The end of the event is marked by yet another receiving line, with Faye, Elizabeth, Henry, and me bidding farewell to each guest.
A student of Henry’s, one of the first boys I met at the school, now married with a baby, approaches me. “I didn’t get a dance with my favorite sister.”
I promise him a dance at the next party and to visit with his wife and new baby. Even with my attention divided, I’ve honed my nose to sense how far away Alec is, and as he draws closer, my pulse quickens.
“Miss Anne.” He bows in front of me.
“Thank you for coming.” Every cell of my body longs to touch him. But, I keep my hands pinned together at my waist, fearing further implication of a relationship between us.
As soon as the doors close behind the last guest, Henry paces away from us and back. It’s the first time I’ve seen the man angry, and my mind races, wondering how bad the situation may be. Henry motions to me as he passes. “How could he come into my home and lay claim to you that way?”
Elizbeth catches his arm. “Sir Thomas spoke to everyone. No one believes Alec has put forth any offer for Anne.”
Henry pulls his arm from her grip. “That’s what they’re saying, but what they think is entirely different. And then I had to let him dance with her or else Sir Thomas would’ve been insulted. It’s beyond me why Sir Thomas would support the boy. He has the manners of a barn animal.”
“If I may.” Faye steps forward, hands wringing at her waist. “He seems like a good, decent man. I believe he’s being honest. He doesn’t know our customs. Who’s to say he wouldn’t be a good match for Anne?”
Henry extends his fist into the air. “You may think you know things, woman. But, no daughter of mine is marrying a field hand. Just because Thomas can’t sire a son of his own doesn’t mean he should claim the first boy who comes along. She is not to see that man, you hear me?”
Henry stomps up the stairs, taking them two at a time. With a glance in my direction, Elizabeth hurries up after him. My eyes fall to the ground. Is Henry right? Will others see us as a couple? Did Alec’s actions seal my fate? I jut my chin into the air and stride towards my room, pledging that no being will ever decide my future for me.
Faye trails after me. “Child, Henry’s just upset. He overreacted, but don’t let this get to you.”
If I’d been human, perhaps tears would be appropriate, and I cover my eyes as she reaches me. She wraps her arms around me and pats my back. “There, there, honey, you’ll see. This will be old news by next week.”
I raise and lower my shoulders as if I’m sobbing. “I just want to go to sleep.”
“Okay, well, I’ll see you in the morning.” She releases me.
Entering my room, I fiddle with my buttons until free of the dress. It should be hung, but I lay it atop the chest. Untying my corset, I slip on my work dress. I need to be outside to think. Climbing to the sill, I jump to the ground. Even though I love the brook, I head the opposite way for fear of coming across Alec.
I avoid Elizabeth like the plague. As soon as we’re alone, I make an excuse to leave. Usually, I take her counsel on everything, but a gnawing feeling in my gut tells me to handle the Alec issue myself. On Monday we receive an invitation to dine with the Thomas family at their farm on Friday. Much too polite to do otherwise, Henry accepts the offer.
As I’ve taken over schooling the youngest grade, my days are busy. They provide a nice distraction from thoughts of Alec and my anxiety about seeing him again. I take different routes on my hunts each night, searching for his scent. My psyche battles itself as I grapple with longing to see him and being horrified to learn the truth. What if he is very old? Did he kiss me on purpose? Does he think he should have some claim to me now?
Wednesdays are market days, and I trail Faye, adding her choices to the baskets on my arms. I catch his scent, but the next second, the wind whips up and the smell disappears. Scanning the crowd, I don’t find him. We move to the next booth, and Faye inspects the vegetables.
“Looking for someone?” Alec’s warm breath cascades down my neck. The heat from his body floats over me as he inches closer.
“As a matter of fact, no.” I keep my eyes facing forwards.
“You haven’t been to the stream.”
“I wasn’t sure it was safe.”
“I could’ve tracked you anywhere.”
Shocked, I open my mouth to speak, but no words form.
Alec continues to follow us. “Do you not wish to see me? I’m sure you have many questions. I’d like a chance to answer them.”
“Alec.” I project my voice so Faye can hear. “What a pleasure. I don’t believe I’ve seen you at the market before.”
Faye turns around. “How nice. Alec, I didn’t see you there. We’re so looking forward to dinner on Friday.”
“Me too.” His eyes sparkle as they meet mine and cut back to her. He lifts a basket. “Sir Thomas’s other man is under the weather today, so I brought in some of the early crop.”
“Wonderful.” Faye smiles and sets her pick of cabbage into the basket I’m holding. She places her hand on his biceps, then releases him with a wink. “So refreshing to meet a man who earns his living. Don’t you think, Anne? Why don’t you join us, Alec? I’m sure Anne could use some help with those baskets once you’ve made your delivery.”
“She looks pretty strong.” Alec walks beside me as I follow Faye to her next destination.
“That she is,” Faye calls over her shoulder.
When Faye stops to inquire about some lettuce, Alec leans down so our heads are inches apart. “Will you meet me at the brook tonight?”
I smile and nod despite myself as his scent encapsulates the space around me.
“It was nice seeing you.” He projects his voice to Faye. “I should be going. I’ll look forward to Friday.”
“Oh, yes, indeed.” Faye’s grin spread across her face. “Please give our best to Lady and Sir Thomas.”
“I will.” He bows.
I curtsey as he backs away.
“Henry has you all scared, eh? I think he’s a nice man.” Faye comments as she fits her purchases in the basket.
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to be seen with Alec.”
“Yes, that’s what Henry said.” She winks at me.
Once we’re out of the market and alone on the walk, I venture my question. “Why did you say Alec is a good man? How do you know?”
“Took you four days to ask that question.” Her eyes cut to me and back to the street. “As Henry said, I know things. Have all my life. My mother was like that too. I’ve never been wrong. The more I’m with Alec, the more I pick up from him. You can trust him; he’s an honest man. To me, something like that is more important than status or wealth. Henry’s just trying to look out for you, making sure you’re provided for.”
“I can provide for myself.”
“Maybe.” She holds my gaze. “But this is a different world from that of your ancestors. There are customs and traditions, and the price is high for those that don’t follow them.”
My eyes hold hers, and I realize she may know what Elizabeth and I are. “I understand.”
That evening, as Elizabeth readies for bed, I can’t escape her questions. “What did you think of Alec?”
“He seemed like a nice gentleman.” I hang my dress on the bed post, avoiding her gaze.
“Faye told me you saw him today.”
I slouch onto the bed. “How do you know how old a vampire is?”
“So, you are interested?” She sits beside me.
“Curious.” I shrug. “We haven’t seen another vampire since we left France.”
Turning towards me, she begins to braid my hair. “We keep to ourselves. I’ve caught whiffs of them in the city.”
“His scent was hard to recognize.”
“I noticed that.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” I hold her stare as she finishes my hair.
She sighs. “There’s no s
ure way to know. Very old vampires—eight-, nine-hundred years of age—will start to wrinkle as humans do, and their hair turns white. Up until eight hundred or so, vampire’s physiques are frozen save for increase in strength. The older the vampire, the stronger, but you knew that. Just trust your instincts.”
“Faye says he’s an honest man.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrow shoots up. “So, you talked to her about him?”
“She says she knows things.”
“Henry believes she does.”
“But he still doesn’t like Alec?”
She cups my chin in her hand. “I’m not sure any man will ever be good enough for you in Henry’s eyes.”
Glad he is a loud man, I wait until Henry’s breathing evens out, as is my habit. Just past midnight, I change into my favorite traveling dress and boots. Jumping out the window to the grass, I bolt to the trees. I reach out with my senses, trying to enjoy the night despite my apprehension. A mile from the brook, I catch Alec’s scent in the air. Jumping from tree to tree, I reach the spot in minutes.
“I’ve been waiting for hours.” He rises from his position on the bank as I approach.
“I have to wait for Henry to sleep. Why haven’t I noticed your scent in the woods before?”
“Straight to business, eh?” The edges of his mouth rise.
I place a hand on my hip. “You said you’d tell me everything.”
“I did.” He smiles. His blue eyes catch the moonlight as a cloud exposes the sphere.
I divert my gaze. “So?”
“Sit.” He motions to a boulder.
Taking a seat beside him, I fold my skirt on my lap.
“Hunting would be hard in that.”
“I make do.”
“How long has it been since you were taught to hunt?”
“I was one.” My eyes cut to the leaves under my feet as I think about my family.
“Lady Thomas told me your story. I’m guessing Elizabeth is not your mother.”
It makes me sad to think of my family, all the occasions we would have experienced together. The possibility of finding a love and starting a family of my own makes their absence feel more prominent. I focus on his face. “I asked how you hid your scent.”
“I made sure to wash before I came out, masked myself with soil, and stayed downwind. Strategies you would know if you were raised to be a hunter.”
“Don’t mock me. You’re no better than I am.”
“Sorry. That was not my intent.” He leans towards me, eyes large and pleading.
We sit on the soft grass beside the creek. I ask about his past, and he relates a story of being raised in a tribe of vampires near the North Sea.
“Did you feed off humans?” I venture my next question.
His eyes wander to the brook. “Sometimes. Do you believe it is wrong?”
“Yes and no.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I wanted a different life, something more than survival.” He tosses a stone into the brook.
“How old are you?”
He holds my stare. “Will you believe me when I tell you?”
“I will.”
“Because you would, or Faye said you could?”
I bite my lip. “Do you know what she is?”
“I ran across a faerie or two in my travels.”
“How long have you been traveling?”
“Since the age of eleven.”
“And you are?” I lean in to study every nuance of his face.
“Twenty.”
My heart leaps at his revelation, and I realize I’m more attracted to him than I admitted before. Still, there are tons of questions swirling through my brain. “You knew at eleven you wanted to live in the human world?”
“Not human necessarily, just civilized. I was making my way to France when I found you.”
A lump forms in my throat. “You found me? What does that mean?”
“I stayed because of you. I saw you in this very spot for the first time just more than five months ago. I followed you home and waited and watched as you came and went. I’ve never seen a creature as beautiful, as kind, and as genuine as you. I had to know you.”
I rise and back away from him. “Am I different from other vampires?”
“You live in a building full of humans, and I’m assuming you haven’t eaten one yet.” He strolls to me.
“Elizabeth doesn’t either. We would never. They’re like family to us.” I stand my ground as he approaches, trying not to appear anxious.
“You don’t see it because you don’t know any different. How Henry responds to you is not normal. You saw how he reacted to me.”
“I’ve known him since I was two.”
He paces to the stream and back to me. “And what of Elizabeth? She isn’t your mother. You smell nothing alike.”
“How is your nose so attuned?”
“Years of practice.” Winding around a tree, he stops in front of me.
Being close to him makes me nervous, jumpy in a way I’ve never experienced. Launching myself into the air, I perch on a low branch. He reclines on the trunk as I tell him about my parents, Elizabeth’s family, and the witches that burned them. I describe our cottage and the rolling hills where we played. Then, I relay all I know of my mother and father. How they met as teens in Egypt and moved first to northern Africa, across the Mediterranean to southern Spain, to Italy, Germany, and finally to France where they decided to start a family. Remembering makes me long for my mother’s embrace, and I fight tears forming in my eyes.
“See.” He points at me. “They knew how to live, not just survive.”
I swing down, landing on the ground in front of him. “Do you think I’m hiding?”
“Partially.”
Admitting my desire to travel, I tell him of the promise I made to Elizabeth.
“Eight years is a long time to wait to be happy. You’ll be an old maid by then.”
I jut my chin out. “In human terms, yes.”
“We don’t even know what it’s like to live a human lifetime yet.” His eyes circle to the sky. “Think of what your parents witnessed, what Elizabeth experienced, kings, queens, the rise and fall of empires.”
“But my parents had each other.”
A grin forms on his face. “And that’s why you should consider allowing me to call on you. I overstepped before and am sorry. It won’t happen again.” He pushes off the tree and stands inches from me, his breath caressing my cheek. His eyebrows rise. “Unless you’d like it to.”
I bite my lip and take a step back. “Henry doesn’t like you.”
“Henry senses what I am, a predator. But I think when he visits Sir Thomas he’ll be convinced. Sir Thomas gave me a space in the loft of the barn and meals in exchange for running his farm. He’s happy with the job I’ve done so far, and Lady Thomas loves me.”
“Do you like the work?”
“The animals took some time to get used to me, but the rest was easy. I worked on a lot of farms over the past eight years. With my pay, I’ll earn a house of my own in two years.” He describes how we’d court, be married, have a family. “Then in twenty years when the humans begin to be suspicious, we can go wherever we want.”
“And you know you want to do this with me, how?”
“Well, I mean, I’m not certain, yet. That would be crazy. That’s what courting is for, correct?”
“Yes.” I walk to the brook.
“So, I may call on you by day, and we can spend our nights here in the woods?” He approaches me.
“I haven’t decided if I like you.” I jump the stream and to a low-hanging branch. Climbing to the top of the tree, I look out over the fields. Seeing him ascend the grand fir under me reminds me of the night I scaled the tree to escape the witches and dogs. I shiver.
“Are you cold?” He sheds his shirt and holds it out to me.
I slide my arms in the sleeves and hug the garment to me
. His scent surrounds me. I look into his face, wondering if we’re preprogrammed to be attracted to certain physical factors, his hard jaw, square chin, the angle of his nose, deep-blue eyes, hair the color of straw, and skin that smells of my home in France. I decide I won’t be a victim to my hormones.
“Should we run?” I ask.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He holds out his palm.
I ignore his outstretched hand and fall to the branch below, catching it, and swinging to the ground. Running through the forest, he stays close, and I wonder if he’s faster than me. I slow up and ask him to race.
“You’re not going to like that outcome.”
I stick out my lower lip. “Elizabeth is the only other vampire I’ve seen in fourteen years, and she never comes out with me.”
He counts down on his fingers and speeds off. Judging by the passing trees, I figure he’s twice as fast as me. A coyote barks in the distance, and he puts his finger to his ear. “Should we find him?”
I’ve haven’t hunted with anyone since I was very young, and a feeling of apprehension washes over me. I watch as his chiseled torso expands and contracts with each breath. “I’m warm enough now.” I slide his shirt off and hold it out to him.
“No coyote?” The sides of his mouth turn down. “I like to keep the population down since they try to pick off our chickens.”
“Go ahead. I need to get home.”
“You don’t need to feed?”
“Not every night,” I tell him, even though I prefer to.
“It keeps the cravings to a minimum, right?” His eyebrows shoot up.
“Yes, that is true.”
“So, come help me catch the coyote.”
I want to spend time with him but worry he will find me inferior. “I don’t think you need help. Thank you for your honesty. I believe I’ll head home.”
“May I escort you?” He offers me his arm.
His piercing blue eyes and smile are more than I can resist. “You may.” I smile as I slide my arm through his.
Kingdom of the Damned: Provocation (KIngdom Journals) Page 4