Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4) (32 page)

“Alton?” I asked.

“Caleb, Mr. Lee,” he said rising to stand.

“Mr. Rutherford,” Roman said with a nod.

“Roman, Paige tells me you’ve been doing an admirable job here,” Alton said.

“Thank you. My pleasure to be of service, sir,” he replied.

“I appreciate that very much. Why don’t you take the rest of the evening off?” Alton said. “Caleb and I are going to spend some time together.”

“Yes, sir,” Roman said. “Thank you, sir.”

Wasting no time, like a soldier who’d been dismissed, he quickly proceeded upstairs.

“I’m glad I could surprise you, dear boy,” Alton said, focusing his attention upon me.

“Oh, I’ve learned you’re always full of surprises,” I said.

Paige laughed aloud and Alton gave her a disparaging look.

“Is Kat here, too?” I asked.

“She’s still in London, I’m afraid,” he replied.

Something in the way he said that didn’t sound particularly settling.

“Is she okay? Has something happened?” I asked, a feeling of dread rising in my chest.

“She’s fine,” he said with a casual wave of his hand. “But let’s you and I take a walk. There are some things we need to discuss.”

Paige maintained a neutral expression as my sense of curiosity increased.

It was a cool evening; the air was crisp and held the nostalgic scent of burned wood from nearby fireplaces.

We walked down Trumbull, chatting about how the weather compared between New Haven in London. As we strolled onto Yale’s campus, the glow from streetlights overhead brought the rich colors of fall leaves to life around us.

Yale hosted such beautiful campus grounds.

We stopped to sit on a wooden bench in the midst of the beautiful, park-like area. Alton casually folded his arms before him and stared across the grounds.

“So, what brings you to town?” I asked. “London’s a bit far away for a quick trip just to see me.”

“True enough, I suppose. As it happens, I was on the east coast on other business, so I thought it would be nice to drop in and say hello,” he said.

“I’m glad. It’s always good to see you, Alton,” I said.

His arm extended across the back of the bench behind my shoulders. “I do enjoy our chats, Caleb. I wish I could visit more frequently.”

I studied his features as he stared directly ahead of him.

“How’s college coming along?” he asked.

“Great. I’m settling in here, and I like my doctoral program so far; although you insisted upon a particularly challenging subject for my dissertation.”

“Do you need some assistance getting started?” he asked.

“Like I said, it’s challenging but nothing I can’t handle,” I said.

“Good, good,” he pleasantly said. “I never doubted your potential for success.”

“I’d like to know why him; why Oliver Simonson?” I asked.

“First, tell me what you’ve learned about him so far,” he said.

I explained that research materials still hadn’t fully arrived from the interlibrary loan process. However, I was able to discover that Simonson worked alongside his father in Union hospitals during the American Civil War where he became interested in phlebotomy.

“I’m not sure why he found blood so interesting,” I said.

“Ah, more to the point, the Ancient Art of Bloodletting,” Alton said.

What?

“I still haven’t researched phlebotomy yet,” I said.

“Sorry, spoiler,” he said. “Do go on.”

“Well, Simonson completed advanced medical degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and then traveled to Europe to study under leading physicians,” I said. “So far, it all seems kinda’ unremarkable.”

“Do you recall when we flew to New Haven for your meeting with Dean Eddings?” Alton asked.

“How could I forget?” I countered.

“Do you remember what I said to Eddings about Professor Gowan?” he asked.

Why does everything have to be so cryptic with Alton? Couldn’t he just tell me straight out and be done with it?

I searched my memory. “I don’t know; something about the Enlightenment period, I think.”

“Correct,” he said. “Dr. Gown specializes in the American and European Enlightenment period. At one of his lectures that I attended, he spoke about the early scientific contributions of Dr. Hugh Simonson, Oliver’s father, as an Enlightenment figure and his early medical research into human diseases.”

“Okay, so why aren’t I studying Hugh instead of Oliver?” I asked.

“Because Oliver took some of his father’s research and advanced it in remarkable ways for the late 1800s,” Alton said. “And I believe there’s much there worthy of delving into. You’ve only reached the tip of the iceberg.”

“Look, you apparently already know way more about this than I do,” I said. “Why don’t you do the research?”

“Because you need a dissertation topic; one that hasn’t been overdone again and again. You need something unique,” he said. “And frankly, I don’t have the spare time to delve further. I need someone like you, someone who has a sharp mind and enjoys historical research, to find out what I need to know more about.”

“Okay, that all makes sense, I suppose,” I said. “Then why didn’t you just tell me that to begin with?”

He turned to look at me. “Because I needed to see if you had an aptitude for this sort of thing, dear boy.”

I stared at him.

“And you do,” he said. “So, carry on with that, and call me from time to time on your progress.”

“I could simply email you,” I said.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” he said. “It’s not terribly secure, and I’d rather that prying eyes were kept at bay for now.”

That seemed strange. Who would even care about some obscure physician from the 1800s?

“So, this is why you flew out to see me?” I asked.

“Can’t an uncle stop by to visit his nephew from time to time when he’s on the same continent?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Of course.”

Then an important topic triggered in my mind; one that I’d given a great deal of thought to in recent weeks.

“I hope you realize how very grateful I am to you for all of this; even more than that, actually. I mean, I know Kat’s paying for my room and board, but it’s you that’s paid for my education here, as well as practically assured my acceptance into the program.”

He used his arm across my shoulders to pull me into a momentary hug, our shoulders pressing against each other. “You’re quite welcome, dear boy. I’m just happy to be of assistance.”

“Still, my time here serves a dual purpose for you, doesn’t it?”

He sharply glanced at me. “Really? How so?”

“You need Kat to handle things in Europe for you, though I still have no specifics what those
things
might be. And you realize she’s less likely to help unless I’m safely preoccupied elsewhere,” I said.

I watched as the corners of his mouth upturned slightly. “You’re a very perceptive young man,” he said. “However, my motives are not entirely calculated. I do want to assist in your endeavor to regain a professorial position, and your being here is an important part of that goal.”

That’s nice to know.

“But you’re also correct; Katrina was more agreeable to assisting me once you were busy with college. Suffice to say, this serves each of us in useful ways in the end,” he said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

“There’s something else I’d like to talk to you about,” he said.

“Okay.”

“I’ve noticed Katrina has been burying herself in her endeavors, which I appreciate for the most part,” he said. “But I’m growing concerned. How are the two of you getting along? It must be difficult for you, being so displaced from each other at length.”

“Funny you should mention that,” I said. “I noticed she became awfully distant after her last visit here. At first, I thought she was just busy, but I’m starting to wonder…”

“Yes?” he asked as he stared into my eyes.

“Well, this is probably just me being overly sensitive,” I said. “It’s like she’s pulling away from me or something.”

“Ah,” he said, maintaining what I could only describe as a poker face.

“When she was here a few weeks ago, I caught moments, glimpses really, when she seemed sort of colder, more distant,” I said.

It was hard to put into words, but I’d definitely felt it.

“I thought perhaps that was the case,” he said.

“What? So, you’ve noticed something?” I asked.

“Marla picked up on first, actually,” he said. “But once I took more notice, I had to concur.”

Okay, that really bothered me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“She’s overworking herself, I think,” he said. “I need her to be at her sharpest, but she can’t do that if she’s obsessing. It’s dangerous, in fact.”

“Okay, now you’re worrying me. What can we do about it?”

He appeared introspective, almost thoughtful, as he stared back at me. “How do you feel about coming to London?”

Wasn’t that what I asked to do in the first place back in Atlanta?

“I’ve mentioned that, but she either changes the subject or says ‘maybe sometime later’ or asks me to be patient a little bit longer,” I said. “It sort of pisses me off.”

He arched one of his eyebrows at me, almost similar to the way Kat did at times.

I nearly laughed over the similarity. “It’s really starting to bother me.”

“Colleges still have periodic breaks, don’t they?” he asked in an odd tone, as if it were the most foreign of topics to him.

“Yeah. Fall break’s coming up next week, in fact,” I said. “It only lasts four days, though.”

“That should be sufficient,” he said. “I’ll make some arrangements for you and Paige to fly over.”

“That’s great,” I said. “But Kat---”

“Let’s keep this as a surprise between you, me, and Paige, shall we?”

I frowned. Kat hated surprises.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle the details, as well as any repercussions,” he assured me.

He knows her all too well, I see.

“Thanks, uncle,” I said.

I was growing fond of my new title for him. Regardless of the self-proclaimed nature of it, I relished the opportunity for having at least a semblance of family ties again.

“Think nothing of it, nephew,” he said, sitting back against the bench.

I also felt better about the plans for the London trip by the minute.

Alton’s awesome, and I can’t wait to see Kat again.

“So, how long are you in town?” I asked.

“Just for this evening, I’m afraid,” he replied. “My flight leaves just after midnight.”

Then he rose to stand. “It’s a nice campus, Yale. But you would’ve enjoyed Oxford, too, I think.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. Don’t even go there.”

Imagine me at Oxford. Don’t students have to wear some kind of uniforms there?

Lame.

As we continued our walk, two attractive young women jogged past us.

“Although I can see obvious advantages to being here, as well,” he said.

“Uh, yeah,” I agreed.

“Have you eaten this evening?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

“Come on, I’ll buy you dinner,” he offered. “You look like you could use a meal, and I noticed a nice Italian bistro not far from here.”

“What about the heavy garlic smell?” I asked.

“I’ll endure on your behalf,” he said.

That’s a considerable concession from a vampire.

I texted Paige with an update on our plans as we walked to the restaurant, a place named Sapori d’Italia near the corner of Chapel and College.

The food and service were excellent, and I appreciated the time with Alton.

In particular, I enjoyed the stories he discreetly shared from his experiences in feudal England.

If only Kat could’ve been there with us, the experience would’ve felt complete.

I missed her terribly.

Her absence aside, it was a wonderful evening spent with my quasi-adopted uncle.

Despite everything, life is really good sometimes.

Part III

London and Back

Chapter 26