“The situation does seem rather worrisome.” His sharp eyes raked over Grace and she could not help but shiver. “It is most fortunate that you sent for me, Mrs. Sutton.”
Grace stared between the two of them. They thought she was insane. Suppressing a nervous laugh, she began to speak. “Doctor Vickers, please let me explain—”
“Now, now, Miss Grace. There is nothing to get upset about.” He stepped toward her more quickly than she thought a man of his size could move and placed his hand quite forcefully on her arm, compelling her to step backward. “Why don’t you have a seat in this chair and rest for a while?”
She stumbled and he practically pushed her into the armchair where Mary had first been seated.
“There is nothing wrong with me,” Grace protested, as panic began to grow within her. Something was happening and Mary had planned it.
Doctor Vickers loomed over her, peering closely. “Her eyes are quite dilated.” He set his black bag upon the small end table next to the chair and began rummaging through it. “Mrs. Sutton, may I ask you to leave us for a moment while I examine her?”
Mary smiled triumphantly at Grace. “Of course, Doctor.” She hurried from the room, closing the door behind her.
“Now, now, Miss Grace, there is nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about. I can take care of you.” He uncorked a small amber glass bottle filled with a dark liquid. “If you drink this, my dear, you will sleep tonight without those dreams troubling you.”
“I don’t wish to drink that. And I am not having troubling dreams.” She attempted to stand, but he easily pressed her back into the chair.
“You mean you deny all that Mrs. Sutton has claimed to be true?”
“Yes, I deny it!” she cried in indignation. “I am perfectly sane!”
He set the glass bottle upon the table next to his bag and took hold of her wrist. “Then you did not break your engagement with Lord Grayson this evening?” he asked in a calm tone, as he felt for her pulse.
Grace shook her head. “No, I did break it off with him, but—”
“Then you did not spend the day with another man when you know such an action would destroy your reputation forever?” he questioned, his eyes glittering shrewdly.
Grace felt her cheeks turn scarlet at the memory of all she had done that day with Phillip. She could not answer.
“I see from your lack of response that that accusation is also true.” Doctor Vickers flashed a sly grin, revealing crooked front teeth. “Your pulse is racing. And what about the erotic dreams, Grace? Do you deny writing about them as well?”
“I . . . I . . .” Mortification engulfed her completely and she regretted ever writing her private, intimate dreams in that blasted journal. “No, I do not deny it,” she murmured so low she barely heard her own voice.
“Do you believe you have lived another life?”
The ridiculousness of the statement sounded so glaring when he said it. Grace knew it to be true from the deepest depths of her soul, but did not know how to explain it in a rational way. She had lived and loved Phillip in another life, but she knew no one would believe her. She said nothing.
“I thought so,” he whispered.
His hand moved with deliberate slowness up the length of her arm and brushed lightly across her breasts, lingering there before placing his hand over her heart. She recoiled from his touch, pressing herself into the back of the chair.
“Yours are not the actions of a sane woman, Grace.”
No, perhaps they were not after all, she thought. Maybe she had gone insane. It would explain why she had agreed to let Lord Radcliffe change her into a vampire. All of what had happened to her in the past few days was crazy. Perhaps she had gone stark raving mad?
Releasing her, Doctor Vickers reached into his bag to grab some sort of instrument with a long wooden tube. “I’ll need you to unbutton your dress, Grace, so I can listen to your heart properly. Loosen the corset also,” he commanded coolly.
“There is no need for this,” she began. “I assure you, I am perfectly fine.”
“You are not fine,” he stated in a harsh tone, startling her. “Your pulse is rapid, your eyes are dilated, your cheeks are flushed, and you are overwrought. Now I insist upon listening to your heart. Would you rather I have Mrs. Sutton join us?”
Grace preferred to be humiliated without Mary looking on. The sooner she got the examination over with, the sooner the doctor would leave. Reluctantly she began to unfasten the buttons down the front of her green plaid gown, recalling that she had done the same thing in front of Phillip earlier today. Shame flooded her now, where it had not this morning when she had undressed for Phillip. Feeling Doctor Vickers’s eyes on her, she unbuttoned her gown to just below her chest, just enough to loosen the ties on her corset. She kept her hands poised to shove him away.
Without saying a word, the doctor leaned his head closer to her, placing the long wooden instrument against her chest and the other end of it to his ear. His face was entirely too close to her breasts as he listened for some time. His hot breath warmed her skin, yet made her shiver in disgust. She concentrated on the sound of the rain slapping against the window.
He raised his head and removed the medical instrument, yet kept his eyes on her. His expression was puzzled. “You have a most irregular heartbeat.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, hurrying to button up her dress.
“It could mean a variety of things, but we would need more tests done in my surgery. I can examine you properly there. However, that is not what worries me now.”
“What is it?”
“Your behavior is not rational.”
“That is not for you to decide,” she said as she fastened the last button.
Suddenly the door opened and Mary entered, her sharp eyes taking in the situation. Grace was shocked to see Lord Grayson following behind her mother-in-law’s large figure.
“Reginald!” Grace exclaimed. He would not meet her eyes. Why had he come back? His departure earlier had seemed so final.
“Well, Doctor Vickers?” Mary questioned eagerly. “What is your professional opinion?”
“I think you were quite right in your assessment, Mrs. Sutton.”
Mary nodded her head in grim satisfaction. “As much as I hate to admit such a thing, I was afraid that might be the case. Lord Grayson has returned and would like to weigh in on the matter.”
Grace stared at the three of them. Weigh in on the matter? What was going on here? “There is nothing the matter. I am fine,” she stated yet again.
Lord Grayson focused all of his attention on Doctor Vickers, ignoring Grace completely. “I don’t know what to think, quite frankly. She seemed perfectly rational when she agreed to be my wife. I did not suspect her of being the flighty, impetuous type or I would not have asked her to marry me in the first place. You can imagine my surprise to learn of her scandalous behavior today, running around after a man she hardly knows, and my greater shock when she confessed to me that she is in love with this man and needed to break our engagement. After Mrs. Sutton revealed to me just now the lurid contents of her dream journal, I am terribly worried for Grace’s mental state. I care for her a great deal and I would hate to see her come to any harm. The change in her is dramatic and her behavior is not that of a sane woman.”
Doctor Vickers nodded his head. “Those were my thoughts exactly.”
“You are already aware of my position,” Mary chimed in. “This is a sad day for me. To see the woman I thought of as my own daughter for ten years, come to this.”
“Come to what?” Grace shouted in frustration.
“She is not even aware of how extreme her behavior is,” Doctor Vickers said to them. “Yet she does not deny any of it.”
Mary made a “tsk, tsk” sound and frowned sadly. “I never would have expected such from her, but she even threatened to force me out of my home this evening.”
Grace tightened her hands into fists. “I did no suc
h thing!”
“Look at her,” Mary said, shaking her head with pity. “May God have mercy on her poor soul.”
Lord Grayson stayed mute, still avoiding her eyes, but looked appalled.
Doctor Vickers cleared his throat. “There is only one thing to do then and I believe we are all in agreement.”
Panic laced with fear welled within Grace’s chest. It was as if they had come to some kind of prearranged consensus about her. She took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly, knowing that if she became upset they would only use it against her. “There is nothing wrong with my mental state. I am perfectly sane and I know exactly what I am doing. The three of you can leave my room, and my house, immediately.”
They simply ignored her and acted as if she had not spoken at all.
“It is rather late to take her this evening, but I can make an exception,” Doctor Vickers said. He gazed at Grace with unmasked lust and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself.
“You are not taking me anywhere,” she stated firmly.
“There is no need to go to all the trouble to proceed there tonight, especially with the rain,” Mary said, again ignoring Grace. “It can wait until the morning.”
“We can give her this.” The doctor held up the small amber-colored bottle. “It will calm her and help her sleep through the night.”
“I am not going anywhere,” Grace stated again in a louder voice, “and I am not taking anything this man gives me.”
Lord Grayson had a pained expression on his face as he asked, “Will she be safe there?”
“She shall be perfectly safe, for I shall see to her personally,” Doctor Vickers said, his eyes glittering. “I give you my word on that.”
“This is ridiculous!” Grace exclaimed. “I am not insane simply because I broke off an engagement because I fell in love with someone else. I am not insane for writing about my dreams!”
Doctor Vickers handed the bottle to Mary. “We will try to give this to her later. Perhaps I should stay here this evening just in case?”
Mary took the bottle and nodded her head. “Yes, that would be best.” She moved toward the door.
Lord Grayson gave her a cold and distant look and Grace wondered how she had ever thought she could marry the man. He left the room hurriedly.
Doctor Vickers said, “Good evening, Grace. I shall see you in the morning. You need only ring for me and I shall come.”
“That is highly unlikely,” she snapped at him.
He smiled at her and exited the room. Mary’s eyes narrowed. “I shall pray for you all night, Grace.” She too left the room, closing the door behind her.
And Grace was left alone.
It wasn’t until she heard the key in the lock on the other side of the door that she realized they had locked her in her own bedroom.
Chapter Eight
Something was wrong. Lord Radcliffe paced back and forth in his bedroom. It was almost four in the morning and he knew Grace was not sleeping, for he could not read her dreams. He could not sense anything from her.
When she left, he had said he would give her time, at least three days, before he came for her, so she could consider on her own all sides of what she would become. To be sure. Yes, they loved each other, but what he was asking of her was beyond the realm of love.
As soon as she left he had misgivings about releasing her. He should have kept her with him. Should never have let her out of his sight again.
When she drowned that day a hundred years ago, Phillip had not known how to bear the pain of losing her. Nor the guilt he suffered over not giving her what she so desperately wanted. But Gráinne had had plenty of time to know what she was doing.
It was Phillip who was unsure.
He had never made a vampire before and he was terrified something would go wrong and he would lose her. Oh, he knew what to do, and he had seen it done, but it was a dangerous business. And through his fear and hesitation he lost her anyway.
He was determined not to do that again.
Was Grace that tortured over what she was about to become that she could not sleep? Was she terrified? Was she alone?
Becoming a vampire was not an easy decision to make.
Of course, he had not made the decision for himself. That had been made for him.
When he was thirty years old, he had lived a comfortable life. He was raised by an aristocratic family and experienced a happy childhood. He was an economic advisor to Queen Elizabeth I and held a position at court as the Earl of Radcliffe. He had a pretty young wife, Sara, who had just given birth to their daughter. Phillip had named her Jane, after his mother, and hoped for a son for the next go-round. Yes, he was prosperous and successful and life was good for him. Aside from the death of his father when he was twenty, Phillip had not experienced any hardships and his existence had been pleasant and peaceful.
Until the night he met her.
She had stepped out of the shadows of the castle one evening and he was dumbfounded by her allure. Never had he seen anyone so exquisitely beautiful, so achingly tempting. Her silky black hair fell in waves to her waist and her lush, overripe breasts spilled over the top of her red velvet gown. Long black eyelashes lined the most gorgeous, startlingly green eyes. They mesmerized him. She spoke in a sultry whisper, luring him with her erotic words. Helplessly he took her hand and followed her up the stone steps to her chamber.
Straying from his marriage vows was something he had never had any intention of doing. He loved his wife. He loved his baby daughter. But this woman bewitched him.
This woman destroyed him.
The passionate and highly erotic night spent in her bed had been an incredible mix of pleasure and pain.
When dawn broke the following morning, she revealed the horrific creature she was and what she was going to do to him. Before Phillip could escape the evil woman, she bit his neck, slicing two razor-sharp fangs into his flesh and changing him forever.
When he awoke, shivering and sweating, she was beside him. Lady Anna Barlow instructed him on his new, terrifying existence—the ways of vampires. He could never see his wife and daughter again, for fear he might attack them, so overpowering was his thirst for human blood. Overwhelmed with pain and grief, he let his family think he had disappeared. With Anna by his side and filled with an indescribable anger and self-loathing, Phillip at first killed indiscriminately, caring only to satisfy the endless, torturous thirst within him. And that is what he did. Eventually, Anna left him and he was on his own, which he did not necessarily mind. Losing his wife and daughter had filled him with an aching sadness.
Over many decades, he learned to control his bloodlust and roamed the fetid London streets, searching only for victims who would not be readily missed and whose sad lives would be nothing but a mercy to end. He traveled the world, moving from city to city, country to country, slaking his desires and his thirst in an anonymous haze.
Until the day he met Gráinne.
His entire existence changed the day he saw her beautiful soul and fell helplessly in love. With Gráinne he felt almost human again. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. He only wanted to be with her.
That same soul, the exquisite soul that redeemed and saved him, now inhabited the body of Grace Sutton. He would do anything to make her life easier. Now that he had found her again he would never let her go. He had not sensed any danger from her home environment. Tension yes, but danger no. Her mother-in-law was a tyrant and that Grayson man was not for her. But the fact that she was not sleeping made him anxious. A great unease crept along his spine.
He had fed earlier that evening, along the London docks. It was fertile ground for the refuse of human life. He could dump the bodies in the Thames and no one would suspect a thing. Keeping a low profile was an unbroken code in the secretive and mysterious vampire world.
Slipping on his cape and hat, he made his way through the misty London night to Grace Sutton’s townhouse. He knew the way like the back of his hand, for he h
ad stood beneath her bedroom window for many a night before Grace saw him, reading her dreams.
How he loved and cherished her. This beautiful woman who altered his whole existence . . .
Phillip moved on silent feet down the alley behind her house, until he passed through the garden gate that led into the Suttons’ yard. With his keen night vision he scanned the grounds and then observed the stately stone house. Immediately, he noted that two windows were aglow with lights. How odd for close to five in the morning. He had observed this household for some time now and he knew the servants did not wake this early. The one window he focused on in particular was Grace’s.
The light glowed from within. He saw her at the window and his body froze at the sight of her.
Something was definitely wrong.
It was still so dark outside she could not see him, or she would have signaled to him. Her beautiful face was distraught and creased with worry. Long auburn hair cascaded about her delicate shoulders. He could see she was still wearing the same green plaid dress she had on yesterday. Her hands pressed against the rain-splattered glass as if she were in pain and his body convulsed in response. Sensing danger, his eyes intuitively peered through the other window, in the room next to Grace’s.
This window in particular held his attention, for he did not recognize the large, dark-haired man with spectacles. His hulking form paced the room, walking back and forth in front of the tall window. Who was he and what was his purpose in the Sutton household?
Emitting a low snarl, Phillip clenched his fists. He began to crave blood, even though he had already fed earlier that evening. An unexplainable desire to kill the lumbering man standing in the window coursed through his body. The sheer pleasure of tearing the dark-haired human to shreds and leaving nothing for them to find afterward would be quite intoxicating.
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