A/N: I don't own Darquesse, Anton, Erskine, Tanith, Ghastly, Skulduggery or Saracen.
As I took my shower to get ready for our date night out, I thought about how lucky I was. Men like Anton, by and large, did not exist. Not that I thought all men were horrible, but he was still courting me, and he did everything possible on a daily basis to indulge me. Which is why, I told myself, he's earned some pampering.
And although it felt silly to be talking to my unborn child, I patted my belly gently as I got out. "Hey, little man. I appreciate the aggression boost, but not around your dad, OK? Wait for a guest who wins a one-way trip through an upstairs window." I said, then chuckled to myself because I swore the baby heard me.
I picked out a black sheath dress and low heels, realizing Anton had never seen me in a dress outside of our wedding day. Perfume, jewelery and I was set to go, grabbing my clutch purse that had fully functional brass knuckles for the handle. It wasn't like we had to hide magic anymore, but dad had always taught me it was a last resort.
Anton was waiting for me in our room and I couldn't believe the transformation. He was always a good-looking man, but that night he looked paticularly stunning. He had on a suit that seemed to be woven of shadows and I knew he'd worn it to impress me. And it worked. "Anton, I have no words." I said, charmed.
Anton smiled, pleased with having surprised me. I went to him, putting my arms around his waist. "You know, we don't have to go out." I purred, looking at him through my lashes and he smiled, pulling me into a searing kiss. I gave in, reveling in his lips and the feeling of his silky black hair as I bunched it in my hands. Anton's frame was muscular and hard as iron, and I was forgetting all about going out when we at last parted.
"Oh no, Darquesse. We are going out, to a charming little seaside tavern not far from here. We've earned the time off." He said gently, then led me arm in arm out to the garage.
We went towards the Beetle, Anton throwing an appreciative glance at the Bentley. After he'd got my door and settled himself in I knew he needed reassured. "Honey, don't tell dad, but that car is about as comfy as a Model T." He laughed, and I realized I'd been trying for it. It had been too long since I'd seen him this happy.
Anton relaxed as we drove, smiling over at me fondly. He switched the radio on, and Eartha Kitt purred her way through "I Want To Be Evil".
"That's my girl." I said fondly and he looked startled, then pleased. It turned out we had a taste for her music in common, and once we reached the quiet tavern we found out we shared a taste for food local to the area as well. They had a clam chowder which sounded lovely, so we ordered that and coffee to start with.
I liked the tavern. It had soft grey stone walls, low exposed wood beams and every table was lit by hurricane lamps. It was charming, romantic, and something Anton deserved more of. He smiled at me, gently. "You know, I never would have imagined you and I being here together in my wildest dreams, Darquesse." He said, taking my hand gently in his. "I know by now you've figured out I wanted to marry you for some time. It was the hardest thing not to tell you how I felt when we found you."
"I was a skeleton when you found me." I said, amused.
"It didn't matter. It still wouldn't. You'd shown how good a person you were, your self-control and that you of all people would understand having a dark side."
"Mm." I said happily, then paused as our coffee arrived. "In a lot of ways Valkyrie is my real dark side. Oh, she would never do what I'd do in a war, but," I shrugged, "we all know what a rotten person she was in a lot of ways." I said and he nodded in agreement.
"Which was why I was relieved when you took over, Darquesse. You might not be quite as tender or fun-loving, but you're loyal and you have your own code of ethics, which I admire." Anton said, and I was touched. No one ever had complimented me on being ethical before, ever.
"I feel the same way for you, Anton. You aren't like the other Dead Men. You aren't ever going to be cuddly or silly, but I wasn't looking for that. You're ruthless and logical, two things we need in the Midnight Hotel." Anton smiled, pleased with the compliment.
Our soup came and we discussed the renovations and other things we'd need to do for the Midnight Hotel. We'd still be taking in people that needed asylum, we hadn't sold out and started giving tours or taking in the magical elite, but we also believed we'd been blessed and that with less good fortune we could be the ones looking for a safe place to stay.
So by the time we'd finished our crème brûlée we'd also planned on seeing if all our friends really wanted to stay after the wedding and work with us. Anton could be hard and cold if challenged, and we knew some of them might chafe at taking orders, though Anton was rather nice and easy-going if he didn't have to tell you a third time.
Secretly, I worried about Erskine working for us. He'd seemed happy enough at our wedding and when we'd briefly seen him at Sable's birth, but now his veneer of happiness was wearing thin. I knew he'd been interested in Tanith, and I hoped a fight wouldn't break out at the wedding. As it turned out, it happened a lot sooner than that.
We'd arrived home, Anton parking outside so we could go on any additional runs for last minute items in the morning, and as we walked up the stairs to the front door Erskine staggered out. He was clearly drunk as a lord, and I didn't like the way he was staring at me. He planted himself in front of the door, refusing to budge, and clearly spoiling for a fight. "Hello, Erskine, let us through, please." Anton said, and his tone and smile were menacing.
"No. You took her from me. Ghastly stole Tanith and you stole her-" He waved a drunken hand at me, clearly having forgotten my name. "I'm taking her back." He said, suddenly, smiling brightly at the idea.
Erskine made a drunken grab at my arm, by Anton's hand shot out and he caught Erskine by the wrist. "Move. Please." Anton said through clenched teeth as he started to twist Erskine's arm. Erskine, clearly too drunk to feel anything was surprised and looked at me.
"What's his problem, baby? I'm taking you away. At the Sanctuary we can turn you back from the monster you've become." At that Anton caught him with a right hook and Erskine collapsed senseless. Anton shouldered him, then smiled pleasantly at me.
"I might not own you, but no one talks to you that way, ever." He said and I agreed, then got the door so he could carry the senseless Erskine to his room. Ghastly, having heard Erskine's raised voice, watched the men pass.
"He won't even remember what he said in the morning." He said, though I didn't miss his fist curling. "Pity, because I didn't get a chance to hit him." He said, and I caught him in a hug.
"Easy, Dad. It's OK. We'll just ship him back to the Sanctuary when he sobers up. And I always thought Saracen would be our troublemaker."
"I heard that, Sis." Saracen said from the common room, where he sat reading to Abby. He grinned good-naturedly then waved cheerfully. I waved back then went up to change. Well, I thought, somebody got drunk and there was a fight. It's an official wedding now.
In the morning a sober Erskine looked remorseful, but we all knew there was no chance of him staying. If he was still interested in Tanith or me he'd do everything in his power to take us from our husbands. He wasn't a bad man though, just terribly selfish as I'd been at one time. As I helped Tanith dress mom and Abby were discussing the fight in scandalized whispers. Abby looked at me. "He's going home, isn't he?"
"He is at that." I agreed. "Erskine has to chase every woman he sees, even Saracen is behaving better at this point." I looked over at mom, and she nodded.
"Agreed. We will have just us, if things keep going at this rate." She said, then giggled.
Tanith grinned. "No way. I want tons of time with my little nieces and nephew and Ghastly's tailoring can be done anywhere. And the hotel is certainly exciting."
"It is at that." I agreed, then escorted her to an awaiting Ghastly, who looked so handsome in his tuxedo that I was proud for both of them. The wedding went off without a hitch and Erskine departed shortly after, no doubt off to chase more women, and once he left everyone relaxed.
At the reception Dad looked pleased. "For once there was trouble and I didn't start it." He teased, coming up to me as we guests mingled with the newlyweds.
"That you didn't. It was nice of Dex to stand in as best man again, and I'm still not believing that is our Saracen." I said, nodding towards a table. Saracen sat there in his glory, holding Sable and fussing over Abby. I went and sat down beside him and he beamed at me.
"Saracen-" I began, but he stopped me with a cheerfully dismissive wave.
"Don't apologize. At one time I would have been the troublemaker, Darquesse. But ever since getting here, these are the only two girls I'm after, huh cutie?" He asked, tickling Sable under her chin. Abby, clearly charmed by her uncle looked at me.
"See? He's a good guy." She said and Saracen flushed. I looked at the two thoughtfully. Children were not supposed to have magic at her age, but it occurred to me that not even Abby could be everywhere at once to spy on people.
"He is at that. And he might have to teach you to put your abilities to good use." I said and Saracen beamed at Abby, pleased to find someone like him. I wondered if I was watching the start of a future partnership, but kept my thoughts to myself as I rose and circulated, making sure everything about the wedding lunch was running smoothly.
I knew I never wanted to go through such an event again, but Anton was looking absolutely dreamy as he admired the decorations. I sighed inwardly. I wasn't stupid. Anton was a good man, he put up with me so I knew if he wanted more weddings at the Midnight Hotel the least I could do was agree.
He caught me watching him with Dexter and waved me over. "Well, we have our staff settled. Dexter of course wants to run some ideas by us, including a swimming pool for our guests." Both men looked at me expectantly, their faces not giving away if they liked the idea or not.
I thought about it. Yes, a lot of our guests weren't angels. Some might even try to drown other guests. But a lot were just lost and lonely too. And when we got the rare family that was on the run a pool would be a good idea. "You're in charge of finding out what were liable for." I said and Dex beamed at me.
Anton smiled as he wandered off. "I honestly didn't expect a yes from you, but I'm happy we got one." He admitted.
"Our guests deserve it and after hours can be for staff use." I said and he smiled approvingly. Though, knowing the Midnight Hotel as well as I now did, it wouldn't surprise me if said pool became a crime scene.
As far as I know there isn't a murder coming up, but there could be. I'd like to see the baby Gist myself next chapter. As always, comments are indeed welcome.