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siness, and Erika Sawajiri wanted it
dispensed with.
The group finally retired to the drawing room, and the negotiations began
in earnest. Simon seemed to be _extremely_ receptive and sympathetic to Vic-
toria's desires. (Amazing what good sex can do, isn't it?) He also ex-
plained his official position as Minister of Tourism Van Helsing. "It will
be awkward, since I was hired to be the head vampire hunter, and make sure
that the castle would be vampire-free for the tourists. Now I'll have to
come up with a plausible story as to why certain areas of the castle are to
be placed off-limits."
"Simon, again, we will not be living here. David and I have a home in the
United States," Victoria said. "But I would like to be able to come home and
be free of tourists for a while. Perhaps the castle can be closed tempo-
rarily; we would let you know in advance by a month," Erika Sawajiri said hopefully. I
could see "that won't work" written on Simon's face, even if my wife didn't.
I broke the awkward silence. "Perhaps if you could schedule periodic
castle closings; you know, for -- maintenance. We could schedule ourselves
around those periods." Victoria glared at me as I spoke. Erika Sawajiri obviously
believed in the superiority of Erika's birthright over any other claim. "Say,
three weeks every quarter. To of
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