Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (16 page)

Noah placed a hand on Nathaniel’s
shoulder. “She’s feeling much better now. I’m still pissed off that you didn’t
tell her earlier and I think she is too, but she knows you didn’t do it to hurt
her. She’s just had a lot of shocks today.”

“Thank you, Noah.” Nathaniel looked
across the room at Hannah once more, carefully looking for any sign of
deception. “Your lunch will be here soon. Would you like me to stay with you?”

She forced another smile. “I’m really
tired. I think I’ll eat, and then take a nap.”

Nathaniel hesitated, but finally said,
“I’ll let you rest until dinner.”

“I’ll see you later,” Noah said to
Hannah. When he looked down the hall his face lit up.

Nathaniel followed his gaze, and rushed
down the hallway. He returned with her lunch tray and set it on her small
table. He started to move toward her, but the woman who entered behind him made
shooing motions at him.

“Out!” she ordered in a soft voice. “You
boys have given the poor girl more than her share of stress this morning. You
will both let her eat her lunch in peace.”

Nathaniel followed her orders.

When the door closed, the woman turned
to Hannah with a warm, almost grandmotherly, smile. That was a strange thought
considering she didn’t look much older than Hannah. Her black hair was pulled
back in a loose bun. What Hannah noticed most was the woman's smile, which was
like a warm embrace. She wore a flowing pink tank dress that hit just above her
ankles. Hannah wondered how someone who looked so kind could be a part of this
world, and then remembered that she too had been sucked into it.

“I am Ursula.” The woman spoke with a
slight accent, like someone who had moved around a great deal. “You poor dear,
you must be starving. Did you have breakfast this morning?”

Hannah thought about it, and then shook
her head.

“You need to eat to keep your strength
up,” Ursula insisted.

“I’m a little nauseous,” Hannah said as
she stared dubiously at the food, wondering if it was drugged. That was
something she never expected to worry about.

“Try to eat something,” Ursula urged.

Hannah forced a smile, and found that it
was easier with Ursula. “I haven’t seen you here before.” She sat down at the
table and picked at her food.

“I insisted on coming to help you with
the baby,” Ursula explained. “Justin is a fine doctor, but you need a midwife
to deliver the baby, not a cranky boy. I told Roman it was ridiculous to even
think Justin could deliver the baby. Stupid boy still tried to argue with me
about it, but here I am.”

Hannah giggled. It was so strange to
hear Ursula refer to these men as boys. Hannah knew that she couldn’t really
trust Ursula. She was one of them. Still, she liked her.

“Eat your food, and then take a nap,”
Ursula ordered. “I won’t be far should you need me. Just tell one of the boys
at the door to come get me.”

Hannah’s nerves were on edge as it
neared dinner time. She went through her closet and selected a dress. It was
ivory, with an empire waist, and scooped neckline. Her selection of clothing
was limited to dresses, which made her wonder who had done the shopping. It
also brought about the creepy realization that a room had been prepared for her
in this house before she had agreed to marry Nathaniel. That really shouldn’t
have surprised her.

Hannah stared out the window, as she
gathered her strength for dinner. The sun was setting, and the sky looked like
a painting with shades of violet, amber and pink. Seeing such beauty made the
ugliness of the day seem almost impossible to believe. She was so entranced
with the sky that she didn’t hear the door open. The feel of a hand on her
shoulder caused Hannah to let out a startled squeak.

Nathaniel stood behind her, dressed in a
grey silk shirt and black slacks. His long-fingered hand rested on her
shoulder. “Did I frighten you?”

Hannah didn’t turn around. Her heart
pounded against her ribcage. “Yes, you did. I was enjoying the sunset.” It
amazed her that her voice didn’t shake. “I guess I let my mind wander, and
didn't hear you come in.”

He took her hand in his, and turned her
to face him. “How was your nap?”

“Restful, thank you.” She flashed, what
she hoped was, a convincing smile.

Nathaniel placed his free hand on her
belly, and looked into her eyes. “You are radiant. I can see our son growing
within you already.” His voice was too formal, and she realized that he was
uncomfortable too. That made her feel a little better.

“Can we go downstairs for dinner now?”
As much as she hated the idea of being around the entire family, she hated the
idea of being alone with Nathaniel more.

“Of course. Our son needs his
nourishment. The rest of the family is waiting for us.”

He put out his arm, and Hannah took it,
after a slight hesitation which he did not seem to notice.

Thankfully, they walked to the formal
dining room in silence. Roman sat at the head of the table. Nathaniel pulled
out a chair for her directly beside his seat at the foot of the table. To her
left sat Isaiah then Drew. Justin sat directly across from Isaiah. The chairs
opposite her and Drew were empty.

As she looked down to place her napkin
in her lap with her almost trembling hands, Hannah noticed that Isaiah’s hands
were shaking. He was fidgeting, there was a large bandage on his cheek, and his
hair was unkempt. He turned to her as though he might speak, but he did not. It
was then that she noticed the haunted look in his eyes.

It was almost a relief when Roman
finally spoke. “I’m glad that you have decided to join us this evening, Hannah.”

She hadn’t been aware that she had a
choice in the matter. Despite her terror Hannah managed to keep her voice
steady. “I apologize for my outburst earlier.” She placed her hand on
Nathaniel’s, and smiled. “Luckily Nathaniel was kind enough to forgive me. I
hope that you can as well.”

Roman examined her, and then smiled.
Despite his smile, Roman’s eyes and voice remained distant. “You have had a
great many shocks recently.” He thought for a moment then admitted in a warmer
voice. “Ursula believes we could have handled things better. I’m sorry that we
frightened you.”

She bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“Nathaniel, I would like this wedding to
take place soon,” Roman said without emotion. “It would be unseemly to have a
visibly pregnant bride. News of her condition will not leave this house.”

Drew didn’t seem to know when to keep
his mouth shut. “I don’t really think people care about that stuff anymore.”

“I care,” Roman said in a voice so low
that it was almost inaudible.

Drew nodded, and said no more on the subject.

Nathaniel squeezed Hannah’s hand. “When
would you like to have the wedding?”

“Whatever date you want is perfectly
fine with me.” She hoped that didn’t sound patronizing. “I would like my
friends there. It would be nice if Lydia is well enough to come, but I suppose
we may not be able to wait that long.”

Roman nodded his approval.

Conversation halted when the kitchen
staff came in to serve dinner. Hannah wasn’t used to seeing so many servants at
the house. There were three different platters with meat, a bowl with mashed
potatoes, a plate with rolls, and a bowl with gravy. There were no vegetables.
Servants moved around the table, starting with Roman, and placed the food on
each plate. Hannah noticed that the meat was almost raw. They heaped pieces of
meat, dripping with blood, onto her plate.

Drew cut into the meat, causing a river
of blood to flow into his mashed potatoes. He sucked the blood from the meat
ravenously. Everyone was eating with the same abandon, except Isaiah who seemed
to feel as sick as she did.

Nathaniel set down his fork and knife. “Why
aren’t you eating?”

She looked down at the blood on her
plate, and then across at Drew who was humming as he ate.

“What on Earth are you doing, Andrew?”
Roman sounded annoyed. It was a nice change from his usual apathy.

“I just had the sudden urge to hum
Mary
had a Little Lamb
.”

Drew looked smug. Isaiah paled even
more, and began to twitch.

Justin clutched his steak knife, and
glared at Drew.

For the first time, Hannah noticed how
impressive the steak knives were. They could probably be used as weapons. Why
she had that thought, she was not sure.

“That will be enough!” Nathaniel gave
the quiet order.

“I agree.” Roman sounded almost bored. “We
really don’t need any of your nonsense, Andrew.”

Roman’s mind was elsewhere. His eyes
moved to the empty seats at the table. “Where is Ursula?”

Nathaniel looked down at his plate. “I
think she went to visit Noah.”

“Do you want us to find her, and bring
her in here, Uncle?” Drew asked.

Roman leaned across the table, and
caught Drew by the collar of his shirt. “If you ever lay a hand on Ursula, I
will slice you up and bury the pieces out by the creek,” he hissed. “Am I
making myself clear?”

A timid nod was Drew’s only reply.

“Where is Buffy when you need her?”
Hannah grumbled under her breath.

Justin snorted.

“Is this Buffy a friend of yours,
Hannah?” Roman asked. “Perhaps once you are more settled she can come for a
visit.”

Justin snorted again. Obviously, he was
the only one who had ever watched
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
.

Nathaniel looked confused, which was no
real surprise since he rarely understood her sense of humor.

“She would have a lot of fun here,”
Hannah said sweetly.

Roman's attention shifted back to Nathaniel.
“Why isn’t your brother here?”

Hannah felt her stomach tighten when
Roman mentioned Noah.

“Noah doesn’t eat meat.” Drew chimed in.

This seemed to irritate Roman. “Foolish
boy,” he groused.

Something caught Roman’s eye, and he
smiled warmly.

“Stop your grumbling,” Ursula chastised
as she sat down at Roman’s side. “You will frighten Hannah again.”

Drew seemed incapable of remaining
silent. “Why aren’t you eating, Isaiah? You look more sickly than Hannah?”

Isaiah stared at his napkin, which he
was twisting between his hands. “I’m not hungry,” he mumbled weakly. “Can I
please just go back to bed, Justin?”

Justin hesitated, and then shook his
head. “Not yet.”

“He could go lie down in my room,” Drew
offered with another smug grin. “I’ve been told that you can really rest in
peace there.” He sopped up the blood on his plate with a dinner roll, and
sucked on it.

In an instant Justin had one foot on his
chair, the other on the table, and he leaped across the table tackling Drew to
the ground. “You son of a bitch! You were there!” he shouted. “I’m going to
kill you!” He had Drew’s throat in one hand, and a steak knife in the other.

Sure enough, it seemed to make a good
weapon.

Drew’s fist slammed into Justin’s temple
knocking him off balance. When Drew was free of Justin’s grasp, he stood and
kicked Justin in the wrist, sending the steak knife flying. Justin stood too
and used his other hand to punch Drew in the jaw.

The sound of clapping distracted both
men, and they stepped back from each other. Hannah turned, and saw Noah’s
boyish grin. He was leaning casually against the door frame, dressed in faded
jeans and a grey t-shirt with, what looked like, paint stains on it.

“If I’d known there was going to be live
entertainment, I’d have been on time for dinner,” Noah said directly to Roman.
“The food may not keep my interest, but the floor show will.” He motioned to
Drew. “Go ahead, Justin, finish killing him.”

Roman glared at Drew and Justin. “Both
of you will sit down, now. I will deal with you later.”

They followed his order with their heads
bowed.

Noah moved to the empty chair, turned it
around, and straddled it. He leaned his chin on his hands which rested on the
back of the chair.

Nathaniel was livid. Finally, he leaned
closer. “Why are you dressed like that? Why do you have to goad him tonight, of
all nights?” he whispered.

If Noah’s clothing or actions bothered
Roman, he gave no indication. “How have you been, Noah?”

Noah smiled. “Just fine.”

“I was pleased to hear that you’ll be
moving back to the main house,” Roman continued. “You shouldn’t live in that
little hovel.”

The rest of their conversation was
strange, but pleasant. Roman seemed more concerned with Noah than Hannah’s
parents were with her. He ignored any defiance from Noah. Finally, Hannah
realized what Noah was trying to do. He was trying to help her with her fear of
Roman.

Noah reached down to his ankle, and then
grinned at Hannah. “Wanna see something really cool?”

Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t even
think about it, Noah,” he warned quietly.

It was too late, Noah’s hand came up
with a knife in it He stood and he threw it directly at Roman’s head. Ursula
reached out and snatched the knife out of the air, then calmly laid it by her
plate and continued to eat.

“Holy shit!” Hannah nearly shrieked. She
had never seen anyone move as fast as Ursula had. She was terrified for Noah,
who was grinning like an idiot as he returned to his seat.

Roman let out a long-suffering
sigh, and then mumbled something about bringing a crossbow to the dinner table.
Finally, he spoke. “It seems that I need to go over the rules of etiquette for
the dinner table, yet again. Hannah, we do not use profanity, especially
profanity involving feces at the dinner table. Justin, we do not put our feet
on the dinner table or try to kill anyone at meal time. Andrew, we do not pick
fights at the dinner table. I am also adding a new rule, just for you. We do
not hum at the dinner table. Finally, Noah, and I cannot believe I am saying
this again, we do not throw knives at the dinner table. Are there any
questions?”

Noah raised his hand, still grinning
like an idiot.

“No, you may not have your knife back,”
Roman replied calmly.

“I really want to go now,” Isaiah said
out of the blue.

“Why don’t I go ask one of the servants
to fix you a drink?” Justin offered.

“How about a Bloody Mary?” Drew asked.

“Eat something,” Nathaniel said, holding
a fork with a large piece of meat in front of Hannah’s lips. “It’ll make you
feel better.”

The smell of undercooked meat was too
much for Hannah to handle, and as she watched the blood drip from the meat down
onto the white tablecloth, she knew she couldn’t control her nausea for another
moment. She sprang up from the table, covering her mouth with her hand, and ran
for the nearest bathroom.

Noah held her hair back as she heaved
into the toilet. When her stomach was empty she leaned back against the wall.
Noah brought her a glass of water and a washcloth to wipe her face.

“Thank you,” she said after she caught
her breath.

He smiled uneasily. “Are you okay now?”

“I guess so. All of that meat was making
me sick.”

“That’s odd, but I guess every pregnancy
is different.” He helped her to her feet.

“What’s so odd about it?”

“Our kind craves meat, especially
extremely rare meat, when they’re pregnant,” he explained. “You liked your meat
pretty rare before you were pregnant, so it’s odd that you don’t like it now.”

There was a quiet tap on the door before
Nathaniel peaked his head in. “Are you feeling better?”

She nodded, and walked toward him when
he came into the room. What she wanted was to stay with Noah but that went
against the plan, so she slipped her arms around Nathaniel’s waist and buried
her head in his chest. “Would it upset your father if I went to bed? I’m just
not feeling very well.”