Alice returned, put the crystal carafe on the table, then drifted off to the perimeter of the room. Elenora made no move to dismiss her and the woman would find out what was going on soon enough anyway, so he begin the explanation as Didi filled a new tea cup with Scotch.
“Evangeline came to town a few days ago looking to move in with me under the assumption that she and I would resume our marital life as if nothing had happened.”
Elenora took her first sip of whiskey. It seemed to bring her back to center as she answered with a great deal more calm than her previous responses. “And you said?”
“I told her that couldn’t happen. Specifically because…I was engaged.” He grimaced, knowing his grandmother would only want more information. “She seemed flabbergasted that I might actually be involved with anyone else. She doubted it to such a degree that pride pushed me to lie. It was a foolish decision and one that’s brought me to where I am now.”
Didi frowned. “How so?”
“Forgive me if I skip the minor details, but as a result of my lie and an equally careless invitation to dinner, I needed someone to fill the role of my fiancée. That person came in the form of Deputy Blythe’s sister, Tessa. She happened to be in town to interview for the new dean of library studies that we’re hiring at Harmswood.”
“And she agreed to do this for you?” Elenora looked skeptical. “How much did you offer to pay her?”
“Nothing. But we negotiated that the job would be hers in return.”
Elenora nodded. “Smart woman to make that kind of deal.”
“Actually, Deputy Blythe made that stipulation. Tessa was too shell-shocked by her sister volunteering her to say much on her own behalf. And I’ll admit, I had my doubts about her ability to carry off the role of my fiancée, but she did beautifully.”
Elenora settled back in her chair, keeping a firm grip on her tea cup. “I still don’t see how this results in you getting married.”
“Tessa and I both think that Evangeline truly wants me back. For what reason, I can’t say. Maybe she’s tired of life on her own. I don’t know. Don’t care. Because I have finally reached a place in my life where I’m over her.”
“Remarkable. If that’s true.”
“It is. And I have Tessa to thank. Evangeline…ruined me in so many ways.”
She reached out and patted his hand. “I know, my darling. You didn’t deserve the rubbish she put you through. Why do you think I loathe the woman? For all the hurt and pain she caused you. If this Tessa has changed things for you, then I already like her.”
“She has changed things. She’s shown me that life can be so much more. That my sense of duty and responsibility don’t have to be tied to my personal happiness. More than that, she’s shown me how to be happy again. Something, I must confess, I haven’t been in a long time.”
Didi smiled at him in that way of all grandmothers, with unconditional love and caring. “You sound like you’re in love with her. No wonder you’re marrying her.”
“We’re marrying because Evangeline challenged us to, but I have definitely come to care for this woman. Evangeline said if we married tonight, in front of her, she’d sign the dissolution papers necessary to cut the ties between us. It means my freedom, Grandmamma.”
“I wholly support this. Shocking, I know, but I do. I have no love for that awful woman and I don’t know why you’ve continued to care for her as you have, but I am thrilled that this day has arrived. Put her behind you and move on. Marry this Tessa, whoever she is, and be happy, my darling.”
“That’s essentially the plan.”
She stared at him. “I have to ask. Why not just tell Evangeline it’s over? Why go through with the wedding? Do you need the papers signed that badly? You’ve gone this long. Why now?”
He rolled his shoulders, doing little to ease the tension that had settled there. “She threatened to go to the council.”
Didi’s eyes silvered and her fangs showed. “That ungrateful little tramp. How dare she? After all this family has done for her. Not to mention the history between our families! I ought to put a stake through her heart and be done with her.”
“Grandmamma.” He glared at her. “Let’s have some decorum, shall we?”
She thrust her hand out to point a perfectly manicured nail at him, causing the bracelet that held her amulet to slide free of her sleeve. “You ought to go to the council and report her. You have grounds for infidelity.”
“Nothing I can prove, which is part of the problem. Whereas she’s been led to believe that Tessa and I are cohabitating. She’s seen it with her own eyes. And I’m her sire. You know how that changes things.”
Elenora glanced toward the far wall, clearly upset and struggling to regain her composure. “I hate her.”
“I know.”
She sighed, took another sip of Scotch and seemed to calm again. “The wedding is tonight?”
“Yes, and no, you cannot attend.”
“Sebastian.” Her tone was pleading.
“If Evangeline sees you there, she will run. She knows you mean to do her mortal harm. Then I’ll never have my papers signed. And it’s not like this is a real wedding anyway. Tessa and I have already discussed it and as soon as it makes sense, we’re going to divorce.” Unless they didn’t. Which could happen.
Elenora’s artfully plucked brows knit together. “You’re going to divorce the woman you’re falling in love with? Why?”
“Because we’ve only just met each other. We need time to get to know each other, to see if we are truly meant to be a couple, without the weight of that marriage pressing down on us like a predestined future. She’s going to be living in my guest house and we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. But if it doesn’t work out, she deserves to be able to walk away free and clear, not be legally bound to me by a marriage that’s in name only.”
He shook his head as he realized how much he didn’t want to be married to Tessa under such contrived circumstances. “I had enough of that with Evangeline. You have to understand that.”
He could tell Didi didn’t like his reasoning. She put her cup down and gazed at him. “I guess I do. But if this goes wrong and Evangeline doesn’t sign the papers, I can assure you that I will personally see to it she never has the ability to contact the council. I will not allow her to bring that kind of trouble to you or this family.”
She leaned forward, displaying the sort of menace few ever got to see in her. It was a side he knew well, and was wise enough to fear. “I may be your grandmother, but I am also a powerful vampire with extremely powerful friends.”
“You mean Alard Desmarais.” The vampire who’d turned her and made Sebastian and his brothers’ turnings possible. The man was ancient beyond days. Sebastian had a brief memory of the Frenchman, enough to know that with that sort of age came gifts none in his family had yet achieved.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t think you still knew how to contact him. Are you sure he’s even still alive?”
“I do and he is.”
“How old is he now?”
“Over eight hundred.”
Sebastian shook his head at the idea of living another four hundred years. It seemed daunting and yet, he was halfway there. “Well, please don’t go to any lengths just yet.”
She nodded reluctantly. “I won’t. But I’ll be waiting to hear from you that everything’s gone as planned.”
He stood. “I promise to notify you as soon as it’s done.”
“And then you’re bringing this Tessa here. I want to meet her.”
“Why don’t we give her a few—”
“You’ll bring her here immediately. This is not open for discussion.”
He clenched his teeth together before answering her. He had too much to worry about to argue with her any more this evening. “I’ll do what I can.”
She “hmphed” at him and waved her hand in dismissal.
He kissed her cheek and left, passing Alice without a second glan
ce. The drive home blurred into muscle memory and thoughts of the night yet to come. He knew it was a very real possibility that Evangeline would refuse to sign the papers unless one more demand was met. Maybe an outrageous lump sum paid. Or a small nation purchased and her installed as queen. Nothing would surprise Sebastian at this point.
If she tried any of that, he might actually let Didi have her way.
He walked into the house and went straight to the bedroom to get into his tux. He pushed the door open and nearly ran into Tessa.
“Oh,” she gasped. “You startled me.” She was in her wedding gown.
“I’m sorry, I…” The ability to form words abandoned him, replaced by the sense that he should just be still and admire her. His heart ached with how beautiful she was. He stood there, gaping at her, praying this wasn’t a dream he was about to wake up from, that this goddess of a woman wasn’t suddenly going to disappear. If there was anything good about Evangeline showing up again, it was the gift of having Tessa in his life.
“You’re not supposed to see the bride in her dress before the wedding, but I suppose that doesn’t matter since, you know, this isn’t that kind of wedding.” She gave him a little half-smile.
He nodded.
She bit her lip. “Do you like it?”
He nodded again, and made himself speak. “You look stunning. Too good to be marrying me.”
“I don’t think that’s true at all.” Her smile broadened and her cheeks went pink. “But that’s sweet of you to say, especially since I haven’t done my hair and makeup yet.”
He smiled back. It struck him that whatever happened, he was going to fight to keep Tessa. Whatever that meant. Whatever it required of him. Because life without her around would be bleak. Just like it had been before she’d shown up. “Let me see the whole thing.”
She did a little spin and as she got halfway around, he grabbed her shoulders and held her in place so that he could look at her back. “What the—” He whistled. “Unbelievable. I never would have imagined you’d have something like that.”
Every detail of the sword marked on her skin was perfect from the hilt that started at the base of her neck to the blade that shot down her spine to disappear beneath the gown’s white silk. Even the metal seemed to gleam under the light of the room, but that was surely just his eyes playing tricks on him.
She trembled under his touch. “What are you talking about?”
“This tattoo.” He let her go to run a finger down her back, but as he made contact she whipped around and out of his reach.
She faced him, breathing hard and looking very much like she might bolt. “You can see that?”
“How could I not? It’s life size, isn’t it? I’ll say, for someone with your history, that’s an interesting choice of artwork.” And proof that they definitely needed more time to get to know each other.
“It wasn’t a choice.” She took a few steps back, eyes flashing with emotions he couldn’t decipher. “And you shouldn’t be able to see it.”
There was no way, no way, Sebastian should be able to see the sword on her back. That was ancient Norse magic available only to valkyrie and berserker eyes. And yet, he clearly saw it. How else could he comment on it? He didn’t know her sword’s location. Unless he’d seen Jenna pull her sword. That was possible. Every valkyrie and berserker carried their weapon in the same place.
On their spine.
Whatever the reason he could see it, the fact rocked her to know that he’d laid eyes on this very personal part of her. It made her very afraid that he might never see her the same way again.
Sebastian looked completely confounded. “What do you mean it wasn’t a choice? And why would you have a tattoo that no one can see?”
“Because I was born with it. All valkyries and berserkers are.”
“So it’s the mark of your people?”
“Essentially, yes.” And not one she was proud of anymore.
“What does it mean that I can see it?”
She sat on the bed and tucked her hands under her thighs. “I don’t know.” Then remembering her long-ago lessons, she looked up. “You’re technically undead, right?”
“Not technically. I am. The turning requires physical death of the body. It’s why some don’t survive it.”
She pulled her hands free to rest her head in them. “That’s it. It has to be. It’s said valkyries and berserkers on the battlefields can be recognized by the dead they’ve been sent to collect.” She lifted her head. “That would mean all vampires can see our weapons. I’ve never heard of that, but maybe Jenna knows. She didn’t abandon her training like I did. I’ll have to call her.”
Tessa sucked in a breath. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“If all vampires can see it, that means your family will be able to see it at the wedding. I can’t do this.” Maybe she could wear a shawl.
“Tessa, I promise you, they won’t care. Wait—did you just call your tattoo a weapon?”
She sighed. She might as well tell him the whole truth. He was about to be her husband. And she’d already told him part of the story. “It’s not a tattoo. Well, it is. But it’s more than that. It’s genuinely a sword. My sword.”
His gaze narrowed. “I don’t see how that’s possible, but then I’m a vampire and I shouldn’t be possible. This is the magic of your kind, I suppose.”
“It is.” And maybe that was the end of it. Maybe his family really would understand. They were vampires, after all. She smoothed her dress out over her lap. “I should finish getting ready.”
“Is that why you didn’t want to show it to me? Because you didn’t want me to know it was part of you?”
“Yes.” His understanding made her feel a little better.
“So show it to me now.”
She rubbed at the scar on her knuckles. It was the second time he’d asked. For a man who collected weaponry the way he did, he must be dying to see it. “I don’t know.” Except she did know. There was no way she wanted to hold that weapon again.
“Please.”
“I…I haven’t drawn my sword since that day.” She glanced at the scar before meeting his eyes again. “I just can’t.”
He nodded but there was disappointment in his gaze. “I understand.”
She wasn’t sure he did. She got to her feet. “What that sword represents to me isn’t something I’m keen to revisit. I promised myself I’d never draw it again. Not after the last time. Not after what I almost did.”
He smiled. It seemed a little indulgent and didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I understand. I really do. If you haven’t draw it since that day, you certainly shouldn’t do it now. I’ll leave you to get ready. I can change in the closet. Won’t take me a second. I’ll be in my office after that. Still waiting on the paperwork.”
She smiled back, but it felt as if something had been lost between them. “If you really want me to take the sword out, I will.” She reached back and her fingers grazed the hilt. She winced at the feel of the hilt beneath her hand and the buzz of anticipation that zipped through the weapon and into her like a small electrical charge.
“No. Please. Let’s just forget about it, all right?”
She dropped her hand, happy it was over and yet sad that she felt like she’d created a rift between them. “All right. Where’s Evangeline?”
“Getting ready, I suppose. I’ve asked Greaves to take her to the chapel as soon as she is. I’ll drive us there.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll just finish up.” She held her smile until she slipped into the bathroom where her makeup and veil were laid out.
Then the smile she’d been working at fell off her face and the twist of her stomach tightened. That stupid sword. She wished she’d never been born with it. Why couldn’t she have been one of the generations that it skipped? It did happen. Very, very rarely. She just hadn’t been so lucky.
But there was nothing to be done about it now. Not when she had this wedding to prepare for. S
he went to work on her makeup, following the advice of a YouTube video she’d watched earlier on bridal looks. It was pure vanity, she knew that. Sebastian would marry her with a bag over her head today if that’s what it came to. Today wasn’t about her, it was about him being free.
And about Evangeline’s demands being met.
Seemed to Tessa that Evangeline got what she wanted quite a lot.
Anger made Tessa apply the eyeliner a little heavier than the video had suggested. She sighed in frustration and added a little more to the other eye to balance things out. Maybe she could call it a smoky eye. That was a thing, right?
She heard the bedroom door close and peeked out, realizing Sebastian must have gone down to his office.
Men really had it so easy. Put a suit on and they were done.
She finished her makeup, then went to work on her hair. When Corette had shown her how to twist a few strands back to clip the veil into while leaving a few wispy pieces around her face, Jenna had offered to come and help, but Tessa didn’t want to bring her sister into this. When Tessa got married for real, she’d want Jenna with her every step of that way. But for this farce? It seemed wrong to involve her sister any more than Tessa already had. Like she would be using up a bunch of first time experiences on something that wasn’t real.
Tessa finally figured out her hair, attached the veil and surveyed her work. Duncan probably could have done better.
She sighed. What did it matter? Again, today was not about her.
She stared at herself, getting angry. “Snap out of it. You’re getting married. To an amazing man. Have a little pride. And stop being a quitter.”
The pep talk fixed her mood a little. Enough that she pulled the veil free, laid it gently on the bathroom counter and picked up her brush. This day might not be about her, but she owed it to Sebastian and herself to be the most beautiful bride she could be.
If something was worth doing, it was worth doing well.
With that in mind, she went back to work on becoming that beautiful bride. Whatever that meant.
Sebastian had just unlocked his office door when Greaves stuck his head in. “Evangeline’s in the car. Just wanted you to know I’m taking her to the chapel. She wanted to know why you haven’t left the house yet.”
The Vampire's Fake Fiancée (Nocturne Falls Book 5) Page 20