Avalon Revisited (18 page)

Half-past five. We missed sunrise by over thirty minutes.

“It’s Victor. He’s gone. He must’ve gone after Lady Haldenby by himself. We’ve got to go help him!”

“It’s already too late, Avalon. It’s after dawn. He either has her or he doesn’t. He can hold his own,” I said, groggily. This was way too early for me. I could think of little else but my bed upstairs.

Cecil walked in the library with some fresh tea.

“Good morning, m’lord. I see that you have–
company
,” he said with a ribald smile.

Avalon’s expression of disgust wiped the smile away quickly enough, however.

“When did you get home?” I demanded. “I was in need of your services last night, Cecil, and you weren’t to be found.”

Avalon, looking rather uncomfortable at my chiding, moved toward the door.

“I beg your forgiveness, m’lord. It won’t happen again.”

“Where are you off to?” I barked at Avalon. I had never been a morning person.

“I’m going after Victor even if you don’t come with me. I won’t leave him out there with that thing alone.”

“It’s after dawn,” I repeated, hoping she would see reason.

“He could be fighting with her in the crypt right now. He might need our help!” She flew from the room and headed downstairs.

“Wait here,” I ordered Cecil and followed her downstairs. By the time I got there, she had donned her jacket and was opening the door. Sunlight flooded the foyer, but thankfully didn’t come back as far as I was. I stopped cold, thankful that Avalon’s back was turned when I did so, as it likely appeared inhuman. Visions of Victor’s shrieking vampire filled by mind, and I backed into the entryway of my parlor.

Avalon turned to me and said, “Aren’t you coming?”

“I--,” I stammered. What could I say that she would believe?

“Oh, yes. Your condition,” she said. “Well, wrap up well and let’s go.”

“I--,” I stammered again. It’s possible that wrapping up would be enough to keep me from bursting into flames, but it was still a risk. I had never tested it, and it, of course, had to be one of the few sunny days in London. Perhaps a risk I had to take to save face with Avalon. I couldn’t imagine losing her from my life, especially just after I had found her!

“Here,” she said, bringing my hat and scarf to me.

Perhaps if I wrap my head in my scarf and wear a coat,
I thought. I was terrified.

Just then, my salvation appeared in the doorway.

“Victor!” Avalon cried and rushed into his arms. My heart clenched. “Thank God you’re alive!” She pulled back from him and then hit him hard on the arm. That’s better. “How dare you go out there without us! You could’ve been killed!”

“Yes, well, I wasn’t.” He mercifully closed the door behind him.

“Did you see her?” I asked.

“I did not. I waited outside her crypt before dawn, not wanting to be trapped inside with her after the sun rose, but she never showed. I chanced it out of desperation and went down into her crypt after sunrise, but it was empty. Well, just the dead. No undead.”

“What a relief!” Avalon said.

“Looks like she may have come back, though. Looking for her husband, I assume,” he said.

“The entire place was trashed. Bodies strewn about and the like. Someone was very angry, and I surmise it was her coming to find her husband dusted.”

“Where do you think she’s off to now?” Avalon asked.

“Not sure. Perhaps home? We can send word to her staff today and inquire, although I’m not sure what we would say. Perhaps she’s with her sire,” Victor offered.

“Sire?” Avalon inquired.

“The vampire, or whatever it was, that made her like this. Her sire, or possibly the whore. I don’t know. All I do know is that nothing will be happening in the daylight, so I’m going to get some sleep. We’ll all need to be fresh for this evening’s hunt.”

“Of course,” I said. I would’ve let out a sigh of relief had I had breath. Victor just handed me a reprieve. “I’ll have Thomas take you home. Where do you think we should begin tonight?”

“I have some ideas, but I’m not thinking too clearly at the moment. Drink mixed with no sleep is not a good combination. We’ll return late this afternoon and discuss it then,” he said definitively.

“Very good,” I said, then pulled the thick cord that rang up in Thomas’s room.

I looked back at Avalon and Victor. She was genuinely concerned for him. She said she loved him like a brother, but could it be more than that? Perhaps my jealousy was taking over my perception. After all, I’ve never had to work this hard for a woman before. My curiosity about the creatures was beginning to rival my desire for Avalon.

Thomas trotted downstairs, dressed for work. “Yes, m’lord,” he said.

“Please take these fine people to their home: 219 Baker Street,” I instructed.

“Very good, m’lord,” he said to me. Then he opened the front door, I was sure to remain toward the back of the foyer. “Sir, madam,” he said, gesturing them to go outside. The carriage was already there. Thomas was quite a good coachman. Cecil, on the other hand... I had to deal with him presently. Inexcusable behavior, that.

After I heard the carriage clatter off, I turned and went back to Cecil still waiting in the library. He stood perfectly straight, but his head was slightly bowed. He knew what was coming.

“What is the meaning of your behavior, Cecil?” I demanded. “What possible explanation do you have for going off in the middle of the night? Are you unclear for whom you work? Who pays your wage? Feeds you? Do tell, Cecil. What was so very important?”

Cecil didn’t move. He didn’t look at me. In a rather embarrassed tone, he said, “A woman, m’lord. It was to visit a woman.”

I knew it!

“It won’t happen again, m’lord. I promise,” he pleaded. “It’s just that, well, m’lord I’m not all that much to look at, m’lord. And I don’t have the money or the titles that you have, m’lord, so the ladies aren’t much interested. It makes for a lonely life,” he said, and then quickly added,

“Not that life with you isn’t wonderful, m’lord. You certainly give me all I could need, m’lord.

Well... except this.”

“Cecil, I could have women brought here for you. I’ve done so before! Why go out.”

“Well, m’lord, this isn’t just for carnal delights, m’lord. It’s for--well, m’lord. It’s for love.”

Normally I would have thrashed him for even saying such a thing. Love. Until I met Avalon, I had ceased believing in love. It was a thing for the naïve and foolish. Desire was the only truth.

But now I knew love again, so I suppose I could suffer it in my butler if need be.

“Next time, have her come here,” I said, letting him off the hook. This woman was making me soft.

“Very good, m’lord.”

“Turn down my bed, Cecil. I will be sleeping for quite some time now.”

“Yes, m’lord,” he said, and then turned to go upstairs to my chamber.

I picked up the afghan under which Avalon had so recently slept and deeply breathed in her scent. Folding it, I placed it back on the foot of the chaise and then ascended to my chamber.

Cecil had already drawn the curtains and turned down the bed. He waited obediently until I removed my gloves and clothes, and taking them, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

I slid into bed and slept soundly.

The next thing I knew, Cecil was waking me up, which never happened. He usually knew better than to arouse me from sleep. Many surprises from Cecil today.

“Forgive me, m’lord,” he said, “but you’ve got guests.”

“Avalon and Victor?” I said groggily. “Are they back already?”

“It is after five o’clock, m’lord,” Cecil said, pouring a cup of tea on the bedside table.

Nearly twelve hours asleep. I need to feed
, I thought. I watched Cecil put ten drops of blood in my tea before stirring it.

“I’ll need more than that,” I said to him. “Bring me some of the pigs’ blood we keep on ice in the cellar. I’ll need my strength, and it will have to do for now.

“You do have two humans downstairs, m’lord,” Cecil said cheekily.

“That will be all, Cecil,” I said, smiling.

“Very good, m’lord. Oh, and you have a letter from Lady Bainbridge as well. It’s on the tray.”

“Thank you, Cecil.”

He left the room and closed the heavy door behind him.

After I drank my tea, which gave me a minor boost, I read the letter from Emily. It read:
Charming time at tea. Perhaps another cup?

Emily

She had been quite delicious, but I had to distance myself now that I was getting closer to Avalon. I was beginning to realize that what I had originally felt for her was more of an infatuation, obsession with the unattainable. Shock of the resemblance to Catherine, perhaps. But I truly was falling for her now. It had been so long that I felt anything besides obsession and desire, that I forgot the pure agonizing joy of true love. I decided not to respond to Emily right away. I had to give it some thought and play this just right. Awkward position, this. Her being Avalon’s aunt and all.

Cecil returned with the blood, and I drank it quickly, grimacing. Horrible stuff, pigs’ blood, but drastic measures and all that. I dressed in the clothes Cecil had laid out for me and went downstairs to meet my guests. They were already in the parlor, enjoying tea of their own.

“Good morning,” Avalon said with a smile in her voice. She emphasized the word ‘morning’

to comment on my sloth.

“Yes. I guess I slept rather longer than I had expected,” I replied. “And you two? Did you sleep well?”

“Surprisingly, I slept quite well. I suppose sheer exhaustion trumps fear in the end. Victor here didn’t sleep at all!” Avalon said.

I could’ve figured as much. The man looked awful. He had dark bags beneath his eyes and he hadn’t shaven. He was still in the same clothes as the previous night. Even his hair was disheveled.

“Victor?” I said. The man was staring into the distance, absently tapping his teacup against the saucer. I could almost see the tiny spiderweb cracks forming up the sides of this teacup. Must mark a cup just for Victor in the future lest he ruin the entire set!

“Two more,” he growled.

“What?” I asked.

“Two more murders,” Avalon explained, her expression losing all of its light.

“And there will be more tonight,” Victor spat in anger. “They’re multiplying.”

“It’s not your fault,” Avalon said, trying to reassure him She placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked at it with revulsion. Something was amiss here. Granted, I had only known these people for a few days, but Victor had been nothing but warm to Avalon before. This coldness was new. Yes. Something was going on here. He just ignored her reassuring words and continued.

“We have to stop this,” he said directly to me. Man to man, as it were.

Avalon removed her hand from Victor, hurt at his disregard. She, too, felt that something was off with him.

“But how can we? We don’t know where they’ll strike tonight. Any clues from the last two?”

I asked.

“I’m hoping to find some at the brothel. That’s where we’re going,” Victor said, rising.

“Now?”

“Yes. Before dark. We must get a head start.”

“Why the brothel,” I asked, nervous about the daylight. This morning had been so sunny, and the light coming in from the parlor window still looked quite bright.

“It’s where last night’s murders were.”

“Whores or johns?” I asked, trying to prolong the conversation. Had to buy some more time.

“Whores. Young ones. Can’t be older than thirteen, poor girls.”

I thought that this fate was less cruel than the one they had been living. Death isn’t by far the worst fate that can befall a person.

“But the cops will be swarming the place,” I said, stalling. “How can we investigate with those blokes about?”

“I have a plan,” he said.

He proceeded to tell us how he had used every contact he had, while we had slept, and procured three constable uniforms. We would each don a uniform and blend in with the assumed chaos over at the brothel. He also had it on good authority that the girls had been engaged with some very prominent men when the attack had occurred. So there were witnesses. The men were quite distraught and apparently traumatized by the event.

Good.

They were being held for questioning down at Scotland Yard.

“We had better get moving. Dusk is fast approaching,” Victor said.

“Is there a place where I could change?” Avalon asked.

“Of course,” I said. “Victor, you can change in the library. I’ll join you there shortly. Avalon, you can change in the privacy of my chamber.”

She smiled and blushed slightly.

“Thank you, Arthur,” she said.

“Follow me.”

We all went up stairs, and Victor broke away from us on the second story, headed to the library . He shot me a mistrustful glance as Avalon and I continued up to the third floor. I showed Avalon to my chamber. Cecil had already made the bed and pulled back the curtains. I was pleased to see the grey skies outside, and although it wasn’t yet dusk, it was getting darker by the moment as more cloud cover moved over the city. I’d be safe venturing out. I looked back at sweet, innocent looking Avalon as I was closing the door on my way out.

The next time she’s in my chamber,
I thought,
there won’t be anything innocent about it.
An automatic thought to a woman in my bedchamber, but something about the flippancy of it felt vulgar. And not vulgar in a good way. I think more of Avalon than just for a toss and giggle. Still, the thought of bedding her was not distasteful either. Quite the contrary. Making love to Avalon would actually mean something, though. I was rather surprised at myself. Bravo, Arthur. Your heart wasn’t completely dead after all.

I rejoined Victor in the library, and he was already dressed as a copper.

“How do I look?” he asked, turning around with his arms held out.

“Very convincing,” I replied. Gesturing for him to leave, I continued, “Do you mind?”

“Bashful, are you,” he said, amused. “All right then. I’ll be waiting downstairs.”