Tony rented our room at the Cathedral Hotel which our room was on the top floor. After unpacking, we headed to Stonehenge to see the rock formation. The ponds and gardens gave me a peaceful feeling. I didn’t want to leave.
Back at the hotel, Tony ordered room service. After I ate, we sat out on the balcony and watched the sun set.
“Jess, are you ready to go back home?” he asked, looking out into the countryside.
“Heavens no, what made you think that?”
“I figure the nightmares are getting to you and you’d want to go home.”
“Tony, being with you is what I want and need. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I shouldn’t have gone up there, but I did. I’ll just have to deal with the nightmares. I’m hoping they will end soon.”
“I hope they do too.” He sighed.
“Is Charlotte up there with William?” I asked.
I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from him.
“Is she?” pressing the question.
“Yes,” he said. “You’re lucky it was William who you saw.”
Suddenly an overwhelming feeling came over me. Charlotte probably wouldn’t have let me leave. I shivered.
Tony and I sat for a while on the balcony, looking over the countryside enjoying the quiet before going to bed.
Tonight I didn’t dream.
In the morning, looking over at Tony as he slept I thought. What a wonderful man and he’s all mine. I’m never letting him go. Lightly kissing his cheek, he opened his eyes. Our relationship now back to the way it was.
“Good morning to you too,” he said.
Thankful for sleeping nightmare free, I decided to take a shower.
“Where are you going?” he asked, reaching for me.
“I need a shower.”
“Don’t be too long, I’ll miss you.”
After my shower I found Tony sitting on the balcony.
“So, what are we going to do today?” I asked.
“First, I’ve got to order you room service. Second, we’re going back home.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Room service showed up at the door a few minutes later. I got up and opened the door. Tony went to the balcony. After breakfast, I packed for our return to the mansion.
Heading back to London, we stopped and saw Big Ben and the House of Parliament before going to Tony’s parent’s house. I wasn’t eager to go back, but in a couple of weeks we would be going home.
Tony’s parents would be here in a week. I looked forward to meeting Tony’s mother. If she was anything like Jan, I would love her to death.
Tony took me to Ireland. Our plane landed at Dublin airport around six in the evening. Tony rented a car and took us to a motel. We were both exhausted. When we got to the room, we both fell on the bed and went right to sleep.
In the morning, he drove us by the Round Tower of Glendalough, heading to the Connemara Countryside.
“How do you like your vacation?” he asked, driving to another scenic place.
“I love every minute,” I said, squeezing his hand. Tony showing a kind side, I could get used to.
We visited the Connemara Countryside, The Cliffs of Moher, The Burren, Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone, The Lakes of Killarney, and the Muckross House. On our last night at the motel before heading back to Tony’s parent’s house we had our passionate night of love.
Tony came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair glistened from the soft glow of the nightstand light. He came over to the bed dropping the towel to the floor. Kissing his neck, a slow growl started rising fitting the occasion, I loved my Tony.
Arriving back at the mansion, Tony’s parents hadn’t arrived. Up in our room, I unpacked. Tony went to the kitchen for a fresh flask. Shuffling from behind the wall stopped me in my tracks. Slowly tip-toeing to the wall placing my ear against it, I listened. A woman talking to a man was discussing me.
“I want her,” the lady (whom I assumed was Charlotte) said.
“I don’t think that will be possible with Tony around her all the time. He’s keeping her close to him. ”
“You find a way to get her up here. I will not hurt her, love. I only want to see if she appeals to me. She might make a perfect immortal. Find a way!” she told William.
My heart stopped. No way was I going to that part of the house again. William had scared me. Maybe, William was helping me leave. Tony came back and saw me leaning against the wall.
“Sweetie, what are you doing?” he asked, putting his arms around my waist.
“Shhh, they’ll hear you,” I whispered.
Tony put his ear to the wall and listened. “I don’t hear anything,” he whispered.
“I’m guessing that was Charlotte I heard?”
“Did you hear anything interesting?” he asked, with a smile.
“The woman finished speaking when you came in the room.”
A knot came into my stomach. I wanted to go home. “I miss home.”
“Jess, apparently you heard something. What was it?”
“She was discussing me,” I told him. “Can’t we go home?”
“Jess, mother will be here this evening. She’s looking forward to spending our last week to get to know you. I’ll be close. Besides, William knows father’s rules. He won’t cross him,” he said, softly.
“It isn’t William I’m worried about. It’s Charlotte,” I said, wringing my hands.
“Charlotte isn’t going to do anything,” he said. “Trust me.”
“You stay close to me, okay?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.
“What time are your parents arriving?”
“A couple of hours, why?” he asked, kissing my neck.
Tony knew I was tense and how to relax me.
Tony got up, took a shower and dressed. His parents were going to be here within the hour. I also took a shower. Tony was gone when I got out of the shower. I went back to the wall to listen. William and Charlotte were discussing me again.
“I can’t get her back up here. You know Victor’s rules. He will ban us from the house. This is my house, and I won’t leave.
“William, dear, they will never know. Find a way to get her back up here. She left the sweet fragrance of roses the last time she was here. It’s making my mouth water remembering the smell.”
I smelled my skin. It smelled like soap, not roses. Tony commented my skin smelled of roses too.
“Charlotte, you are pressing our luck with Victor. If she ends up missing, don’t you think they’ll know? I cannot risk that.”
“William, I made you, and you must obey me. I want that girl, and I want her tonight.”
I didn’t hear anymore behind the wall. I hurried to the elevator. The door opened and Tony stepped out. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?” he asked. “You weren’t back at the wall listening, were you?”
“I was, but I didn’t hear anything. I’m fine. I was heading down to see what was taking so long. Are your parents here yet?” I asked.
“They will be here shortly. Shall we go down and wait for them?”
“Sure,” I said, stepping onto the elevator. Tony’s parents arrived. We stood out on the front porch. The limo driver carried their luggage into the house. “Mother, father, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is Victor and Jennifer Mureaux, my mother and father,” he announced, putting his arm around me.
“Nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Mureaux,” I said, holding out my hand.
“Please, call me Jennifer,” Jennifer said, giving me a hug.
“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Mureaux,” I said.
Tony’s father nodded once and went into the house.
“Come, let’s sit in the den. I want to get to know you better,” Jennifer said, heading into the house.
Tony and I followed Jennifer into the den. I sat on the Victorian sofa. Jennifer sat in the Victorian chair across from me. Tony excused himself. I sat look
ing around the room. Everything in it was Victorian, hand-me-down furniture, but looked brand new. Jennifer asked the butler, Jason, to get us some tea. “Jess, Tony has told me so much about you. Is there any way I could meet your parents?” she asked.
“Jennifer, my parents are gone. They were in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I had no idea,” she said, remorseful.
“It’s okay. They’ve been gone for six years now.”
Jason came in with our tea holding a tray for Jennifer to take her cup. Moving the tray toward me, I took the cup with my eyes on Jason noticing a resemblance between him and Tony. Was Jason a dhampir too? Keeping his head down, he left the room.
“Tell me about yourself?” Jennifer asked taking a drink of her tea.
I was born and raised in Mayville. I live down the street from your sister, Jan. I’m sorry about what happened. Anyway, I have no other siblings. I work at the hospital, as a nurse.”
“How did you and Tony meet?” she asked.
Remembering the burglar, I shivered. “We met at my house. He was worried about me and came to check on me. We had a burglar stalking single women. Tony was more than kind to watch out for me and my house.
“He’s always been a good boy, enjoys watching out for others.”
“May I ask you a question?”
“Sure, dear, what would you like to know?”
“Is there a reason for William and Charlotte to be confined to the rooms on the third floor?” I asked.
“Jennifer looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Why do you ask? Did you hear them?”
“I did more than that. I went up there when Tony was gone to the blood bank. Earlier today I heard Charlotte and William talking,” I said.
Jennifer looked around to make sure we were the only two in the room. She got up and came over to the sofa. She leaned over to my ear. “Victor won’t be happy about this. If he knew you’d gone up there, he’d be upset with Tony for allowing you to go.”
“Tony didn’t have anything to do with me going up there,” I said.
“He’ll be blamed anyway. His father is the kind to make sure rules are obeyed. Tony knows the rule pertaining to the west end of the house. Victor will not be happy when he finds out you’ve been up there.” Jennifer sighed.
“I didn’t see Charlotte. Only William and I think he was making sure Charlotte didn’t find me snooping around.”
“What else happened? How long did you stay?” she asked, putting her hand on mine.
“I saw a coffin in the first room on the right. The room across the hall I didn’t get a chance to see because a hand touched my shoulder. When I turned to see what had touched me, I nearly stumbled backwards. A man with long gray hair and a black robe stood in front of me and then disappeared. Then I ran.”
“Hum,”—tapping her finger to her mouth—“You left right after you were touched?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to stick around thinking it was a ghost.”
Jennifer got up, walked to the double doors and called for Jason. Sitting in her chair, she crossed her legs and looked at me. No words were spoken between us.
Jason came into the room. “Is there anything I can get you, ma’am?” he asked with a bow.
“Could you have Tony come in here please?” Jennifer said, not taking her eyes from me.
“Ma’am, Tony and Mr. Mureaux left for the blood bank a little bit ago for a business meeting.”
“Thank you, Jason.” Jennifer excused him and picked up the phone beside her chair on the table.
Sitting there I felt like a child in school waiting to be punished, wishing I’d never set foot on that side of the wall.
“Hello, this is Mrs. Mureaux. May I speak to Tony?” she paused to listen to whoever was on the other end. “Could you have him call me as soon as he gets in? Tell him it’s urgent.” She paused. “Thank you. Good-bye,” she said, putting the phone back on the cradle.
“Mrs. Mureaux, I’m so sorry. I thought you should know I went up there and regret ever going. I told Tony, he hasn’t let me out of his sight since. Is there something I should know?”
“Jessica, you are honest. I like that. We have to talk to Tony though. We’ll wait,” she said, picking up her glass.
When the phone rang, my nerves shot through the roof. My heart raced out of my body. Why was I so nervous, I hadn’t a clue? Jason came to the double doors announcing Tony was on the line.
“Thank you, Jason,” Jennifer said, looking at me and picking up the phone. “Hello, dear, I need for you to come home right away,”—pausing—“Seems we might have a problem with William and Charlotte,” Jennifer said. “We’ll be in the den. See you soon,” she said, hanging up the phone.
Not to jump to conclusions, but I was beginning to think something bad was going to happen to me if the problem wasn’t taken care of soon. I was glad I didn’t mention to Tony or Jennifer about the conversation I heard between William and Charlotte this morning. I was beginning to think I shouldn’t have mentioned to Jennifer about going up there. I would have to face whatever consequence I had coming when Tony got here. I heard a car pull up to the double doors. Soon Tony came around the corner. Jennifer got up, whispered in his ear and his eyes looked at me and then back to his mother.
“Would you excuse us a minute,” Tony said, giving me a small smile. “Jason, will you please escort Jess to the living room and stay with her.”
Jason nodded once and moved aside for me to get up and go with him. On my way out the door, Tony grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear, “It’ll be okay.” Jason took me to the living room and opened the double doors. I stepped into a formal living room. Three sofas sat in a three-sided square with a coffee table in the middle. Against the north wall was a fireplace. Paintings of the family lined all the walls with one in particular standing out. Standing in front of a tree with a country road in the background was a man and a woman. Looking closer, it was William and Catherine when they were first married. He was a strikingly handsome man, and Catherine was very beautiful. Remembering the tragic story, my heart ached for Catherine.
A painting hung over the fireplace I stood in front of. A painting above the fireplace was the same fireplace with Victor, Jennifer, and Tony in front of it. Victor was handsome and he didn’t look like a vampire, just pale. Jennifer was stunning in her Victorian gown. Tony stood between them with a half-smile.
Tony came into the room and startled me. “Mother and I need you in the den.”
Tony and I went back to the den.
“Jess,” Tony said, clearing his throat. “When you were listening to the wall this morning,” he said, pausing and looking down to his mother, “Did you hear something?”
“Yes, I did,” I said, looking down at my lap.
“Jess, what did you hear?” Tony said, coming around the chair, sitting beside me placing his hand on mine.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.
“Jess, sweetie, we have to know. We need for you to tell us,” he said, putting his arm around me. “It’s important. They’re trying to find a way to you, aren’t they?” he asked.
“William isn’t. Charlotte is and demanding William to find a way to me. He told her he couldn’t break Victor’s rules, but Charlotte shrieked at him to find a way. William told her this was his house and he wouldn’t do anything to cause him to leave.”
Tony got up. “Mother, may I have a word with you outside?”
Tony and Jennifer went out in the hall. Jason came back in the den and waited by the door until they returned. A few minutes later, Tony and Jennifer came back in the den. Tony sat beside me; Jennifer sat in the armchair.
“Jess, mother and I have been discussing this. We feel that we should go back home tonight. It isn’t safe for you here. They won’t leave you alone until Charlotte gets what she wants.”
“She told William that she wouldn’t hurt me. She just wanted to see if I was a good candidate to be immortal. William said Charlotte
can’t do that because it would be breaking the rules.”
Tony and Jennifer looked at each other. They had no idea that it was this extreme. Tony excused himself and left the room. Jennifer came over and sat beside me. “It will be fine, Jess. Tony has to speak to his father about this,” she said, sighing. “He won’t be pleased, but he has to know.”
“Jennifer, I didn’t mean to cause problems. I was curious, and I wanted to see what was up there. The house is full of beautiful furniture, so I thought there was more on the other side of the wall. If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone.”
“Tony should have explained the reason. I understand that he was keeping the family secret, well, a secret,” she said, putting her arm around me.
“Tony said he didn’t know what was behind the wall.”
“When he was a little boy, Tony and I were playing hide-and-seek. He hid behind the kitchen door. When I found him, he asked why the door was locked. I told him that there was something behind the door that would hurt him and to never ever go up there,” Jennifer said, remembering.
“When did Tony find out about his great-grandfather and Charlotte?” I asked, bringing Jennifer back from the memory.
“He couldn’t find his headstone in the cemetery. He asked questions about him, so Victor and I decided that he should know. He’d see him standing in the window and would wave to him. One day Victor brought William down to see Tony. Tony was excited to meet his great-grandfather. Charlotte, of course, wasn’t allowed around Tony.”
“Why couldn’t Charlotte be around Tony?” I asked.
“You know Tony is half vampire and half human.”
“Yes, I know. He was reluctant to tell me at first. Afraid I would run, but it drew me closer,” I confided in Jennifer.
“Charlotte believes Tony should be like his father. She calls him a half-breed.”
“That’s the cruelest thing ever.” I said.
“Victor was outraged. He set rules for Charlotte as well as William. Charlotte will do whatever she can to hurt Victor for having Tony. She feels Tony shouldn’t exist.” A sad look came on Jennifer’s face.
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