History of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Castle Series Book 4) (32 page)

“That’s love,” our mother said in a much quieter voice.

Daniel swung around to face her. “You’re not helping!” he shouted.

“Watch your tone,” she said to him. Then, turning to me, Mother said, “Sweetheart, you know that if you conjoin with a mortal, then you can never be with anyone else, not for the rest of eternity. You wouldn’t be able to be with your own kind.”

“Not that a vampiress would have you,” Daniel said with a sneer.

“You would probably be shunned from vampire society,” Mother pointed out. “And what would you do after she passed away?”

It was a thought so painful to me that I had trouble even thinking about it. “I don’t know.”

“You make me sick,” my brother said. “Thinking you’re in love... You’ve been going to the damn theater too often. You’re not in love. You don’t know anything about it.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s the way I feel.”

“But you’re only seventeen,” Mother insisted. “How do you know it’s the way you will always feel?”

“Turn her,” Daniel said. “If you don’t like her as a vampiress, you can always stake her and be done with it.”

“Daniel,” Mother exclaimed. “I hope you are being facetious.”

My brother gave her a flat look. “What would you have me say? He can’t conjoin with her. That would bring shame to all of us. I’m not going to be ostracized from all good society just because Jessie has a crush.”

“It’s more than a crush,” I assured him. “Much more.”

“Oh, save your romantic pap for the mortal,” Daniel snarled. “I don’t buy any of it.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” I told him, “but I’m not changing my mind.”

“Mother,” Daniel said, turning to face her. “Are you going to stand for this nonsense?”

Our mother lifted her hands, palms up, in dismay. “The heart wants what the heart wants.”

“I think the family’s honor should come before Jessie’s foolish notions of love.”

I knew Daniel and I would never see eye-to-eye, so I addressed our mother when I said, “I want to go before the Bishops and explain my position.”

“You will do no such thing,” Daniel snapped, shoving between us and getting right up in my face. “I won’t let you.”

I gave him a steady look. “It’s not up to you.”

“I am the head of this family now,” Daniel said, sticking his chin in the air.

This caused me to grin. “Only in your own mind.”

“Mother, are you going to allow him to do this?” Daniel whined.

“Both of you need to stop,” she said in her most no-nonsense tone. “I think we should wait and allow cooler heads to prevail. Daniel, you need to stop thinking you’re in charge. I had quite enough of that from your grandfather.” Turning to me, she said, “And you need to slow down. This is a monumental decision and it shouldn’t be made on just one day’s sleep.”

“But...” I intended to protest that I hadn’t made the decision lightly, but Mother held up her hand.

“Daniel is right in that this decision will affect all of us, so I ask that you not do anything too hastily.” Reaching up, she caressed my cheek and looked into my eyes. “I know you don’t take love lightly,” she told me, “but I think a little patience is called for. A few months delay won’t mean the end of the world. And right now I think you really need some perspective.”

“You’re wrong,” I said. “Both of you. The love I feel for Colette is different than anything I ever imagined. It’s as if my life only really began when I met her.”

“I can’t stay here and listen to this nonsense,” Daniel growled. “I’m going upstairs to pack a bag. If Jessie’s going to ruin the family, I’m sure not going to stand around and watch it.” He glanced at our mother. “I’m going to New York. Call me when you’ve talk some sense into him.”

If it had been only Daniel who was against me, then I would have simply ignored him. But I had always heeded the advice of my mother. I knew she had my best interest in mind. If she thought I needed time to reconsider, then I needed to take some time.

Daniel was as good as his word. He left the castle later that night. I was happy to see the back of him. I didn’t need him glowering at me and complaining about the honor of the family. Families survived scandal all the time. It was true that conjoining with a mortal was something that would probably ostracize me from the undead world, but I found that the more I thought about it, the less I cared. I’d never wanted to be part of the undead world.

“You won’t have enough time to make it to New York,” Mother said, as Daniel was headed out the door.

“I’ll overnight in Cleveland,” he said, giving her a brusque kiss on the cheek. “I just need to get out of here before I ram a stake through Jessie’s romantic heart.”

“It’s probably best that you go for a little while,” she said, leading him to the door. “Have a safe flight.”

“Update me when my little brother has come to his senses,” he said, sparing me a withering glance and then disappearing into the night.

It was painful, but I didn’t go to see Colette that night. My brain became too full of pink champagne bubbles whenever I was near her. I desperately wanted to fly along the river to try to clear my head. But I knew if I went outside, then I would suddenly find myself in Colette’s yard. So I stuck to the castle, spending most of the night in my room. My isolation was a special kind of torture, with my thoughts being constantly filled by Colette. I wanted to see her so desperately, and yet I had no idea if she wanted to see me.

I spent another day in my coffin, practically tearing apart the upholstery. All I could think about was Colette. How could she possibly have won my heart so easily? And how could I ever give her up?

Ending my romance with Colette Gibson and then leaving Tiburon for the next couple of decades would be the right thing to do. Turning her into a member of the undead would be the selfish thing to do. And conjoining with Colette for the rest of her life, and the rest of my eternity, would be the foolish thing to do. I knew all of that. The only problem was; I didn’t know which option to choose. I couldn’t see clearly which was the right path to take. By the time the sun was starting to set and I climbed out of my coffin for the evening, I knew only one thing for sure; I had to see her.

I took special care dressing that evening. It was possibly the last time I would ever see my darling girl and I wanted to look my best. I put on a dark gray suit and even went so far as to decorate my lapel with a red carnation.

I took my fill of blood and then slipped out of the castle without a word to anyone. I was undecided in my actions, but I didn’t want Mother or Emily to interfere. I was grateful Daniel had left. Just knowing he was in New York made me feel less on edge.

As I flew along, I resolved that I had to confess. I had to explain everything to Colette and then let the cards fall where they may. She deserved to know what I was. She deserved to know the truth.

Chapter 43

Colette

“Colette Gibson,” Jessie said, looking up at me with his fathomless gray eyes. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” I said, as soon as the words had passed through his perfect lips. I probably should have hesitated. I probably should have taken some time to think it over. But I didn’t want to. Every fiber of my being wanted to marry Jessie Vanderlind. I didn’t care that his family was hiding some dark, morbid secret. That had nothing to do with Jessie. That had nothing to do with our love.

Jessie sprang to his feet and swept me up in his arms. Under his long coat, he was wearing some type of dark suit. There was a red flower in his lapel. He had come dressed for the occasion and I wished that I was wearing something besides my nightgown and wrapper. But then he washed all my awkwardness away by saying, “You’ve made the happiest man in the world.” And then he kissed me. It was a kiss that both filled me with heat and made me shiver.

“Should we go to your family? Or should I speak to your father alone?” Jessie asked. “How are things like this handled in your country?”

“I...” I stammered. I had no idea what to tell him. I wanted to be his bride, but I knew my family would insist upon a lengthy engagement and I wanted to be with Jessie that very instant. “I think we should elope.”

It was as if dark clouds filled Jessie’s eyes. “Why?” he asked.

“Because I can’t wait to be your wife,” I explained. “Every second I’m away from you feels like an eternity.”

“But your family...” he began.

“I know,” I told him. “I hate to cause my parents any grief, but once they see how happy I am as Mrs. Jessie Vanderlind, then I know they’ll forgive us for running off.”

Jessie frowned. “It wouldn’t be honorable,” he said. “We’re already starting our life together with too many secrets. And if you would only let me...”

“Don’t,” I said, stopping his lips with a kiss. “I know you have your secrets, but share them with me when we are husband and wife.”

“When?” he asked, burying his face in my hair. “If we are to be wed, then I want it to be this instant.”

“Tomorrow night,” I told him. “We can sneak down the Tiburon to Yontville and wake up the Justice of the Peace. Then I can call my family in the morning and tell them the good news.”

The clouds parted from Jessie’s brow. “I love you Colette Gibson,” he told me. “I can’t believe you want to be my wife.”

“I’ve never wanted anything more in the world,” I assured him. Then I thought of something. “What about your family?” I asked.

He was quiet for a moment. “What about them?”

“Will they approve of us?” I put a hand to my cheek at the thought of how they would react. “I can’t imagine they will.” A rich young man running off with the maid was not something fine families usually found appealing. “I hate to think of your family disliking me. And I don’t want them to think that I’m some kind of...” I fought off the urge to say gold digger.

“My sister already adores you,” Jessie assured me, squeezing me in his arms. “And my mother will love you just as soon as I tell her that you are my bride.”

“What about your brothers?” I asked, with some hesitancy. “What about Arthur and Daniel?”

“Arthur is...” he began. “Arthur is someone we don’t have to worry about.” He shook his head and then continued with, “And Daniel left for New York last evening. We don’t expect him back for at least a month.” And then he kissed me again, a deep, penetrating kiss that I felt all the way down to my toes.

“I don’t think I can wait that long,” I said, my breath catching in my throat with anticipation.

“Tomorrow evening then,” he said, running his fingertips across my cheek, down my neck and to my collarbone. His caress sent shivers through my whole body. “Where shall we rendezvous? Shall I meet you here, by our favorite apple tree?”

“No,” I said, thinking it over. I hated deceiving my family. It would be an emotional challenge for me to sneak off, if only for less than a day. And when I came home again, I would no longer be a girl. I would be a married woman. I wanted to leave the house by myself. I wanted to say goodbye to my present life and step away from childhood all on my own. “I’ll meet you at the castle,” I finally told him. Jessie was about to say something in protest, but I stopped him by adding, “I mean outside the castle, in the woods out there along the river. If you can arrange a boat, then we can row down to the next town.” Jessie probably could have arranged a car, but a boat sounded so much more romantic.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Jessie asked. “It will be dark. I would feel better accompanying you.”

“No, this is something I have to do on my own,” I assured him. “And besides, Tiburon is perfectly safe, day or night. We haven’t had so much as a robbery since I can remember.”

“But...” Jessie tried protesting again. “How will you get there? On your bicycle? What kind of bridegroom would I be if I allowed that to happen?”

“Don’t you worry about me,” I said, patting him on the forearm to assure him. “You just focus on finding a boat that doesn’t leak. Our elopement will be a lot less romantic if we ended up getting soaked.”

“Shall we meet at midnight?” he asked.

I nodded. “Midnight,” I repeated. “But shouldn’t we choose an exact spot? Do you know of an old tree or something? How will we find each other?”

Jessie gave it some thought. “There’s that large oak tree by the water’s edge. The one where the boughs hang way out over the water.”

I knew the exact tree. “Sure,” I told him. “It’s got a rope swing. In the summer, kids use it all the time for swimming.”

“Oh.” Jessie frowned a little. “I’m not sure that there’s a rope swing.”

“I think we’re probably talking about the same tree, but maybe we should pick someplace else, just in case.”

“Don’t worry,” Jessie assured me, bending slightly to nuzzle my hair. “No matter where you are, I’ll always be able to find you.”