Now Comes the Night (17 page)

Rumor had it Georgia was one of only two, or possibly three vampires whom Conrad had allowed to be tattooed with the Quintano crest during the late seventeen-hundreds, when the wearing of such things had become a fad among the English upper-class. It was more than just a status symbol, or a sign of their devotion to their sire. It was a mark of Conrad’s great regard for them, his pledge to give his life in their defense, should the need arise, and to treat any insult to any one of them as though it were directed at himself personally.

If Georgia had set herself against Marc, it did not bode well. Not for Marc and not for Drew either. It suddenly occurred to Drew that by befriending Marc he might have hitched his wagon to the wrong horse.

“I know only what I’ve been told, my lady, or what I myself have observed. If I’ve been misinformed about anything…I hope it won’t be held against me?”

“That’s not for me to decide.” Once again, Georgia shrugged off Drew’s concerns. “But, as Marc’s friend, you
would
want to help him, would you not, if he were to find himself in some kind of trouble?”

Drew swallowed hard. “I would hope that rendering such assistance would not come at the risk of…of losing Conrad’s favor.” The fact that he was not of Conrad’s direct bloodline was never far from Drew’s thoughts. However hard he worked at his job, his position within the family had always seemed more than a little precarious. On the other hand, the lady was also not of Conrad’s making. She, too, had been acquired by Conrad upon the death of her original sire. One could almost say it was a bond that she and Drew shared. Perhaps he should remind her of that fact? Or was her origin not something the lady would care to have mentioned? That certainly seemed to be the case with most of the
Invitus
.

“What about my favor?” Georgia asked. Her smile mocked him. “I assume you don’t wish to lose that either, do you?”

“Ma’am?”

“The reason I ask is very simple. As Marc’s friend, and mine too, I hope, I would like you to undertake a small task for me. I want you to find out exactly what he’s been getting himself into. He seems a nice young man. I hate the thought of his getting into trouble. And I’m sure you do too. But, even more, I’d hate to think that Conrad’s trust had been misplaced.”

Drew stared at her in surprise. He could feel the blood draining from his face. Conrad’s trust in who, exactly? “Have you asked him—Marc, I mean—what he’s up to? Surely, he’d…he’d tell you if…”

“If he were involved in something he shouldn’t be? I seriously doubt it. Why should he confide in me? After all, we’re barely acquainted.”

“Still, I’m sure you’d have no…” Drew’s voice stuttered to a stop, plagued by doubts of his own. He seriously doubted Marc’s ability to resist, if Georgia bent her will to learning his secrets. And he seriously doubted Georgia was at all worried about “convincing” Marc to confide in her. Most of all, he seriously doubted she needed any reminding of that fact—or that he wanted to be the one to remind her.

“As it happens, I’ve already had one rather disappointing interview with the boy. I found him less than cooperative, which is why I’ve come to you.”

Lucky me
. Drew licked his lips. His voice was dull as he asked, “What is it you wish me to do?”

“Nothing too odious, I assure you. Just talk to him. Ask questions. Find out what his plans are.” Still smiling, Georgia got to her feet. “Now, that doesn’t sound too difficult, does it?”

Drew rose automatically as well, prompted by the manners he’d been perfecting for over two centuries. He shook his head. “No, my lady,” he lied. “Not too difficult at all.” It might not have been an honest answer, but Drew was sure it was the correct one.

“Excellent. I’ll take my leave of you then.”

“Lady Lancaster?” Drew cleared his throat, stopping Georgia as she was reaching for the doorknob. “Once I’ve talked to him…what then?”

Georgia’s eyes widened. She stared guilelessly back at him. “Well, then, you should come and see me, and tell me everything you’ve learned. I’ll be waiting most anxiously for your report.”

Drew nodded. Of course she would. “Do not meddle in the affairs of
Invitus
,”
he muttered after he’d watched her walk out of the room
.
That was very good advice as well. Perhaps he should get himself a T-shirt.

“It’s been a long time since we threw a New Year’s Eve party.” Julie watched Damian’s face as she made the remark, curious to see what his reaction would be. He was seated at his desk, which was located in one of the small sitting rooms off the front foyer, a room Julie found oddly unsettling, despite its comfortable furnishings. She’d been trying for two days to think of a way to subtly broach the subjects of humans and addiction, but this new Damian was preoccupied and oddly uncommunicative.

“
Sí.
A very long time,” Damian murmured at last in response, without looking up from the list he was making. His tone was indifferent but, for just an instant, his lips tightened and Julie was certain she saw a faraway look flash through his eyes. Or almost certain. It was gone again so quickly, she was left wondering if perhaps she’d only imagined it.

She sat back in her chair and sighed inwardly. He had to feel something, didn’t he? She remembered the last party vividly, how different he’d seemed then. Carefree. Happy. In love. Her younger, romantic, pre-pubescent self had been envious and faintly jealous when she caught sight of the heightened color in his cheeks after his date had teasingly pointed out the mistletoe and tried to drag him to stand beneath it. Surely, after that… Or maybe she’d been imagining things all along.

Either way, she was through beating around the bush. This subtle approach was getting her nowhere. “So, what do you think of me and Brennan?” she asked instead. “I mean—really?”

“I think he’s a fine young man,” Damian replied, still without looking up from his task. “Obviously. I would not have hired him otherwise.”

“That’s not what I asked. I mean what do you think of the two of us—as a couple?”

Damian’s lips quirked. He glanced up at her finally and smiled. “What is it you’d like me to say,
chica
? That I’ll never think any man is good enough for my little girl? That’s true, but that doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to entertain yourself. It just means that I worry about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt,
querida
. Surely you realize this relationship you have with Brennan, with anyone human, can only last for so long.”

Julie nodded. They
all
knew that. But had knowing it ever yet stopped any of them from falling for someone just the same? Not as far as she could see. “Armand says you don’t like Brennan
because
he’s human.”

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me very much either. After all, Armand is not infrequently incorrect.”

Julie had to stop for a moment and think that one through. “So…Armand’s wrong?”

Damian’s eyebrows rose. “Did I not just say that?”

But Julie wasn’t altogether certain
what
Damian was saying anymore. “He also said it’s likely that Brennan’s become addicted to venom, that he needs it now and wouldn’t necessarily stop seeing me, even if he wanted to. Do you think that’s possible?”

“Oh, addicted.” Damian wrinkled his nose. “What an ugly word to use. I would prefer to say…habituated. After all, one may become used to many things without it being the end of the world if you suddenly had to do without. It’s not as though you’re causing him physical harm, is it?”

“Aren’t I?”

Damian’s lips quirked in a barely concealed smile. He flashed her a mischievous look. “Well, you’d know that better than I would,
chica
. And if that’s the kind of thing you both find pleasurable…” He broke off with a small shrug.

Julie could feel her cheeks redden. “Stop it. You know I’m not gonna talk about stuff like that with you. Besides, that’s not what I mean. I’m serious, D.”

“I know.” Damian sighed. He looked slightly repentant, which helped to mollify Julie’s feelings—but only a little. “And that’s exactly the problem. For someone so young, you’re entirely
too
serious. You should be going out more, having fun, enjoying yourself with others of your kind. I’m not saying you can’t spend time with Brennan, but must you spend
all
your waking hours with him? Anyway, that’s partly why I’m throwing this party, you know, to give you and your brother a chance to socialize a little with others in the nest.”

“But I’m
not
that young anymore,” Julie protested, resisting the impulse to point out that she also did
not
spend every hour with Brennan. How could she when he had to work so much of the time? Since Damian was the one who made up the employee schedules in the first place, she figured he already knew that.

Damian’s expression softened. He smiled fondly at her. “Oh,
mi niña linda
, it doesn’t matter how old you get. You’ll always be my baby girl. Nothing will ever change that. Don’t you know that by now?”

Julie nodded. She did know that. And she still remembered so many times as a child, and even afterwards, when Conrad and Damian had left and it was just her and Marc, when knowing she was loved unconditionally by the three most important men in her life—and always would be—had been enough to lighten even the darkest of her moods. Enough to make her feel safe and secure no matter what else was going on in the world.

Lately, things had changed. Maybe it had something to do with the fact she really
wasn’t
a child anymore, or maybe it was the result of the last six months, all the fear and uncertainty they’d all had to live with, all the changes. But, somehow, just knowing she was loved wasn’t enough anymore. It didn’t make her feel safe. It didn’t make her feel invulnerable. And it didn’t take away the desire to find a lasting relationship.

“All the same, if I were human, I’d be practically middle-aged.” She didn’t feel that old, though, did she? Especially not compared to all the other vampires. Maybe that’s why she felt so out of her depth around most of them. “Shouldn’t I be acting more like it?”

Damian shrugged. “Should you? Why? If I were still human I’d be dead several times over and Conrad…well, he’d hardly even be recognizable as dust. Does that mean we should act like corpses? I don’t think so. Age is irrelevant. You need act only as old as you feel. Luckily, for most of us, that tends to coincide with how old we look. This is a very good thing, in my opinion. How else could we hope to fit in, or even begin to relate to creatures so much younger than ourselves if we’re always feeling apart from them?”

“But we
are
apart from them. And…are you saying that we don’t just stop aging physically, but mentally and emotionally as well?” Was that true? Was she really fated to
always
feel this young, this unprepared for life?

“For the most part. Or so I’ve always believed. Aren’t you glad? As humans age, they tend to become so staid, so boring and stodgy. Who would want that? Can you imagine how tedious an eternity of that would seem?”

“So you’re saying chronic immaturity is better? You know, if we
were
human that kind of thing would probably be called arrested development.”

“Ah, but we’re
not
human, are we? And you need to stop thinking as though you were.”

For a second time, a wave of heat scorched Julie’s cheeks. Coming from Damian, such a sharp speech was akin to a scolding. It made her feel as though she really was still a child. “And whose fault is that?” she snapped angrily. “Why’d you raise me to think like one then?”

Damian gasped. “
Chica!
” He glanced quickly at the open doorway then whispered fiercely, “Lower your voice. You
know
better than to speak of such things where we might be overheard.”

Julie ducked her head in embarrassment. She did know better, although the reasons why she’d been repeatedly ordered to say nothing about her past remained a mystery. “I know,” she muttered, shamefaced. “Sorry.”

Damian sighed. “What is the matter,
niña?
You haven’t been yourself these past few days. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Maybe later,” Julie said as she uncurled herself from the couch. Suddenly, being around other vampires, even one other vampire, even Damian, was too much for her. “There’s something I need to do right now. Or…you know what? I think tomorrow would be even better for me. Is it all right if I help you some more tomorrow instead?”

Damian inclined his head. “Certainly,” he murmured, his voice gracious, kind, remote.

Julie nodded her thanks and hurried from the room. She’d always thought Marc silly for railing against their nature. Now, she was beginning to wonder if her brother didn’t have a point. Sometimes being a vampire was not all it was cracked up to be.

As Damian watched Julie go, he couldn’t help but wonder at her choice of words. If she was really planning to help him some more tomorrow, did that mean she imagined she’d been of any assistance so far? Much as Damian always enjoyed the time he spent with either of the twins, it would take more than sitting on the couch and brooding to get this party planned.

He was disappointed by her lack of interest. He’d thought she’d enjoy it. She always used to. And then there was this odd conversation about being human. It was the kind of thing he was used to hearing from Marc, who had never had an easy time coming to terms with his nature. Of the two of them, Julie had always been the more content in that regard. She did not seem content now, however. In fact, she seemed more unhappy than Damian could ever recall having seen her before.