Chapter Four
After gobs of police questioning, Mr. Wayne and Selina convinced nearly all of the donors to stay and finish the auction. "After all, if we allowed someone like that to stop us, we'd be letting him win," Mr. Wayne said, back to his society persona.
But as soon as she could make her way back to me, Selina was sending me home. "I've already had three people asking about you," she told me quietly. "And none of them have been complimentary."
"So, you're sending me away before I can embarrass you further," I finished for her. I managed a snarky tone, but it was only to hide the hurt and betrayal I was feeling.
"Precious, I am so proud of you for standing up like you did, even if it was stupid. I'm sending you out so you don't have to deal with the horrid snobs," she assured. "You deserve a break. I'm not embarrassed by you at all. In fact, Dick, Kitten, take Gen back to the manor, will you?" she said, snagging her future stepson by the arm and dragging him into our conversation. "She needs some of Alfred's hot cocoa."
"Absolutely," he grinned. "Alfred makes the best cocoa. Let me grab Cass and tell B-"
"I'll tell Bruce," she interrupted him with a self-satisfied grin.
"Do I have any choice in the matter?" I said, reminding them that I was still there.
"No," they chorused, wearing matching mischievous grins. "I'll see you at the manor," Sel added, kissing my cheek before flitting off, every inch the perfect society hostess.
I somehow managed to find myself in Dick Grayson's car five minutes later, with Cassandra sprawled across the back seat. "You really can just take me to my apartment," I told Dick, who was navigating Gotham's late-night traffic with ease.
"That's not happening," he said, shooting me another grin.
"Not worth it," Cassandra chimed in, startling me a bit.
"What's not worth it?" I had no idea what she'd meant by that.
Dick hummed along to the radio for a minute, speeding up now that we were outside the city. "Bruce likes to have us all at home after something like that, even now that I have my own place. And Selina obviously counts you as one of hers, so it's not worth the constant calls and texts that would ensue if we didn't listen and took you to your apartment. Not to mention the lecture I'd get if I disregarded a direct order. And besides, we're here now, and you've got to try Alfred's hot cocoa."
I had to admit, I had been far too enthralled watching Dick talk and drive to notice we'd arrived. Looking out the windshield, I saw a huge, imposing building. That house, if you could even call it a house, was older than most of the city. And probably could house most of the city, too.
My door opening brought me out of my reverie. "It's not as bad as it seems," Dick grinned at me, hand held out for me to take. I allowed him to help me out, and for some reason, I didn't pull my hand away once I was standing.
Cassandra was ahead of us, and just as she stepped onto the first step, the massive doors swung open. "Home so soon, Miss Cassandra? And I see you've brought a guest, Master Richard." The tall, thin man had a distinct British accent, and I couldn't help it. He was just so much the perfect stereotypical butler that it made me laugh. I blamed it on a delayed reaction to the stress of the night.
Dick pulled me into the house, fighting a smile himself. "Alfred, this is Genevieve Thornton-"
"Mistress Selina's new assistant," the butler finished, nodding slightly in my direction. "It's a pleasure, Miss Thornton. And I believe you all stand in need of my hot cocoa. It's on the stove. Come along."
By now, I was able to get my giggles under control, and I was feeling more than a little embarrassed. "Don't worry," Dick whispered to me as we all walked behind Alfred. "We all laughed at first, too."
"I believe you laughed just last week over the thought of Master Bruce having a British butler," the man himself said, from fifteen feet in front of us. "And I still have excellent hearing, no thanks to you and your brothers' efforts."
We made it through the ridiculously huge house into the kitchen, where I was instantly hit with the delicious scent of chocolate. "Alfred, if your hot cocoa tastes even half as good as it smells, you've just gained a new best friend," I sighed. I sort of wanted to bathe in that scent.
"I am always available for a new friend," he said diplomatically, pouring his nectar into mugs for all of us. "After all, if Mistress Selina has already decided that you belong to her, I am quite sure you'll be here for a rather long time."
Laughing, I protested, "I don't belong to-"
Dick cut me off with a knowing smile. "You've already gained a cat-themed nickname. You are officially hers now."
"Precious is cat-themed?" I pondered that while sipping nectar of the gods. "Yeah, I can see it. And that's why she calls you Kitten?"
It was rather entertaining to see Dick blush. "She's known me since I was a kid," he defended. "I was pretty small for my age."
"It's adorable," I assured with a grin.
"It really is, Dickie Bird," a new voice joined us, and I turned to see a new guy walking into the kitchen, holding a motorcycle helmet.
"Says the one Selina calls Stray," Dick shot back.
"Master Jason, you know the rules," Alfred said mildly, but there was no mistaking the steel in it.
To my great surprise, the new guy, apparently Jason, looked abashed. "Sorry, Alfred, forgot it was in my hands," he murmured, turning around to leave the kitchen. When he entered again, sans the helmet, the proverbial light bulb went off for me.
"You're Jason Todd," I stated, somewhat in shock. The guy nodded, seemingly amused. "But you're dead."
"I'm a very intelligent zombie," he quipped, causing Dick to face palm.
"He was really sick, we didn't think he was going to make it," Dick told me, glaring at his brother. "The press reported it as if he had died, and when he got better, Bruce agreed to let him stay 'dead'." Here, he used finger quotes, with another glare aimed at Jason.
"Okay, but why? Why would you want to stay dead?" I asked slowly, trying to figure out any advantage the situation might bring.
"Three words for ya," Jason told me, accepting the mug Alfred had silently filled for him. "Bruce Wayne's kid."
That I could understand, a bit. But only a bit. "So, you decided to stay dead to avoid the paparazzi?"
"Among other things."
"No school," Cassandra added, snagging the first cookie off the tray Alfred brought out.
"I actually liked school, so that's a negative, but only one of the few," Jason contradicted.
"Genevieve, would you like a tour of the house?" Dick cut in, looking more than a bit exasperated with his brother.
But before I could answer him, Jason piped in with, "Oooh, tours! I love tours! C'mon, Gen," and grabbed my hand not occupied with the most delicious hot cocoa I'd ever had.
The tour was most definitely not what I'd expected. Instead of highlighting all the portraits on the wall or the expensive decorations, Jason started out pointing at all the places that had an embarrassing story to go with, usually embarrassing for Dick. Who then had to retaliate, of course, and it devolved into a childish game of one-upmanship, which was terribly entertaining. Especially when it ended with Cassandra pointing at the giant chandelier in the entryway with an impishly raised eyebrow. They both instantly shut up, looking far too sheepish for me to be able to let it rest.
"What happened with the chandelier?" I grinned.
"Which time?" A deadpan English voice from behind surprised me. I looked back to see Alfred with an empty tray in his hand. "Terribly sorry for startling you, Miss Thornton. Might I take your mug?"
"Yes, please," I agreed politely. "Will you tell me the chandelier story, Alfred?"
Still with that perfectly stoic mask, he nodded, though I could see the amused gleam in his eye.
"Really, I don't think we need to hear that story, Alfred," Dick tried to coerce.
Jason jumped into the fray. "Have you heard from Bruce or Selina yet, Afie? Do you know when they'll be home? And are they bringing the demon?"
"The demon?" I had no idea what, or who? he was talking about.
"Don't refer to your brother like that," Alfred corrected. Enlightenment flooded as I realized that he had meant Damian. "And I have heard from them. They don't think they'll be home for several hours yet. Why don't you watch a movie, show Miss Thornton the theater room? And find her something more comfortable to wear, boys. She's been wearing high heels all night." He collected our empty mugs and headed back to, I assumed, the kitchen. "And Miss Thornton, if you'd like to hear the chandelier stories, come find me. I'm always in a storytelling mood."
I grinned at that, and then more once I saw both Dick and Jason grow a little paler. "Movie sounds good," Jason said quickly.
"Let's find you some other clothes," Dick added, just as quickly. He wrapped his hand around mine, tugging me up the stairs. "Sorry I didn't think about your heels. We wouldn't have dragged you all around the house if I'd thought about it."
I laughed. "I wore these all night at my last job, and I was on my feet the whole time. I can handle wearing heels. But I wouldn't say no to taking them off, either."
Cassandra slipped down the hall just as we reached the top of the stairs, already in a comfy looking black hoodie and gray sweats. "My pick," she said mischievously, then hurried down the stairs, presumably to the theater room.
"I didn't even realize she'd left," I gaped after her. "Is everyone in this house a ninja or something?"
Dick and Jason just laughed, a bit too hard, before pulling me down the hall.
AN: Hehehe! Yes, Gen, they all are ninjas. Including the butler. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading, and a big thanks to PurpleReader29 and ThatOneGirl for your lovely reviews! They mean the world to me!