Chapter 15
That night I called an emergency meeting of the vampire knitting club. Not everyone could make it, as even vampires tended to make plans, but Gran and Sylvia came, Rafe and Theodore were with them, and as I’d begun to think we were a small enough group that we could go up to my flat, Hester and Carlos came in from the street door.
“I’m so pleased you’ve called us together tonight, Lucy,” Sylvia said. “I’ve been crocheting you a tunic. I want to check the fit.” I was really happy that there was some knitting and crochet on tonight’s agenda, because I was very much hoping somebody would help me untangle my knitting. Again.
Nyx wandered in from her favorite napping spot in my front window and ran to Rafe. Cats were usually so standoffish, but not Nyx. At least, not with Rafe. He picked her up and put her over his shoulder, and she snuggled happily against him.
Sylvia pulled out the tunic, and I sighed with pleasure. The color was somewhere between emerald and teal. She held it against me and nodded, looking pleased with herself. “I thought this would be perfect with your coloring, and I was right.”
I touched the lacy garment. “It’s so pretty.”
Gran came closer. “Pineapple stitch. What a lovely color. That will be perfect for spring.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought. I can’t decide on whether to stop the tunic here”—she touched the waistband of my jeans—“or to go to mid-thigh.” She and Gran stood back and cocked their heads, as though they were Dior and Givenchy and I was the model who got no say in the spring collection. I was trying to decide which one I’d wear more often when Sylvia said, “I’ll make it in both lengths.”
Thus making me very pleased I’d kept my mouth shut. I could wear the shorter one with jeans or a skirt, and the longer one would be perfect over leggings. Sylvia sat down and got her crochet work moving so quickly I had to look away before I got dizzy.
Gran pulled out the throw she was making for my couch upstairs. I’d chosen the pattern from one of the new magazines. It was a pretty design of Cotswolds roses and was intended to hang over the back of my couch, though I suspected we all knew it would end up as a cat blanket for Nyx.
I pulled out my tangle, and Gran immediately looked over. “Oh, love, whatever have you done?” I somewhat sheepishly handed over the mess, and she rapidly got to work.
I didn’t feel as bad as I might have, since Hester was doing the same with Carlos, who was also struggling with his scarf.
Once we were all settled, Rafe and I caught them up on what we’d found out at the manor house, and then I asked Sylvia how she’d made out. She looked rather pleased with herself. “You were right, Lucy. Vikram is a beautiful young man. He reminds me so much of his grandfather.”
“You’ve seen him?” She’d moved quickly.
She looked a bit like the cat that got the cream. “I took him for afternoon tea.”
I couldn’t even imagine. “Tell me you didn’t share with him that you knew his great-grandfather? Like a hundred years ago?”
She looked at me reprovingly. “Lucy. Do you think I have no subtlety? I told him I was an old friend of the family. And he was too polite to pry.”
I wasn’t sure I liked that she’d taken Vikram to tea. He was so gorgeous, even I’d wanted to take a bite out of him. And I didn’t have her cravings. “What did you two talk about?”
She fluttered her hands so her jewels sparkled. “What does one talk about at tea? His beautiful country. What I remembered of it. We talked about his studies. He’s a lovely young man, excellent manners.”
“And then you asked him about the murder?” Because that was nice teatime conversation.
“Not exactly. I told him I’d become a matchmaker.”
For some reason, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up. “You did what?”
“Oh, yes. He’s quite accustomed to it, you know, in his culture.”
“And did you offer him a match?”
“Well, you did say that you liked the look of him, and I could tell he’d quite warmed to you.” She spoke rather coyly and gave me a bit of a sidelong glance. She was up to something, but Rafe had been standing behind her and hadn’t seen her face.
He made a sound almost like a growl. “You will not make a match with Lucy and anyone from the Gargoyle Club. Is that clear?”
As though he hadn’t even spoken, she said, “If he’d pressed the matter, I had Violet in mind to present to him.”
It was all I could do not to laugh. She’d set Rafe up so beautifully, and he’d fallen right into her trap. “Violet?”
“Of course. She comes from an excellent family. Naturally, I’d give her a very nice dowry.”
“And was Prince Vikram interested?” I had no idea whether she’d lost her mind or was playing some deep game.
“He’s already promised to a woman in India.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Theodore had been watching intently. He said, “If he’d been interested in Pamela or someone like her, that wouldn’t look good to his wife-to-be, now would it?”
She met his gaze and nodded. “I’d wondered that myself, but it was clear that he’d never thought of Pamela that way. Unless he’s a better actor than I am, which of course isn’t possible. However, he did let slip one interesting piece of information.”
“I’ll bite. What was it?”
“I got him talking about the murder, which wasn’t hard to do. Obviously, it was a rather dramatic occurrence. And, as I was an older woman and a friend of the family, he confided in me. He wondered if he should tell the police something.”
She must have been a great actress. Her timing was brilliant. She
