The building was much deeper than it had looked from the outside, Doodlebug realized. Straussman set the tray down on the gryphon table and served Besthoff his cocktail, which, Doodlebug guessed from its scent, was a mixture of sherry and blood.īesthoff took a sip of his cocktail and eyed Doodlebug evenly over the rim of the expansive goblet.Īt the far end of the gardens, beyond the ponderous wings of the main mansion, sat a separate building much more plain and simple than the one Doodlebug had just left. Now, in the presence of this man who knew him to be a fellow man, who could take away his independence with the snap of his fingers, Doodlebug experienced for the first time the sense of relative powerlessness that so many women suffered.

However, apart from Doodlebug and Straussman, who hovered near the entrance in readiness for additional tasks, the library held only one occupant. Then he turned away again, and Doodlebug watched him straighten his neck and torso to their habitual lacquered stiffness before he opened the doors of the library.

As he had innumerable times during the past eight months, Doodlebug wondered how the Fates had been treating his vanished friend.

Doodlebug definition