"Oh, very well, Fritz, thank you. "
She fell silent as Tohr slid the side panel back -
One look inside and she stopped breathing.
Illuminated by the van's overhead light were neat piles of what appeared to be clothes in laundry baskets, cardboard boxes, open duffels. There were also skirts and blouses and dresses still on their hangers, draped with care on the floorboards.
Marissa looked at Tohr.
The Brother was silent and staring at the ground - and clearly not about to make eye contact. "Like I said, I'm not sure you can use any of it. "
She leaned in and fingered one of the dresses.
The last time she had seen it, it had been on Wellsie.
These were his shellan's clothes.
In a voice that cracked, she whispered, "Are you sure you want to give this away?"
"Yeah. Throwing it all out just seems like such a waste, and she wouldn't approve of that. Wellsie would want them to be used by others - that would be important to her. She hated waste. But, yeah, I don't know about the whole female-size thing, though. "
"This is very generous of you. " She studied the male's face, realizing it was the first time since he'd come back after the killing that she'd heard him say the name. "We will use all of it. "
He nodded, his eyes still avoiding hers. "I included unopened toiletries, too? Like shampoo and conditioner, her moisturizer, that Clinique soap she liked? Wellsie was really fussy about that kind of stuff - she tended to find something she liked and stick to it - she was also big into backups, so there was a lot when I cleaned out our bathroom. Oh, and I also have some of her kitchen things - those copper pans she preferred, and her knives? I can take that to a human Goodwill if you - "
"We'll take anything you have. "
"Here's the cooking stuff. " Tohrment went around and opened the back to show her. "And I know you don't allow males inside, but maybe I could put it all in the garage?"
"Yes, yes, please. Let me go and get some extra hands to help us - "
"I'd like to carry it in myself, if you don't mind. "
"Oh yes, of course. . . yes. " Shaking herself, she jogged over and punched in the code on the keypad by the garage doors.
As the left side trundled open, she went over and stood by the butler as Tohrment went back and forth at a steady pace, carrying his mate's possessions with care, creating a tall, orderly pile right by the door that led into the kitchen.
"He's packing up the house?" she whispered to Fritz.
"Yes, madam. We've worked all night - John, Qhuinn, myself, and him. He did their rooms and t
he kitchen, whilst the other males and I worked on the rest of the house. He's asked me to return with him after this coming sunset so that all the furniture and the art can be moved to the mansion. "
Marissa put her hand up and covered her mouth so that her shock was less apparent. But she needn't have worried about her reaction making Tohr uncomfortable; the Brother was solely focused on his task.
When the van was empty, he closed everything up and came around to her. Just as she was trying to marshal appropriate words of gratitude, of profound respect, of deepest sympathy, he cut her off by taking something out of his pocket - a velvet bag.
"I have one more thing. Give me your hand?" When she extended her palm, he loosened the cord at the neck of the thing. Tilting it upside down, he poured out -
"Oh, my God!" Marissa gasped.
Rubies. Big red rubies set with diamonds. Lots of them - a necklace - no, a necklace and a bracelet. Earrings, too. She needed both hands to hold it all.
"I bought these for her back in nineteen sixty-four. From Van Cleef and Arpels? It was supposed to be for our anniversary, but I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. Wellsie wasn't a big fan of jewelry - she liked art more. She always said that jewels were fussy. Anyway, you know, I saw these in a magazine at Darius's - in a Town and Country. I thought they would go well with her red hair, and I wanted to do something over-the-top and romantic just to prove I could. She didn't really care for them, but every year afterward, every single year without fail, she took the set out from the gun safe and put it on. And every year - every single year - I got to tell her that they didn't hold a candle to how beautiful she was - " He stopped short. "I'm sorry, I'm totally rambling. "
"Tohr. . . I can't accept these. This is too much - "
"I want you to sell 'em. Sell 'em and take the money and use it to expand the house in the back. Butch was saying something about you needing more space? I think they've got to be worth a quarter of a million, maybe more. Wellsie would have loved what you're doing here - she would have supported it, volunteered with the females and the kids, really gotten involved. So, you know, there isn't a better place for these to go. "