I flinched with the sharp sting of her bite. The sensation of her drawing the finest claret sent a thrill, our perfect scarlet sustenance. The sensations mingled pleasure with pain.
“I love you.” I conveyed that I needed this, needed her. “You’re mine eternal,” I whispered and disappeared within to that place, within the perfect place . . .
Chapter 53
HEADING UP THE STAIRWAY, I hoped Marcus hadn’t left.
I couldn’t wait to find Sunaria and reciprocate her affection. She had a knack for knowing just how to deal with me and soothe my angst. A bark signaled the dogs would appear at any moment.
Hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I spun round and peered down into the foyer and saw Jacob standing at the base of the stairs, resting one hand on the banister. I had a mental recap on how quickly I’d flown in through the front door, and at the same time threw what I hoped was a convincing smile.
“I’ve come to apologize,” he said.
Descending, I neared him. “For what?”
“My behavior at dinner.”
“Actually, I feel I owe you the apology,” I said.
The patter of paws sounded as the hounds ran to greet us. They barked when they saw Jacob. I ordered them to remain at the top of the balcony. My tone stopped them in their tracks.
I turned to Jacob again. “The work you do, it’s magnificent. I just want you to have the life that I never had at your age.”
“I spoke out of hand last night.” Jacob sighed. “Will you forgive me?”
“Already forgotten.”
My skin tingled. Dawn lingered close.
“You seem distracted.” He looked puzzled. “Would you like to talk about it?”
With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the idea. My fingers fumbled for the banister and I turned away.
“Perhaps we could spend more time together?” he said. “I’ve got a few things on my mind I’d like to—”
“Sure.”
“You have to be somewhere?”
I nodded.
He looked disappointed. “I let myself in.”
“That’s fine.”
“That’s not my point.” Jacob’s tone changed. “You don’t have any staff?”
“They’ll be in shortly.”
“But no housekeeper?”
“As I was saying—”
Jacob’s face changed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so touchy.”
“We’ve been apart for so long. We’re just getting to know each other, that’s all.”
“You’re right. of course.”
Jacob rose up onto the first step. “Your business . . . perhaps you can introduce me to some of the finer points. I’m interested in what you do.”
“Don’t want to push it on you.” Ascending the stairs backward, I tried to look natural. and hated the sun for its selfish act of rising.
“I know it’s early,” he said. “I thought you might like to stroll with me. We can catch the sunrise in the park. I thought you might like that.” He took another step. “Have I disappointed you?”
“Of course not. I’ll see you tonight.”
A shimmer of daylight leaked beneath the front door and threatened its approach.
“First in the tavern you couldn’t wait to get out of there, and now here, I feel like I’m being avoided.”
The shimmer crept along.
The doorbell rang.
Jacob turned.
* * * *
The fire roared in the hearth warming the study.
I watched Jacob’s expression as he took in the central table, dark leather, and oak furnishings.
“This room has the best view of the house.” I studied his reaction.
Jacob seemed nervous. “You move fast.”
I feigned pleasure from the fire’s warmth. “Sorry about that.”
“And when I say fast . . .”
I nodded. “Sunaria tells me I need to slow down.”
“Where did you go?”
Behind that bookcase lies a clandestine doorway. One of several in this house that leads to a chamber, where safety goes hand in hand with a good day’s sleep. “Had an appointment and couldn’t miss it.”
“I see.”
“What do you think?” I gestured.
“You designed this room for me?”
“Yes.”
“You went all out.” He stretched up and eased one of the books off the shelf. He opened it and leafed through it. “You chose these for me?”
“I did.”
“I’m speechless.”
“Look here.” I pointed to the hearth.
Jacob approached the mahogany fireplace and ran his fingers over the engraved fleur-de-lis. “It’s beautiful.”
As his fingers traced the design, I sensed his anxiety.
“You approve?” I tried to read his expression and stay out of his thoughts.
Jacob reached into his inner coat and removed a dispatch. Impossible to tell if he’d opened it. “This came for you.” He rubbed his fingers over the red seal. “Just after you . . . disappeared.”
Studying the envelope, I tried to make out the handwriting.
“I’m looking forward to playing chess again.” He gave an unconvincing smile. “I’m beginning to understand that it’s more than a game to you.”
“You’re a quick learner.”
“Not fast enough.”
I faked disinterest in the letter that he still held. My gaze fell on the portrait above the fireplace, a sunrise over the River Thames. We’d commissioned Alberto Ceravassio to paint it and paid him well.
“You’ve won the last three games,” Jacob said. “Occasionally, you let me win in order not to sabotage my morale.”
“Ah.”
“I’m getting to know you.” He handed me the envelope. “Understanding you helps me have a better understanding of myself.”
“And what do you see?”
He smiled. “Who’s it from?”
Ascertaining whether the seal had been compromised, I opened it and recognized the handwriting.
Jacob seemed distracted, but then his focus fell back on me.
I peeled open the cream paper. “Did you read this?”
“Why would I read your private letter?”
Had I really been stupid enough to teach Rachel to read and write?
Daumia,
I fell in love with you the moment you rescued me in the cathedral. You made me with your blood, therefore, our connection is great. I believe it’s your love for me that prevents you from allowing Jacob to become my lover. After all, you turned me, brought me over. To have your approval is all that I desire.
I couldn’t read anymore.
Jacob’s expression changed. “A problem?”
“Nothing that can’t be sorted.”
I’d nurtured Rachel and gone to great lengths to smooth her transformation, be there for her, and it had backfired. I’d selfishly enjoyed the way she’d stared at me, her admiring smile, and her coy blush. I’d encouraged her. I looked up at Jacob. “You read the letter?”
“I did.”
Sounds from the streets carried—carriages rumbling along, someone calling a name—but I didn’t catch it. I tried to maintain my composure.
Jacob approached the mantel and turned to face me. “It all makes sense now.”
“I’ve never been romantically involved with her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Doubting you.”
I gestured for him to continue.
He shot me a wary glance. “Rachel is clearly unsound.”
Rachel had always acted a little scatterbrained, but crazy? “I didn’t know how to tell you.” I shrugged.
“May I visit her?”
“It’s best if you don’t.”
“Your idea of her taking the sea air, it’s the best thing for her.”
“Yes.”
“The blood thing?” Jacob ran his fingers through his hair. “Where do you think she gets her ideas from?”
The painting’s dramatic reds and oranges were lit up by the firelight.
Jacob followed my gaze. “Very often, it’s a stressful event that triggers such an episode.”
A stark visual of Rachel sucking from those whom she’d seduced, rocking with pleasure as her once willing consort had quickly become an unwilling victim, fading in her arms, and I’d been the one to teach her, Rachel’s bloody smile after her first kill, like a child who’d learned a new trick.
A knock at the door made me jump.
Marcus appeared and stuck his head in. “Can I have a word?”
I approached him. “Not a good time.”
“I’ve searched everywhere,” Marcus whispered. “Rachel’s gone and so are all her belongings.”
“Find her,” I said. “And make it quick.”
“Something wrong?” Jacob asked.
I closed the door. “Everything’s just fine.”
“From her letter, she appears to believe she may be a vampire,” Jacob said calmly.
The room felt horribly stuffy, the air thick. I loosened my shirt collar.
Jacob’s stare met mine and he nodded, revealing more than just his suspicion. “She told me everything.”
Outside, a dog barked.
“You don’t go out during the day,” his voice changed ever so slightly. “I’ve never seen you eat anything.”
As his words continued, I felt myself unraveling, my worst nightmare unfolding. I placed my pale hands behind my back.
“So I can see where she gets her wild ideas from.” He neared me.
“Quite an imagination, that girl.”
“Living with an eccentric can rub off.” Jacob nodded my way.
I forced a smile, self-conscious that the stress may cause an elongation of my fangs.
Great, give yourself away, for fear of giving yourself away.
“Any thoughts?” he asked.
“On what?”
“Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“How do you mean?”
Jacob rifled through his jacket pocket and withdrew a small bottle, inside which a small amount of liquid swooshed. He flicked the contents onto the back of my hand.
I wiped off the moisture, unsure whether to be shocked or annoyed. “And I thought you were a man of science.”
“I am.”
“Then why not study your subject objectively?”
You’ve lost him, again.
“You make it sound so cold,” he said.
“You just threw Holy Water on me. I assume that’s what it is?”
“You look so incredibly young. I mean, we could pass for brothers.”
“I’m flattered.”
“You find this funny?”
“Not so much.”
“You’ve never eaten in front of me. I’ve never spent a day with you. And the way you move . . .” Jacob reached into his coat pocket.
“Please don’t tell me that’s a cross.”
Jacob spun round and held up a mirror. His gasp grated. “I didn’t believe her.” He held up the mirror again.
“I could never muster the courage to tell you.”
“I deserve the truth.”
“I reasoned that if you got to know me first . . .”
“Why did you come back into my life?”
“Because I love you.”
“Are you even capable of such an emotion?”
“Yes.”
“I wished you’d stayed away.”
My heart felt like something had punctured it. I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to ease it.
“Deny it.” He sucked in his breath.
“You want me to tell you that I’m not what I am?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not a vampire.”
“How long have you been one?”
“Twenty years.”
His face paled even more.
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I wanted to be the one to tell you.”
“You should have.”
I turned away.
“But it’s meant to be a myth, folklore,” he said.
“People are comforted by that.”
“I have to sit down.” Jacob took the seat near the fireplace. He stood up again, fidgeting. “Are you really my father?”
The question stunned me.
Jacob’s face softened. “And I thought I’d seen everything.”
“I never asked for this.”
“Someone did this to you?”
“I chose this life so that I could save yours.”
“What?”
“Hanging by a thread, literally seconds from death, I had to make a choice.”
“You were given a choice?”
“Had I not taken it, they would have killed you.”
“Don’t blame me for what you are.”
“I don’t.”
“How is it done?”
The courtyard. My arms pulled back in their bindings. A scarlet flow that seeped from my wound. Sunaria’s voice, her scent mingling with her taste. Death summoning me and then that dark decision . . .
Outside, a crow squawked, shattering the silence.
“Rachel cut her wrist.” Jacob gulped. “And it healed instantly.”