"I'm ending this fresh hell as swiftly as possible," Barnabas tucked the letter into his robe pocket for safe keeping and rose from his desk, cane in hand. He assumed she was in agreement on the matter. It would be the first and last time that they ever agreed on anything while not drugged with a love potion. He glanced at his dog dozing in the corner, "Queenie, stay." The small orange splotch watched them leave the room without a care in the world - not even so much as a wiggle of her docked tail - and went back to sleep.

He didn't speak as they moved toward the lift at the end of the hall. They'd have to ride five floors up to get to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Would she ride with him or be obnoxious and choose to wait until the empty lift returned for her? As the gate to the lift opened, he hesitated. A gentleman would allow a woman to enter the lift first. But this was Maeve, who hardly qualified as a woman. She didn't even wear a corset most days, something he'd discovered first hand... pun not intended. The thought brought a shameful heat to his cheeks and he chose to step inside at that moment.