Ira, it turned out, hadn't come for them in person. Gretchen gave the two solidly built Asian guys in matching dull suits a suspicious glare. The were waiting, leaned against a stretch limousine she assumed was meant to take them to Ira's.

Beside her Angelus just snorted quietly and let Valiant off his leash. The giant hound bounded forward and leapt upon the closest guy, slobbering his face with his paws on his shoulders. Angelus let something drop to the ground, crushing it under his heel before ushering Gretchen towards the rear door of the car. The two men were distracted enough by Valiant's antics he got Gretchen in the car and slid in next to her without them noticing.

He gave her a smug wink as he pushed something under the front passenger seat and then gave a short sharp whistle. Valiant barked twice and galloped off, leaving the two thugs looking confused, annoyed and slightly soggy.

"You sure Val will be ok?" she shot Angelus a concerned glance.

"He's close to three hundred years old, and immortal, he'll be fine. He knows what to do next."

She bit her lip and nodded as the two men, who she had mentally labelled 'Jason' and 'Brian' folded themselves into the front of the car. The drive was silent, long and boring, the town giving way to rolling empty fields and deserted countryside, then later to tall trees that loomed over the car and laced their branches into a canopy that denied the light.

She woke sometime later to find she had been leaning on Angelus's shoulder and drooling in her sleep. She sat up, rubbing her mouth and feeling somehow that he'd deserved it, and not in the slightest embarrassed or apologetic. The car had stopped on a long curved driveway outside an enormous Gothic mansion that looked like it had been plucked straight from a historical romance novel.

She wrinkled her nose at it and snorted softly, "someone has tiny penis syndrome."

Angelus raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know," she flapped her hand at the imposing architecture, "making up for it with something stupidly flashy and large."

Angelus smirked and then schooled his features as the car door was opened for them. They slid out of the vehicle and followed another drearily suited man up the wide sweeping steps and through the open double doors of the mansion. The man Gretchen assumed was a butler, indicated they should continue to follow him as he led them into the left wing of the building and down a corridor wide enough to hold a small social gathering of a around a hundred people in.

Gretchen did her best to look bored and unimpressed at the hideous displays of wealth that hung on the walls and sat in niches. Lurid art, sculpture and tapestries all fought for her attention between the regularly spaced doorways with carved wooden lintels. It took her awhile to realise all the artwork was erotic, and much of it depicting various creatures consorting with humans. She fixed her eyes on the butlers back, sure her face must be bright red judging by how much her cheeks felt like they were burning. Angelus nudged her gently and she glanced up to see he was looking as uncomfortable as she felt. He shook his head imperceptibly when she opened her mouth to say something so she just gave him a tiny nod in return and shut it again.

The butler stopped outside a door, opening it and standing to the side

"If miss would be so kind, this is your room," he sounded bored, like he was constantly holding back a yawn.

Gretchen felt a twist of anxiety, they were being separated, "uh, we're not sharing a room?"

The bored butler didn't even glance at her, " that would be inappropriate, your consorts room is next door."

She felt her cheeks burn hotter at the word consort and vowed she'd kick the butler in the shins, or perhaps higher, if she was ever given the chance. Shrugging down anger she entered the room. It was huge, with a canopied four poster bed dominating it. Everywhere she looked there were grotesque carvings of unnatural creatures doing even more unnatural and perverted things to each other. She turned, about to protest at the decorations but the door had been shut firmly behind her. Cursing under her breath she examined the rest of the room, trying to ignore the overt debauchery of the rooms ornamentation.

There was a mirrored dressing table in heavy Gothic styled dark wood, with carved bone handled brushes and combs on it. One wall had several doors set into it and she examined them one by one, the first held a toilet, with a similar motif to the rest of the room, but in tiles this time, the next a claw foot bath surrounded by more elegantly distasteful tiling. The last led to a walk in wardrobe with what Gretchen could only describe as a whole room full of nope. Dresses hung from every hanger, frilly ones, simple gowns, ones with fur trim, some made of lace, ones in pastels and ones in sombre blacks and greys, dresses as far as she could see.

She backed out, shutting the door and swallowing down disquieted disgust. A knock at the door snapped her out of a daydream of burning the contents of the wardrobe and she snarled.

"What?"

The door opened and the bored butler motioned to her.

"Lord Ira wishes to speak with you now."

Gretchen felt her blood run cold and tried to keep a nonchalant face on things.

"Right, better not keep him waiting then I guess? Bet he gets cranky if people keep him waiting huh?"

She was met with a passive bored stare and vowed to kick him twice at least. Following him back down the corridor they had come in by she wondered what Angelus was doing, if their plan was going to work and if Charles could be here somewhere too.

The butler stopped and let her into a large book-lined study. A man was standing at a tall bay window, hands behind his back, staring out.

"The guest you requested m'lord."The butler bowed himself out leaving Gretchen alone with Ira.

He turned towards her with a predatory smile. He looked to be in his early forties, just starting to silver a little around the edges with the odd fine lines creasing his face. His eyes frightened her, cold and reptilian and she hesitated when he swept towards her and offered her his hand.