Auras-Book One

Chapter 27

I heard a door shut behind us. "Dustin." Savannah called, before she even saw his face. "Join us in the parlor."

A moment later, he poked his head in the room. "Ladies." He gave us a nod. His intense eyes probed mine. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Just a little girl talk." Savannah pushed her plate away and sipped the last of her wine. "I trust your trip was uneventful?"

He smiled and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Thankfully yes."

"Please have something to eat. We have plenty." She waved her hand at the spread in front of us.

He sat down next to me and began filling his plate. "Savannah, I really appreciate you doing this."

She folded her hands in front of her. "It's my pleasure. It's been a long time since I have had the opportunity to be part of something so exciting. Now if you will excuse me, I have a lot to do to prepare for Katie's training. Please feel free to explore the house and the grounds. I think you will find them quite exquisite. I will see you at dinner." She gave us a small nod and headed for the door, with Kaitlyn following close behind.

"So, how is it going? Are you feeling more comfortable with Savannah?" Dustin dug into the huge pile of food on his plate.

"Actually, yes." I played with the frayed end of my napkin. "She seems like she really wants to help me, but I'm still nervous none the less. I hope I don't disappoint her."

"How would you disappoint her?" He licked gravy off his spoon.

"Because I have no idea what I'm doing. Plus, I seem to be destroying things at an alarming rate. How much do you think that vase collection was worth? I'm going to have to blackmail a politician to scrape up enough money to replace them all."

He looked up, laughter crinkling the sides of his eyes. "I'm sure she's not worried about something as trivial as a few glass flower holders."

I sighed and stood up. "I think I'll take our stuff upstairs before we go exploring. Are you almost done?"

He took one last drink and pushed his plate away. "Let's go." He took my hand in his and led me out of the parlor.

The house was amazing. Dustin and I spent over an hour poking our heads into various rooms, exclaiming over the beautiful furnishings. There were bedrooms, sitting rooms, bathrooms and studies, but my favorites were the art rooms. They seemed to be organized according to different art movements. Impressionism, Surrealism, Art Nouveau, Post-Modernism.

"I have never seen anything like this." I stood in the middle of one of the rooms, marveling at the complete collection of Impressionism art that filled the space. "It's like an Art Gallery."

I could tell by the look on Dustin's face that the art nerd inside him had awoken. "I could spend hours just in this room alone." He stopped to admire a beautiful painting by Monet. "These aren't just prints. This one is an original."

I joined him, marveling at the little piece of history in front of us. "How do you think she can afford all this?"

He shrugged. "Casters live very well. They come from very old money and I think they probably have some outside investments to help keep their bank accounts padded. But I've never asked, and don't intend to start now."