Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition)) (13 page)

She shook those thoughts out of her
head and opened her eyes to snap out of it. She crooked her head up
to smile at him and he stole a quick kiss from her.

“Remember Paris in the twenties?”
Zachariah asked softer than a whisper from the other side of the
room.

She smiled and discreetly nodded. She
remembered visiting Paris with Zachariah in the heart of the
Roaring Twenties—the dancing, the music, the people, and the
ambience were nothing to be rivaled. She smiled when she thought of
when they visited the Moulin Rouge together and charmed two of the
Cancan dancers into coming with them back to their rented
apartment.

“Remember the Cancan dancers?” He
murmured again.

She grinned even bigger now and
nonchalantly glanced over at him, where he sat beaming. At this
moment, she wanted to go over to him and reminisce, but couldn’t
find it in her cold, dead heart to do that to Todd.

“That redhead’s blood was my
favorite…” he said as he licked his lips.

Emma had to stifle a laugh. Ah,
Zachariah, her once virginal boy that she had turned into a
perverted freak. He was a pro at charming humans; so dashing and
smooth, he could probably do it without his vampire
capabilities.

“You two are too much,” Vivienne
softly chimed in with a giggle.

“What’s the matter, Emma? Cat got your
tongue?” Declan added.

She wrinkled her nose at them as
Zachariah muffled a laugh. This was torture not being able to
audibly join in the conversation.

“I wish I had been able to visit Paris
in the twenties, but I never got a chance to,” Vivienne
said.

“You were too busy being a
blood-thirsty young’un in New York then.” Declan
responded.

Drinks in the kitchen were definitely
in order later on, Emma couldn’t stand it anymore!

They spent the entirety of the movie
having a one ended conversation and Todd was none-the-wiser. She
felt deceitful, but monogamy was never in a vampire’s nature.
Unlike other vampires who ran from their human lives, she had
remained with her family. That caused her to retain some of her
humanity during her two hundred years as a vampire, and caused her
to love those around her instead of being indifferent.

After the movie ended and everyone was
picking up their blankets and pillows, Todd asked, “So, do you want
to join me in my room for a nightcap?”

Emma rubbed her eyes and looked at the
clock on the wall, “I totally would, but I’m so tired! I’m sorry
love, next time?”

Disappointed, Todd nodded his head and
continued to gaze at her. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking
about last night…”

She touched his face and answered,
“Me, too. But, it’s all in good time. Goodnight, dear.”

As everyone started walking up the
stairs Emma muttered under her breath, “Vamps, care for a drink in
the kitchen? Be there in a minute, have to fake going to
bed.”

She looked back and saw Vivienne and
Declan walk in the other direction towards the kitchen while
Zachariah gave a short nod and followed their lead. When they got
up to their rooms, Emma and Todd stood in the hallway, wrapped
around each other in an embrace.

“You sure you don’t want to come in?”
He asked again, hoping she would change her mind.

“I’m sure. My pillow is calling my
name, next time though.” She stood on her tiptoes to reach up for a
kiss to which he passionately responded. “Good night, love,” she
said as she opened the door to her room and looked back at
him.

She waited a few minutes until she
heard him climb into his bed and quietly exited her room. She ran
at vampire speed down the hallway so there wouldn’t be a chance of
her being seen. She saw Daniel straightening up in the parlor after
everyone had gone and invited him to join them in the kitchen for a
drink; blood for them, a beer for him.

By the time they reached the kitchen,
Zachariah already had a glass of warmed blood waiting for her on
the center island. Daniel reached in to the fridge to grab a beer
and pulled up a seat next to Zachariah, who was explaining how
great Paris was in the 1920’s. Emma chimed in from time-to-time
while recounting their escapades while visiting the City of Light.
Vivienne looked on with envy since she was in the prime of her
human life in the twenties before she was turned. However, she
thought that being a vampire in Paris during that era had to be
extraordinary.

Their lively conversation was
interrupted when they heard Todd in his bedroom. He was calling
Emma’s name in a panic and clearly running through his room to get
out the door. He was banging on her bedroom door and anxiously
yelling for her to wake up.

Daniel had no idea what was going on
as they had all stopped talking and went completely silent,
listening to the commotion upstairs in the west wing of the
Manor.

“What’s wrong, guys?” He asked,
noticing their alarm.

“Dang it! What do I do? I told him I
was exhausted and going to bed!” Emma exclaimed while Declan was
telling Daniel what they were hearing.

Vivienne thought quickly
and said, “Put your cell phone in your hand, run
fast
to the top of the
stairs, then leisurely walk down the hallway. Tell him your phone
was on the couch and you went down to get it so you could charge it
overnight.”

“You’re brilliant, Viv! Thank you!”
Emma replied while giving her a swift kiss on the forehead before
running out of the kitchen.

Emma sprinted at lightning speed to
the top of the stairs and began walking down the hallway with her
phone in her hand. Todd saw her and dashed towards her, his face
riddled with alarm.

Before she could even explain what she
was doing out of bed, he spoke up, completely out of breath. “Emma,
I saw her again! The ghost, she was in my room. I have no doubt it
was Elizabeth Davenport, no doubt whatsoever.”

“Catch your breath, love,” she said
while rubbing his shoulder. “What happened this time?”

“I was lying there trying to go to
sleep and I felt as though I was being watched again. This time she
was standing near my bed watching me, but I wasn’t afraid when I
saw her. So, I asked her if she was Elizabeth and she nodded yes. I
asked her if there was a reason that she is still here and she
nodded again. She said that she wants to sleep next to her family.
It was like pulling teeth trying to get a straight answer from
her.”

Horrified, Emma knew what she meant.
“Did she say why she can’t sleep next to her family?”

Todd held his breath for a moment and
responded, “She pointed towards your room and said, ‘Emma knows.
She knows the truth and needs to make it right.’”

It was the first time in two-hundred
years that Emma felt sick to her stomach. Elizabeth wasn’t in the
family crypt and she knew it. She was buried like a dog out in the
back woods, without dignity, without a proper funeral. Her sister
didn’t deserve that and it was a decision made in haste in 1815.
Todd was the second person in Emma’s lifetime to ever see
Elizabeth’s ghost, the first being John, Daniel’s father. Although,
John was always too afraid to speak to her, no matter how much Emma
tried to encourage him to do so.

Now what was Emma to do? Elizabeth
couldn’t rest until her body was in the family crypt and Emma
telling the truth about her demise.

“What does that mean, Emma? You know
the truth and you need to make it right?” Todd asked, bringing her
back from her own thoughts.

“I don’t know,” Emma said while
shaking her head. “Perhaps she meant the original Emma
Davenport?”

At that moment, Todd’s face turned to
shock as he took in a startled breath. He was no longer looking at
Emma, he was looking directly past her. She turned around to see
what was behind her, but all she saw was an empty
hallway.

She looked back at Todd and asked,
“What? What is it?”

“She’s right behind you, you can’t see
her?”

Emma turned around again, but still
saw nothing. “No, I don’t see anyone!”

“She looks very sad and is pointing at
you. I think she means you and not the original Emma,” Todd said as
her apparition faded away. “Is there something you
know?”

Emma shook her head, pretending to be
confused. “No, I don’t know what she means. I’ll have to do some
research to try and figure this out.”

They stood silent in the hallway for a
moment before Todd spoke up, “I’m not afraid of her, but I have to
admit I’m a little creeped out. I really don’t want to be alone
tonight…”

Whether what he said was true or if he
was using the opportunity to convince Emma to stay the night with
him, she wasn’t sure. But, she felt she owed him since he was the
first person to communicate with Elizabeth in two-hundred years and
he was clearly a bit freaked out. “Stay with me in my room,” she
said as she took his hand and led him to her room. She knew the
other vampires, including Zachariah, in the house heard everything
that had happened. She knew he heard the cue not to come to her
room tonight.

Chapter 9

Todd had never been in Emma’s room
before—it was beautiful and very feminine. There were plenty of
deep pink and gold accents adorning the walls and décor. Her
four-post bed was as large as his and covered in gold accent
pillows. Over her fireplace hung a large painted portrait of the
original Emma Davenport; the resemblance between the two were still
uncanny to Todd.

She lit a small fire in
the fireplace and turned on some music, just to give a bit of
background noise. Bruno Mars’
Young
Girls
played softy through the speakers
that were hung up in the corners of the ceiling. Emma laughed
internally at the irony of the title since Todd thought she was ten
years younger than he was, but she was far from it. Todd looked
around the room at the pictures adorning the walls and on her
dresser. He noted that there were several of her and Zachariah,
smiling and laughing, on vacations, at home, and at movie
premieres. There were several of Daniel as well, clearly revealing
the brother/sister love they shared.

Emma came to stand next to
him and pick up a picture off of her dresser. “This was from the
first
Ticking Through Time
premiere,” she said as she showed it to him.
“Daniel was just twelve years old here.” In the picture were
Daniel, his parents, and Emma; all laughing and sharing a
monumental evening together.

Todd smiled, “He’s so young here! And
you haven’t aged a bit, you look exactly the same!”

She dramatically flipped her hair from
her shoulders and laughed, “Why thank you, good sir!”

He set the picture back down and
turned to her. “Elizabeth’s ghost has got me shaken up,” he began.
“When’s she’s present, I’m not afraid of her, but the thought of a
ghost lurking around kind of scares the bejesus out of
me!”

She gently rubbed his upper arm, “I
know, but don’t be frightened of her. She won’t hurt
you.”

He looked at Emma square in the eyes
and with a pleading tone replied, “You have to figure out what
she’s trying to tell us. What else do you know about her
history?”

“A little, but not much. I’ll see if
there are records of her in the library. If not, I can always go
into town and find out what I can.” She worried that she didn’t
sound concerned enough. She knew good and well what Elizabeth was
trying to tell them, but she had lied about it for so long, she
began to believe her own tales. The story she gave to all the
generations of the Davenport family, as well as Zachariah, became
second nature to her.

Emma climbed into bed and pulled back
the other side of the covers, patting the mattress, “Come on, get
in to bed.”

Todd complied and nestled
in next to her, lying on his back and instinctively holding out his
arm for her to move in. She scooted herself over and situated into
the nook of his arm, laying her head on his chest. Neither had
interest in being intimate tonight; Todd’s nerves were frazzled and
he couldn’t help but fear he was being watched. Emma’s heart was
full of sadness while thinking of her sister and what she was going
to do about her restless spirit. She wished so badly that she could
communicate with Elizabeth herself instead of having to go through
Todd. She knew what had to be done, she just had to find the right
time to do it. Tonight was
not
the night.

She slid off of his chest and onto her
pillow while he turned to his side to face her. They laid quietly,
gazing at one another’s face. He reached over and brushed a stray
hair away from her face, lingering on the side of her head. She
closed her eyes and put her hand over his, savoring his sweet touch
against her.

“Go to sleep my dear,” she
whispered.
Because I’m in for a long night
of just laying here.

“Goodnight love, and…thank you. I just
didn’t want to be alone tonight,” he softly replied.

He closed his eyes and she did the
same even though sleep would never come for her. She figured once
he was asleep she could get up and read a book or text someone. She
listened to his heart rate and knew he had drifted into dreamland
when it became a slow and steady pace. She got out of the bed in a
quick movement so that the mattress barely shook. She grabbed her
phone and turned it onto silent so that she could text without the
notifications going off. At this point she felt like a prisoner in
her own bedroom, a feeling she wasn’t familiar with.