Camille (21 page)

He shrugged. “Don’t think they’ll have the
nerve.” He stared down at his hands as he opened and closed his
fists. Then he stared back up at me. “Your father was on to
something. Invincibility feels good. I’m not so sure I want to give
it up.” He stretched his arms up and laced his hands behind his
head before leaning back. “Could come in handy ‘ere on the
streets.”

“Invincible! Ha! Is that what you think? It
would only take one silver tipped bullet and you’d be in the ground
next to the fish cart man.”

“Not if you don’t shoot me.”

“You don’t understand, do you? You’ll have no
control over your actions when this takes over. We will find
you.”

“Even if you were to find me,” he stared at
me with those brown eyes that could convince me of anything, “I
don’t think you could kill me.”

I kicked the bottom of his shoes. “You’re a
pigheaded fool. I can’t believe I fell in love…”

He dropped his hands and sat forward. That
cocky half-smile turned up one side of his lips. “So you love me,
Camille?”

“No. The Strider I loved was an image I
conjured up in my imagination.” I turned to leave, stopped, and
twisted back to him. I blinked to hold back tears. I had no
intentions of crying in front of him. I scanned the area with a
crinkled nose. “You’re right, Nathaniel. This is where you belong.”
His face tightened at my hurtful words. “I don’t know where I ever
got the notion that you didn’t.” I turned and my throat tightened
around my breath. Walk away. It is done. But I knew I was leaving
my heart and soul back on that filthy stoop.

Dizzy with heartbreak, I walked away. A yell
came from the end of the street. A cab with two startled horses
careened wildly in my direction. The panicked driver screamed at
people to get out of the way. Pedestrians jumped out of the road
like foxes darting out of the path of hunting dogs. It was during
that moment of chaos that an idea flew into my head, it was an idea
that if it ended the way I hoped, all would be well again, and if
it failed, I would be dead. There was no time to analyze or talk
myself out of it. The runaway cab neared. I could only hope that it
would all be over quickly.

Snorts and hooves were the last things I
heard and saw as I closed my eyes and stepped into the path of the
frightened animals. I waited to feel the pain of a horrible bone
shattering death, but instead, a body slammed against mine, and I
was carried out of the road. The horses clattered by, and I opened
my eyes to make sure I was still alive.

Strider grabbed my arms and held me at arm’s
length. The cloudiness in his eyes had vanished. “What were you
thinking?”

I smiled up at him. “I was thinking I wonder
if his reactions will be slowed by the gin.”

He pressed me against his chest. I could hear
his heart pounding. “Believe me, Camille, I’m more sober now than I
was at birth.”

I could hear a crowd of people gathering
around us. “Is she alright? Did you see the lad move? Never seen
anything like it.”

Strider grabbed my hand and pulled me around
the corner out of the view of the onlookers. He pressed me up
against the wall and held my arms as if he was afraid that I might
try something ridiculous again. But I had no intentions of pulling
away from him.

“Christ, Camille, you could have died.”

I shook my head. “No, I trusted you to save
me.”

He squeezed me harder. “You’re such a
peculiar girl. If you wanted my attention, why didn’t you just kiss
me? It would have been far less dangerous.”

I peered up at him. “Believe me; your kisses
have plenty of danger behind them.”

“Yes, but certain dangers are better than
others.” He leaned his face down to mine and kissed me so hard I
had to hold on to his shirt to keep from falling.

“John,” I called from the entry. The cat
raced by us yowling and swiping its claws through the air. Strider
stepped behind me out of Dutch’s reach. “I’m home and I’ve brought
a visitor.”

Dr. Bennett came around the corner with a
less than enthusiastic expression on his face.

“What is it?” I asked reaching behind for
Strider’s hand. He grasped my fingers tightly.

“I’m afraid it’s as I expected. There was
still enough silver in the man’s blood to be poisonous. The cells
reverted back to normal then collapsed.” Strider’s hand squeezed
down harder on my fingers and I winced.

“Are you sure it was the silver? Perhaps
another variable contaminated the sample.”

“I was very careful, I assure you. I’m afraid
it won’t work.”

I turned to Strider. Three days on the
streets had taken their toll. He looked tired and hungry. “Not to
worry. I have another plan,” I said and pulled him in the direction
of the kitchen. “You need food and sleep, and I’ll tell you both
about it later.”

****

I picked up a quill from the desk in the lab
and knelt next to the cot where Strider slept. Purposely, I brushed
the end of the feather across the tip of his nose. With eyes still
closed, he crinkled his nose and swiped at it with his hand. I
brushed his nose once more. He moaned and turned on his side. Dr.
Bennett walked in.

“Cami, let the lad sleep.”

“He’s been sleeping for six hours,” I
complained. “I’ll have to feed him again when he wakes.” I touched
the curl of hair turned up on the collar of his shirt.

“Tis the transmutation, I’m afraid. I
remember the summer of my fifteenth year. I grew three inches in
three weeks. All I wanted to do was sleep. His body is going
through some massive changes as it prepares.” Dr. Bennett offered
me his hand. I accepted reluctantly and followed him to the
marmalade room.

My father’s journal lay open on the table. He
quickly shut it and slid it under his arm as he sat. “I’m afraid
none of this has worked out the way I’d hoped.”

I sat across from him, plunked my elbows on
the table, and rested my chin on my palms. “It seems to me this has
turned out exactly as I had predicted.”

He nodded. “We face a dreadful situation, and
I take the blame completely.”

“I agree you are completely to blame, but it
will not be dreadful because we will not destroy Nathaniel.”

“Camille,” his voice cracked, “there is
nothing else to be done.”

“I must always hear you out, John, and now
you’ll listen to me.” A momentary flash of anger crossed his
expression. I lifted my head from my hands. “When Strider and I
visited the animals in Regent’s Park an idea popped into my head.
Containment. We will contain him somewhere safe, where he can cause
no harm to others. Just like the wolves in the park.”

“Strider will be much stronger than a mere
wolf or lion. It would take a place much more secure than a cage or
locked door.”

“I know of such a place, and I’ll take him
there when the time comes.”

“It’s too dangerous, Camille. I will not
allow it.”

“Whether you allow it or not, I’ll take
him.”

He slouched back, something he rarely did.
There was profound sadness his expression.

I stood and circled behind him and put my
hand on his shoulder. He reached up and covered my hand with his.
“John, you can’t imagine what it’s like to love someone so
completely and face losing them.”

He dropped his hand and his shoulders drooped
even further. “You’re wrong, Cami. I do know how it feels.”

I walked to the settee and sat down next to
Dutch who slept there curled in a tight ball. The cat lifted its
head before tucking it back beneath its tail. “Father’s heart was
broken. Not yours.” My voice wavered.

He paused for a long moment before speaking.
“I met and fell in love with your mother long before your father
knew her. I had studied in France for several years. Her father,
your late grandfather, was my mentor. She followed me back to
England. Just as she arrived, I’d received an invitation to study
in Africa for a year. It was the chance of a lifetime.” He slid the
journal onto the table, walked to the settee, and sat down. “It was
my fault really. I left without any commitment of marriage. I did
not think it right. A year was such a long time, and Africa had
many dangers.”

I stared at the side of his face and wondered
if my mother had always loved him more. How strange it must have
been to love and be loved by two men at the same time.

“After ten months, your father wrote to tell
me they were to be married in a month’s time.” His throat bobbed up
and down as he swallowed hard. “So you see, Camille, I do know
something of heartache.”

“But you were never faced with killing the
one you loved.”

He rested his elbow on the arm of the settee
and lowered his face to his hand. “My God, Cami. What have I
done?’

“It’ll be fine,” I said and pushed up from
the seat. “I’m going to see if he’s awake.” My mood was growing
darker by the moment, and, suddenly, I realized the only thing that
would save me from a terrible melancholy was Nathaniel Strider.

I knocked lightly on the door to the lab.

“Aye, come in.” His voice was hoarse from
sleep.

The door creaked open and I peered around it.
He sat up slowly, wearing only trousers. Several pale scars crossed
his smooth broad chest. He scrubbed his hair with his hand. “My
‘ead feels ready to pop off.”

“Some warm food’ll bring you around.” I
stepped back to leave.

“Camille, wait. Sit ‘ere with me for awhile.”
His tone was somber.

I hesitated before treading lightly across
the floor and lowering my bottom onto the cot. He smelled faintly
of gin, and warmth, and heaven. He leaned his back against the wall
and I followed. His hand covered mine.

“You are the craziest chit I’ve ever met. Why
did you step in front of that carriage, Camille? You might have
died.”

I shook my head. “I was trying to prove
something.”

“Prove what? That you truly are crazy or that
dying isn’t that bad?”

I turned my hand around and laced my fingers
through his. He squeezed them tightly.

I leaned my head on his solid shoulder. “I
needed to prove to myself that you cared for me just a little.”

He rubbed his chin on the top of my head.
“How could you not already know that?”

I squirmed out from under his chin, released
my hand, and stood in front of him. “How? Let me think. The moment
you had the chance you ran back to your former haunt, to your
former life, to your former acquaintances.”

He stared at me for a long time then dropped
his gaze to his lap. “Tis not so easy to leave it all behind,
Camille. That former life is all I’ve known for the last eight
years.” His black lashes fluttered up and he swallowed before
looking at me. “Then I saw you, frail and perfect, standing in
front of that carriage and everything around me blurred. All I
could see was you.” His voice cracked and I had to hold myself
together.

“I’ll fix you something to eat.” My words
were barely audible. He had said all the things I wanted to hear,
but now my limbs, my head, my heart felt leaden.

I turned to leave and suddenly he stood in
front of me. His speed and reflexes were incredible, not human. His
chest heaved as his hands grabbed my waist and pulled me against
him. His mouth covered mine. The kiss was rough and bittersweet. I
didn’t want it to end.

The stillness in the house made my
feather-light steps in the hall sound like elephant stomps. After a
meal of potatoes and beef and several games of cards, Strider had
gone back to bed, this time in the guest room. Dr. Bennett had been
asleep for several hours, and I knew that once the man slept, it
took a great deal to wake him. He had slept very little these past
weeks, and I was confident his fatigue would send him into a deep
slumber.

Dutch rubbed between my legs. I stumbled
forward but managed to keep the candle in my hand upright. “Blasted
cat.” I opened the door to the lab and walked inside. Dr. Bennett’s
notes were stacked in a disheveled pile under the shelf of prepared
slides. I shuffled through them squinting in the dim light
deciphering his scrawls. Most of the letters and numbers were
meaningless to me, but I knew what the formula for chloral hydrate
looked like.

“What are you up to girl?” A deep voice
penetrated the quiet and I jumped up, this time knocking over the
candle. Astonishingly, it stayed lit.

“Nathaniel, you about scared me witless. I
thought you were sleeping.”

In the shadows I could see him, dressed only
in trousers, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Are you not well?” I asked.

“Aye. Well enough. Everything hurts though.”
He came closer. I gripped the edge of the counter to keep myself
from running my fingers over the scarred skin on his chest. “I
suppose it’s to be expected,” he said quietly. Sadness seemed to
radiate from every inch of him.

To hell with propriety, I released my grip on
the counter and pressed my palms against his chest. His heart
pounded beneath his warm skin. I ran my fingertip along the ridge
of a scar. “I wish I knew you then. Back when you had to live
through all this.” My finger traced another scar and his breathing
grew louder. “I would’ve taken care of you to make sure it didn’t
hurt too much.” I pressed my lips against the scar and he sucked in
a breath.

He placed his hand on my cheek. “Camille, I’m
scared.”

I threw my arms around his neck and pressed
my face to his shoulder. “Don’t be. I have a plan.” My words
sounded less than reassuring punctuated as they were with my
sobs.

His arms curled around my back, and he
squeezed me tightly. “I won’t put you in danger, and I won’t go
like a coward,” he whispered against my hair.

“You are not going anywhere, Nathaniel
Strider. Not without me.” I released my hold on him, wiped the
tears from my face, and returned to the notes. Bleary eyes made the
task more difficult.