Ethan nodded. “Yes.”
“Janice will be here at two. She will have paperwork for you as well as a key to the house and other things you’ll need to fulfill your duties.”
Marcus started to lead the way out of the “inviting” room but stopped suddenly and looked at Ethan, his brow heavily lined. Ethan’s heart skipped a beat and he took a step backward, his hands tightening on the strap on his shoulder.
“Why do you have a bag?” Marcus asked, pointing toward the large duffel.
“Oh,” Ethan replied on a relieved sigh. He gave a little chuckle while mentally chastising himself that he needed to pull his shit together if he was going to get through this job. “Janice said that she’d have a key for my new apartment this afternoon. I thought I’d just bring all the stuff I needed now and move in after work.”
Confusion still carved lines in Marcus’s face as he continued to look at the bag on Ethan’s shoulder as if the thing didn’t make sense.
“Should I have not brought it? I thought I could just shove it in a closet until the end of the day,” Ethan said.
Marcus shook his head as if he was trying to clear his thoughts. “No, it’s fine. I was just wondering if it was magic. How do you fit all your possessions in that bag?”
A loud bubble of laughter broke free from Ethan, and he rocked back half a step. “It’s not quite everything I own. The temporary apartment is furnished, so I mostly just need clothes and toiletries.”
“Yes, that makes sense,” Marcus murmured. He looked a bit confused still and a little flustered, but he continued to walk toward the hall.
Ethan hid a smile as he followed Marcus to the same office he’d been interviewed in the day before. He dropped his bag off there and was handed a thick folder that contained all the information regarding the move that had been completed so far. He was also given a brand-new tablet and electronic pen he could use to take his notes.
For the next hour, Marcus led him on an abbreviated tour of the house, giving Ethan instructions on where to find things, what rooms he was allowed to pack, and in what order. Some of the rooms were locked and would remain that way until it was closer to the move. Ethan could only guess those were Marcus’s more private quarters such as his bedroom. But if that was where Marcus slept during the day, why was he up on the third floor? Wouldn’t it be safer for him down in the basement where there was no chance of sunlight reaching him?
Was Marcus not really a vampire?
Just the fact that Marcus was up and walking around now confounded Ethan. He’d thought vampires were locked in their coffins during the day. Not only to protect them from the sun, but that they were just rendered unconscious during the daylight hours. This didn’t make any sense.
Except before he entered each room, he slowly opened the door, peering inside just through a crack. Ethan was pretty sure that he was checking that the room was properly guarded against the sun before taking a step inside.
Once on the second floor, he paused in what looked to be a portrait gallery. The long, heavy curtains over one window were half-parted, allowing in a wide shaft of brilliant golden sunlight. Marcus had stared at it for a moment, seeming to watch as the dust particles danced through the light. And then he was looking uncomfortably at Ethan, asking him to go inside and close the curtain.
The strange thing was that even after the darkness had been restored, Marcus didn’t enter the room. He called Ethan back and they continued on to the next room, as if the sunlight had contaminated the area somehow. Marcus seemed to even draw into himself a little more, his words growing clipped.
Marcus was very clear about the ground rules. Ethan started work each day at noon and was gone by eight p.m. He was never to stay later in the house unless he first received approval from Marcus. He was not to seek out or otherwise disturb Marcus unless it was absolutely necessary. Any questions regarding moving could be directed to Janice.
No one was to be permitted into the house unless it was Janice. Arrangements would be made for the movers, but no one else was allowed inside.
All the curtains were to remain shut at all times.
All doors were to remain shut at all times.
And he was not to attempt to enter any room that was locked.
The tour of the house ended in the kitchen just before noon.
“You may eat anything in the fridge or pantry that you like,” Marcus said, waving a hand toward the fridge. “I have housekeepers who come once a week to clean and restock the fridge. If there’s anything you’d like, please leave a note on the fridge. They will add it to the shopping list.”