Ferdinand took the glass gratefully and set it on the table. Then he came around to my side and pulled out my chair for me, pushing it forward once I was sitting. He took his own seat and placed a napkin on his lap. It didn’t take long for him to take a deep drink from his glass and then turn his attention to the food.
“So what do you do for business?” I inquired while I added some grapes to my plate.
He shrugged his shoulders and didn’t even look up at me. “It’s quite boring, if I’m honest. I’m involved in the purebred dog business currently. In my prime, I was a banker, and a damned good one at that. Unfortunately, the Accord limited the professions I’m permitted to partake in, so I had to leave that career behind.”
That piqued my interest. I knew of the Accord, of course. A few hundred years ago, humans became aware of the existence of their vampiric counterparts. Fear and a struggle for power led to an all-out war. It was only the sheer number of humans that helped to win the war. Instead of eradicating the vampires, however, humans agreed to sign the Accord with them. It allowed them to be welcome members of society as long as they followed a set of rules. The Accord and its rules had expanded over the years and it was the size of a book at that point, so I never bothered to read the whole thing. I knew it stated vampires could only drink animal blood, which was where my mother’s business sprung from.
But this detail about the Accord detailing profession restrictions was new to me. “What other sorts of jobs are you not permitted to do?”
“All the best ones, of course. I can’t run for a political office. I can’t be involved in any business that holds government contracts. Oh, and for some reason, they won’t allow me to work in transit. Not that I’d want to anyway,” he added with a roll of his eyes.
He took a large bite of his food and moaned in delight. I followed suit and found myself pleased with how things were turning out. Our very first topic of discussion had been intriguing. What else could our lunch hold?
“Honestly, Eloise, humans are so trifle,” he groaned. I choked on the piece I had been swallowing and my eyes went wide.
That was not what I expected.
He continued on as if he hadn’t noticed me struggling with my lunch. “How many wasted hours have they spent on that silly Accord at this point? They spend so much time worrying about us vampires that they make very little progress themselves. They’re still bumbling creatures with no class or dignity.”
My face turned red. Was it anger? Embarrassment? A little of both? Did he forget the fact that I was, in fact, a human sitting right across the table from him? I couldn’t believe that this was the same man who had used the word ethereal to describe me less than twenty-four hours prior. I didn’t want to say anything back, however, because I didn’t want to upset him. So I bit my tongue and tried not to look mortified.
It must have worked because he prattled on like that for the entire hour and a half of our lunch. He spent the majority complaining about all the shortcomings of the human race, my race, and then added in detours about why vampires were such a great, evolving species. I had never met a more narcissistic asshat in my entire life.
Even worse than his attitude? He was boring as could be. Sometimes he talked about investments in poodles, other times he explained at length why he had switched to silk for his robes. I mean, I knew he was over four hundred years old, but I didn’t think he’d be that bad.
I was relieved when our meal was over, and I escorted him to the front door. He placed a kiss on my cheek and my stomach churned. I had to force myself not to slam the door once he was outside. If he never came back, it would be too soon.
When I turned toward the staircase to head back to my room, I was startled to see my mother standing at the top, leaning against the railing, smiling with her head in her hand. It wasn’t the sort of smile that you give to tell someone you’re happy for them and their afternoon with a guest. It’s the sort of smile that screams “ha, I told you so”.
“Don’t say anything. I don’t want to hear it,” I murmured just loud enough for her to hear, but hopefully not any eavesdropping servants. I knew they loved their gossip in the kitchen.
“Maybe better luck next time, El.”
Maybe I would have better luck the next time. The next gathering my mother was holding was only a couple of nights away. It would be a smaller occasion to introduce some new potential clients to her supply. It would be a chance to meet someone dignified and well off, but maybe not quite as old. If I knocked a hundred years off, they might be more pleasant as a companion. Not all vampires could be as stuck up like that, right?
Six
Arden
It had been two days since the ball at the Hart Mansion and I was getting dressed for another one that very evening. As soon as I was ready, this time for a solo excursion, Jardin called me into his office.
As I walked to meet my master, I thought about her.
Eloise Hart.
My hand convulsed, remembering the silk of her gown underneath my fingertips.
Who was she, really, in this never-ending battle for supremacy, territory?
Was she just the spoiled, loved daughter of a rather ruthless and stubborn human woman who had bullied her way into our world with all the determination of a maddened ox?
Or was she something else?
Certainly, she didn’t strike me as the vapid type, although she did have rather deplorable taste in men.
That she had turned me down flat… was that an insult or a compliment?
It bothered me how no matter which option I picked seemed equally bad.
I snorted, wishing I had more pressing things to worry about rather than some woman liking me.
I knocked at the door of Jardin’s office and I heard his voice summon me inside. I obeyed without hesitation.
“May I assume that your, hm, courtship of Madame Leona’s daughter didn’t go as well as it ought to?”
He placed a booted foot upon his desk, swirling a goblet filled halfway with dark, viscous liquid that made me feel hungry yet sick at the same time.
“Unfortunately, someone else had garnered her interest,” I replied as I settled into the chair across from him.
I got the feeling that this was not going to be some kind of light-hearted chatter.
Then again, when did Benedict Jardin ever want to just talk?
And if this was ever the case, I would’ve been halfway across the country; it was so unlike the Jardin I’ve known for the last fifty years.
“Ah yes.” Jardin let out a hoarse gargle of a laugh. “The imbecile with the red hair. Yes. I did notice how taken the girl was with him.”
He swirled his goblet again, almost absentmindedly. “The girl has abhorrent taste in men, if I might be so blunt. Well, never you mind. I do not think you need to worry about Ferdinand as a potential rival.”
“Why do you say that?”
Jardin gave me a broad wink that nonetheless left me feeling quite cold and uncomfortable. The man had something up his sleeve, that much seemed certain.
“Let us just say it’s in the man’s best interest to lay off on Leona’s daughter,” he said lightly. “At least that’s what I had impressed upon him when I caught him, just as he was about to woo the girl.”
He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. “Worry not. If you play your cards right, the girl will be yours.”
The girl will be yours.
My hands clenched into the armrests as I leaned forward. “I was under the impression that I was to only pursue her enough to make her spill secrets regarding her mother’s business.”
Jardin nodded, his eyes closing for a moment. “Yes, about that. I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans, m’boy.”
Shit.
I didn’t like the sound of that.
“What do you mean?”
He took his feet off the desk and settled into his customary ramrod position in the leather chair that surely must have cost a fortune.
&
nbsp; He crossed his hands and regarded me carefully.
“How would you like to be the boss?”
I blinked.
“I’m not…” I licked my dry lips. What kind of wordplay was this? “I’m not sure what you’re referring to, Monseigneur Jardin.”
“You must be truly worried if you’re calling me Monseigneur, Arden.” He smiled, but there was little warmth. It was like having a shark grin at me. “Don’t look so worried. I am merely offering you a place to sit at the table… instead of under it.”
“I see,” I replied slowly, still bewildered, but terrified of letting him see just how much he had caught me off guard. “And exactly what must I do to gain a place at the table, to be your equal instead of your inferior?”
“Now, now, I never said anything about you being my equal, did I?” The smile withered on my boss’s lips. “You will, always, remain inferior to me, Arden, never forget that.”
“Of course, Monseigneur Jardin.”
I stared down at my feet, the perfect picture of subservience.
It was the only way I could be sure of walking out of Jardin’s office in one piece.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he crooned, his voice silky soft, deceptively so. I could hear the poisoned steel behind each damn syllable. “You know how I feel about people looking away. No, look at me, Arden Olivier.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and slowly lifted my chin. “As you wish, sir.”
He clucked his tongue softly, watching me with those dark eyes. “Perhaps my words were too harsh. I merely meant to say that in many ways, you will never surpass me. And that is by design. I have lifted you up and you must never forget that debt you owe me.”
“Of course, sir.”
“After all, were it not for me spying you in the gutters of New Orleans, who knows what you might have become? You might have remained that rat-eating ghoul, eventually falling prey to the human hunters who roam the ports.” Jardin’s gaze turned almost… paternal. “But you did not. Instead, you took the hand that was offered and now, you are my right-hand man. You are my most cherished of confidants and I want to reward the loyalty you’ve given me for half a century.”
He put a hand on his chest and grimaced.
“Yet, when I want to give you a gift, you look at me as though I am handing you a bomb. Such gratitude you show me.”
I inclined my head to one side, but kept my eyes on him. “Forgive me, sir. I am grateful, truly I am.” The words tasted like burned oil on my tongue, but I had no choice but to say that, to justify my distrust of the man who had indeed brought me to the high society of vampire life. “I am not used to the good things in life. I keep expecting the other shoe to drop, or so to speak.”
“Don’t be silly,” he replied. “You are under my protection and you have given me fifty years of service. I only want to reward that kind of service with something no other master can give you. How would you like a piece of the business?”
What in Hades’ name…
“A piece of the business?”
“The blood trade… it is expanding. I think there is room for competition.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “After all, is it not the humans who have that quaint saying… something about competition breeding success? Or is the other way around.”
“But…” What the hell was Jardin planning? “What about the Kaminsky raid? If you think there is room for competition, why did you order us to take his entire stock?”
Jardin’s eyes widened.
But it was an act.
“I did order that, didn’t I?” His laughter was loud enough to rattle in my ears. “Let’s just say that Kaminsky wasn’t the right kind of competition, hm?”
There’s a human saying: Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
But there’s also another saying: easy come, easy go.
At least, I thought that was the correct phrase; human sayings can be so confusing sometimes.
If Jardin was offering me such a boon, surely it was because it’d benefit him more than me.
“What must I do to receive such a gift?”
“Oh, nothing much,” he said flippantly. “Do what you do best. Charm the girl.”
I stared at him.
Was that really all he required of me?
“That’s it?”
“Break her,” he said so matter-of-factly, it was almost appalling. “Or not. It’s up to you. But if you were to take over Madame Leona’s territory, I will do everything in my power to assist you, to bring about this change. With you taking Leona’s customers, and me with mine, we can rule this part of the country, you know.”
His smile turned crafty. “Indeed, if we play our cards right, we can turn this land into our own personal playground. After all…”
He sipped from his goblet. “We have all the time in the world, do we not?”
“I see.” My mind was whirling, but I couldn’t possibly get off this mad carnival ride. “You want me to infiltrate Madame Leona’s business. Ingratiate myself to her.”
“And her daughter.” He tapped the side of his nose. “The way to Leona’s heart is through her daughters. She tries very hard to show indifference to them, tries to pretend as though they are but a commodity, but I’ve seen the truth in her eyes. She hasn’t had centuries to learn how to lie with her eyes, you know. No, she cares very deeply for them, despite what she might say or act. Mark my words, if you get her daughter, you get her.”
I shifted uncomfortably in the leather armchair. “Leona won’t take this transgression lightly. She has a formidable army. Almost rivals ours.”
He waved a hand in the air. “Pah! She is but a woman. No, her defenses will crumble easily enough. Under a two-pronged attack of you and me, she will not be able to fight us both off.”
It was an utterly diabolical plan.
And if I had the support of someone like Benedict Jardin… Leona Hart’s territory was all but mine.
“We would be partners.” He stood up and strode to his liquor cabinet. Pouring me a generous serving of the same ruby liquid in his own goblet, he handed it to me. “Of course, you would answer to me. But trust me, if you are an ambitious man, as I suspect you are, you will agree to this venture.”
This was it.
Jardin was practically offering me the world on a golden platter.
I’d have to be an idiot to turn him down.
It was all I had aspired to be, that moment when I saw a pristine white glove extended towards me as I wallowed in the gutter outside of a brothel.
Jardin had given me life, a purpose.
I owed him everything.
But…
“I have made up my mind, you see,” he continued, his voice a lazy, low drawl that nonetheless made sweat pop up on my temples. “I will take Leona’s territory, her business, with or without you.”
The blood shivered ever so slightly in my crystal goblet. “And how would you proceed if I were not in the, ah, equation?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m sure Evangeline would not hesitate to take me up on this very generous offer.”
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. “She’s far too unpredictable. It’d be like slipping into bed with a viper.”
“Then perhaps you should make sure it is you not her that takes this task, hm?”
His smile turned malicious.
“It would be a shame if Evangeline should get her claws into Leona’s pretty daughter, no? You know she has no preference when it comes to sexual tastes. Except for the innocent, naïve ones.” He clucked his tongue. “She does enjoy breaking all those, excuse my turn of phrase, poor, unfortunate souls, wouldn’t you agree?”
I didn’t know it was possible, but I felt even more ill as the room spun around me for a moment.
If Eloise ever had the grave misfortune of coming across a monster like Evangeline…
I grit my teeth, knowing there was only one option.
“I’ll do it.”
Jardin nodded. “That’s m
y boy.”
I’m not your boy.
Seven
Eloise
While I had haphazardly prepared for the first ball under absolute secrecy, this time was different. I had actually gone downtown to buy a new dress and had it tailored to absolute perfection. And I was even able to have Jewel assist me with curling my hair. My mother had stopped by my room during the process, but there were no stern looks or harsh words. She only told me how pretty I looked and left to check on the final details of the event that was only hours away.
Tonight was important for her. She already had a strong group of loyal clients who purchased from her diligently. But the competition in the blood trade was growing fiercer. In order to stay on top, it was important for her to continue adding names to her client list faster than her competitors. Tonight was the chance to woo and wow those vampires who either had never purchased illegal human blood before or were current clients for a different trader. It made me wonder if any of mother’s clients went to such parties at other traders’ mansions.
“Jewel, can you help me with the zipper, please?”
She nodded her head and quickly assisted me, careful not to pinch my skin. She gazed longingly at my gown and whispered, “You look beautiful today, Miss Eloise.”
I beamed a wide smile and admired the dress I’d picked out. It was white this time, with the bottom covered in delicate pink blossoms. The higher up the dress you went, the more dispersed and scattered the blossoms became, with the bodice being completely white. I felt more like an angel in this dress, whereas my first dress had been striking and eye-catching. Maybe going a different route in my attire would help attract a different sort of vampire?
Music began playing downstairs, the same orchestra as before striking up their tunes again. That signaled that the first guest had just pulled up in front of the mansion. And that was my cue to finish getting ready and head down to join them.
I grabbed a matching pink flower blossom pin that the woman at the dress shop had sold me on. I fastened it into my hair and hurried for the staircase. By the time I was downstairs, there were already a handful of guests. They seemed to be split evenly between vampires dressed in Victorian fashion, like most of my mother’s dedicated clientele, and vampires who were more modern in their attire. They would be the younger vampires, the new money, the ones looking to enter into the business of blood.
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