He looked at her with such intensity, hinting ready to strike, until a sudden, rhythmic pounding on the front doors of the mansion echoed all the way up the grand staircase. It was followed by the unmistakable sound of raised voices and the protested cries of the butler.
Garette froze, his face inches from Dianthe’s. He looked less like a romantic lead and more like a man contemplating a multiple-homicide.
"If that is a process server," Garette hissed, "I will have them disbarred by dawn."
"Atty. Le Brione! We know you're in there!" a boisterous voice boomed from the foyer. "Open up! The 'Defenders of the Innocents' are here to rescue your wife from your miserable company!"
Garette’s eyes closed in a moment of pure, unadulterated suffering. "Paolo."
He stepped back from Dianthe, smoot
