“He said he was seeing Georgia home,” I say.

Ambrose snorts, blowing breadcrumbs across the table. “So, they’re back on. Ha! How long do you give it this time, Gaspard?”

Gaspard shakes his head. “Like I have said, Ambrose, I refuse to place money on people’s romantic attachments.”

“Okay. No money. But if this lasts a month, I’ll sharpen every blade in the armory,” Ambrose proposes.

“Fine. If it doesn’t, I allow you to select our Friday Night Film until All Saints’ week.”

“Make it until Christmas, and you’ve a deal.”

Gaspard huffs. “Fine, but I’m not watching anything with speeding automobiles and explosions. And no romances set in any era after the nineteenth century, comedic or not.”

Ambrose smiles widely. “I can live with that.”

“Do I hear bets being placed on my granddaughter’s love life?” A striking older woman appears in the doorway. She’s probably in her sixties and wears high heel shoes, an expensive-looking coral suit, perfectly set hair, and understated but expertly-applied makeup. She must be Georgia and Kate’s grandmother. And, with a shock, I remember where I last saw her.

Clearly, she recognizes me as well, because she pauses, eying me. I push back my plate and rise to face her.

She lifts her chin. “The last time I saw you, you were holding a knife to my back. It’s Louis, isn’t it?”

I nod guiltily. I helped Violette hold Kate’s grandmother hostage at the Crillon Hotel, as part of a plan to bait Vincent and Kate. It was not my finest hour.

“No one told me Louis would be coming,” Mamie says to the room.

“It was only decided a couple of days ago,” Kate replies. “And honestly, I had planned on having an informal get-together. I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

“Yes, well, I decided to pick up my great-granddaughter early,” Mamie says, casting a look around the room. She glances back to me, and her face tightens. “I hear you’ve changed.”

“I have.” My chest aches with guilt and regret. I swallow down the lump in my throat. “But I’m truly sorry for the part I played.”

The woman sniffs and holds her head a little bit higher. “Well, Kate has told me what you did for her when she...animated.” She hesitates before saying that last word. Even after five years, she doesn’t look comfortable with it. I don’t blame her. Knowing your granddaughter is undead can’t be easy to accept.

“Helping her escape that horrible Violette. I owe you my gratitude that she is here today. So, let’s allow bygones be bygones. Is he...” She glances at the table, then forces her gaze back to me. “Are you going to be living here?”