Julian hissed. “Little devil, go get dressed.” His eyes lingered on her breasts as she stood up and adjusted her shirt. “I’ll call ahead and reserve a table.”
“I’ll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes,” Eleni said, and blew him a kiss on her way out the door.
* * * * *
Eleni stood in front of the dresser mirror to put on a pair of silver dangle earrings that matched the shimmery, form fitted dress that Anya had bought for her as a farewell gift just before she’d left for France. Wearing it made her feel closer to her sister, more confident. Perfect for times like this, when she wanted to make an impression, but worried her nervousness would get in the way of enjoying the evening out.
After coiling her hair into a loose chignon, she pinned it in place then sat on the edge of her bed and slipped on a matching pair of silvery high heels.
At the last minute, she remembered the chinchilla coat that Julian had placed in the closet for her as an arrival gift. Now would be a perfect time to wear it. However, when she stepped into the walk-in closet, the coat was not where she hadn’t left it—the very first garment on the left side rack. She tried to remember if she had moved it. After the night she’d caught Gisele trying on her clothes, she’d rearranged a few things and had Julian put her valuables in the safe downstairs in his office.
Dread coursed through her. She didn’t want to doubt the gift. Julian had never specifically mentioned the coat to her, but why else would he leave something so luxurious in her room if it were not meant for her to use? There was only one other possibility, and a sinking feeling settled over her when she considered it. No one else but Gisele would likely have an interest in the contents of her closet.
Taking a deep breath, Eleni turned off the light in the closet and left the room. In the hallway, she took the servants stairs down to the kitchen, looking for Claudette.
The older housekeeper looked up from scrubbing a copper pot when Eleni entered the room, and tittered loudly. “
Mademoiselle
, you should not be in here. You could ruin your dress.”
“I’ll only be a minute, I promise. I need you to help me. There was a coat in my closet, a gift from Julian. Do you know where it is?”
“Your coat?” A frown etched Claudette’s face. She stopped scrubbing and wiped her hands on the front of her apron. “You’re sure it’s missing?”
“It isn’t where I left it.” Eleni chose her words carefully. She doubted Claudette would have much use for a fur coat, and didn’t want to make it sound as though she were accusing anyone of theft. Although it seemed the most likely explanation, she didn’t want to blame anyone—Gisele, in particular—without proof. But, at the same time, that didn’t change the fact the coat was missing, and she wanted to know what happened to it.
“Come. Let’s look for it,” Claudette said and bustled from the room. Eleni caught the swinging door on her way through and followed the woman across the entryway. “Not to worry,
Mademoiselle
. There are only so many places it could be,” the housekeeper confessed.
She went straight to the coat closet, and opened the door. Eleni stood back as she scraped hangers across the racks.
“
Voila!
” The house keeper declared a moment later, and struggled to work the coat out from the back of the closet and held it up for inspection, smoothing a gnarled, work roughened hand down the front of the fur. “
Zut alors
,” the woman said on a breath. “It was far in the back. No wonder you didn’t see it.” She offered the coat to Eleni. “Perhaps you didn’t remember leaving it downstairs.”
“That’s probably it,” Eleni said as she took the coat from Claudette’s hands, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Only days before she’d taken a coat down from the closet to walk Marguerite from the car. It hadn’t been in there at the time. “Do you know where Gisele is, at the moment?”
She shook her head. “Not right off hand. Did you need her for something? It’s the weekend, so I would imagine she has gone out with her friends from the village.”
“Oh, well, never mind, then. I can catch her later.”
“You’re sure?”
“It’s nothing important,” Eleni lied.
“If you say so…” Claudette returned to the closet and began smoothing the coats back in place on the rack. “Are you going out alone this evening,
Mademoiselle
? Should I call Henri for you?”
“No need for that,” Julian said, his voice ringing out from across the foyer.
Eleni turned to see him coming down the stairs, and her heart somersaulted at the vision he made in his black tailored suit.
“I thought we’d have an evening away,” he told the housekeeper. “I’m taking her to Gerard’s.”
Claudette’s brows shot up. “This is a surprise.” Her mouth drew down, but there was approval shining in her brown eyes. “It will be good for you to get out of the house.”
“So I’ve been told,” he teased the housekeeper as he strolled across the foyer to stand beside Eleni. “I’m starting to suspect the two of you are in league.”
Claudette cackled. “If that’s so, you stand no chance.” She winked at Eleni, which made her smile.
“Agreed…” he said as his eyes scanned Eleni from head to toe. Her heart went pitter patter at his heated expression. She could just imagine the effect such a seductive man must’ve had on society two hundred years ago. Julian probably had women swooning at his feet.
A gentleman to the core, he picked up Eleni’s hand and kissed it. “You are a temptation.”
Claudette tsked. “You’ll make an old woman blush with talk like that.” She shut the closet door. “Since I’m no longer needed, I’ll go back to my cleaning. A late movie I want to see is coming on at 1:00 AM. I plan to fold clothes while I watch.” She turned toward the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder. “Have fun, the two of you. I’ll leave the door to the garage unlocked for when you come back.”
“Thank you, Claudette,” Eleni called after her. Claudette waved a hand over her shoulder in a gesture of friendly dismissal as she bustled away through the swinging door.
“You’ve charmed her, I see,” Julian murmured once they were alone.
“You think so?”
He chuckled. “She is a mother hen, but I love her for it. You’re ready to go?”
Eleni nodded, and he took the coat and held it for her while she slid her arms into the satin-lined sleeves. The fur was heavy, and immediately she was enveloped with the ghostly scent of gardenia perfume and cigarette smoke.
Julian frowned. “You’re tense. Is something the matter?”
“No. I’m good. I was just thinking…” She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
“Whether it’s nothing or not, think pleasant things.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing her face. “There is just the two of us tonight. I want our time together to be special—and free of any sadness.”
Chez Gerard turned out to be a spot of small town elegance in the heart of the Ville Cleménce. The charming plaster and stone building had a dozen slender windows with hunter green trim facing the closed end of the town square, where the clock tower loomed over a large central fountain. Julian told her Chez Gerard’s was one of the rare places outside of Bergerac, or pretty much anywhere else in the
Périgord
Pourpre, that stayed open so late into the evening that they could accommodate vampires.
The menu was written entirely in French, so Eleni had Julian order for her. She told him she wanted to try something that would be considered a local delicacy, and pride had glittered in his gray eyes.
He ordered truffles, and grilled trout, along with a bottle of white, Sévigné wine, which Eleni had marveled over, pleasing Julian because she recognize the label at first glance.
“Everything all right with your fish?” Julian asked a short time later.
Eleni looked up at the sound of his voice, but it took her a moment to process what he’d said. She’d been daydreaming, thinking about San Francisco, and the familiar night views of lights glittering in the bay. “Oh.” She glanced down at her plate. “Everything’s fine, really great. The walnut sauce is amazing.”
“That boring, am I?” His voice was droll, teasing as he swirled wine around in his glass.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m having a good time, I—” Her breath caught as she stopped, thinking a moment. “You know, this is the first time I’ve been to the village since I arrived. I suppose I can’t help being a little pre-occupied.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” he said absently. “You’re right. This is your first evening out.” His eyes took on some stormy emotion she had never seen in him before. He took a deep breath. “It must be stifling for you. I don’t often leave the chateau for more than business. I wish for your sake I could promise it will not always be this way.”
A silence came over him then. A faraway look in his eyes, he stared through the window at the lamp lit square. It hadn’t snowed in more than a week, and the snow had mostly melted. Slush remained in the shadowy places along the central median.
“It will be midnight in another thirty minutes or so,” he said in a voice that had gone weary. “The restaurant will be closing.”
The streets were mostly deserted, yet he stared with a strange, focused intensity out at the night. Eleni could almost see his thoughts working, and thought perhaps he was avoiding some internal battle about his isolation he wanted to face, much less discuss.
It hadn’t been her intention to make him feel guilty or uncomfortable. It would’ve been better if she hadn’t said anything at all, but it was too late to take it back now. She glanced down at the rare steak on his plate, only partly eaten, enough to give the guise of a human appetite, and her face grew hot. It dawned on her how foolish and dense she had been. Dominic and Marguerite had both told her Julian was reclusive. And why wouldn’t he be? He had no need for these kinds of amusements. All of this had been orchestrated for her happiness—the getaway, a night in the village, and dinner in the square.
When he looked at her again, his eyes had gone hard and unreadable. Inside, she withered a little bit. She already missed the warm, open Julian she had come to know—the man who had been sitting right across the table from her until she’d opened her big mouth and ruined the moment.
Although he looked perfectly composed, it occurred to her that this probably wasn’t the most comfortable environment for him. He looked dashing in his suit, and his long hair perfectly covered the burn scars along the left side of his neck, but he was a sensitive, self-conscious man. When they had walked in, he’d attracted the eye of every female, regardless of age, but as a vampire, he still saw himself as tragically flawed.
Her heart went out to him. If she’d thought about it more rationally, she’d never have asked him to bring her here. She took one more bite of grilled fish, savoring the flavor of the delicate seasonings and walnut sauce, then put down her fork. Julian eyed her when she picked up the napkin she’d laid across her lap at the beginning of the meal and dabbed it against her mouth before laying it on the table. “I’m ready to go if you are.”
“You’re sure? There’s still dessert…”
“I’m good…besides, nothing can compare with Claudette’s walnut cake.”
His eyes glittered with pride. “It would thrill her to hear you say that.”
She took another sip of dry white wine while Julian called the waiter over for the bill.
Minutes later, in the tiny tiled entryway, Julian helped her into her coat then held the door for her. An icy wind gusted, whistling around the corners of the stone building, and rattling the front glass as Eleni stepped out onto the cobbled street and waited for Julian, who had turned around to ease the door closed so the wind wouldn’t snatch it from his hand and slam it into place.
There were no sidewalks, just a narrow cobbled road lined with a few cars. Eleni had always liked this time of night, even while living in San Francisco. It seemed cozy and intimate, especially in little places like this. It was quiet and sleepy; most of the humans had gone home, and the walkways were lamp-lit every few feet.
Julian returned to her, and she slipped her arm through his. She took a step toward his car, but he surprised her by steering her in the opposite direction.
She looked up at him. “Where are we going?”
“I thought you might want to see the square before we go home. The traffic is light at the moment, but next week is
la Festival des Masques.
It’s an annual street party that takes place throughout the entire village.”
“That sounds fantastic!”
“I think you would like it,” he said, guiding her in the direction of a large central fountain of a barefoot woman in a flowing skirt with a laurel in her hair. The figure was frozen in a dancer’s pose, with one hand clutching her skirts, and the other a tambourine she held in the air.
The water wasn’t flowing through it at the moment, but it was impressive all the same. Slushy snow and dried leaves curled in the blacked trough. He let go of her hand and turned a circle, looking around. “It will not look like this next week. You’ll see. I’m usually working when it’s going on, but I like to walk through the madness when I can.” His grin was devilish. “The revelers wear masks, you see, and there is a street dance with traditional music. The town council holds a pageant and a royal court, and the people who participate spend months on their costumes. There are other entertainments also, such as marionettes, a local art show, and street performers.”
“It sounds busy,” she said, glancing up at the pointy roofed clock tower directly across from the fountain. It was five minutes until midnight.
“The event is not much different than it was two hundred years ago when it began. I’ll take you if I’m not bogged down with work. I think we’d both enjoy it.” Silence fell over him before he turned and looked down the square in the direction they’d come from. His expression turned dark, wistful. “It’s much the same as it was two hundred years ago,
hein
? Modernized, of course—the roads are better.” He laughed.
Eleni remained silent and allowed him his moment of nostalgia. From the moment she’d first set eyes on him, he had seemed so modern and urbane; it was easy to forget that Julian was several hundred years old. Without a doubt, he had seen many things come and go in his lifetime—roads, buildings, and possibly even entire villages. She could only imagine how it must feel to be surrounded by so much change, only to stumble onto one small area that made you feel, even if only for an instant, that you had been cast back to another time.