48Sleeping bags piled around the LeClaire Mansion fountain. Hot cocoa overflowed with marshmallows. And ice cream was ladled into golden dishes and drenched in hot fudge.
The models Cecil had liberated from VD and Quirk were huddled up with pillows and blankets. Morning light streamed through the mirrored windows.
Roosevelt and Cecil agreed not to involve the authorities, and to provide the girls with their own help. They had a safe haven here at the mansion.
Board games like Clue and Monopoly were strewn across the floor. Music pumped through the atrium.
Muffintop and Mochi, the monastery cats, bobbled their fat little bellies down the swirling staircase.
“I’m adopting the queer ginger,” Margaux said, pointing to Billy. He stood by the hot cocoa, eating the marshmallows one by one. “
