“It’s too late for that,” she quips. The rumble of his deep voice soothes her, and his hands calm her. She stares at his mouth as he talks and closes her eyes, sinking into oblivion.
“Damn, that went well.” Victor says. Holding her in his arms he finds he is in no hurry to leave her. “What horrors have you endured, Summer Denning?”
Victor holds her until he realizes he is feeling things he shouldn’t be feeling about his employee. Sighing, he stands and carries her to the bed and tucks her in once more. This time instead of leaving her he stretches out on the couch and sleeps.
‘Hayley is running in a moonlit field, her horn sparkles like starlight and she laughs as she leaps around. Summer laughs and calls to her, ‘Come back, Hayley.’ Instead of returning to her sister, she leaps into the air again and the ground beneath her hoof cracks open. Steam rises from it and Hayley tries to leap away, but she is too late. Her scream echoes as she falls into the chasm below! ‘No!’ Summer screams as wicked laughter echoes all around her.’
Victor sits up, startled by a scream. He rushes to her side and grabs her by her shoulders.
“Hayley!” Summer screams. Fully awake now she stares at him and he recognizes the pain of loss. “Hayley?” She whispers and begins to sob. He draws her into his arms, and she lets him. The pain of losing them is fresh, “Will it ever end. They’re all gone! He killed them all!” She sobs until she has no tears left. He holds her, feeling her pain as though it was his own.
Summer savors the feel of his body against hers, but she knows it isn’t real. She is seeking comfort in whatever form she can find it and he feels sorry for her. “Thank you, Mr. Yates,” she whispers and pushes out of his arms. He lets her go and she ignores the pain from her body and walks to the window to stare at the moonlight.
“I would tell you my story, but I don’t think you would believe me.”
“I have found that sometimes saying the words is a release of the pain. It freed me after my wife died and allowed me to remember her with love instead of pain.”
She turns to him and stares at the stunning man before her. Tall, dark and handsome just like any fairy tale she would have written. Short silky black hair and a mustache with a voice that she would have fallen for. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Where are you from?” Victor asks, wanting her to share her secrets with him.
“London. My father is, was a doctor,” she corrects, gazing away into the distance. “My mother adored him. They were married twenty-seven years. My brother Alex is a lawyer, he’s twenty-five. I was the second born, though he wished for a brother,” she recalls with a grin. “The twins were a surprise, they were eight years old. Hayley and Hadley…” her tears are streaming down her face now, but she smiles through it. “Jonah reminds me of them. Smart, funny and loving.”
Victor takes her hand and draws her to the couch. “My father is Dr. Charles Denning, he was hired by Harvard to teach as a professor. He was also a researcher who believed passionately about saving lives.” Her voice grows stronger, she stands and paces.
“We were on the steamship Kharon bound for Boston. I worked with him to write the protocols, which are used to treat many of the epidemic diseases, like smallpox. We were finishing the second phase of the protocol to present to Harvard for publication when we met the man you know as Dr. Jung Rudolph. He was the ships doctor.”
“I never liked him. Something about him made me feel; unsafe. He seemed too eager and asked too many questions. Especially about my father’s work. He made advances towards me… which I rebuffed. I tried to speak to my father about it, but he believed in sharing his knowledge. I felt something was off…” she looks at him and he urges her on.
“He arranged with the Captain to orchestrate a dance for all passengers on board and I decided to skip it. I couldn’t imagine having him touch me, again.” She pauses and wraps her arms around her midsection as though protecting herself. “While they were occupied, I paid a maid to let me inside his cabin.”
“Are you out of your mind? What if he had caught you?” He snaps out.
“Trust me, I know very well what he is capable of, but I had to know!” Irritated with his chauvinistic response she swipes the tears from her cheeks and leans forward, eager to continue, “I was right! I found a case in his wardrobe with two syringes. One had blood and the other carried the venom from a victim of smallpox.”
“What?” Victor sits back in horror and the color fades from his face. Summer shakes her head and continues.
“I also found out that his real name isn’t Dr. Jung Rudolph, but rather Alberto Hast.”
“Why would he lie about his name?” Victor wonders.
“I was just as confused, so I decided to speak to my father first thing in the morning.” She stops speaking and looks at him.
Victor stands up and pours a small glass of whiskey and sips it while he waits for her to go on. “I was too late. You see he had already used the needle with infected blood on a third-class passenger. The venom in the other syringe was for a first-class family; mine to be specific. He made chocolates for his patients and the tin he gave my family was tainted.” She stumbles through the rest of her story, proud of herself for not crying. By
