Blue Moon (Book One in The Blue Crystal Trilogy) (18 page)

“This old car has seen better
days,” he commented, as we walked past my sad old Mini, marooned on
the driveway, its once cream paintwork concealed beneath layers of
grime.

“Watch what you say about
Martha,” I cautioned him, with mock alarm.

“Martha?” he teased. “You’re
joking.”

“No,” I said defensively,
“Martha was very useful until she fell into disrepair. She was my
first car when I passed my driving test. She took us all over the
place, ‘til her age caught up with her.”

“You should let Joseph take a
look,” he suggested. “He’d soon bring her back to life.”

“He’s not just green-fingered
then?” I asked.

“No, Joseph’s fantastic with
anything mechanical. He’ll have her roadworthy in no time.”

“Brill,” I beamed at him. “It’d
be great to give her a new lease of life.”

“Why don’t we drive her over to
the Hall and let him work his magic?” suggested Theo. “That is,
supposing she’s still driveable.”

“Of course she’s still
driveable. She only failed her MOT. Although doesn’t that make it
illegal to drive her?”

“Technically, yes,” said Theo,
“but we’re only going to the hall and I guarantee no-one will see
us. Do you have the key? Let’s see what this old girl’s capable
of.”

I found the key at the bottom
of my bag and we were soon sitting in Martha, Theo at the driving
wheel. I had thought her battery would be flat, but amazingly she
sprang to life as soon as Theo turned the ignition. He reversed her
out of the driveway and on to the road.

“I have something I want to
show you when we get to the hall,” said Theo mysteriously, as we
pulled on to the High Street.

“What’s that?” I asked,
intrigued.

“It’s something I’ve bought for
Violet,” he explained, “but I wanted you to take a look first, and
then we can give it to her together.”

“Okay,” I said, a little
surprised. It wasn’t quite what I’d been expecting to hear.

“She’s been a little out of
sorts recently,” said Theo. “I think us getting together might have
had something to do with it. You should have seen her when she came
home from college that first day. She couldn’t stop talking about
you, how she’d made a friend, how great you were, how good it was
to have someone to talk to.”

“Oh dear,” I said. “I hadn’t
realised.”

“What you have to understand,”
said Theo, “is that when we were in Egypt, she didn’t have any
friends. We did our schooling together and nobody else was around.
Joseph was always visiting, and he and I would go off together, but
Violet had no one. She was on her own. So for her to make a friend
at her new college was a big deal to her. And then I came along and
took you away from her. She still hasn’t forgiven me.”

He looked at me. “Don’t worry,
it’s not your fault…”

“I had no idea, I was just
trying to make her feel welcome.”

Suddenly I felt awful. It had
never been my plan for anyone to get hurt.

“If it’s any consolation, Tash
was just as jealous of her those first few days,” I informed Theo.
“She thought Violet had become my best friend. It’s all a bit of a
mess, isn’t it?”

“Don't worry,” he said,
squeezing my hand, “Violet will come round, as will Tash. Deep
down, Violet really likes you. And there’s no reason why you can’t
be good friends with her and go out with me.”

“I hope so,” I said, feeling
confused. The situation was more complicated than I’d realised, but
at least it explained why Violet had been so cold towards me. And
perhaps that was why the servants were so dismissive of me. They
saw me as a threat to family unity. Loyalty to their family came
first, and I was perceived as the interloper. Suddenly, our theory
about vampires and strangeness appeared very far-fetched. I’d
allowed myself to read far more into the situation than was
actually there. I began to feel rather stupid.

“So, what you have bought for
Violet that will make things better?” I asked Theo.

“Wait and see,” he
answered.

By this time, we’d arrived back
at the hall and Theo parked Martha in the courtyard in front of the
house. As we got out, right on cue, Joseph appeared.

“Nice wheels, Theo,” he
commented, drily.

Theo threw him the key.

“A little renovation project
for you, Jo,” he said. “This is Martha, Emily’s car. Failed her
MOT. Think you can do anything?”

“I should think so,” he said,
running his hand over Martha’s bonnet.

I stared. Martha looked
immediately brighter and cleaner.

“How did you do that, Joseph?”
I asked, astounded.

“Do what?” he asked, looking
puzzled.

“Make her glow like that?”

He grinned. “A trick of the
light, that’s all. Leave her with me, Emily, I’ll soon have her as
good as new.”

“Thanks Joseph, I really
appreciate this.”

“Come on, Emily,” called Theo,
opening the hall’s huge oak front door and holding it open for me.
I followed him inside, turning to give Joseph and Martha a final
look. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was really beginning to gleam.
Joseph beamed at me.

Inside, no one was about, which
made me feel better. I certainly wasn’t up to meeting Aquila or
Pantera. The sounds of Clair de Lune wafted on the air from the
ballroom. Violet was playing the piano.

“Come upstairs,” Theo
whispered, and I followed him up the enormous carved central
stairway. He led the way along the corridor, stopping by one of the
bedroom doors.

“It’s in here,” he said
conspiratorially, turning the brass doorknob and opening the door.
It was one of the rooms he’d shown me on my previous visit, a large
airy room, beautifully decorated in shades of red and pink.

“Over here,” said Theo,
indicating the sofa, where a large cardboard box had been placed.
Now I was intrigued.

He carefully opened the box and
lifted out the most gorgeous grey kitten. It was tiny, no more than
about seven or eight weeks old, a small fluffball of grey and white
fur, that sat in the palm of his hand. He looked up at me.

“What d’you think?” he
asked.

“It’s beautiful, Theo,” I said,
totally taken aback. “What a lovely surprise. Violet will adore it.
What is it? Girl or boy?”

“It’s a boy,” he answered, “I
call him Grey Boy for the moment, but I’m sure Violet will give him
a name.”

“Can I hold him?” I asked, and
Theo placed the small bundle of fur into my hands.

He was the prettiest little
kitten I’d ever seen. A tiny little face looked up at me, with a
small pink nose, long white whiskers and huge dark eyes. He made a
plaintive little cry as he looked up at me and I held him close to
my jacket, giving him warmth and comfort.

“Oh, Theo, what a brilliant
idea,” I said, thinking what a kind, thoughtful person he was. Who
else would have thought of doing something like this?

“Can we give him to Violet
now?”

“Stay here with Grey Boy and
I’ll go and get her,” he said, walking to the door, then turning to
me and saying, “Remember, he’s from both of us.”

He closed the door behind him
and I looked at the tiny little creature before me, playfully
trying to catch the toggles of my jacket. He was perfect, a
friendly, playful little kitten that represented a gesture of
friendship between myself, Theo and Violet.

“Let’s hope you smooth things
over, Grey Boy,” I whispered into the soft fur on his head.

A few minutes later, the door
opened and Theo appeared with Violet.

“Oh, hello, Emily,” she said in
surprise, “I didn’t realise you were here. What’s this about?”

She suddenly saw the little
grey bundle in my hands and squealed.

“A kitten! Oh, he’s so cute.
Where did he come from? Can I hold him?”

“He’s yours,” said Theo. “A
present from Emily and me. Go on, take him.”

I placed Grey Boy in her arms
and she cuddled him, looking up at us.

“He’s gorgeous. Thank you. I
wasn’t expecting this.”

The kitten mewed at her and
tried to paw her hair hanging over her shoulder.

“Oh, look at him,” she beamed
at us, “isn’t he just adorable?”

Theo and I glanced at each
other and breathed a sigh of relief. The plan was working.
Hopefully things were on the mend and we could look forward to a
new era of friendship.

“Does he have a name?” asked
Violet.

“Well, I just call him Grey
Boy,” said Theo, “but if you want to name him, it’s up to you.”

Violet looked at the kitten
closely. “Grey Boy,” she said and he meowed. “He seems to answer to
his name, doesn’t he?” she asked. “Perhaps I’ll just stick with
Grey Boy. It’s to the point. He’s grey and he’s a boy.”

We all laughed and I felt the
iciness that had been around us for the last couple of weeks begin
to thaw.

“Come on, let’s take him
downstairs,” said Violet. She cuddled the kitten close to her.
“Thank you. He’s beautiful.”

She carried Grey Boy
downstairs, across the reception area and into the old ballroom,
where Viyesha and Leon sat on the huge purple sofas, warming
themselves by the fireside. A bottle of wine stood on the coffee
table and they drank from exquisitely ornate, old-fashioned wine
glasses.

“Emily, I didn’t realise you
were here,” said Viyesha, placing her glass on the table and rising
from her seat.

She looked stunning in a
close-fitting cream shift dress, her hair pinned up, showing off
ornate silver earrings and a matching silver necklace that bore a
blue crystal similar to the one I was wearing. I was glad I’d
tucked it beneath my T-shirt. I wasn’t sure Theo had told his
parents about it yet, and didn’t want to place him in an awkward
position.

“Will you join us for a glass
of wine?” asked Leon, looking once again like a Hollywood film
star, with his straw blond hair, piercing blue eyes and pale blue
linen jacket.

“No thanks, Leon,” I said
politely. “I should be going, really.”

“Look, mother,” said Violet,
holding up the kitten. “See what Theo and Emily have got for me.
Isn’t he adorable?”

“He’s gorgeous,” said Viyesha.
“Bring him here.”

Violet carried the kitten over
to her mother, and she gently stroked his head, while Grey Boy
tried to catch her fingers with his paws and we all laughed.

Leon looked across at Theo.
“Nice move, Theo,” he said.

“Come and have a seat,” said
Viyesha, indicating for Theo and me to join her on the sofa.

For the next half hour, I
enjoyed a pleasant family evening with the de Lucis family. Violet
sat on the floor playing with the kitten, while Theo and I chatted
with his parents. The servants were nowhere to be seen, which made
matters easier, and the conversation bowled along, talking about
Hartsdown College, their future plans for Hartswell Hall, life in
the village and all manner of ordinary, everyday subjects. Viyesha,
of course, had the gift of making me feel relaxed and at ease, and
I found I was enjoying myself. I even allowed Leon to pour me a
small glass of wine.

As I laughed with them, I
thought how normal it all seemed and how ridiculous our vampire
theories were. The de Lucis’s were just different to me, that was
all. They had a moneyed, cultured background I could only dream
about, and that’s what had created the problems in my mind. They
were friendly and welcoming, and I really couldn’t ask for more
than that. Even their beauty seemed less overwhelming than last
time. Theo looked across at me fondly and I suddenly realised how
much I wanted to be part of this family. It was early days, but I
was already starting to feel closer to them all.

At 9.15, I decided it was time
to leave. Viyesha fondly kissed my cheek and for a brief moment I
caught a scent of her perfume. It was such a delicate, floral
fragrance that instantly brought a picture of warm summer days and
happy times into my mind. I made a mental note to ask her what it
was. Leon kissed my cheek and, once again, the feeling of immense
strength and power flooded into my being. I felt safe just standing
next to him.

“Emily, it’s been delightful,”
said Viyesha, in her soft, well-spoken voice.

“We look forward to seeing you
again,” said Leon, twinkling at me and smiling.

“Thank you for a lovely
evening, both of you,” I said warmly, adding to Violet, who still
sat playing with Grey Boy in front of the fire. “Bye, Violet, see
you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Emily,” she answered.
“Hang on, I’ll come with you and see you out.”

She scooped up Grey Boy into
her arms and followed Theo and me across the ballroom and out into
the reception area.

“You’re going to love exploring
this old house, aren’t you, little one,” she said, nuzzling her
face into his soft face. “Thanks again, Emily, it was very kind of
you and Theo.”

I looked at Theo, an unspoken
message going between us. Things were going to be all right.

“I’ll walk you back,” he said,
gallantly. “It’s getting dark and I don’t want you wandering
through the grounds on your own.”

I gladly accepted his offer.
Hartswell Hall grounds were one area where I didn’t feel entirely
safe, especially not at night, and even more so after the events of
the other day. Once I reached the main road, I’d be fine.

As Theo opened the huge oak
studded door at the entrance, things seemed to occur very quickly.
One minute Violet was holding the kitten in her hand, standing
waving goodbye, the next moment Aquila was driving into the
courtyard in the sleek, black Jaguar. He was driving fast and
swerved to go round Martha, who was still parked there. Startled by
the sudden movement, Grey Boy leapt out of Violet’s arms and within
a split second had run into the pathway of the Jaguar. There was
nothing Aquila could do. The wheels turned, the brakes screeched
and the kitten disappeared under the car. Violet screamed, and
Aquila, seeing that something was wrong, brought the car to an
immediate standstill. Theo darted from my side, trying to save the
kitten, but even for him, it had been too fast. He reached under
the car and brought out a lifeless, bloodied, small grey body. It
had been instant and the kitten had obviously felt nothing, but the
shock was palpable amongst us all.