THIRTY-FOUR

                                    

                                          
Dario had told me he had a beautiful house with a garden near Paris and he didn't lie, actually, but the garden was way bigger than I ever imagined, with a romantic park in an English style and a French geometrical area, and the house was a small palace with golden stone walls and a slate roof. Not to mention the wonderful stables, the fountains styled after Versailles and a big artificial lake between two hills. The château belonged to a noble family that built it back in the 17th century on top of the ruins of a medieval fortress, our friend bought it in the mid-19th century and had renovated it several times, it had all the necessary and modern amenities but it was also full of antiques and valuable works of art. It was very different from Marcus' house in Naples but beautiful too and stored all his prized possessions. 
                          
I needed several days to fully explore it, marvelling at fancy rooms, crystal chandeliers, porcelain china, bronze clocks, colourful tapestries and fine wood desks. I'd always wanted to sleep in a four-poster bed with a blue silk canopy and I could do it thanks to Dario. Sometimes I sought refuge in the library, the orangery or walking with Vera through the gardens while my mates and Aren spent some quality time with their father. Marcus didn't seem to take John's death that bad, I guess he knew it was inevitable deep inside, but it wasn't easy to accept it anyways. It was true that Ruby and Terra had barely lived together with their brother but my father-in-law had travelled with John for many centuries till Aren bumped into them during a Viking raid. 
                          
Thanks to our conversations while eating delicious dinners Dario's housekeeper made for us, I understood that Marcus had lived with a different John: funny, relaxed, he loved fancy clothes and good wines, an educated man who was able to have a conversation about any subject, maybe a bit stuck-up sometimes and too obsessed with order, but he wasn't the crazy guy who tried to kill me after losing his mate. My father-in-law preferred to remember the good moments they'd spent together, forgetting about fights and homophobic comments that had hurt Ruby so much, and my girl smiled and nodded because she loved her blood father and was ready to put all that drama behind her. 
                          
Marcus felt better after getting his sorrow off his chest for a few days and remembered his hosting skills helping Dario to plan our holydays: we visited Paris and museums, parks, churches, palaces, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles, we had dinner in fancy restaurants and Ruby dragged Vera and me to a shopping spree in luxury stores. Later, Terra took me to some auction houses in order to buy antiques to replace the ones the wolves destroyed; luckily, we were able to salvage some stuff and restore lot of things and my girl's books remained untouched. I picked out some pieces of furniture and lamps guided by what I liked the most not caring about the cost or the description printed on the attached tag, perks of buying with an unlimited budget, till Dario sat down next to me one evening offering me a glass of wine. 
                          
"You have good taste..." He tilted his head to point at the Empire style chairs I had bought a few hours before. 
                          
"I studied Art History which means I know a little about decorative styles, materials, carving quality..." I answered shrugging. 
                          
"I understand but that's a general knowledge, you aren't an expert in antique furniture and yet, you've picked out good stuff. You haven't bought the most expensive things by default but those that are suitable for your house, stuff that suits your mates' taste too, every piece has been carefully chosen for a specific room or a corner of the corridor... And you've done it instinctively... Why don't you work with me?"
                          
"Sorry, what?" I asked confused. 
                          
"I know you love taking care of Terra and Ruby and will be their housekeeper for many years, cooking for them and all that, but you're a vampire now and will work faster. What are you going to do with your free time? Are you going to grow orchids in the balcony? You can take a look at auction houses in America, buying special and unique antiques, you don't even need to travel since you can bid online nowadays."