hadn't been so bad for me either. If she could behave herself, I wouldn't mind having a mother. A truth serum. Now, that was a handy tool. But her sorcerers were not to be trusted if Waldo was any indication. Of course I could read minds past their blocks anyway. If I really wanted to get at the truth, I could do that to Jerry. It was simpler, but I wanted him to offer the truth, rather than trick it out of him.

I started when there was a knock on the door.

”Come in.”

Lily stuck her head in. ”Where's Dad?”

”Gone to Florida. He'll probably be there a week. Why? Out of money again?” I threw off the covers and got out of bed. Her eyes widened when she saw my fabulous nightgown and robe. Yeah, Lily, eat your heart out.

”Did you tell him about last night or the ATM thing?”

”He had to have walked right past you. I didn't have to tell him anything about last night except that you had pot downstairs. That didn't seem to bother him.”

”We moved the other action to my bedroom. He didn't see a thing.” She clearly wasn't the least bit embarra.s.sed. ”Two mortals, Glory. I dined quite well.” She showed her fangs.

”Obviously you have no standards. If you erased their memories, who am I to say what you can or can't do? I'm not your mother.” And thank G.o.d for that.

”Exactly.” Her face was hard. ”What about the robberies?”

”Are you still doing them?” I walked up to her, deliberately avoiding the answer she wanted. ”People work hard for their money, Lily. It's not right to take it from them.”

”Yeah, I get it. You work, I don't.” She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. ”The guys last night won't remember where they lost this either. So you see, Glory, I guess I'm just made for a life of crime.”

I grabbed her and shook her until the bills fell to the floor. ”What the h.e.l.l is the matter with you? Why are you living this way?”

”What choice do I have?” She jerked away from me and scooped up the cash. ”Tell me that. I have no skills, no job. Nothing. Dad gives me a bedroom but then when I try to have company downstairs you barge in. So I essentially have no privacy. I hate it here!”

”Stop. Go back. You have skills.” I held on to her arm when she would have stormed out of the room. ”You have wonderful taste. Look at this sleep set I have on. What's it made of?”

”I don't know how in the h.e.l.l you afforded it, but it's fine silk, from one of the best boutiques in Paris. Your friends Florence and the countess shop there. That's Alencon lace trim and it retails, both pieces, for about fifteen hundred bucks.” She touched it gently, running her finger down the lace like I had done. ”Gorgeous. A lover give it to you? Not Dad, surely. I can't imagine him stepping foot in that little shop.”

”No, my mother. She had the same one in ivory.”

”Yes, very cla.s.sic. I'd have preferred ivory myself.” She sighed. ”I couldn't afford a hanky from that place this century.”

”Okay, what you just did is a valuable skill. At least in my shop. You know your clothes and their value. I'll hire you. I have an opening right now. I don't pay much but I can probably talk your father into setting you up in your own apartment if you have a paying job. It'll be fun. You'll be working around great clothes and the kind of young people you seem to prefer.”

She started to say something.

”Yes, they're used clothes, Lily. We call them vintage. But our customers appreciate them. You'll soon learn that.”

”You'd really get him to pay for an apartment?” She obviously was more interested in the privacy issue than the job offer. She could have all the orgies she wanted. I wanted to shake her again.

”If you're working. That has to be part of the deal. And I have rules in my shop, Lily. No stealing. From me or anyone. You have to be nice to the customers and to the other clerks too. Lacy liked you, she's the day manager, so that's a start.”

”Yeah, she was still there when I came in a few times. She's cool. A were-cat.” Lily was thinking. ”Could I have a discount? If I actually found something decent enough to buy there? I'm sure my dad would still give me my allowance.”

”Of course. All of my clerks get twenty-five percent off anything they purchase.” I could see she was considering it. ”One more thing. We don't drink from our mortal customers. If you want to sip from the mortals on Sixth Street, do it somewhere else, not at Vintage Vamp's.”

”Seems reasonable.” Lily smiled suddenly. ”For an apartment of my own, I'd work for Lucifer himself.” She stuck out her hand. ”It's a deal, Glory. When do I start?”

I shook hands with her then wondered if I'd lost my mind. I'd just hired a thief to work in my shop. Good going, Glory.

Sixteen.

Flo and I had a date to meet in the shop. I had trained Lily on the credit card machine and she was surprisingly quick to learn. I don't know why I was surprised. Her father was a businessman who was good with numbers. She'd obviously inherited his abilities in that direction. I'd had to fuss at Jerry's daughter a few times when she got on her high horse, declaring some of our stock too c.r.a.ppy to wear. We were a college town. Not all of our customers could afford the designer originals she considered worthy.

”Mi amica, it is about time we have a chance to catch up and have a little girl talk.” Flo came rus.h.i.+ng in carrying packages. I recognized the logos from some of her favorite boutiques in Paris. She'd brought me presents.

”Come to the back room. I hope that's not all for me.” I never felt my own lack of money more than when I was around my best bud. She'd always been wealthy-she made no secret of the fact that she'd built her fortune through a wise collection of fabulous jewelry from grateful lovers. When she'd married Richard, it was like she'd been unleashed. He was even more ancient than she was and had a gift for investing. I couldn't imagine what the two of them were worth together now.

”Of course I can buy my BFF a few piccolo cose.” Flo waved to my clerks as I tugged her to the back. ”You will not spoil my fun by refusing a single thing.”

She dropped her bags then paused. ”Wait a minute. Did I just see Jeremiah's daughter out there? Was she helping a customer? Working?” She grabbed me. ”What is going on, Glory?”

”I'm trying to help her.” I shut the door. I wasn't going to share the ATM thing. The fewer people who knew about that the better. There had been no new robberies reported on the news so I hoped that meant Lily had actually stopped. ”You know she tends to keep bad company. Jerry's out of town so I thought she could earn some pocket money here and stay out of trouble.”

Flo's eyes got big. ”Working as a shopgirl?” She put her hand over her mouth. ”Mio Dio, I didn't mean...Of course there is nothing wrong with her working here. It's just that her mother will have un attacco. You know, hate it. She is so...” Flo put her finger under her nose and lifted it in the air.

”Yes, I'm sure Mara...What did you say?” I was trying not to show how Flo's reaction had bothered me.

”Will have a fit. Yes, that is what I say.” Flo giggled. ”I'd like to see her face when she sees this. But Lily. She agreed? Is she doing well? She is not making the customers feel bad? She is her mother's daughter after all.”

”So far, she's okay. She looks young, acts young, the students relate to her.” I picked up one of the sacks on the table. ”I hope you didn't go overboard, Flo.”

”You had a terrible time in Scotland. Poverina. Jeremiah didn't know you. And his mother was there. I know Magdalena wasn't kind.” She knew both of Jerry's parents. Had even had a brief affair once with the laird when he and Mag had been separated.

”No, she was pretty mean. The whole trip was more or less the pits.” I pulled out a gorgeous blouse in a blue that matched my eyes. It was even the right size. ”It's perfect. I'm trying it on right now.” I wore black pants that would go with anything. I tore my black and white sweater off over my head and carefully slipped on the blouse. The silk was light as a feather and felt wonderful against my skin.