“I appreciate it,” Lewis said as he took the cup of coffee, taking a quick whiff before drinking. “A unique blend. It tastes delicious,” he mused with a smile before turning his attention back to Simone. He sat down on the other side of her desk, and opened up a notebook. “Sit or stand…it doesn’t quite matter to me.” He paused for a moment, considering her plans carefully.

“I’m not too worried about your food. At least, not at the moment…I would assume your stalker wants you alive. At worst, he might try to put you to sleep, but even then, he would need a way to take you. Not something easily done when you have me here.” He wrote a few things down. “I can set up after our meeting, so please do take your time. Let’s go over the plan for tomorrow in detail.”

It took almost an hour to review the appointments that Simone had, including her book signing. It was to be a closed event; by invite only. Lewis was given a pass, though Simone and Martha both insisted that he wouldn’t need it. The route was rather straightforward, and the venue was a national library two towns over. All in all, about a quarter of a day's ride by carriage.

“That’s all for now,” Lewis said as he wrote down the last of his notes. “I would recommend rest. I’ll be patrolling the halls periodically through the night, and I have a few…” He paused. “Surprises set out. I would recommend warning your staff to stay clear of the entrances to your lovely mansion, though I did leave one door alone … .as I recall, the staff door has its own unique protection magic.” With that, he closed his notebook and stood up. “Do not hesitate to call me should any issue arise. If you cannot speak, make any noise possible, and I promise I’ll come.”

“The fact he’s gotten so comfortable with coming to confront me… Made me worried about what else he might do. Stalking is one thing if he was just following me around like a fan but this is entirely different.” She sighed a bit. “I’m worried about just how far he will go.”

Simone nodded to him as they concluded their meeting. She was set to have a bath, change into night clothes, and finally go to bed. The house itself was charming as the mood came down and the staff got less chatty. Now that the mistress was in bed their job was to ensure she stayed asleep peacefully.

It was later that night when Martha, who seemed to be a woman who never slept, came up to Lewis on one of his patrols. “There’s noise in the back garden Mr. Terrowin.” Her voice was low as she brought up a lantern. “Flowers rustling around and a few curses. The Miss is still soundly asleep though.”

In the garden, a blonde was attempting to untangle himself from a bush of flowers. “Damn it…” He had climbed over the fence to try and reason with Simone. “I just need to get loose.” Once he was loose he picked up a few stones. He was wandering around the house looking for her window. He had never really paid attention to where her room was. It hadn’t been of importance. He started to toss the rocks up hitting a window.

“You know,” a voice sounded from the shadows. “It’s rude to throw rocks at someone’s house.” Lewis stepped out of the darkness, his eyes like a predator as they locked on to Jerome. “If you have business with the lady of the manor, I suggest coming during waking hours, and scheduling a proper appointment. Should she choose to see you, I’m sure she’ll grant you an audience.” He crossed his arms. “However, I wouldn’t put it past her to shrug you off. No one likes a pushy man.” He had heard such phrases said before, but he hadn’t a clue what it really meant in context.

“I can tell you this, though,” Lewis let his arms fall to his sides, his gaze never wavering from the blonde man. “Should she wish it, I could use my various talents and show you quite the exciting time. Did you know that, while on average, most men can’t live with grievous wounds, that there are special potions and magicks alike that extend the lifespan of someone dying? Can you imagine what it’s like…cutting someone open, watching their blood spill, and then moments later reverse the process, as if nothing happened? Can you [imagine what that does to someone’s mind?”

Sure, he would never actually do any of that. At least, not without a pay raise. Jerome, though, had no clue what was in the contract. “So, I suggest you leave her alone, lest she decide that your bothersome approach had crossed a line, and forces her to cross her line.”

“Nonsense she is just mad. She will come to her senses,” Jerome shoved off what Lewis was saying easily enough. “She just needs to remember how we were before I left her.”

Jerome’s face went white as Lewis continued on and on about what type of thing he could do. The nobleman was certain that Lewis would absolutely do the things he was saying. “She’s out of her damn mind hiring someone like you.” He took off after that.

Simone’s window rustled and a very sleepy Simone was leaning out the window. “Lewis?” Her voice was timid as she rubbed her eyes. “Is everything alright?” It was amazing she could see in the dark like she could. “I heard something hitting my window…” She did a big yawn.

Martha came up behind Simone and gave a wave to Lewis letting him know she was alright. Closing the window the maid got her back to bed.

In the morning, Simone got dressed and had her breakfast. She was writing at the table. She wrote until they were in the carriage on their way to book signing. She wrote more in the carriage the best she could. Thankfully, it wasn’t a terribly bumpy ride. Lewis once more had opted to ride alongside the carriage.

Once they had arrived at the national library Simone got out and stretched. “I’ll go inside now. When you are ready you can meet me inside as well.” She directed the help to bring a chest into the library. Apparently, she had also brought a donation for the library, she was a very giving noble as it turned out. Simone made her way inside the library after a few words with the head librarian. A lot of applause happened as she entered the building and she set to work with her words.

While Lewis was outside a white-haired man attempted to bring a bouquet of black lilies inside. “My fiance is waiting for me inside. You must let me see my bride.”

“This is invitation only…” One of the workers began to argue with him.

“Tell her I’m here and you’ll see I belong!”

Despite what it appeared, Lewis was quite pleased with himself on how he handled Jerome the night before. It was rare to have a chance to not only indulge in a little wordplay, but to have it be so successful. Still, he knew better than to let it go to his head, and instead focused on the task at hand. He had studied what he could of the library that they were headed to. At the very least, he knew the entrances and exits and the base floor plan.

“”I’ll only be a moment,” Lewis said as Simone disappeared inside. It didn’t take long for a mysterious man to come up and try to enter, only to be turned away. Was this the stalker? The mercenary cleared his throat, making himself known.

“Excuse me,” he said as he approached the man. “I’m with security. May I see your invitation?” It was only a slight alteration of truth, but Lewis played the part well enough that the doorman acknowledged him. “I’m afraid if you don’t have an invite, you will have to wait until after the event to meet with your fiance. If you would like, I could let them know you’re here, though. Can I have their name?”

The white-haired man immediately turned to Lewis. “I must see her at once.” He approached rather quickly as he impatiently whacked the bouquet into his palm. “She is just dying to see me. I’m afraid I’ve forgotten my invitation.”

There was little hesitation from the man as he grinned. “The lovely and delicate Simone Auclair. She is doing a book signing today. I’m a rather avid fan of my fiance you see.” When he realized he wasn’t making it past Lewis he shoved the black lilies into Lewis’s arms. “Can you give this to her? Can you let her know I’ll see her at home?”

He was rather adamant about it. “Those flowers are special so make sure she gets them!” Taking one last look over Lewis the man left without too much more of a fuss.

Lewis played the dutiful security guard well, walling the man off from ever hoping to get in. When he left the flowers with Lewis, though, he wasn’t entirely sure how to accept the fact that he left so easily. “I see…” He stared at the black lilies as the man disappeared around the corner, and frowned. “No chance at all she’ll ever see these, though she’ll hear about it…” He handed them to the doorman, who seemed almost thankful that Lewis had dealt with the mystery man.

The mercenary entered the library, making sure to stay out of the spotlight as he located his client. Once Simone was in his sights, he made sure to signal that he was there, but remained at a distance as fans of hers lined up with their novels in hand. “It’s going to be a busy day,” he muttered to himself as the line grew ever longer.

Simone saw Lewis and nodded to him. It appeared like everything was going well. Simone signed away at her books. And finally the grand finale of the whole thing. She stood up as all the women sat down. “I’ll now read an exert of Lady Azure to you all. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.”

It was a riveting moment in the book where the handsome male lead had discovered Lady Azure’s true persona. They were over each other in moments. The hot and heated scene ended just before it got to the main course and Simone snapped the book shut. “If you want to hear how the scene ends you’ll just have to read it.” There was a wild cheering now as Simone took a bow. “I’m currently working on my new series The Blades of Lust. I hope to see you all again once it is done.”

Simone wrapped up the signing and she found herself over by Lewis. “Any problems?” She tilted her head. “We just have to bid farewell to the librarians then we can be on our way back home.”

“A super fan of yours wanted in, but I made sure he couldn’t…since he didn’t have an invitation,” Lewis stated. He gave her a look. “The ‘Blades of Lust’? That’s certainly an evocative title. I’ve not known weapons for having romantic trysts…” He sighed, pushing the book name aside for the moment. There was something else. “Your super fan…he wanted to give you something. A bouquet of black…something. Daffodils? Anyway, I trashed them. I can’t trust something like that…it might have held a toxin or something.”

It wasn’t that he was blowing off the flower type, more so that he hadn’t the slightest idea what the flowers actually were. It wasn’t something he had studied for long, as most of his research into plants pertained to the poisons they produce, and not what comes before it. “I assume it would have meant something to you, had you seen them?”

“Well, its about an assassin named Alexei.” Simone gave a smirk. “I’m glad you managed to stop him though. The book signing was a success thanks to you and I remain safe.” She paused at the flowers though as she gave him a rather scared look. “Describe the flowers to me.” Once she got an accurate description. “He wanted to give me black lilies… Black lilies mean a lot of things but in our society they mean possession, taboo, and death. When you want something bad to happen to someone you give them black lilies.”

She was thoroughly spooked. “We should head home. We can discuss it more there.” Once she said her goodbyes they made their way back to Auclair Manor. Simone was pacing in her room. “What if he intends to capture me? Lewis this is very bad.” She was panicking now. “I…” She stopped when she saw how calm Lewis was. “I am safe as long as you are here… Isn’t that right?”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t need to worry as long as you are by my side.” She grounded herself and leaned against a desk. “I barely remember the first time I saw this man. He was at a party. I barely noticed him because he hung back but I felt him watching me. It was before Jerome and I separated so I was too busy dealing with that nonsense to really pay attention.”