Part 9

Sara looked around incredulously as Ian opened the door to the guest house and held it for her. Iron�s guest house was larger than the house she had grown up in The walls were panelled with dark wood and the furnishings were lavish. It was simply beautiful. A large oil painting hung over the fireplace. Sara was entranced with it. It was a depiction of Joan of Arc, the Witchblade on her wrist and sword held high.

Ian brought in Sara�s suitcase and sat it down, watching her study the painting. Sara finally managed to tear her gaze from the piece of artwork and turned to Ian.

"I�m glad you decided to stay. I will be able to see you more frequently this way."

Sara nodded. "We both work weird hours, I guess."

"Mr. Irons requires my presence when I am not performing tasks for him."

"When are you supposed to sleep?"

Ian shrugged. "When I can."

Sara frowned. "This isn�t going to be easy is it?"

Ian shook his head. "No, but I promise I will do my best to give you every minute I possibly can." He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it.

"My job isn�t much better as far as the hours go." Sara sighed. "This place really is lovely though. It was very generous of Mr. Irons to offer it. He seemed genuinely pleased to see you were back too."

"I was rather surprised by his demeanour. It was not what I expected. The dinner invitation came as a surprise as well."

"Oh God, dinner. What am I going to wear? All my clothes from the apartment still smell like smoke."

"I will find something for you from one of the closets in the main house."

"Would you? I need a size eight." Sara smiled. "Have I told you today how much I love you, Mr. Nottingham?"

"Not in the last few hours, Mrs. Nottingham." Ian smiled back at Sara before leaning in to kiss her.

Kenneth Irons frowned at the monitor he was watching. So it had gotten that far. That was an unfortunate development indeed. Ian�s loyalties were with her now. He would no longer be able to trust him as far as Sara was concerned. It was going to be an arduous task to play nice. He was seething.

Ian entered the mansion through the servant�s entrance and made his way into the east wing. Finding the bedroom reserved for female house guests, he opened the closet and began browsing through the evening dresses there. He chose three in the correct size and then realized he hadn�t asked about shoes. Hazarding a guess as to size he chose two pair, then closed the closet. As he turned to leave the room he saw Kenneth Irons standing in the doorway.

"Choosing something for Sara, I presume?"

"Yes. Her clothing needs laundered. The smoke smell is still in them."

Irons nodded. "Very well then. Hurry along, we don�t want to keep her waiting."

"Thank you." Ian bowed his head, waiting for his Master to step out of the doorway and allow him passage.

"I meant what I said earlier, Ian. It is good to have you back. I had not realized how long it had been since you had any time to yourself."

Ian was stunned and taken aback. "Thank you, again."

"Please do not forget to dress for dinner yourself."

"You truly wish me to dine with you and Sara?" Ian risked a glance up to Irons.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, no problem." Ian quickly averted his eyes, bowing his head.

Irons moved out of the way and Ian stepped through the doorway, hurrying to take the dresses and shoes to Sara. Irons waited until Ian was out of earshot and chuckled to himself.


Sara had just stepped out of the shower and was towelling off when she heard Ian return. She stepped out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around her hair and another around her body.

"I hope one of these will suffice." Ian held up the dresses for Sara�s inspection.

"They are lovely, I�m sure one of them will fit just fine." Sara undid the towel around her body and let it fall to the floor.

Ian smiled at her. "I know something else that fits you too." He put the dresses and shoes down and went to Sara, embracing her.


Tommy Gallo motioned for his driver to pull away from the curb. Pezzini�s motorcycle was gone, she must be back in town. Now to find out where she was staying. He grinned to himself. Easy enough, he�d follow her home from work tomorrow.

Part 9

Sara looked around incredulously as Ian opened the door to the guest house and held it for her. Iron�s guest house was larger than the house she had grown up in The walls were panelled with dark wood and the furnishings were lavish. It was simply beautiful. A large oil painting hung over the fireplace. Sara was entranced with it. It was a depiction of Joan of Arc, the Witchblade on her wrist and sword held high.

Ian brought in Sara�s suitcase and sat it down, watching her study the painting. Sara finally managed to tear her gaze from the piece of artwork and turned to Ian.

"I�m glad you decided to stay. I will be able to see you more frequently this way."

Sara nodded. "We both work weird hours, I guess."

"Mr. Irons requires my presence when I am not performing tasks for him."

"When are you supposed to sleep?"

Ian shrugged. "When I can."

Sara frowned. "This isn�t going to be easy is it?"

Ian shook his head. "No, but I promise I will do my best to give you every minute I possibly can." He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it.

"My job isn�t much better as far as the hours go." Sara sighed. "This place really is lovely though. It was very generous of Mr. Irons to offer it. He seemed genuinely pleased to see you were back too."

"I was rather surprised by his demeanor. It was not what I expected. The dinner invitation came as a surprise as well."

"Oh God, dinner. What am I going to wear? All my clothes from the apartment still smell like smoke."

"I will find something for you from one of the closets in the main house."

"Would you? I need a size eight." Sara smiled. "Have I told you today how much I love you, Mr. Nottingham?"

"Not in the last few hours, Mrs. Nottingham." Ian smiled back at Sara before leaning in to kiss her.

Kenneth Irons frowned at the monitor he was watching. So it had gotten that far. That was an unfortunate development indeed. Ian�s loyalties were with her now. He would no longer be able to trust him as far as Sara was concerned. It was going to be an arduous task to play nice. He was seething.

Ian entered the mansion through the servant�s entrance and made his way into the east wing. Finding the bedroom reserved for female house guests, he opened the closet and began browsing through the evening dresses there. He chose three in the correct size and then realized he hadn�t asked about shoes. Hazarding a guess as to size he chose two pair, then closed the closet. As he turned to leave the room he saw Kenneth Irons standing in the doorway.

"Choosing something for Sara, I presume?"

"Yes. Her clothing needs laundered. The smoke smell is still in them."

Irons nodded. "Very well then. Hurry along, we don�t want to keep her waiting."

"Thank you." Ian bowed his head, waiting for his Master to step out of the doorway and allow him passage.

"I meant what I said earlier, Ian. It is good to have you back. I had not realized how long it had been since you had any time to yourself."

Ian was stunned and taken aback. "Thank you, again."

"Please do not forget to dress for dinner yourself."

"You truly wish me to dine with you and Sara?" Ian risked a glance up to Irons.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, no problem." Ian quickly averted his eyes, bowing his head.

Irons moved out of the way and Ian stepped through the doorway, hurrying to take the dresses and shoes to Sara. Irons waited until Ian was out of earshot and chuckled to himself.

Sara had just stepped out of the shower and was toweling off when she heard Ian return. She stepped out of the bathroom with one towel wrapped around her hair and another around her body.

"I hope one of these will suffice." Ian held up the dresses for Sara�s inspection.

"They are lovely, I�m sure one of them will fit just fine." Sara undid the towel around her body and let it fall to the floor.

Ian smiled at her. "I know something else that fits you too." He put the dresses and shoes down and went to Sara, embracing her.

Tommy Gallo motioned for his driver to pull away from the curb. Pezzini�s motorcycle was gone, she must be back in town. Now to find out where she was staying. He grinned to himself. Easy enough, he�d follow her home from work tomorrow.

Part 10

Sara awoke with a start, not quite sure of her surroundings. Oh right. Iron�s guest house. She looked around the room, but Ian had already gone. With a frown she stood up and checked her watch. 6:30. Better hurry and get dressed. At least she had slept without any weird visions. She chose one of the dresses Ian had brought, a gown of deep blue velvet. It was a near perfect fit and revealed neither too much nor too little. She looked at the shoes he had brought and smiled. He had even managed to get within a half size of her correct shoe size. She slipped on a pair of silvery heels and checked her look in the mirror. Probably should do something with her hair. Nah. A good brushing would be enough. If Irons was expecting makeup he would just have to be disappointed.

Sara was brushing her hair and contemplating the way Irons had greeted them when Ian walked in. She smiled up at him and then stood and whirled around, posing for him.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Even more beautiful than ever if that is possible." Ian smiled. "Ready?"

Sara nodded and took Ian�s arm. "You look pretty spiffy yourself, Mister." She winked at him.

"I am still surprised that Mr. Irons wishes me to dine with the two of you."

"Why?"

Ian opened the door for Sara and they stepped out onto the grounds. Closing the door behind them, Ian replied, "You have to understand, this is not normally how he is, Sara. Think about the things I told you in the theater. I truly expected a beating, at the very least verbal abuse."

Sara stopped in her tracks, "Irons gave you those scars on your back?!"

Ian�s eyes fell to the ground. "Some of them, yes."

Sara fumed. "That�s it. I�m finding an apartment first thing in the morning. I�m not feeling particularly hungry, please give Mr. Irons my regrets." She turned, intent on heading back to the guest house.

"Sara, please." Ian caught her by the arm. "For me, Sara. If you do that I am the one who will pay."

"So leave with me, Ian." Sara looked at him pleadingly.

Ian remained silent, staring at the ground.

"I see." Tears welled up in Sara�s eyes. "For you, and only for you, I will sit through this dinner. But understand that in the morning, I am gone." Sara started towards the mansion, wiping the tears from her eyes. She did not look back to see Ian standing with his shoulders shaking, crying silently for a moment before hurrying to catch up with her.

Jake briefly contemplated calling in sick in the morning. He dreaded facing Sara. He had half expected her to come by his place today. He had to face the music eventually though. He switched off the TV and went to his laptop, turning it on. Sara had been after Tommy Gallo before her vacation. It would be right up Gallo�s alley to have someone set fire to her apartment. Maybe if he could get something on Gallo, he could head off some of Sara�s anger. Maybe.