like that you’re going. I’m going to send some of my Lessers to watch over you.”
“The others aren’t bringing Lessers. And the more vampires we have, the more blood we’ll need to travel with.”
“Then we’ll get more blood.”
“Victor, if I’m claiming to be equal to Old Family, then I can’t be given special treatment.”
“We’re going to disagree on this.”
“Yes, but in the end, you’ll recognize that I’m right.”
“Maybe,” he grumbles. He combs his fingers through my hair. I could become so lost in the gentle sensations.
“When do you think the Old Families will arrive?” I ask.
“Sometime in the next night or so, hopefully.”
“Then I need to go to Denver tomorrow,” I announce. “I need to let Clive—everyone—know that I’m leaving . . . and why.”
He places his hand on the back of my neck, begins kneading my tight muscles. “It won’t be easy.”
“Nothing in my life is. Even falling for you was hard.”
His eyes glitter with understanding. Having me in his life hasn’t been easy for him either.
“Will you come back tomorrow night?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No. I’m going to arrange a little dinner at the apartment for everyone. I’ll tell them afterward.”
He cocks his head to the side. “I didn’t know you cooked.”
I shrug. “I’ve watched Rachel. You heat a pan or the oven and put stuff in it until it’s cooked.”
He grins. “I’m sure it will be a very special meal.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why do I think you’re mocking me?”
His smile widens. “I would never mock you.”
“Better not.” I lean into him. “I can take your message about sending in the Lessers to Clive.”
“I’ve already sent it. I knew once you started getting ready for bed that I would have plenty of time.”
I straighten. “It didn’t take me that long.”
“It always takes women a long time. Faith needs at least two hours.”
“It took me twenty minutes, tops.”
“That’s all I needed.” He threads his fingers through my hair, holding me near. “Your friends won’t turn against you, Dawn.”
He voiced one of my biggest fears: that they’ll look at me differently. I remember Michael wiping his hand after he touched me in Crimson Sands. I had to fight for my place in the vampire world. Now I may have to fight for it in the human world.
Chapter 18
To my surprise, I wake up feeling fully rested. I roll over to see Victor lying so peacefully, as still as death. I listen for his breath and hear it softly flow in and out, his chest barely rising at all.
My stomach growls and I worry it’ll wake him up. It’s not
I quietly shut the door and head toward the stairs. I don’t know where the kitchen is, but I assume that it’s near the dining room, the infamous place where I used to meet Lord Valentine.
Down the stairs, through another hall, and I’m greeted by the two massive Greek sculptures that flank the doors. I guess that hasn’t changed. But when I open them up, I’m greeted by something new. Someone.
Eustace is setting the massive table.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, suddenly uncomfortable that I’m alone in a room with a vampire. Everyone else is asleep. Shouldn’t he be as well?
“Ah, good day, Miss Montgomery,” he says. “I heard you coming down the hall. I suppose you’re here for breakfast.”
“Yes, and please call me Dawn.”
“Yes, Miss Montgomery. Please, have a seat, while I go inform the cook.”
“Thank you.”
I sit in the nearest chair, the flames crackling in the fireplace. The room, like much of the manor, has huge windows that are kept under blinds and curtains during the day. Tiny bits of sunlight slip through the bottom, but the room itself is brightened slightly by gas lamps along the wall. I always figured vampires wouldn’t like windows, but I guess they like to look out at night. An oil lamp is suddenly placed in front of me by Eustace, who seems to appear out of nowhere.
“Please forgive the darkness,” he says. “Normally the moon and stars help alleviate that. But I’m afraid the windows must be closed for now.”
“It’s no problem. I hate being a bother. I’ll just take some food back to the room.”
“No, no, I won’t hear of it.”
He continues setting the table, the napkins and silverware lined up so perfectly that I’m surprised he doesn’t have a ruler to measure the exact angles and distances. I guess he’s had a lot of practice. He looks to be in his late forties but could be hundreds of years old. I have no idea when he was turned, or even by whom. All I know is that once he was human.
A moment later he brings me coffee and orange juice on a silver platter. “I do hope that coffee or juice is
“I love coffee. Juice? I can take it or leave it.”
“Take it or leave it where?” he asks.
I fight back my laughter because I don’t want to insult him. Obviously he doesn’t get out much. “It’s just an expression. I’ll drink it.”
“Very good.”
“Everything smells wonderful,” I say.
“You’re a guest of the Valentine house. The servants are here to serve.”
A female vampire sets a plate loaded with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit in front of me. I quickly take a few bites, only realizing how hungry I am once the aromas hit and the tastes explode in my mouth.
“I hope this is adequate,” Eustace says.
Is he joking? “More than adequate,” I say. “It’s amazing.”
“I shall pass on your compliments to the chef.”
When I finish my food, Eustace has the plates taken away and refills my coffee cup. I begin to understand what Victor meant when he once told me that the Victorian era was their glory days. This sort of pampering would have been normal for the Old Families, so they could’ve blended right in with the wealthy. I imagine them having house parties with humans, their guests being none the wiser that a vampire was host, a monster from books and legends. I have to ask. . . .
“Eustace, can I have a moment with you?”
“Of course, miss.”
He stands by the chair across from me, hands folded, listening attentively.
“You can take a seat,” I say, trying not to smile.
He looks around, maybe confused a bit, before sliding out the chair and sitting down. He takes a moment to make sure it’s perfectly aligned with the table, then sits upright, everything about his posture faultlessly parallel and perpendicular.
“Were you a butler during the Victorian era?” I ask. “It’s just that Old Family always talk about it, but I’ve only ever heard tales from them, never a Lesser. So I was just curious what it was like.”
He looks up dreamily for a moment. “It was wonderful,” he says. “Everyone was polite. The Old Families
